To me, it seems like Aelin and Rowan's relationship is one of those "you don't know what you have til it's gone" relationships. It wasn't until she came back from Wendlyn and realized how much of an impact on her life Rowan was and how much she needs him that it started to develop from platonic to romance. Both Aelin and Rowan have gone throughout their lives with the belief that it's weak to need someone and that they will lose everyone they love. I feel their relationship has made them realize it's okay to need someone and it's okay to let others in and see you to your core, it's okay to love again and love madly. I feel like their relationship adds strength to their character development because they now know that they are not alone and don't need to be alone. Amazing book talk with amazing points!!!!! I have been waiting for your views on this book ever since I finished it!!
+MissMundaneMuggle 94 (Courtney) Yes! Sarah J Maas hinted that Rowan had denied his feeling for her in HOF and i think it is because of exactly that reason, also because they have both lost the people they loved so much it means that they both have been alone and don't want to get too close to people in case they loose them again. This means that they get each other so well and come to accept that it is ok to need/care about someone again.
Personally I feel Chaol acted the way he did because if you go back and reread the past 3 books, chaol has always been closed minded and so stubborn about the king he really protects. There would be scenes where he's appalled by what the king had done, to slaves or rebels etc, but he was even more appalled by the idea of over throwing him. Sarah j Maas had said that at the end of HoF the worst possible thing that chaol had ever pictured had happened, and I believe he just couldn't face his real feelings about that moment so he lashed out and blamed Aelin because she wasn't there to help. I think he was looking for someone to blame especially since he is still holds a lot of resentment to fae, magic, rebels, etc, because of the way he was raised. He doesn't understand it so he fears it and he believes once he finds out this incredible secret about this woman that he thought he knew he immediately thinks that he must've known nothing about her. I think his actions were a coping method.
As far as team chaol, Dorian, or Rowan, I don't care who Aelin ends up with, but I really do believe that Rowan understands her more than either of chaol or Dorian did. I think they were more in love with the good they saw in Aelin and wanted to "fix" the bad in her. When Rowan accepts all of her. Dorian even acknowledged that he doesn't believe he really loved Aelin. And as for chaol, the biggest example I can think of was that when chaol saw Aelin's scars he immediately asks her "what did you do to deserve it?" while Rowan was angry that anyone would put her through that and was going to support her decision to kill all of the people who harmed the slaves.
+Nicole Carey Good point - that's exactly what I thought and why I'm not so sad about the relationship development in this series, because overhaul it made sens.
1. i really did not like the Rowan + Aelin I loved their platonic relationship and then they were suddenly in love and i just didn't buy it... 2. can we just all take a moment to mourn the loss of Choal and Celaena's ship. 3. I need Manon and Dorian to ship but more importantly I need Manon and Aelin to become BFF's. 4. Abraxos steals every scene.
I don't think Rowan is endgame like it's a lustful physical relationship. Dorian and Aelin can fix the world together and I think they'll be endgame like when they combined their magicbitvwas awesome.
Lastly (again, sorry for multiple posts), my ships (I was saving this for last xD): RowAelin (as explained in my previous post) Chaol x Nesryn (hey, Chaol needs someone, too! Well, not NEED, but still) Dorian x Manon (it's so unexpected and intriguing) And Aedion x Lysandra (because the ship tease is so real and vivid in my mind)
I LOVED THIS BOOK. That being said, I, too, felt like Chaol and Rowans characters were completley different from the previous books. Yes, I get that people change, but DAMN. I absolutley love Rowan, but I don't like him and Aelin together. I just don't get it? Maybe it's somthing I have to warm up to it. I ship Manon and Dorian hardcore, too. Lysandra was my FAVORITE. I loved seeing her development from The Assassin's Blade to Queen of Shadows.
totally agree with you Aelin and Rowan don't feel right to me....she falls for every guy why augh.....Manon is my favorite and would love her with Dorian :-)
I totally agree with you about how Chaol was portrayed here. To me, it felt like Sarah tried to justified Aelin's decision of choosing Rowan so she made this total reboot of Chaol's character. Sure, you can say that Chaol was closed to magic and scared of Aelin's history as an assassin and blah blah blah, but to me, the development started in ToG, in the first book we see Chaol accepting, caring and understanding Celaena and his past as Adarlan's Assassin, in CoM we deal with him knowing of his Fae heritage and even when he was shocked and scared, at the end he told her he loved her. And then, in HoF he dealt with knowing that Celaena was Aelin. But then, out of nowhere this book starts with they hating each other and it seemed like everything Chaol dealt with these past books and every development he had just disappeared. In fact, they, as a couple, were totally destroyed, every sentence like "I'd always pick you" "it felt like it was always Chaol, even before they met" "After 10 years Celaena was home" were totally forgotten, and the explanation was "it was a child who said those things". I really feel like ToG and CoM were just thrown away and I just... I can understand relationships ending, but this book made me feel like Sarah just changed her mind and completely made a turn with Chaol's character so the reader could sympathize with Aelin for choosing Rowan. And that makes me sad tbh, not angry but sad. 'cause I love the series because of the characters. I'm not happy with Rowaelin as a ship, because I was happy with them and their loyal friendship, I didn't need them as a couple because what it made their relationship special (for me at least) in HoF was precisely that they were friends, friends who helped each other heal their wounds like no one else could. And that was so refreshing, seeing a male/female friendship like that. But now, it felt so forced to me. More considering that all of the 3 relationships Aelin had happened in less than a year. And now she's so deeply in love after having those others relationship (especially with Chaol) that had the same powerful impact just months before... I don't know, I don't like Rowan, I could've accept this ship if it was developed slowly, because it did come out of nowhere... also, I just find perfect Rowan so boring... And the hundred years older and the Fae male dominance and the I need to follow you ALWAYS it's.... a bit twilight for me. I found myself so bored when they were flirting and Rowan was admiring her body again and again, because... dorian was imprisoned, Valgs were hunting people, Arobynn was manipulating and we just read about.... them just wanting to kiss each other.... Now, that being said, when I finished the book I gave it a 5 on goodread, and after 3 minutes I had to changed it to 4, because I had those problems, because all I wanted to read about was Aelin being kick ass and instead I had to read about Rowan and then just accept the fact that she was indeed awesome and kickass as always (with Arobynn's death plan) but it all happened at night and we didn't know because we only read about Rowaelin. Those scenes, Sarah could have handled them so much better than she did. So even if I liked the things that happened Aedion being rescued, Arobynn dying, the king dying, Manon meeting Aelin and Dorian, etc. I feel like it wasn't executed perfectly. (this was so long and I apologize for any typo... english is not my first language)
+Paz agreed 100%. the argument that chaol was so hostile because of all the fae, magic business was settled, he made peace with it already. yes he probably didn't fully understand everything but i don't think his character would act the way he did in qos. and honestly, pre-qos chaol would never call aelin a monster. plus OMG YES rowan was so so creepy to me. i don't believe him & aelin are equals. i just don't buy it. he's way older, stronger. it rubs me the wrong way.
+jenna david i disagree. the hostility wasn't due to their relationship, it was because of nehemia and dorian. it's literally emphasized how they didn't feel any kind of jealousy towards each other too. and i feel that chaol has wrapped his mind around aelin being fae & a queen in hof. this development was nonexistent in the beginning of qos.
+Paz But he didn't accept her Fae side. Him accepting her as an assassin, under the assumption that she is a mortal assassin, is different than him coming to terms with the fact that she has immortal heritage and immortal magic from an enemy kingdom.
+The Book Queen But I think he did, in HoF the struggle was mainly that Celaena was Aelin, but in CoM there's this part that says ''“How can you still look at me like that when you know what I truly am?” His fingers grazed her cheeks, warming her chilled skin. “Fae, assassin-no matter what you are, I-” “Don’t.” She stepped back. “Don’t say it.” (I had to look for the part xD) and then because he's worried about her heritage he makes the deal with his dad, only to protect her, and then in the docks he still says ''I love you''. Look, like I said, and like a lot of other people said, it's that in QoS it feels like another character, like a lot of his past development just disappeared.
I can totally understand that, especially based off those passages (nice job finding them! :) ). But I think that in CoM and HoF, he might have come to terms with her being Fae, but it was a Fae with no access to magic. And in QoS, I think his anger has a lot more to do with the politics surrounding the situation, the fact that she's the Queen of an enemy kingdom, and that he abandoned his post and his friend. I think that Chaol really just has a lot going through his mind that he couldn't contain and that he needed to lash out. It just so happens that it was directed towards Aelin.
I keep describing my thoughts about this book as this: if you handed me "throne of glass" and I read it, and then you handed me "Queen of Shadows" and I read it, and NEVER would have guessed it was part of the same series. I really overall missed the characters/character development and plot lines of the first two books that were just, like you said, squashed in this one and book three.
+PeruseProject I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if the direction of it had been more obvious in book one/two. It felt like I was promise one story, and given another. Which stinks! Cause this book was EPIC, but I couldn't get past the weird changes from the other books:(
+Kate Pfeil I know exactly what you mean, books 1&2 are some of my favourite ever books and I've reread them so many times, but 3&4 have such different feel that I kind of feel let down because I really wanted more of 1&2... not that 4 is bad, I just adored the first two so much and thought this would be one of my favourite series no question, but its not now:(
+Kate Pfeil I completely agree! The series had drastically changed from TOG to QOS. One of the main reasons for this change is the fact that Sarah J. Maas never intended for the series to be six novels in length. The series was originally envisioned as trilogy, but after Sarah extended the series, her publishers encouraged her to save some plotlines such as the Witches and the Fae for the later novels. I confirmed this info on her blog.
For Chaol, he's always had a problem with magic, rebels, and going against the king. As soon as he didn't tell Aelin about the threat against Nehemiah, I knew their ship would die. He essentially let her die, and when he saw Aelin's fae form he was appalled. It's as Dorian said in HoF, Chaol only wanted to acknowledge and love Celaena the assassin not Aelin the queen. And you know, she is a different person now. Her assassin persona was one she had developed to escape her heritage and something she hid behind so she wouldn't have to acknowledge what she saw as her failure as a queen. Chaol's hostility towards her stems from being lied to about her identity, and his prejudice towards magic and fae. Aelin is angry because he blames her for leaving and not being there to save them, save Dorian, from the king. You already know that was unnecessary because of course she would feel bad about it, but that doesn't mean it's her fault. Adarlan isn't her kingdom, Terrasen is, and when she accepted her position she had to put her kingdom before his. As for her ship with Rowan, I'm happy with it. The romantic tension was realistic, and I think it was sudden because they had only realized how deep their feelings were when they were apart. For them, the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder is true. They missed each other, and I'm really curious to see how their relationship develops. Also, their flirting and teasing was pretty funny. As for the connection between Manon and Dorian, from what I understood the gold eyes stem from the Valg king because they're from his direct bloodline, and the princes react badly towards them. The prince in Dorian was literally so startled by her eyes Dorian was able to regain some control. I'm also very curious to see how they develop too. Also very excited to see Elide reunite with Aelin! Loved Aedion and Lysandra. The love and loyalty they have for Aelin is amazing, and Lysandra is such a badass. Basically, I can't wait for book 5!!!
+Sally Jasser No, I am totally on board with Rowan and Aelin. If anything, I felt like Chaol was always a stepping stone, and I think the reason why so many people are having a hard time is because of how large and complex and intense the world has become. Before, when it was just surviving to become King's Champion, Chaol was perfect, he was exactly what Celaena needed to stay grounded. But she's come into her own as Aelin, and Chaol couldn't accept that side of her for a long time; it's not a bad thing, it's just an example of two people outgrowing one another. Rowan has the potential to bridge the whole world with Aelin, and I feel like the reason so many people are upset with RowAelin is because they were still hung up on Chaol, and refused to see past the friendship of Rowan and Aelin.
I'm just starting HoF so I can't say too much about him. I still haven't formed my opinion on him yet. I don't exactly see how Celaena/Aelin could love someone who punched her right in the face. I mean I HOPE I like him. I'd really like to ship them together but I'm scared I won't but right now I really don't like how Chaol's story is going and it's supposed to get worse soon. Which makes me feel as though SJ Maas fell in love with Rowan and let the story flow differently based on her obsession with him. I hope to god I'm wrong though because it'd be great to read the next 2 giant books with them together and like them together. I'm hopeful though as I've only met Rowan maybe 30 pages ago. I just can't seem to form an opinion on him yet. But since Sarah J Maas is obsessed with him, he's obviously going to be endgame lol. Whether anyone likes it or not.
I read Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, and then Queen of Shadows all within a few weeks and I felt like the characters acted in line with the plot happening around them and I feel like Chaol acted in character. I don't think he had a realistic view before all the facts were revealed and Dorian points this out to him in Heir of Fire in regard to Celaena. But perhaps it's because I read all the books together like this so I didn't have a lot of time to come up with my own theories about the 4th book.
I feel like the Rowan and Aelin wasn't exactly rushed it was kind of just under explained. I myself thought they weren't as upfront with their feelings in HoF, I mean yes it was clear they were friends (not at first) and they became more as they shared their stories and the bond snapped into place when the became carranam and the blood oath took place. Like the holding hands, playing in the pool, Rowan in hawk form caressing her cheek when she left. I thought Sarah was leading us in that direction for Rowaelin to happen. . . . Do you ship Lysandra and Aedion because I do!!!!! Also Manon and Dorian must happen!!!! Manon coming back to check on him, and how he waved to say "I remember you"
This might be really LONG and *SPOILERY* so don't read it unless you've read the book. I had multiple problems with this, mainly with the characterization. But some problems with the plot too. Firstly, I think SJM focused too much on unimportant things (mainly Rowan and Aelin being totally horny for each other barf), instead of things that had the potential to be really awesome. I thought Arobynn's death was glossed over. He was the KING of assassins and he was murdered in his sleep by an untrained prostitute? That doesn't add up for me. I thought the king's death was a cop-out. She totally pulled a Sebastian Morgenstern and tried to redeem him at the end, and that happened so fast that it felt like badly written fan-fiction. Sorry not sorry. Now the problems with characterization... whenever I think about it, it just makes me angry. Firstly, and this is a point that a lot of people battle me over, is how much Celaena's character has changed. I get that Celaena and Aelin are supposed to be 'different' people, but I think SJM took that too literally. There were zero similarities between them. Aelin was mean, ruthless, kind of selfish. She almost killed Dorian without even making sure he was still in his body, and then she gave Chaol flack for it. Celaena would never have done that. She was constantly treating everybody like she was their superior, and Chaol was the only person who was standing up to her, example, "Don't talk down to me like you are my queen." I was also really mad how she blamed Chaol for everything- stuff he barely had any control over. I mean, I thought she got over the Nehemia thing and she brought it all back? And she blamed Chaol for leaving Dorian at the castle? I mean, what was he supposed to do? He doesn't have any powers, he had NO back-up, and if he had stayed, Dorian would be in the castle and Chaol would be dead? So no, I did not like Aelin's character. As for Chaol, I think he was by far one of the most complex, most flawed characters in the series. He definitely had the most potential for development, and that got taken a few steps back in QoS. In CoM, Chaol said (and I quote) "Fae, assassin, I don't care what you are." In HoF, by the end, he had totally accepted Celaena for who she was and he was even proud of her, and stood up for her in front of the king. So HOW IN THE HELL DID HE HATE HER AGAIN in QOS? :S That didn't make any sense to me. And like you said, the stuff said in the first two books was buried in this one? I totally agree. I think SJM DEFINITELY INTENDED for Chaolena to be endgame, but then she changed her mind halfway through the series, and went back on a lot of what she said. Like that "I'll always choose you?" Normally, that would put a stamp on who the endgame is because it's total foreshadowing, but in QoS, SJM took that back when Aelin says "I didn't mean it." Consistency is very important in a series, and QoS was NOT consistent with the series, and that really put me off. And you're right about Rowaelin. In HoF, they had a platonic relationship and now they're all over each other? :S No build-up, no consistency, made no sense.
+foofi I completely agree with what you are saying, especially about consitency in a series. Personally, I think the consitency issues already started in CoM, where Celaena started blaming Chaol for things he had no power over. That was already quite ridiculous and made her character in particular seem instable. In addition, the story arc of the overall series, as Regan kind of pointed out, is also very inconsistent. It does not seem to be well thought out. If you compare it to other fantasy series like The Codex Alera or GoT, there appears to be a dichotomy between books 1/2 and 3/4 and where those plots are going. The groundwork for book 4 was definitely not laid out in book 1 and the development there has little impact on the later books in this series, especially after Celaena changes to Aelin and basically negates her entire personality. And btw, I really don't like that Celaena is not able to have a platonic relationship with a hot guy, and the need for a romantic interest to keep the plot going really bothers me. It makes her less of a "strong female protagonist" in my book, if she has 4 oh-so-deep-and-serious realtionships in 5 books. Seriously. But that also applies to other series, not exclusively this one.
Roaming Shelves Totally. I mean, I totally get if an author changes their mind about where the series is headed. I get it, and there's a way that can be done. It's not easy, but you can do that by slowly building towards the switch in direction. But breaking everything you've built in the first two or three books and building something completely new in the fourth one? That doesn't work so well. You're right about GoT. You can tell everything is planned out and going the way it's supposed to go. There's foreshadowing in the first few books that later ties up with future events, and it's consistent, and it just makes sense. That's how it's supposed to be. Oh well. And yeah, I agree. One of the things I liked about HoF was how platonic Rowan and Aelin's relationship was, which is something you don't see in YA fantasy. And then Sarah J. Maas had to go and make them horny for each other. -.-
+foofi yay someone else that thinks Aelin is really quite the bitch queen! I mean, I guess a character can be sassy to some degree, but she totally goes overboard and yeah, is just plain mean most of the time. I don't think there is enough of an excuse to act like she does, despite her background and what she's been through. It's not fair of Maas to make all the other characters (except Chaol) just accept this side of her - despite Chaol's totally strange character development, he's a bit of a moral compass for her, which is refreshing to say the least. Someone needs to keep her attitude in check. Agree 100% with the strange ending of Chaol and Aelin's relationship - Maas just needed to end their relationship to get everyone shipping Rowan and Aelin. Pretty much did the opposite for me. I was half-shipping Rowan and Aelin at the end of HoF, but slamming Chaol in QoS and making Rowan and Aelin start drooling over each other almost immediately has put me off! Maas could have easily slowed the relationship stuff down a ton, especially with all the plot happenings: would have made a lot more sense. Shipping Manon and Dorian though!
THANK YOU!!! You stated my problems with this book perfectly! Chaol was essentially another character, he's just not being consistent with his previous self. Any hopes I had for Chaol and Aelin crashed and burned in this book. I was totally blindsided by this!! AND I AGREE 110% ABOUT AROBYNN!!!! I was genuinely upset! I couldn't even go right away into the next chapter because I was so frustrated (I kept thinking he was still alive). When Aelin said she was going to let Lasandra kill him I was really confused. She's known this man for over a decade and knows he's a ruthless killer. He's the damn KING OF ASSASSINS! I'm pretty sure he can handle a prostitute! I was really interested in his character ever since TAB and when he finally showed up in QOS I was already bracing myself for an epic showdown with Aelin. Imagine the amazing Manon/Aelin fight scene but 10x more intense that's what I was anticipating! And when Aelin said that Lasandra deserved more than anyone else to kill Arobynn I was like WTF?! No one has suffered more from Arobynn than Aelin!!! It was a major gloss over of a character of his magnitude. He's been hyped up since book one, always mentioned and hearing about the things he's done and now we finally meet him (aside from TAB) and he gets killed off in the same book he's introduced in and by LASANDRA of all people?! I'll never get over that...smh.
When I read Heir of Fire I thought Aelin and Rowan's was a friends only thing and I was also a Chaol shipper. Going into this book I thought I was going to be getting Aelin and Chaol's glorious reunion and I was very confused when something completely opposite seemed to be happening. I don't think I'll ever be convinced that Aelin and Rowan are good together.
yes I feel the same! I loved chaol and aelin so much, and we had already switched love interest once, so its weird it switched again! I couldn't wait for an aelin/chaol reunion and them being united again... I just don't feel Rowan/aelin at all? it's almost as if rowans just a copy of the old chaol, and makes book 2 feel so redundant:(
It's pronounced "Ey-lin" like "hey" without the h, yes? Now, my thoughts/counter arguments (this is probably gonna take a few posts; sorry in advance): 1. Chaol Personally, I think Chaol and Aelin's animosity towards each other was very...realistic. It's like one of those break-ups where the guy cheats on the girl, but this time, the guy betrayed the girl, ending up with the girl's best friend killed. Plus, Aelin has had a LOT of time to move on while in Wendlyn. Don't they say that if the love is true, then distance can only make the fire stronger? In this case, the distance stifled it, which means that their love, while great, was just not to be.
I absolutely love Manon as well!! I wanted even more of her point of view. The scene of Aelin and Manon's fight was so epic! I agree with you about it being different. It's as if Sarah J Maas' world got so big and complex that it's transforming into a different series altogether. I think I like that though, as it makes the reading experience so exciting. I'm also torn with regard to Rowan and Aelin as I thought their friendship was so wonderful. We don't get to read about too many strong male/female friendships that actually remain friends and I thought we were getting that. Slightly disappointing. On the other hand, Maas wrote it so well that I can't help but like it. Great video!
I'm not sure about Rowan and Aelin's romance either, I felt like it came out of nowhere. I'm so glad you said you ship Manon and Dorian, I thought I was the only one!! I can't wait for the next book to see where they're relationship goes! :)
attached. agree!! i felt like i shouldn’t have shipped it but i did for some reason, i just felt like they really cared for one another at some point so :D
I loved this book! I really liked Rowan in Heir of Fire and I liked their friendship. It did surprise me when Rowan started to have feelings for Aelin in a more than friends type of way but Rowan really grew on me and I like them together even though I really shipped Chaolena before. I know that after everything that has happened, Chaol and Celaena just won't work anymore and they're pretty much done. I really love how loyal Chaol is to Dorian but I don't really love his character as much as I did in the previous books. I love the new characters though - especially Lysandra (even though she appeared in The Assassin's Blade). I can totally see Manon and Dorian being a thing! I love how you pronounce Aelin's last name btw, haha. xD
+Dani's Books While my rational side has known for a long time that Chaol and Aelin were not endgame, my fangirl heart wants to scream, "NOBODY ASKED YOU PATRICE." And I know this sounds I a little naive, I had hoped that Sarah would at least talk about how they weren't in love anymore or at least acknowledge their lack of chemistry, instead of having them be at each other's throats for a good part of the book. I do actually really like Nesryn though and I'm excited to see where that relationship goes. And though I do understand that Chaol and Aelin are over, I do think that you could be less of a sore winner about it.
***SPOILERS**** It goes back to what Dorian said in Crown of Midnight?--can't remember which book--but he tells Chaol that he can't pick which parts of her (Celaena) to love, or something like that. I think the doom of Chaol and Celaena's relationship was the fact that Chaol couldn't just love everything that she was. There were parts of her he hated and even feared, and that just would never have work out. Specially since Celaenas's journey in the first three books, was that she needed to learn to embrace who she was, love everything that she was and finally become Aelin, Queen of Terrasend. There was more fear in Chaol in losing his king (Dorian) than the realization of the damage Dorian could have done had they not been able to get the Valg prince out of him. As for Rowan, I do feel like it happened too fast, and kinda out of nowhere, and honestly would have preferred it to stay the way it was in Heir of Fire. It was just a very strong friendship, like Celaena's and Dorian's friendship. At the end of it though, I don't really care who she ends up with since that is the least important part of the story for me. Someone somewhere else mentioned how Celaena/Aelin and Chaol kinda just started out hating each other in this book, but I would have to disagree. Aelin was truly looking forward to seeing Chaol at the beginning of Queen of Shadows. I think it was Chaol's attitude--Which I understand, even if I don't agree with--towards her that started to break apart her feelings for him. Seeing--like I said before--that Chaol, deep down, would never be able to love her as a whole, to make her his priority, even if he learned to accept her, and begin to trust her again--like he did by the end--and I truly believe this started all the way back in Crown of Midnight. Chaol could just never make Celaena his priority. His honor and loyalty, even towards a king he found despicable, was more important to him than anything else, that was until that loyalty got in the way of his loyalty towards Dorian, which turned into kinda of bling loyalty, even if that blind loyalty worked out in the end. Anyhow, this has been one of the best reviews I've watched/read/heard. Most people either just fawn over the book--don't get me wrong, I really liked it--or just crap all over it. I mean, there were things that kinda irked me, and you mentioned some of them. Something you didn't mention, which bothered me, was how they just introduced Roland in Crown of Midnight for no reason, to just kinda have one scene with him were they killed him. Roland was honestly, in my opinion, completely unnecessary.
I agree with you on Chaol. I don't understand why people say that he was changed in QoS when he have always been like that. In CoM, he had a lot of trouble to accept Aelin's fae form/being a queen and instantly he thought that she was an enemy. In that point, i was so mad because Chaol thought that Celaena would be capable of harming Dorian and basically destroying Erilea just for being Queen of Terrasen. He didn't know her at all although they loved each other. He really though at one point that Aelin was a monster just for having magic, like she had an option. I'm glad they ended well, though. I was a die-hard Chaolaena supporter but with Chaol's attitude in QoS... no, he shouldn't try to blame her for all wrong happened in Adarlan.
I agree with practically everything you said! The brutal sinking of the SS Chaolaena was kind of cruel, I'm a little upset that they broke up so completely. Although I like them, I'm not 100% on board with Rowaelin because I thought they'd stay friends. I thought Sarah J Maas said she wanted to keep them platonic after Heir of Fire, or am I imagining things? I kind of wonder if she saw how fans were loving Rowan and changed her mind and just kind of forced the ship. Does every male character Celaena/Aelin meets have to fall in love with her? Also it kind of feels like Nesryn exists only as a love interest for Chaol. I definitely think something is going to happen with Manon/Dorian even though at the beginning of this book I was kind of shipping her and Elide, but I'm all for Manon/Dorian if it happens! I really liked Manon's arc in this. I loved the plot of this book, ignoring all the shipping wars and confusion for a sec, the plot was top notch. It was so exciting, the world and storyline has expanded so much, I cried at a few points and the whole end of the book was just UNREAL. I really enjoyed the non-romantic interactions in this book, like Aelin/Lysandra (yes to female friendships) and Dorian/Chaol (THEIR LAST SCENE). I gave this book 5/5 stars too but there's definitely a lot to think about. It definitely took a new direction and it wasn't done entirely seamlessly but ah well, I'm still dying for the next book.
I really hate the fact that Sarah J. Maas feels the need to pair EVERYBODY off. Gah I just want a platonic relationship between an attractive, straight male and an attractive, unattached, straight female is that really too much to ask for?
RIGHT?! Like why spend all of Heir of Fire setting up their relationship as platonic but still SO strong and then throw that out the window? At the end of the day I just ship Aelin/Terrasen lol
As far as Chaol goes, I think that the direction his character took in QoS was partially because Aelin was absent during HoF. The animosity between them at the beginning of QoS probably wouldn't have been nearly as intense if she hadn't been in Wendlyn while Chaol's world came crashing down around him. I mean, I think of it this way: He finds out that his ex is the queen that is basically Public Enemy #1, and in the next few months (specifically after Aelin kills Narrok and is known to have returned) his life falls apart. His best friend is imprisoned in his own body by a demon prince from another realm, the Valg are terrorizing the people of Rifthold, and the only connection he can see is Aelin. Of course he blames her. He needs to blame someone, and he doesn't know anything more than that she has something to do with it. There's also the bitterness of not knowing what to do, not knowing whether to trust her, and on top of that, Aelin has one heck of a temper. All of that, piled together, I think is what made their animosity so strong. Defensiveness, bitterness, and plain frustration. It was only by working through all of that, separately and together, that they were able to get to where they are at the end of this book. So basically, I love the journey that Chaol goes through in this book, but I totally believe that it's realistic, and I don't think it undermines his character in the first few books at all. Now, Rowan. I admit that I thought their relationship developed a bit fast, until I remembered that we didn't really see a lot from Rowan's POV in HoF. We saw primarily from Aelin, who really was not in a place where she could be in a relationship. I think that they were both in denial in HoF because Aelin was digging herself out of a pit comprised of Nehemia and Chaol and running from her own past. Rowan was running from his memories of Lyria. So I figured that in QoS they were pulling themselves together enough to realize that they had been denying an attraction that had been there for a long time. Also, I love Rowan and Aelin together because I think Aelin needs someone who understands her so completely, someone who is her best friend.
I loved Rowan and Aelin's platonic relatonship. And for the first three books, I was totally for Chaol and Aelin. But I think in Heir of Fire, I started jumping ship and was team Rowan before I even realized it. Their relationship was kind of out of the blue, but I totally ship it. Go team Rowaelin!
I really like how you respectfully and coherently talked about your opinions and actually talked about some things that were off. Some just raved and raved without addressing some of the character issues. I definitely think that Chaol did not deserve all of the blame that he got from Aelin. He had a point! When magic is free, where would the limit be for magic-wielders? Not all of them are good people. And I also thought that Rowan's feelings were a little rushed, but I think SJM tried to compensate for that when she wrote the chapter where he talks about how he found her beautiful back in Wendlyn. But great review! :)
I don't ship Rowan and Aelin at all...and I agree with you about the abrupt change in the treatment of Chaol's character. I feel like sarah j mass just needed a way to end Chaol and Aelin's relationship so she made them hate each other for literally no reason. I'm still holding out hope that Aelin and Chaol will end up together though.
omg I never shiped celaena with chaol, first I shiped her with Sam (duh) then Dorian and then Rowan. Chaol ,to me , never truelly loved celaena for who she was. He had this idea about her, she was broken and he thought he could fix her somehow but then when she would "errupt" somehow he wouldn't understand her and just get angry with her. He never accepted her for who she really was; not when she was an assassin and definitely not when she was queen and far. Dorian on the other hand saw her for who she was and even when he found out about her true identity he accepted and embraced his friend. Without being in denial, or blaming everything wrong in his life on her or even trying to change her. And finally Rowan (❤). Rowan I think is the only one the series who got to know the true colors of both celaena and aelin. An he's the one who helped her accept her heritage, power and herself, mistakes and all. I just love them together. They bring the best of each other. So yeah, to me chaol was always wrong for celaena because she could never be herself around him and I'm glad she finally got that and moved on with her life. (Rowaelin fan❤👐)
I agree that the whole Rowan Aelin relationship sort of sprung up out of no where. Personally I think it would have added to the story for Aelin and Rowan to have continued to only be friends. You don't always see a lot of male/female friendships in YA that don't develop into romance, and so I feel that by transforming their friendship so suddenly into a romantic relationship, Aelin's character was sort of weakened... I also feel like I was missing the stoic Rowan that we saw in the previous book, and he was replaced here by some other character entirely, who was completely enveloped in his emotions.
I totally agree with you on the Chaol/Rowan stuff. It really didn't make sense to me, and it kind of felt like SJM sort of pushed Chaol aside to promote the Rowan/Aelin arc/ship/thing, and I just wasn't a fan of that. In relation to that, I'm curious on your thoughts on Nesryn. I loved her, but I feel like she could have been so much better if her story was more discussed instead of seemingly just being Chaol's love interest replacement. However, I definitely think this was the best book plot wise and my favorite in the series in that term, so I too am kind of struggling with my star rating. Also, while I don't really ship Manon/Dorian, I do see it happening considering right after Manon asked Asterin about love, she went off to see Dorian. Crazy stuff! I only recently read this series, so this is the first time I have to wait for a new book and it's already killing me.
I would agree with most of the things you said. Chaol doesn't even seem like the same person he was in the first two books.. maybe i'm just bitter because i wanted Aelin and Chaol to still end up together! Blah. Aelin and Chaols "break up" didn't make much sense to me either. I didn't like Manon in Heir of Fire, but I LOVED her in Queen of Shadows, as well as the whole 13. I love all the girl power!! Aedion is one of my favorites as well! Actually, I just love everyone in the books lol. I have a friend whose name is spelled Aelin btw, we pronounce it Eye-lean.
I understand why people feel this way about Chaol's arc and the Rowan/Aelin relationship. Personally I liked Chaol. I did not expect him and Aelin (pronounced A -long a- LYNN -like the name-) to meet up and just hug it out. You have remember they had to sum up months of their lives into a ten minute bullet point conversation. Obviously things are going to be left out. So the fact that they have a fight is believable to me. But then Aelin throws the Dorian is a Valg and there is no way to save them bomb, which is the thing that has them at each others throats in the first half of the book. Aelin wants to put him out of his misery and Chaol is not having it. (I also see a lot of people are upset with Aelin because of this and I DON'T get it because what else could have been done?) Anyway Chaol is angry, he doesn't trust her, but when he sees the truth with his own eyes him and Aelin inmediatley start patching up their relationship. I could go on, but that's the gist. I don't mind what happened with "I pick you" because tbh everyone was a GIANT mess at the end of Crown of Midnight so you got to take it with a grain of salt. As for Rowaelin, I felt that too at the beginning, but then I started flipping through Heir of Fire and hints are there. It depends on how you interpret them. I also realized that there's a lot of time between Rowan and Aelin that goes unaccounted for in HoF. Literally weeks that get summed up in a paragraph. The biggest example is that between Rowan and Aelin becoming carranam and Aelin leaving for home there is an entire month where we only get an up close look at 3 maybe 4 days. For the majority of that time it's just them, alone together, traveling. So I find it completely possible that feelings had already begun to blossom then. Would it have worked better if Sarah had dragged out the developement more? Maybe. I think we need the series to be complete before we can be completely sure. Either way I happened to enjoy their scenes together and I like the relationship :) Queen of Shadow is worth so much more than 5 stars IMO.
Maybe I'm the only person but none of the character 'changes' really shocked me at all. I've never been a big fan of Chaol and I feel like he was really really struggling with all the changes that happened at the end of the last book. He went from being this guy who was on his moral high horse blindly serving the king because of his desire to keep Dorian safe and then all of that goes to hell really quickly and he has to adapt or die. He really struggles with accepting magic so it was easy for him to just blame Celaena for everything and that made him seem totally different but I feel like he was always this way before, we just never saw it. I think that Rowans 'changes' have a lot to do with him being in Celaena's world and having a tough time not having his magic to fall back on. It was easy for him to keep her at a distance before because he was the one who wasn't out of his element and was more in control. Plus when they were apart he really missed her and that made his feelings intensify for her because of the blood bond. I might be wrong but I don't remember a lot of chapters from Rowan's viewpoint in the last book so maybe he felt this way the whole time but was just able to do a better job of keeping his feelings to himself thanks to his bond to Meave. And now that he is bonded to Celaena he can finally let his real feelings show. I'm hoping the whole relationship thing gets explained more in the next book though. I also ship Dorian and Manon. So much.
I'm a bit reluctant to go into Queen of Shadows because Chaol's character was one of the biggest reasons I liked the throne of glass series, and I'm afraid QoF is going to ruin him...
I agree! Something felt totally off about Chaol's development, and although I really like having someone question Celaena, I missed their friendship. And the Rowan romance came out of nowhere, but I actually started to really like it. Other than that, I absolutely loved the book.
I completely agree with all your feels. This book literally made me gasp and want to throw it at my wall. ESPECIALLY when aelin and chaol re-meet and they have that a HUGE FIGHT. I looked out my window and saw all maas' fucks fly away with that relationship. It killed me! I thought Rowan and Aelin would remain platonic but nope.. I didn't really like the new chaol, he just seemed so wrong and hardened and horrible. And Nesryn honestly just seemed like a convenience to Maas so fans wouldn't be so pissed about the end of Chaolaena.
When I watched your heir of fire review, I couldn't believe that you didn't pick up on the Rowan/Aelin love story happening. When you said they had a platonic relationship I was like "what?!" I didn't come out of no where for sure, I love their relationship. And I love your videos! You are awesome!
My personal interpretation of the Chaol development is that he felt betrayed by her in a way. Her actions whilst in Wendlyn seemingly caused a lot of trouble for the people in Rifthold (more executions etc), and these people included Chaol's friends and allies. Also, I think he still had issues left over from the fact that Aelin didn't tell him directly who she actually was and just left him to guess at it. I think this led to him giving her a frosty reception when she returned, and she reciprocated this since we have seen in past books that she can be very defensive and stubborn, although I do think this got better as the book went on and they worked together, but as I say this was just my interpretation.
I so agree with the Chaol thing!! I didn't mind too much though because I never shipped them. I totally did not like the Rowan Celaena relationship and I think that becomes a TOTALLY different person! I can't even call this character development any more. The moment he makes the blood oath, he's like Celaena biggest fan and would do ANYTHING for her and is also totally in love with her. But before he was cruel and kind of tortured her - multiple times. I guess many people may like ths change but I just don't get it. I LOVED the friendship between Aelin and Lysandra!
I agree with what you said about Chaol and Rowan's character in this book. I also love the Manon chapters, she's my favorite character, and I definitely ship her with Dorian, every time they had an interaction I would get so happy. And after reading this book I have more respect for Kaltain than I did before.
I 100% agree with everything you said!!! I was so mad about Rowan that I legit had to put the book down for five days and cool down lol. Manon is my fave baby and I hella ship her and Dorian. And also Kaltain for the win. I'm so glad I found your channel!
I also absolutely loved the witch chapters. I adore the idea of beautiful, flawless witches like the ones that Sarah J Maas has created. The wyverns are so cool to read about and I loved their training and the twisted, dark, direction they (the witch chapters/storyline) took in QOS.
About Manon's eyes, from what i picked up from the valg prince in dorian, he seems to be afraid of manon because her eyes are basically the same as a valg kings. It seems like valg kings put fear into everyone they meet.
This book blew my mind. The complex development in the Manon chapters was so interesting, and then to have Manon and Aelin (how the heck to you say her name) meet and actually battle is CRAZY. Hopefully Manon gives the Matron the big finger and moves sides to go help Dorian and Aelin defeat the new and terrifying monster. I can't wait for the next book!!!
personally i hated chaol since Crown of Midnight. I find him to be very self-righteous, and while many people think his sacrifices for Celaena were heroic and romantic, I find them to be ridiculous. I hated when Chaol and Aelin fought in this book and accused her of not caring about them anymore and just having a grand time training with Rowan in Wendlyn. Like HELLO? YOU SENT HER THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?! and as for the romance between Rowan and Aelin, I saw it coming in Heir of Fire, by a long shot. It was clear they weren't just friends, in the way they both feel protective toward each other. Yeah, it may be because they're cranaam, but still, there was no doubt that they were going to be end game in Heir of Fire.
So many happened on this book! Thats why I loved it! I love how the manon chapters and aelin chapters doesnt make sense at the start, but on the end, it is finely weaved and intertwined together! Ahhhh. How I loved SJM and her writing!
I hated Chaol's character at the beginning of the book. I couldn't believe what he was saying to Aelin. But after finishing the book, I kinda understand his behaviour. He had a good point talking about how powerful Aelin was and how there should be a limit in magic. About Rowan, I totally felt that in Heir of Fire they were just friends and when they started to be so romantic with each other in QoS I was shocked, but when Aelin goes running to hug him when he returns, I got it. I saw how Aelin missed him and how important he is to her, so I don't think it was rushed or anything. I think it looked natural. HOWEVER, I still believe there's a chance for #CELORIAN, in page 575, when Aelin and Dorian are mixing their magic, it is said: "But they held to each other, past and present and future; flickering between an ancient hall in a mountain in a castle perched above Orynth, a bridge suspended between glass towers, and another place, perfect and strange, where they had been crafted from stardust and light." The showdown between Manon and Aelin was AMAZING. Agree with Kaltain. I couldn't believe she defeated the Valg inside her and sacrificed herself... I was so so sad for her...
That's Kaltain moment was epic! That was my favourite moment od the book.I cried it was just so powerful how she defeated the valg prince on her own and used the shadowfire to reclaim her freedom!
I preferred Rowan and Aelin as friends. To me, their relationship seemed stronger and real as best friends. I don't know maybe it's because I'm still hoping for Chaolena (Chaolin?) as endgame. ALSO DORANON IS THE BEST THING EVER AND I SWEAR TO GOD IF SARAH DOESN'T PUT THEM TOGETHER I'LL FLY TO WHERE EVER SHE LIVES AND MAKE HER DO IT
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I JUST SAID. I just finished reading QOS and came on youtube to see reviews. I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT CHAOL. Him and Aelin changed so much. I also agree with what you said about Rowan.
Agree 100% with what you said about Chaol and Rowan. I was a hardcore Chaol/Celaena shipper and I can accept that their over or whatever, but it just seemed kind of weird? Like why did they suddenly hate each other? Lol. And I actually really loved Rowan as a friend for Celaena with the potential for more. So I enjoyed their romance and everything. It just did seem kind of odd. Like while writing Heir of Fire, Sarah decided to completely jump ship from Chaol to Rowan. And I do find their relationships similar, so yeah. Idk. It confused me too. But overall an amazing amazing book.
This book was astonishing! I'm so happy Ailen and Rowan are together! I've been waiting for that ship to happen since HoF. (From the moment he handed her his cloak to be exact.) I loved how that ship built up slowly. I also love the idea of manon and dorian... it would be extreemly interesting to see the character development for manon to become romantically involved with someone
Oh thank God I'm not the only one boarding the Dorian and Manon ship 😍 best characters of the whole series along with Lysandra and Asterin (damn broke my heart with their backstories) !! I didn't care much for the characters of Chaol and Rowan but I liked the bromances and friendship all around
I do agree with you about Chaol, I mean he really took a backseat in this book, just because he was not speaking to Aelin and they were just bitchy at each other all the time. And then they just shrug it off?! Don't get it but ok. I really like Manon I'm not gonna lie she's really coming along for me in this series and I'm hoping that Rowan and Aelin don't regret their decisions...whatever they may be.
i total agree with the whole weird chaol and aelin situation. i think sarah made their romantic relationship fade away so easily to highlight how unbreakable and infinite aelin and rowan’s relationship is. just my thoughts. anyone agree?
i loved this book personally i still think Heir of Fire is the best so far. I also agree that the whole Chaol thing took me aback when it firt happened and was like what??? But then i was like Chaol does show peeks at being small minded when it comes to magic so i kinda just accepted it. RIP ChaolxCelena As for the resurection of Rowan as a love intrest it also took me aback because i remember the whole WERE JUST FRIENDS stamp so clearly made in Heir of Fire. I was surprised when there was a switch. For me there was no hint of it in the previous book. I kinda feel bad too lose that bestie relationship but at least we got Lysandra and im not too torn up about Aelin and Rowan.
I had the exact same feeling in my gut telling me Manon and Dorian are going to be a thing. Asterin showed us it is possible for witches to care for humans, and Manon was already on the way to that when she saved Elide. Whatever happens, I 100% ship those two together. Regarding Rowan, I fell in love with him the moment we met him and they started bickering, and was more surprised it took them so long to move pass being friends. Rowan and Aelin are definitely my OTP for this series. Loved your review!!
I also loved the Manon chapters! I found them super interesting. I think Chaol changed a lot, but I didn't think it was a bad change. I think they both just changed a lot in their separation. I would be totally down for a Dorian/Manon relationship. Lysandra coming and being a badass and a friend for Aelin was one of my favorite things! I loved that Kaltain got her day to be a badass.
About Manon's eyes, in that part Aelin, Rowan, Aedion and Chaol were in the catacombs beneath the city and read about the Dark King Erawan, it was said that looking into his eyes was like looking into despair and madness and it was also mentioned that his eyes were golden. The witches descend from the Valg, so the Valg prince inside Dorian and the Valg in general are afraid of Manon because she has Erawan's eyes basically.
Oh my god! Reading the comments below is so infuriating. Only 1 out of 5 people seem to like Rowan and Aelin. Everyone is hating on them and its completely messing with my mind. I'm sorry but i fucking love Rowaelin. what Rowan and Aelin have is WAY more than just lust or physical attraction. And there relationship did not come out of nowhere.Its a bond so deep formed between two people who have suffered so much. They have been alone for so long. I dont care if Aelin had Chaol. But Chaol never truly understood nor accepted Aelin. It seemed the first two books he is trying to accept Aelin's assassin side, but he had difficult accepting her as that. But when he found out she was fae. He was like oh no she's an enemy to my kingdom. Ummm... Needless to say i have never liked Chaol. But Rowan, i adore him. And i love him even more with Aelin. I dont even care. They understand each other, they accept each other & they complete each other. I have never shipped anyone as much as Rowaelin.
I actually only got the chance to reread Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight before QoS, and Chaol and Aelins hate made no sense at first. But once I realised Chaol was really just using her as a scapegoat, and she was throwing it back at him (cause that's what she always does) it made more sense. There has always been hints dropped that Chaol was closed minded and overly loyal. I didn't WANT to see it play out, because I like Chaol, but he needed to go through something. I like where he and Aelin ended up in the end of QoS. I feel like if he hadn't have gone through such an internal struggle in this book he would have been far too bland. Now at least there's somewhere to go with him. As for Rowan lmfao I shipped him and Aelin so hard in HoF so I was all in on his character 'development'. What I'm not loving are the hints Aelin isn't immortal, and she'll get old while he won't, because I AM SO SICK OF THAT TROPE OH GOD.
Sorry, english is not my first language, but that's what I thought about Queen of Shadows I felt like Sarah J Maas wanted Aelin and Rowan to be in love, so she moulded the characters and stroyline to make that possible. I get why people are upset about it, but I really love Rowan so I don't really care and at this point I don't care who Aelin end up with because this series's focus it's not her love interest but more the political plot.
I'm not into Rowan and Aelin. I LOVE his character in the 3rd book and would have liked it better if instead of being her lover, he was like a wise mentor who would help her create her kingdom (kind of like a Arthur/Merlin relationship). And am I the only one still shipping Dorian and Aelin?! I know it probably won't happen but I still have hope...
My thoughts exactly! Rowan is definitely going through a "Chaol phase" from Throne of Glass. For me Rowan is just a Fae version of Chaol! xD Also Chaol had a good point at questioning if she's dangerous to his kingdom. I'm definitely with you about Manon's chapters! I enjoyed them the most. They gave me a break from Aelin/Chaol fights so it was very refreshing. ;)
I don't ship Aelin and Rowan at all, but it's probably because I just don't like Rowan in general. I preferred when they were just friends. Although I do ship Manon and Dorian! They would make such an interesting couple. For some reason I thought Manon would end up with Elide for a hot second. Idk. And I'm still low-key hoping that Nehemia will come back somehow. Probably not but I miss her :(
I loved Chaol in CoM so much. Although I knew it never would've worked because I also realized that he always would choose Dorian over her. Even when he said he'd run away with her it was a hollow promise because he never would've left Dorian. And when Nehemia died because he chose the king over Celeana I knew the ship was doomed. Chaoleana was from the very beginning a ship doomed to sink.
Other than the main threads you mention, couple small things that struck me so hard in this book: 1. Kaltan burning half of Morath down! Fuck yes! 2. Roland's death was so surprisingly sad to me. "My name is Roland...tell my..." 3. The ending scene with Chaol and Dorian after the demon price came out of him. It was so emotional. Chaol finally seeing that Dorian was okay. That friendship. That love. 4. Asterin. A witch with a heart! I love her. I love how she challenges Manon. 5. Lysendra killing Abroyn. Yeah, that was epic! 6. The king crying on the floor. Revealing the truth was gut wrenching. 7. Ress and the rest of the guards death. Omg! I cried. Poor Ress :( 8. Elide! 9. Yellowleg witches torture/ child bearing. So sad. 10. Dorian meeting Manon 11. The assassins pulling their entire funds to keep the guild and the keep. Talk about unity! 12. Lysandra becoming a lady.
This was a great video! You made some really good points and I agree about Rowan. Really annoyed me that they became more than friends. Like I'm fine with them being in a relationship but I really liked the platonic thing they had going on and I just want her to have a friendship with a guy that's not related to her, you know? I don't know, hopefully that'll be the case with dorian in the next books. Anyways thanks for talking about things in a more in depth way!
Everything you said about Chaol is exactly how I feel. I am struggling with him. I really loved Chaol in the first 3 books and this book, I was confused and angry with his character. I liked him, but I was almost angry that my Chaol had taken a complete 180 flip into someone totally new. I think I like where his character is going, but I need to read more before I make my decision on that. Also, MANON AND DORIAN. I am all about that. I loved both of there story lines. I agree with you that they were the best parts of the book. We only had like 10 pages total of Dorian, but they stole the show. I loved when they met and I really hope something happens there. I am shipping it hard.
I also ship Manon and Dorian! I'm also so happy that Rowan and Aelin are developing a romantic relationship. I was hoping that would happen ever since he bit her in Heir of Fire. I'm glad that they aren't moving too quickly with it though. I think ultimately they will have to make some important decisions regarding their relationship due to his immortality. I also love that the romance in this book isn't really the main part of the plot. Like you said, Aelin could end up with anyone and I'd be happy for her.
I agree with you! I was so sad with how Chaol's storyline developed... to me it just seemed so forced, for Chaol to find Nesryn, for Aelin to be with Rowan. I get it that Celaena is only a fraction of what Aelin is, but I was just disappointed. I really liked their bond and I also preferred Rowan and Aelin as friends, it was a really fun relationship - which now just seems a bit meh to me.
Aelin and Chaols relationship didn't come to an end abruptly because in Crown of Midnight he already feared Aelins Fae side, and they were still together at the time because at the time Aelin was also afraid of that side of her and not being about to control it. So the relationship already had holes in it, so when Aelin came back from Wendlyn and Chaol called her a monster that broke her trust in a way and severed their relationship. They then just dealt with having to work together until the near the end of Queen of Shadows when Chaol accepts Aelin for who she is and they have a that conversation about finding happiness for themselves on the roof of the warehouse.
As for Rowan, I was confused as to him now being a love interest, but the things I was thinking whilst reading was that it might have something to do with them being carranam. Perhaps this connection goes deeper than we think it might, and Aedion seemed very against their blood bond, thinking it a threat to him and Aelin ruling together. We also have to remember that for a long time Rowan was in service to Maeve and it was my understanding that he probably didn't have a lot of time to enjoy himself until Aelin came along, and I think he was also in mourning until she came along and showed him that there could be more to life than he might have assumed. We also have to remember that they spent a long time together, mostly just the two of them, and they bonded, and I think it was hard for them to be away from each other when they had such a deep connection. I know this is very long, but as I said before, this is just my interpretation and reasoning for everything that happened.
I actually wrote a really long goodreads review of this, so I'll just talk about Chaol because he's probably my favorite discussion! I personally loved his character, because I thought it fit well with the end of the last book. We pick up presumably about a week after HoF, so Chaol has been fighting demons and considering himself a traitor. To me, it made sense that he changed so much, and when Aelin's plans conflicted with his, they both got angry. They're both really passionate characters, so I don't think they ever hated each other, they just couldn't agree and they had their past relationship hanging over them, which is why Chaol says at one point it's nice not to be arguing with her. As far as Chaol/Aelin relationship goes, I didn't think they'd end up together just based on hints near the end of HoF, like Celaena taking off his ring. Also, Dorian and Manon had become my new ship of this series!!!! Possibly my favorite current ship out there!
Hi! Now that I think about it, I see what you mean about Chaol. I was stuned when I saw his relationship with Aelin at the begining of the book, but I also somehow get why they were like that. If I recall correcly, the one who started the bad relation was Chaol because he didn't trust Aelin. You know she is reliable un some way and would never do anything forma no reason, but if you think of it, I think you can understand why he didn't trust her. I wasn't that surprised with Aelin and Rowan because a totally shipped them in the thrid book and I saw it coming. I agree with you about the plot, is so amazing! And you aren't the only one who ships Manon and Dorian 😁 PS: Sorry if I spelled wrong some words. I'm Spanish and I don't feel like searching for every word I'm not sure about.
I agree! It seems like one day Sarah woke up and decided she didn't like Chaol anymore and added Rowan just to be a fill-in. His relationship with Aelin seems so forced! I was really disappointed about how Chaol turned up...
finally someone who wasn't all that thrilled with Rowan and Aelin relationship......I would love Dorian and Manon together......but if he does end with Aelin like most hope I will just die........I LOVE MANON :-)
I agree with a lot that you said this book definitely was great but so many things came out of nowhere and where abrupt, and Chaol's character did a complete 180. I happen to notice you didn't really talk about Chaol's new love interest.
I don't think the character arcs were abrupt at all. From previous books we know how Chaol feels about Celaena being Aelin, and Aelins feelings about him because of Nehemia. I always saw Rowan as a love interest as well, because their attraction and connection to each other was hinted at in book 3
I feel like the Chaol in this book was mostly the reprucations of how everything went down in Heir of Fire. Dorian is possessed and the King is becoming more of a villian than ever before and he knows that Aelin is really the only person that can stop him and she doesn't come to the rescue. Of course he isn't aware of all the stuff she had to go through in Heir of Fire. With the case of Rowan, I feel like his and Aelin's relationship was a very natural progression. With the blood oath they are pretty much one being. So how could you NOT fall in love? Also distance makes the heart grow fonder ;) my favorite book of the series by far!
Yea I was kind of torn too but just decided to accept that it happened and enjoy the book for what it is bc I dont WANT for that conflict to ruin the book for me cause 98% ofit was frickin amazing! I read a lot of tumblr posts that were really convincing of it being character development and there was one about Rowan that quoted bits of HoF hinting towards a romantic relationship that a lot of us prob skipped over (there was equally a lot of hate too T-T but haters are generally more vocal so..)
I totally agree with your opinion about Rowan suddenly being the love interest. I feel like it was pretty clear in the third book that Aelin and Rowan were close because of that magic bond but if I remember correctly she was always making remarks about them being nothing more than friends. And then in this book they're just lusting for each other all the time? I like them but I wish they had gotten together later in the series. I also feel like Chaol was just put aside in this book and his character was not important until the end. And I'm also hoping Manon and Dorian end up together!! So I enjoyed the book on its own as you said but I don't think I like how it fits with the rest of them.
I agree with everything you said abut both Chaol and Rowan. That 360 transformation of character really was weird. Like, if you go back and read ToG and CoM, it contradicts a lot of things in QoS, I get that Celaena moved on from Chaol, but how can she forget all the memories they shared? same goes for Chaol, like in HoF I thought he was still heads over heals for her, and now he suddenly hates her? I think I wouldn't have minded this had Sarah J Mass given us a better explanation for their behavior, but it's unexplained until the very end, and the conversation they have about Nysrin and Rowan, it felt like a half hearted attempt to justify the changes in the plot. Plus plus plus, Celaena/Aelin is a furiously loyal character, to have her forget someone this easily, even thought he hurt her in some way is disturbing me. It makes me wonder what sort of queen would she be. I also did not like the fact that she was so willing to kill Dorian, I mean okay it would've been a relief to him, but at least she should've tried to do something else instead of just giving up on him that easily. Moving on to Rowan, he seemed like a very deep character in HoF, and I was so interested in learning about his past, and explore his platonic friendship with Aelin, which was so fun to read about in the last book, but now, his character feels weird and shallow, not to mention that I did not like the fact that apparently he's been secretly in love with Aelin from the very beginning. That was just upsetting.
Okay, first off, I really really loved the book, but I also got the whole change from Chaolaena to Rowaelin. For me, it was because it was obvious that when Celaena changed to Aelin, she really changed as a person. Underlying, she still had her loyalty, pride and snarkiness, but when she truly embraced her past as a queen, she was no longer just an assassin; everything she did was calculated. The reason why I ship Rowan with Aelin (not Celaena) was because he understood the burden of magic and responsibility as large as the lives of a kingdom at stake. Chaol was perfect with Celaena; a girl who had been through a lot and had a soft side. The thing is, Chaol never fully accepted Celaena's cold blooded killing and heart-driven actions. Chaol was very black and white, loyal to the depths of his heart; Celaena was an untamed wildfire, ruled by shades of grey. Aelin and Chaol are fundamentally different in the way they view things because Chaol would always act on his loyalty and rightness but Aelin knows how to weigh choices and make sacrifices, something Rowan both understands and accepts. Although the shift was very awkward, after a lot of contemplation, I kind of understand why Aelin needed Rowan and Chaol needed someone like Nesryn. And for the people saying that Aelin and Rowan are like two horny teenagers, well, remember the time when Chaol and Celaena spent a week having sex on every surface possible and even in a bloody broom closet? I rest my case.
To me, it seems like Aelin and Rowan's relationship is one of those "you don't know what you have til it's gone" relationships. It wasn't until she came back from Wendlyn and realized how much of an impact on her life Rowan was and how much she needs him that it started to develop from platonic to romance. Both Aelin and Rowan have gone throughout their lives with the belief that it's weak to need someone and that they will lose everyone they love. I feel their relationship has made them realize it's okay to need someone and it's okay to let others in and see you to your core, it's okay to love again and love madly. I feel like their relationship adds strength to their character development because they now know that they are not alone and don't need to be alone. Amazing book talk with amazing points!!!!! I have been waiting for your views on this book ever since I finished it!!
+MissMundaneMuggle 94 (Courtney) Yes! Sarah J Maas hinted that Rowan had denied his feeling for her in HOF and i think it is because of exactly that reason, also because they have both lost the people they loved so much it means that they both have been alone and don't want to get too close to people in case they loose them again. This means that they get each other so well and come to accept that it is ok to need/care about someone again.
OMG I also ship Dorian and Manon so much!!!!
Me too!!
+Clau Reads Books haz reseña de la saga completa por favor *O*
+Clau Reads Books CLAU I LOVE YOU.
Saluditos desde Monterrey!!
Yes!!! I thought I was the only one! 😂💞
+Clau Reads Books I do too!!
Personally I feel Chaol acted the way he did because if you go back and reread the past 3 books, chaol has always been closed minded and so stubborn about the king he really protects. There would be scenes where he's appalled by what the king had done, to slaves or rebels etc, but he was even more appalled by the idea of over throwing him. Sarah j Maas had said that at the end of HoF the worst possible thing that chaol had ever pictured had happened, and I believe he just couldn't face his real feelings about that moment so he lashed out and blamed Aelin because she wasn't there to help. I think he was looking for someone to blame especially since he is still holds a lot of resentment to fae, magic, rebels, etc, because of the way he was raised. He doesn't understand it so he fears it and he believes once he finds out this incredible secret about this woman that he thought he knew he immediately thinks that he must've known nothing about her. I think his actions were a coping method.
+Nicole Carey WHOA, good point- no great point
As far as team chaol, Dorian, or Rowan, I don't care who Aelin ends up with, but I really do believe that Rowan understands her more than either of chaol or Dorian did. I think they were more in love with the good they saw in Aelin and wanted to "fix" the bad in her. When Rowan accepts all of her. Dorian even acknowledged that he doesn't believe he really loved Aelin. And as for chaol, the biggest example I can think of was that when chaol saw Aelin's scars he immediately asks her "what did you do to deserve it?" while Rowan was angry that anyone would put her through that and was going to support her decision to kill all of the people who harmed the slaves.
+PeruseProject AHH! YOU REPLIED. Thank you!
Thank you! My thoughts exactly!
+Nicole Carey Good point - that's exactly what I thought and why I'm not so sad about the relationship development in this series, because overhaul it made sens.
1. i really did not like the Rowan + Aelin I loved their platonic relationship and then they were suddenly in love and i just didn't buy it...
2. can we just all take a moment to mourn the loss of Choal and Celaena's ship.
3. I need Manon and Dorian to ship but more importantly I need Manon and Aelin to become BFF's.
4. Abraxos steals every scene.
I don't think Rowan is endgame like it's a lustful physical relationship. Dorian and Aelin can fix the world together and I think they'll be endgame like when they combined their magicbitvwas awesome.
Lastly (again, sorry for multiple posts), my ships (I was saving this for last xD):
RowAelin (as explained in my previous post)
Chaol x Nesryn (hey, Chaol needs someone, too! Well, not NEED, but still)
Dorian x Manon (it's so unexpected and intriguing)
And Aedion x Lysandra (because the ship tease is so real and vivid in my mind)
+Theamazingchubaness Totally agree with you about Aedion x Lysandra (the ghost leopard!!)
I LOVED THIS BOOK. That being said, I, too, felt like Chaol and Rowans characters were completley different from the previous books. Yes, I get that people change, but DAMN. I absolutley love Rowan, but I don't like him and Aelin together. I just don't get it? Maybe it's somthing I have to warm up to it. I ship Manon and Dorian hardcore, too. Lysandra was my FAVORITE. I loved seeing her development from The Assassin's Blade to Queen of Shadows.
Lysandra is amazing and awesome! And Dorian and Manon😍
totally agree with you Aelin and Rowan don't feel right to me....she falls for every guy why augh.....Manon is my favorite and would love her with Dorian :-)
I totally agree with you about how Chaol was portrayed here. To me, it felt like Sarah tried to justified Aelin's decision of choosing Rowan so she made this total reboot of Chaol's character. Sure, you can say that Chaol was closed to magic and scared of Aelin's history as an assassin and blah blah blah, but to me, the development started in ToG, in the first book we see Chaol accepting, caring and understanding Celaena and his past as Adarlan's Assassin, in CoM we deal with him knowing of his Fae heritage and even when he was shocked and scared, at the end he told her he loved her. And then, in HoF he dealt with knowing that Celaena was Aelin. But then, out of nowhere this book starts with they hating each other and it seemed like everything Chaol dealt with these past books and every development he had just disappeared. In fact, they, as a couple, were totally destroyed, every sentence like "I'd always pick you" "it felt like it was always Chaol, even before they met" "After 10 years Celaena was home" were totally forgotten, and the explanation was "it was a child who said those things". I really feel like ToG and CoM were just thrown away and I just... I can understand relationships ending, but this book made me feel like Sarah just changed her mind and completely made a turn with Chaol's character so the reader could sympathize with Aelin for choosing Rowan. And that makes me sad tbh, not angry but sad. 'cause I love the series because of the characters. I'm not happy with Rowaelin as a ship, because I was happy with them and their loyal friendship, I didn't need them as a couple because what it made their relationship special (for me at least) in HoF was precisely that they were friends, friends who helped each other heal their wounds like no one else could. And that was so refreshing, seeing a male/female friendship like that. But now, it felt so forced to me. More considering that all of the 3 relationships Aelin had happened in less than a year. And now she's so deeply in love after having those others relationship (especially with Chaol) that had the same powerful impact just months before... I don't know, I don't like Rowan, I could've accept this ship if it was developed slowly, because it did come out of nowhere... also, I just find perfect Rowan so boring... And the hundred years older and the Fae male dominance and the I need to follow you ALWAYS it's.... a bit twilight for me. I found myself so bored when they were flirting and Rowan was admiring her body again and again, because... dorian was imprisoned, Valgs were hunting people, Arobynn was manipulating and we just read about.... them just wanting to kiss each other....
Now, that being said, when I finished the book I gave it a 5 on goodread, and after 3 minutes I had to changed it to 4, because I had those problems, because all I wanted to read about was Aelin being kick ass and instead I had to read about Rowan and then just accept the fact that she was indeed awesome and kickass as always (with Arobynn's death plan) but it all happened at night and we didn't know because we only read about Rowaelin. Those scenes, Sarah could have handled them so much better than she did. So even if I liked the things that happened Aedion being rescued, Arobynn dying, the king dying, Manon meeting Aelin and Dorian, etc. I feel like it wasn't executed perfectly. (this was so long and I apologize for any typo... english is not my first language)
+Paz agreed 100%. the argument that chaol was so hostile because of all the fae, magic business was settled, he made peace with it already. yes he probably didn't fully understand everything but i don't think his character would act the way he did in qos. and honestly, pre-qos chaol would never call aelin a monster. plus OMG YES rowan was so so creepy to me. i don't believe him & aelin are equals. i just don't buy it. he's way older, stronger. it rubs me the wrong way.
+jenna david i disagree. the hostility wasn't due to their relationship, it was because of nehemia and dorian. it's literally emphasized how they didn't feel any kind of jealousy towards each other too. and i feel that chaol has wrapped his mind around aelin being fae & a queen in hof. this development was nonexistent in the beginning of qos.
+Paz But he didn't accept her Fae side. Him accepting her as an assassin, under the assumption that she is a mortal assassin, is different than him coming to terms with the fact that she has immortal heritage and immortal magic from an enemy kingdom.
+The Book Queen But I think he did, in HoF the struggle was mainly that Celaena was Aelin, but in CoM there's this part that says ''“How can you still look at me like that when you know what I truly am?” His fingers grazed her cheeks, warming her chilled skin. “Fae, assassin-no matter what you are, I-” “Don’t.” She stepped back. “Don’t say it.”
(I had to look for the part xD) and then because he's worried about her heritage he makes the deal with his dad, only to protect her, and then in the docks he still says ''I love you''. Look, like I said, and like a lot of other people said, it's that in QoS it feels like another character, like a lot of his past development just disappeared.
I can totally understand that, especially based off those passages (nice job finding them! :) ). But I think that in CoM and HoF, he might have come to terms with her being Fae, but it was a Fae with no access to magic. And in QoS, I think his anger has a lot more to do with the politics surrounding the situation, the fact that she's the Queen of an enemy kingdom, and that he abandoned his post and his friend. I think that Chaol really just has a lot going through his mind that he couldn't contain and that he needed to lash out. It just so happens that it was directed towards Aelin.
I keep describing my thoughts about this book as this: if you handed me "throne of glass" and I read it, and then you handed me "Queen of Shadows" and I read it, and NEVER would have guessed it was part of the same series. I really overall missed the characters/character development and plot lines of the first two books that were just, like you said, squashed in this one and book three.
+Kate Pfeil It's weird because I like both directions?! But they are just different.. I JUST DON'T KNOW
+PeruseProject I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if the direction of it had been more obvious in book one/two. It felt like I was promise one story, and given another. Which stinks! Cause this book was EPIC, but I couldn't get past the weird changes from the other books:(
+Kate Pfeil I know exactly what you mean, books 1&2 are some of my favourite ever books and I've reread them so many times, but 3&4 have such different feel that I kind of feel let down because I really wanted more of 1&2... not that 4 is bad, I just adored the first two so much and thought this would be one of my favourite series no question, but its not now:(
Isobel Morgenstern Exactly! Thank goodness someone else understands what I'm feeling about this series:)
+Kate Pfeil I completely agree! The series had drastically changed from TOG to QOS. One of the main reasons for this change is the fact that Sarah J. Maas never intended for the series to be six novels in length. The series was originally envisioned as trilogy, but after Sarah extended the series, her publishers encouraged her to save some plotlines such as the Witches and the Fae for the later novels. I confirmed this info on her blog.
For Chaol, he's always had a problem with magic, rebels, and going against the king. As soon as he didn't tell Aelin about the threat against Nehemiah, I knew their ship would die. He essentially let her die, and when he saw Aelin's fae form he was appalled. It's as Dorian said in HoF, Chaol only wanted to acknowledge and love Celaena the assassin not Aelin the queen. And you know, she is a different person now. Her assassin persona was one she had developed to escape her heritage and something she hid behind so she wouldn't have to acknowledge what she saw as her failure as a queen. Chaol's hostility towards her stems from being lied to about her identity, and his prejudice towards magic and fae. Aelin is angry because he blames her for leaving and not being there to save them, save Dorian, from the king. You already know that was unnecessary because of course she would feel bad about it, but that doesn't mean it's her fault. Adarlan isn't her kingdom, Terrasen is, and when she accepted her position she had to put her kingdom before his.
As for her ship with Rowan, I'm happy with it. The romantic tension was realistic, and I think it was sudden because they had only realized how deep their feelings were when they were apart. For them, the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder is true. They missed each other, and I'm really curious to see how their relationship develops. Also, their flirting and teasing was pretty funny.
As for the connection between Manon and Dorian, from what I understood the gold eyes stem from the Valg king because they're from his direct bloodline, and the princes react badly towards them. The prince in Dorian was literally so startled by her eyes Dorian was able to regain some control. I'm also very curious to see how they develop too. Also very excited to see Elide reunite with Aelin! Loved Aedion and Lysandra. The love and loyalty they have for Aelin is amazing, and Lysandra is such a badass. Basically, I can't wait for book 5!!!
I'm reading through the comments and wtf ALL of you dislike Rowan... Am I the only one who likes him and Aelin together???
I always saw him as a father/brother figure and now he's some cheap chaol copy? I preferred the old celeana and chaol:(
+Sally Jasser No, I am totally on board with Rowan and Aelin. If anything, I felt like Chaol was always a stepping stone, and I think the reason why so many people are having a hard time is because of how large and complex and intense the world has become. Before, when it was just surviving to become King's Champion, Chaol was perfect, he was exactly what Celaena needed to stay grounded. But she's come into her own as Aelin, and Chaol couldn't accept that side of her for a long time; it's not a bad thing, it's just an example of two people outgrowing one another. Rowan has the potential to bridge the whole world with Aelin, and I feel like the reason so many people are upset with RowAelin is because they were still hung up on Chaol, and refused to see past the friendship of Rowan and Aelin.
I adore them tbh
Love them together!
They're literally my favorite ship ever. OTP.
I'm still convinced that Sam is alive.. I don't care what Sarah J Maas has to say about it any more.
omg yes! finally someone who thinks Sam is alive!!!
Sam is alive,🙌🏻
+Zurine Cadena rule one of young adult: if you don't see the body, don't presume they're dead!!!
+Georgia Williams she did technically see his body... But his face was slashed at that reminds me of what she did in crown of midnight!
+OnceUponABooktube I too have had my doubts, I have just been waiting for him to pop and just throw everything off.
I don't care what anyone says or think, I ship Rowaelin forever. They are endgame
Yesss! I ship them so much😍
YES
PLS
I'm just starting HoF so I can't say too much about him. I still haven't formed my opinion on him yet. I don't exactly see how Celaena/Aelin could love someone who punched her right in the face. I mean I HOPE I like him. I'd really like to ship them together but I'm scared I won't but right now I really don't like how Chaol's story is going and it's supposed to get worse soon. Which makes me feel as though SJ Maas fell in love with Rowan and let the story flow differently based on her obsession with him. I hope to god I'm wrong though because it'd be great to read the next 2 giant books with them together and like them together. I'm hopeful though as I've only met Rowan maybe 30 pages ago. I just can't seem to form an opinion on him yet. But since Sarah J Maas is obsessed with him, he's obviously going to be endgame lol. Whether anyone likes it or not.
@addictivegamer i swear to you , you will love rowan especially in queen of shadows
I read Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, and then Queen of Shadows all within a few weeks and I felt like the characters acted in line with the plot happening around them and I feel like Chaol acted in character. I don't think he had a realistic view before all the facts were revealed and Dorian points this out to him in Heir of Fire in regard to Celaena. But perhaps it's because I read all the books together like this so I didn't have a lot of time to come up with my own theories about the 4th book.
I feel like the Rowan and Aelin wasn't exactly rushed it was kind of just under explained. I myself thought they weren't as upfront with their feelings in HoF, I mean yes it was clear they were friends (not at first) and they became more as they shared their stories and the bond snapped into place when the became carranam and the blood oath took place. Like the holding hands, playing in the pool, Rowan in hawk form caressing her cheek when she left. I thought Sarah was leading us in that direction for Rowaelin to happen.
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Do you ship Lysandra and Aedion because I do!!!!! Also Manon and Dorian must happen!!!! Manon coming back to check on him, and how he waved to say "I remember you"
This might be really LONG and *SPOILERY* so don't read it unless you've read the book.
I had multiple problems with this, mainly with the characterization. But some problems with the plot too. Firstly, I think SJM focused too much on unimportant things (mainly Rowan and Aelin being totally horny for each other barf), instead of things that had the potential to be really awesome. I thought Arobynn's death was glossed over. He was the KING of assassins and he was murdered in his sleep by an untrained prostitute? That doesn't add up for me. I thought the king's death was a cop-out. She totally pulled a Sebastian Morgenstern and tried to redeem him at the end, and that happened so fast that it felt like badly written fan-fiction. Sorry not sorry.
Now the problems with characterization... whenever I think about it, it just makes me angry. Firstly, and this is a point that a lot of people battle me over, is how much Celaena's character has changed. I get that Celaena and Aelin are supposed to be 'different' people, but I think SJM took that too literally. There were zero similarities between them. Aelin was mean, ruthless, kind of selfish. She almost killed Dorian without even making sure he was still in his body, and then she gave Chaol flack for it. Celaena would never have done that. She was constantly treating everybody like she was their superior, and Chaol was the only person who was standing up to her, example, "Don't talk down to me like you are my queen." I was also really mad how she blamed Chaol for everything- stuff he barely had any control over. I mean, I thought she got over the Nehemia thing and she brought it all back? And she blamed Chaol for leaving Dorian at the castle? I mean, what was he supposed to do? He doesn't have any powers, he had NO back-up, and if he had stayed, Dorian would be in the castle and Chaol would be dead? So no, I did not like Aelin's character.
As for Chaol, I think he was by far one of the most complex, most flawed characters in the series. He definitely had the most potential for development, and that got taken a few steps back in QoS. In CoM, Chaol said (and I quote) "Fae, assassin, I don't care what you are." In HoF, by the end, he had totally accepted Celaena for who she was and he was even proud of her, and stood up for her in front of the king. So HOW IN THE HELL DID HE HATE HER AGAIN in QOS? :S That didn't make any sense to me. And like you said, the stuff said in the first two books was buried in this one? I totally agree. I think SJM DEFINITELY INTENDED for Chaolena to be endgame, but then she changed her mind halfway through the series, and went back on a lot of what she said. Like that "I'll always choose you?" Normally, that would put a stamp on who the endgame is because it's total foreshadowing, but in QoS, SJM took that back when Aelin says "I didn't mean it." Consistency is very important in a series, and QoS was NOT consistent with the series, and that really put me off.
And you're right about Rowaelin. In HoF, they had a platonic relationship and now they're all over each other? :S No build-up, no consistency, made no sense.
+foofi I completely agree with what you are saying, especially about consitency in a series. Personally, I think the consitency issues already started in CoM, where Celaena started blaming Chaol for things he had no power over. That was already quite ridiculous and made her character in particular seem instable.
In addition, the story arc of the overall series, as Regan kind of pointed out, is also very inconsistent. It does not seem to be well thought out. If you compare it to other fantasy series like The Codex Alera or GoT, there appears to be a dichotomy between books 1/2 and 3/4 and where those plots are going. The groundwork for book 4 was definitely not laid out in book 1 and the development there has little impact on the later books in this series, especially after Celaena changes to Aelin and basically negates her entire personality.
And btw, I really don't like that Celaena is not able to have a platonic relationship with a hot guy, and the need for a romantic interest to keep the plot going really bothers me. It makes her less of a "strong female protagonist" in my book, if she has 4 oh-so-deep-and-serious realtionships in 5 books. Seriously. But that also applies to other series, not exclusively this one.
Roaming Shelves Totally. I mean, I totally get if an author changes their mind about where the series is headed. I get it, and there's a way that can be done. It's not easy, but you can do that by slowly building towards the switch in direction. But breaking everything you've built in the first two or three books and building something completely new in the fourth one? That doesn't work so well. You're right about GoT. You can tell everything is planned out and going the way it's supposed to go. There's foreshadowing in the first few books that later ties up with future events, and it's consistent, and it just makes sense. That's how it's supposed to be. Oh well.
And yeah, I agree. One of the things I liked about HoF was how platonic Rowan and Aelin's relationship was, which is something you don't see in YA fantasy. And then Sarah J. Maas had to go and make them horny for each other. -.-
+foofi yay someone else that thinks Aelin is really quite the bitch queen! I mean, I guess a character can be sassy to some degree, but she totally goes overboard and yeah, is just plain mean most of the time. I don't think there is enough of an excuse to act like she does, despite her background and what she's been through. It's not fair of Maas to make all the other characters (except Chaol) just accept this side of her - despite Chaol's totally strange character development, he's a bit of a moral compass for her, which is refreshing to say the least. Someone needs to keep her attitude in check. Agree 100% with the strange ending of Chaol and Aelin's relationship - Maas just needed to end their relationship to get everyone shipping Rowan and Aelin. Pretty much did the opposite for me. I was half-shipping Rowan and Aelin at the end of HoF, but slamming Chaol in QoS and making Rowan and Aelin start drooling over each other almost immediately has put me off! Maas could have easily slowed the relationship stuff down a ton, especially with all the plot happenings: would have made a lot more sense. Shipping Manon and Dorian though!
THANK YOU!!! You stated my problems with this book perfectly! Chaol was essentially another character, he's just not being consistent with his previous self. Any hopes I had for Chaol and Aelin crashed and burned in this book. I was totally blindsided by this!! AND I AGREE 110% ABOUT AROBYNN!!!! I was genuinely upset! I couldn't even go right away into the next chapter because I was so frustrated (I kept thinking he was still alive). When Aelin said she was going to let Lasandra kill him I was really confused. She's known this man for over a decade and knows he's a ruthless killer. He's the damn KING OF ASSASSINS! I'm pretty sure he can handle a prostitute! I was really interested in his character ever since TAB and when he finally showed up in QOS I was already bracing myself for an epic showdown with Aelin. Imagine the amazing Manon/Aelin fight scene but 10x more intense that's what I was anticipating! And when Aelin said that Lasandra deserved more than anyone else to kill Arobynn I was like WTF?! No one has suffered more from Arobynn than Aelin!!! It was a major gloss over of a character of his magnitude. He's been hyped up since book one, always mentioned and hearing about the things he's done and now we finally meet him (aside from TAB) and he gets killed off in the same book he's introduced in and by LASANDRA of all people?! I'll never get over that...smh.
When I read Heir of Fire I thought Aelin and Rowan's was a friends only thing and I was also a Chaol shipper. Going into this book I thought I was going to be getting Aelin and Chaol's glorious reunion and I was very confused when something completely opposite seemed to be happening. I don't think I'll ever be convinced that Aelin and Rowan are good together.
yes I feel the same! I loved chaol and aelin so much, and we had already switched love interest once, so its weird it switched again! I couldn't wait for an aelin/chaol reunion and them being united again... I just don't feel Rowan/aelin at all? it's almost as if rowans just a copy of the old chaol, and makes book 2 feel so redundant:(
It's pronounced "Ey-lin" like "hey" without the h, yes? Now, my thoughts/counter arguments (this is probably gonna take a few posts; sorry in advance):
1. Chaol
Personally, I think Chaol and Aelin's animosity towards each other was very...realistic. It's like one of those break-ups where the guy cheats on the girl, but this time, the guy betrayed the girl, ending up with the girl's best friend killed. Plus, Aelin has had a LOT of time to move on while in Wendlyn. Don't they say that if the love is true, then distance can only make the fire stronger? In this case, the distance stifled it, which means that their love, while great, was just not to be.
I absolutely love Manon as well!! I wanted even more of her point of view. The scene of Aelin and Manon's fight was so epic! I agree with you about it being different. It's as if Sarah J Maas' world got so big and complex that it's transforming into a different series altogether. I think I like that though, as it makes the reading experience so exciting. I'm also torn with regard to Rowan and Aelin as I thought their friendship was so wonderful. We don't get to read about too many strong male/female friendships that actually remain friends and I thought we were getting that. Slightly disappointing. On the other hand, Maas wrote it so well that I can't help but like it. Great video!
I'm not sure about Rowan and Aelin's romance either, I felt like it came out of nowhere.
I'm so glad you said you ship Manon and Dorian, I thought I was the only one!! I can't wait for the next book to see where they're relationship goes! :)
YES to Dorian and Manon! As soon as I got to that scene I was totally gone. I ship it.
Am I the only one who ships Elide and Manon? Because I felt a big connection with those two in the last chapters of the book.
attached. agree!! i felt like i shouldn’t have shipped it but i did for some reason, i just felt like they really cared for one another at some point so :D
YES!!!! I WAS THINKING THAT!!!! ELIDE AND MANON HAVE SO MUCH POTENTIAL
I loved this book! I really liked Rowan in Heir of Fire and I liked their friendship. It did surprise me when Rowan started to have feelings for Aelin in a more than friends type of way but Rowan really grew on me and I like them together even though I really shipped Chaolena before. I know that after everything that has happened, Chaol and Celaena just won't work anymore and they're pretty much done. I really love how loyal Chaol is to Dorian but I don't really love his character as much as I did in the previous books. I love the new characters though - especially Lysandra (even though she appeared in The Assassin's Blade). I can totally see Manon and Dorian being a thing! I love how you pronounce Aelin's last name btw, haha. xD
well I have never shipped chaol and Celena together I do believe that her and chaol just done it's just not going to happen
+Dani's Books While my rational side has known for a long time that Chaol and Aelin were not endgame, my fangirl heart wants to scream, "NOBODY ASKED YOU PATRICE." And I know this sounds I a little naive, I had hoped that Sarah would at least talk about how they weren't in love anymore or at least acknowledge their lack of chemistry, instead of having them be at each other's throats for a good part of the book. I do actually really like Nesryn though and I'm excited to see where that relationship goes. And though I do understand that Chaol and Aelin are over, I do think that you could be less of a sore winner about it.
***SPOILERS****
It goes back to what Dorian said in Crown of Midnight?--can't remember which book--but he tells Chaol that he can't pick which parts of her (Celaena) to love, or something like that. I think the doom of Chaol and Celaena's relationship was the fact that Chaol couldn't just love everything that she was. There were parts of her he hated and even feared, and that just would never have work out. Specially since Celaenas's journey in the first three books, was that she needed to learn to embrace who she was, love everything that she was and finally become Aelin, Queen of Terrasend. There was more fear in Chaol in losing his king (Dorian) than the realization of the damage Dorian could have done had they not been able to get the Valg prince out of him. As for Rowan, I do feel like it happened too fast, and kinda out of nowhere, and honestly would have preferred it to stay the way it was in Heir of Fire. It was just a very strong friendship, like Celaena's and Dorian's friendship. At the end of it though, I don't really care who she ends up with since that is the least important part of the story for me.
Someone somewhere else mentioned how Celaena/Aelin and Chaol kinda just started out hating each other in this book, but I would have to disagree. Aelin was truly looking forward to seeing Chaol at the beginning of Queen of Shadows. I think it was Chaol's attitude--Which I understand, even if I don't agree with--towards her that started to break apart her feelings for him. Seeing--like I said before--that Chaol, deep down, would never be able to love her as a whole, to make her his priority, even if he learned to accept her, and begin to trust her again--like he did by the end--and I truly believe this started all the way back in Crown of Midnight. Chaol could just never make Celaena his priority. His honor and loyalty, even towards a king he found despicable, was more important to him than anything else, that was until that loyalty got in the way of his loyalty towards Dorian, which turned into kinda of bling loyalty, even if that blind loyalty worked out in the end.
Anyhow, this has been one of the best reviews I've watched/read/heard. Most people either just fawn over the book--don't get me wrong, I really liked it--or just crap all over it. I mean, there were things that kinda irked me, and you mentioned some of them. Something you didn't mention, which bothered me, was how they just introduced Roland in Crown of Midnight for no reason, to just kinda have one scene with him were they killed him. Roland was honestly, in my opinion, completely unnecessary.
I agree with you on Chaol. I don't understand why people say that he was changed in QoS when he have always been like that. In CoM, he had a lot of trouble to accept Aelin's fae form/being a queen and instantly he thought that she was an enemy. In that point, i was so mad because Chaol thought that Celaena would be capable of harming Dorian and basically destroying Erilea just for being Queen of Terrasen. He didn't know her at all although they loved each other. He really though at one point that Aelin was a monster just for having magic, like she had an option. I'm glad they ended well, though. I was a die-hard Chaolaena supporter but with Chaol's attitude in QoS... no, he shouldn't try to blame her for all wrong happened in Adarlan.
Arantza Riquelme Yep. :)
I agree with practically everything you said! The brutal sinking of the SS Chaolaena was kind of cruel, I'm a little upset that they broke up so completely. Although I like them, I'm not 100% on board with Rowaelin because I thought they'd stay friends. I thought Sarah J Maas said she wanted to keep them platonic after Heir of Fire, or am I imagining things? I kind of wonder if she saw how fans were loving Rowan and changed her mind and just kind of forced the ship. Does every male character Celaena/Aelin meets have to fall in love with her? Also it kind of feels like Nesryn exists only as a love interest for Chaol. I definitely think something is going to happen with Manon/Dorian even though at the beginning of this book I was kind of shipping her and Elide, but I'm all for Manon/Dorian if it happens! I really liked Manon's arc in this. I loved the plot of this book, ignoring all the shipping wars and confusion for a sec, the plot was top notch. It was so exciting, the world and storyline has expanded so much, I cried at a few points and the whole end of the book was just UNREAL. I really enjoyed the non-romantic interactions in this book, like Aelin/Lysandra (yes to female friendships) and Dorian/Chaol (THEIR LAST SCENE). I gave this book 5/5 stars too but there's definitely a lot to think about. It definitely took a new direction and it wasn't done entirely seamlessly but ah well, I'm still dying for the next book.
"Names? What are names?" Your lack of pronunciation skills 😂#dead
I really hate the fact that Sarah J. Maas feels the need to pair EVERYBODY off. Gah I just want a platonic relationship between an attractive, straight male and an attractive, unattached, straight female is that really too much to ask for?
That just never happens
RIGHT?! Like why spend all of Heir of Fire setting up their relationship as platonic but still SO strong and then throw that out the window? At the end of the day I just ship Aelin/Terrasen lol
"Aelin Galananarfnanatius Queen of... Terren"
As far as Chaol goes, I think that the direction his character took in QoS was partially because Aelin was absent during HoF. The animosity between them at the beginning of QoS probably wouldn't have been nearly as intense if she hadn't been in Wendlyn while Chaol's world came crashing down around him. I mean, I think of it this way: He finds out that his ex is the queen that is basically Public Enemy #1, and in the next few months (specifically after Aelin kills Narrok and is known to have returned) his life falls apart. His best friend is imprisoned in his own body by a demon prince from another realm, the Valg are terrorizing the people of Rifthold, and the only connection he can see is Aelin. Of course he blames her. He needs to blame someone, and he doesn't know anything more than that she has something to do with it. There's also the bitterness of not knowing what to do, not knowing whether to trust her, and on top of that, Aelin has one heck of a temper. All of that, piled together, I think is what made their animosity so strong. Defensiveness, bitterness, and plain frustration. It was only by working through all of that, separately and together, that they were able to get to where they are at the end of this book. So basically, I love the journey that Chaol goes through in this book, but I totally believe that it's realistic, and I don't think it undermines his character in the first few books at all.
Now, Rowan. I admit that I thought their relationship developed a bit fast, until I remembered that we didn't really see a lot from Rowan's POV in HoF. We saw primarily from Aelin, who really was not in a place where she could be in a relationship. I think that they were both in denial in HoF because Aelin was digging herself out of a pit comprised of Nehemia and Chaol and running from her own past. Rowan was running from his memories of Lyria. So I figured that in QoS they were pulling themselves together enough to realize that they had been denying an attraction that had been there for a long time. Also, I love Rowan and Aelin together because I think Aelin needs someone who understands her so completely, someone who is her best friend.
thenovelthought yes agree!! 💚
I loved Rowan and Aelin's platonic relatonship. And for the first three books, I was totally for Chaol and Aelin. But I think in Heir of Fire, I started jumping ship and was team Rowan before I even realized it. Their relationship was kind of out of the blue, but I totally ship it. Go team Rowaelin!
I really like how you respectfully and coherently talked about your opinions and actually talked about some things that were off. Some just raved and raved without addressing some of the character issues.
I definitely think that Chaol did not deserve all of the blame that he got from Aelin. He had a point! When magic is free, where would the limit be for magic-wielders? Not all of them are good people.
And I also thought that Rowan's feelings were a little rushed, but I think SJM tried to compensate for that when she wrote the chapter where he talks about how he found her beautiful back in Wendlyn. But great review! :)
I don't ship Rowan and Aelin at all...and I agree with you about the abrupt change in the treatment of Chaol's character. I feel like sarah j mass just needed a way to end Chaol and Aelin's relationship so she made them hate each other for literally no reason. I'm still holding out hope that Aelin and Chaol will end up together though.
omg I never shiped celaena with chaol, first I shiped her with Sam (duh) then Dorian and then Rowan.
Chaol ,to me , never truelly loved celaena for who she was. He had this idea about her, she was broken and he thought he could fix her somehow but then when she would "errupt" somehow he wouldn't understand her and just get angry with her. He never accepted her for who she really was; not when she was an assassin and definitely not when she was queen and far.
Dorian on the other hand saw her for who she was and even when he found out about her true identity he accepted and embraced his friend. Without being in denial, or blaming everything wrong in his life on her or even trying to change her.
And finally Rowan (❤). Rowan I think is the only one the series who got to know the true colors of both celaena and aelin. An he's the one who helped her accept her heritage, power and herself, mistakes and all. I just love them together. They bring the best of each other.
So yeah, to me chaol was always wrong for celaena because she could never be herself around him and I'm glad she finally got that and moved on with her life.
(Rowaelin fan❤👐)
I agree that the whole Rowan Aelin relationship sort of sprung up out of no where. Personally I think it would have added to the story for Aelin and Rowan to have continued to only be friends. You don't always see a lot of male/female friendships in YA that don't develop into romance, and so I feel that by transforming their friendship so suddenly into a romantic relationship, Aelin's character was sort of weakened... I also feel like I was missing the stoic Rowan that we saw in the previous book, and he was replaced here by some other character entirely, who was completely enveloped in his emotions.
I totally agree with you on the Chaol/Rowan stuff. It really didn't make sense to me, and it kind of felt like SJM sort of pushed Chaol aside to promote the Rowan/Aelin arc/ship/thing, and I just wasn't a fan of that. In relation to that, I'm curious on your thoughts on Nesryn. I loved her, but I feel like she could have been so much better if her story was more discussed instead of seemingly just being Chaol's love interest replacement. However, I definitely think this was the best book plot wise and my favorite in the series in that term, so I too am kind of struggling with my star rating. Also, while I don't really ship Manon/Dorian, I do see it happening considering right after Manon asked Asterin about love, she went off to see Dorian. Crazy stuff! I only recently read this series, so this is the first time I have to wait for a new book and it's already killing me.
I would agree with most of the things you said. Chaol doesn't even seem like the same person he was in the first two books.. maybe i'm just bitter because i wanted Aelin and Chaol to still end up together! Blah. Aelin and Chaols "break up" didn't make much sense to me either. I didn't like Manon in Heir of Fire, but I LOVED her in Queen of Shadows, as well as the whole 13. I love all the girl power!! Aedion is one of my favorites as well! Actually, I just love everyone in the books lol. I have a friend whose name is spelled Aelin btw, we pronounce it Eye-lean.
Notice how Chaol lost everything; his best friend, his lover, his proposition, his loyalty-with only himself left to blame.
I understand why people feel this way about Chaol's arc and the Rowan/Aelin relationship.
Personally I liked Chaol. I did not expect him and Aelin (pronounced A -long a- LYNN -like the name-) to meet up and just hug it out. You have remember they had to sum up months of their lives into a ten minute bullet point conversation. Obviously things are going to be left out. So the fact that they have a fight is believable to me.
But then Aelin throws the Dorian is a Valg and there is no way to save them bomb, which is the thing that has them at each others throats in the first half of the book. Aelin wants to put him out of his misery and Chaol is not having it. (I also see a lot of people are upset with Aelin because of this and I DON'T get it because what else could have been done?) Anyway Chaol is angry, he doesn't trust her, but when he sees the truth with his own eyes him and Aelin inmediatley start patching up their relationship. I could go on, but that's the gist.
I don't mind what happened with "I pick you" because tbh everyone was a GIANT mess at the end of Crown of Midnight so you got to take it with a grain of salt.
As for Rowaelin, I felt that too at the beginning, but then I started flipping through Heir of Fire and hints are there. It depends on how you interpret them. I also realized that there's a lot of time between Rowan and Aelin that goes unaccounted for in HoF. Literally weeks that get summed up in a paragraph. The biggest example is that between Rowan and Aelin becoming carranam and Aelin leaving for home there is an entire month where we only get an up close look at 3 maybe 4 days. For the majority of that time it's just them, alone together, traveling. So I find it completely possible that feelings had already begun to blossom then. Would it have worked better if Sarah had dragged out the developement more? Maybe. I think we need the series to be complete before we can be completely sure. Either way I happened to enjoy their scenes together and I like the relationship :) Queen of Shadow is worth so much more than 5 stars IMO.
Maybe I'm the only person but none of the character 'changes' really shocked me at all. I've never been a big fan of Chaol and I feel like he was really really struggling with all the changes that happened at the end of the last book. He went from being this guy who was on his moral high horse blindly serving the king because of his desire to keep Dorian safe and then all of that goes to hell really quickly and he has to adapt or die. He really struggles with accepting magic so it was easy for him to just blame Celaena for everything and that made him seem totally different but I feel like he was always this way before, we just never saw it. I think that Rowans 'changes' have a lot to do with him being in Celaena's world and having a tough time not having his magic to fall back on. It was easy for him to keep her at a distance before because he was the one who wasn't out of his element and was more in control. Plus when they were apart he really missed her and that made his feelings intensify for her because of the blood bond. I might be wrong but I don't remember a lot of chapters from Rowan's viewpoint in the last book so maybe he felt this way the whole time but was just able to do a better job of keeping his feelings to himself thanks to his bond to Meave. And now that he is bonded to Celaena he can finally let his real feelings show. I'm hoping the whole relationship thing gets explained more in the next book though.
I also ship Dorian and Manon. So much.
I'm a bit reluctant to go into Queen of Shadows because Chaol's character was one of the biggest reasons I liked the throne of glass series, and I'm afraid QoF is going to ruin him...
I agree! Something felt totally off about Chaol's development, and although I really like having someone question Celaena, I missed their friendship. And the Rowan romance came out of nowhere, but I actually started to really like it. Other than that, I absolutely loved the book.
I completely agree with all your feels. This book literally made me gasp and want to throw it at my wall. ESPECIALLY when aelin and chaol re-meet and they have that a HUGE FIGHT. I looked out my window and saw all maas' fucks fly away with that relationship. It killed me! I thought Rowan and Aelin would remain platonic but nope.. I didn't really like the new chaol, he just seemed so wrong and hardened and horrible. And Nesryn honestly just seemed like a convenience to Maas so fans wouldn't be so pissed about the end of Chaolaena.
When I watched your heir of fire review, I couldn't believe that you didn't pick up on the Rowan/Aelin love story happening. When you said they had a platonic relationship I was like "what?!" I didn't come out of no where for sure, I love their relationship. And I love your videos! You are awesome!
My personal interpretation of the Chaol development is that he felt betrayed by her in a way. Her actions whilst in Wendlyn seemingly caused a lot of trouble for the people in Rifthold (more executions etc), and these people included Chaol's friends and allies. Also, I think he still had issues left over from the fact that Aelin didn't tell him directly who she actually was and just left him to guess at it. I think this led to him giving her a frosty reception when she returned, and she reciprocated this since we have seen in past books that she can be very defensive and stubborn, although I do think this got better as the book went on and they worked together, but as I say this was just my interpretation.
OMG, I soo ship Manon and Dorian too!!!
I so agree with the Chaol thing!! I didn't mind too much though because I never shipped them.
I totally did not like the Rowan Celaena relationship and I think that becomes a TOTALLY different person! I can't even call this character development any more. The moment he makes the blood oath, he's like Celaena biggest fan and would do ANYTHING for her and is also totally in love with her. But before he was cruel and kind of tortured her - multiple times. I guess many people may like ths change but I just don't get it.
I LOVED the friendship between Aelin and Lysandra!
It kind of bugs me that every man/woman that meet start to fall in love or hint towards a future romance. I LOVED QoS but this annoyed me.
I agree with what you said about Chaol and Rowan's character in this book. I also love the Manon chapters, she's my favorite character, and I definitely ship her with Dorian, every time they had an interaction I would get so happy. And after reading this book I have more respect for Kaltain than I did before.
I 100% agree with everything you said!!! I was so mad about Rowan that I legit had to put the book down for five days and cool down lol. Manon is my fave baby and I hella ship her and Dorian. And also Kaltain for the win. I'm so glad I found your channel!
I also absolutely loved the witch chapters. I adore the idea of beautiful, flawless witches like the ones that Sarah J Maas has created. The wyverns are so cool to read about and I loved their training and the twisted, dark, direction they (the witch chapters/storyline) took in QOS.
Manon and Dorian!!!!!!! I FEEL THE FREAKING SAME WAY. :D
YASS I also felt that the "Rowalaena" part sprung outta nowhere and how much it resembled "Chaolaena".
About Manon's eyes, from what i picked up from the valg prince in dorian, he seems to be afraid of manon because her eyes are basically the same as a valg kings. It seems like valg kings put fear into everyone they meet.
This book blew my mind. The complex development in the Manon chapters was so interesting, and then to have Manon and Aelin (how the heck to you say her name) meet and actually battle is CRAZY. Hopefully Manon gives the Matron the big finger and moves sides to go help Dorian and Aelin defeat the new and terrifying monster. I can't wait for the next book!!!
personally i hated chaol since Crown of Midnight. I find him to be very self-righteous, and while many people think his sacrifices for Celaena were heroic and romantic, I find them to be ridiculous. I hated when Chaol and Aelin fought in this book and accused her of not caring about them anymore and just having a grand time training with Rowan in Wendlyn. Like HELLO? YOU SENT HER THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?! and as for the romance between Rowan and Aelin, I saw it coming in Heir of Fire, by a long shot. It was clear they weren't just friends, in the way they both feel protective toward each other. Yeah, it may be because they're cranaam, but still, there was no doubt that they were going to be end game in Heir of Fire.
So many happened on this book! Thats why I loved it! I love how the manon chapters and aelin chapters doesnt make sense at the start, but on the end, it is finely weaved and intertwined together! Ahhhh. How I loved SJM and her writing!
I hated Chaol's character at the beginning of the book. I couldn't believe what he was saying to Aelin. But after finishing the book, I kinda understand his behaviour. He had a good point talking about how powerful Aelin was and how there should be a limit in magic.
About Rowan, I totally felt that in Heir of Fire they were just friends and when they started to be so romantic with each other in QoS I was shocked, but when Aelin goes running to hug him when he returns, I got it. I saw how Aelin missed him and how important he is to her, so I don't think it was rushed or anything. I think it looked natural.
HOWEVER, I still believe there's a chance for #CELORIAN, in page 575, when Aelin and Dorian are mixing their magic, it is said: "But they held to each other, past and present and future; flickering between an ancient hall in a mountain in a castle perched above Orynth, a bridge suspended between glass towers, and another place, perfect and strange, where they had been crafted from stardust and light."
The showdown between Manon and Aelin was AMAZING.
Agree with Kaltain. I couldn't believe she defeated the Valg inside her and sacrificed herself... I was so so sad for her...
Watching the non-spoiler review and crying because Chaol was my favorite character and I don't want him to change.
That's Kaltain moment was epic! That was my favourite moment od the book.I cried it was just so powerful how she defeated the valg prince on her own and used the shadowfire to reclaim her freedom!
I preferred Rowan and Aelin as friends. To me, their relationship seemed stronger and real as best friends. I don't know maybe it's because I'm still hoping for Chaolena (Chaolin?) as endgame.
ALSO DORANON IS THE BEST THING EVER AND I SWEAR TO GOD IF SARAH DOESN'T PUT THEM TOGETHER I'LL FLY TO WHERE EVER SHE LIVES AND MAKE HER DO IT
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I JUST SAID. I just finished reading QOS and came on youtube to see reviews. I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT CHAOL. Him and Aelin changed so much. I also agree with what you said about Rowan.
Agree 100% with what you said about Chaol and Rowan. I was a hardcore Chaol/Celaena shipper and I can accept that their over or whatever, but it just seemed kind of weird? Like why did they suddenly hate each other? Lol. And I actually really loved Rowan as a friend for Celaena with the potential for more. So I enjoyed their romance and everything. It just did seem kind of odd. Like while writing Heir of Fire, Sarah decided to completely jump ship from Chaol to Rowan. And I do find their relationships similar, so yeah. Idk. It confused me too. But overall an amazing amazing book.
This book was astonishing! I'm so happy Ailen and Rowan are together! I've been waiting for that ship to happen since HoF. (From the moment he handed her his cloak to be exact.) I loved how that ship built up slowly. I also love the idea of manon and dorian... it would be extreemly interesting to see the character development for manon to become romantically involved with someone
You should do more spoiler discussions! Love to hear what u think about specific bits of the book!
Oh thank God I'm not the only one boarding the Dorian and Manon ship 😍 best characters of the whole series along with Lysandra and Asterin (damn broke my heart with their backstories) !!
I didn't care much for the characters of Chaol and Rowan but I liked the bromances and friendship all around
I do agree with you about Chaol, I mean he really took a backseat in this book, just because he was not speaking to Aelin and they were just bitchy at each other all the time. And then they just shrug it off?! Don't get it but ok. I really like Manon I'm not gonna lie she's really coming along for me in this series and I'm hoping that Rowan and Aelin don't regret their decisions...whatever they may be.
i total agree with the whole weird chaol and aelin situation. i think sarah made their romantic relationship fade away so easily to highlight how unbreakable and infinite aelin and rowan’s relationship is. just my thoughts. anyone agree?
i loved this book personally i still think Heir of Fire is the best so far. I also agree that the whole Chaol thing took me aback when it firt happened and was like what??? But then i was like Chaol does show peeks at being small minded when it comes to magic so i kinda just accepted it. RIP ChaolxCelena
As for the resurection of Rowan as a love intrest it also took me aback because i remember the whole WERE JUST FRIENDS stamp so clearly made in Heir of Fire. I was surprised when there was a switch. For me there was no hint of it in the previous book. I kinda feel bad too lose that bestie relationship but at least we got Lysandra and im not too torn up about Aelin and Rowan.
I had the exact same feeling in my gut telling me Manon and Dorian are going to be a thing. Asterin showed us it is possible for witches to care for humans, and Manon was already on the way to that when she saved Elide. Whatever happens, I 100% ship those two together.
Regarding Rowan, I fell in love with him the moment we met him and they started bickering, and was more surprised it took them so long to move pass being friends. Rowan and Aelin are definitely my OTP for this series.
Loved your review!!
I also loved the Manon chapters! I found them super interesting. I think Chaol changed a lot, but I didn't think it was a bad change. I think they both just changed a lot in their separation. I would be totally down for a Dorian/Manon relationship. Lysandra coming and being a badass and a friend for Aelin was one of my favorite things! I loved that Kaltain got her day to be a badass.
About Manon's eyes, in that part Aelin, Rowan, Aedion and Chaol were in the catacombs beneath the city and read about the Dark King Erawan, it was said that looking into his eyes was like looking into despair and madness and it was also mentioned that his eyes were golden. The witches descend from the Valg, so the Valg prince inside Dorian and the Valg in general are afraid of Manon because she has Erawan's eyes basically.
My favorite scenes were the Aelin and Manon meeting/fight and just the whole ending was A+
Oh my god! Reading the comments below is so infuriating. Only 1 out of 5 people seem to like Rowan and Aelin. Everyone is hating on them and its completely messing with my mind. I'm sorry but i fucking love Rowaelin. what Rowan and Aelin have is WAY more than just lust or physical attraction. And there relationship did not come out of nowhere.Its a bond so deep formed between two people who have suffered so much. They have been alone for so long. I dont care if Aelin had Chaol. But Chaol never truly understood nor accepted Aelin. It seemed the first two books he is trying to accept Aelin's assassin side, but he had difficult accepting her as that. But when he found out she was fae. He was like oh no she's an enemy to my kingdom. Ummm... Needless to say i have never liked Chaol. But Rowan, i adore him. And i love him even more with Aelin. I dont even care. They understand each other, they accept each other & they complete each other. I have never shipped anyone as much as Rowaelin.
I actually only got the chance to reread Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight before QoS, and Chaol and Aelins hate made no sense at first. But once I realised Chaol was really just using her as a scapegoat, and she was throwing it back at him (cause that's what she always does) it made more sense. There has always been hints dropped that Chaol was closed minded and overly loyal. I didn't WANT to see it play out, because I like Chaol, but he needed to go through something. I like where he and Aelin ended up in the end of QoS. I feel like if he hadn't have gone through such an internal struggle in this book he would have been far too bland. Now at least there's somewhere to go with him.
As for Rowan lmfao I shipped him and Aelin so hard in HoF so I was all in on his character 'development'. What I'm not loving are the hints Aelin isn't immortal, and she'll get old while he won't, because I AM SO SICK OF THAT TROPE OH GOD.
Sorry, english is not my first language, but that's what I thought about Queen of Shadows I felt like Sarah J Maas wanted Aelin and Rowan to be in love, so she moulded the characters and stroyline to make that possible. I get why people are upset about it, but I really love Rowan so I don't really care and at this point I don't care who Aelin end up with because this series's focus it's not her love interest but more the political plot.
YEP TOTALLY AGREE WITH CHAOL ... I think Rowan was a bit different because he couldn't access the magic
I'm not into Rowan and Aelin. I LOVE his character in the 3rd book and would have liked it better if instead of being her lover, he was like a wise mentor who would help her create her kingdom (kind of like a Arthur/Merlin relationship). And am I the only one still shipping Dorian and Aelin?! I know it probably won't happen but I still have hope...
My thoughts exactly! Rowan is definitely going through a "Chaol phase" from Throne of Glass. For me Rowan is just a Fae version of Chaol! xD Also Chaol had a good point at questioning if she's dangerous to his kingdom.
I'm definitely with you about Manon's chapters! I enjoyed them the most. They gave me a break from Aelin/Chaol fights so it was very refreshing. ;)
I don't ship Aelin and Rowan at all, but it's probably because I just don't like Rowan in general. I preferred when they were just friends. Although I do ship Manon and Dorian! They would make such an interesting couple. For some reason I thought Manon would end up with Elide for a hot second. Idk. And I'm still low-key hoping that Nehemia will come back somehow. Probably not but I miss her :(
I loved Chaol in CoM so much. Although I knew it never would've worked because I also realized that he always would choose Dorian over her. Even when he said he'd run away with her it was a hollow promise because he never would've left Dorian. And when Nehemia died because he chose the king over Celeana I knew the ship was doomed. Chaoleana was from the very beginning a ship doomed to sink.
Other than the main threads you mention, couple small things that struck me so hard in this book:
1. Kaltan burning half of Morath down! Fuck yes!
2. Roland's death was so surprisingly sad to me. "My name is Roland...tell my..."
3. The ending scene with Chaol and Dorian after the demon price came out of him. It was so emotional. Chaol finally seeing that Dorian was okay. That friendship. That love.
4. Asterin. A witch with a heart! I love her. I love how she challenges Manon.
5. Lysendra killing Abroyn. Yeah, that was epic!
6. The king crying on the floor. Revealing the truth was gut wrenching.
7. Ress and the rest of the guards death. Omg! I cried. Poor Ress :(
8. Elide!
9. Yellowleg witches torture/ child bearing. So sad.
10. Dorian meeting Manon
11. The assassins pulling their entire funds to keep the guild and the keep. Talk about unity!
12. Lysandra becoming a lady.
This was a great video! You made some really good points and I agree about Rowan. Really annoyed me that they became more than friends. Like I'm fine with them being in a relationship but I really liked the platonic thing they had going on and I just want her to have a friendship with a guy that's not related to her, you know? I don't know, hopefully that'll be the case with dorian in the next books. Anyways thanks for talking about things in a more in depth way!
Definitely shipping Manon/Dorian YASSSSS
Everything you said about Chaol is exactly how I feel. I am struggling with him. I really loved Chaol in the first 3 books and this book, I was confused and angry with his character. I liked him, but I was almost angry that my Chaol had taken a complete 180 flip into someone totally new. I think I like where his character is going, but I need to read more before I make my decision on that.
Also, MANON AND DORIAN. I am all about that. I loved both of there story lines. I agree with you that they were the best parts of the book. We only had like 10 pages total of Dorian, but they stole the show. I loved when they met and I really hope something happens there. I am shipping it hard.
I also ship Manon and Dorian! I'm also so happy that Rowan and Aelin are developing a romantic relationship. I was hoping that would happen ever since he bit her in Heir of Fire. I'm glad that they aren't moving too quickly with it though. I think ultimately they will have to make some important decisions regarding their relationship due to his immortality. I also love that the romance in this book isn't really the main part of the plot. Like you said, Aelin could end up with anyone and I'd be happy for her.
I agree with you! I was so sad with how Chaol's storyline developed... to me it just seemed so forced, for Chaol to find Nesryn, for Aelin to be with Rowan. I get it that Celaena is only a fraction of what Aelin is, but I was just disappointed. I really liked their bond and I also preferred Rowan and Aelin as friends, it was a really fun relationship - which now just seems a bit meh to me.
Aelin and Chaols relationship didn't come to an end abruptly because in Crown of Midnight he already feared Aelins Fae side, and they were still together at the time because at the time Aelin was also afraid of that side of her and not being about to control it. So the relationship already had holes in it, so when Aelin came back from Wendlyn and Chaol called her a monster that broke her trust in a way and severed their relationship. They then just dealt with having to work together until the near the end of Queen of Shadows when Chaol accepts Aelin for who she is and they have a that conversation about finding happiness for themselves on the roof of the warehouse.
As for Rowan, I was confused as to him now being a love interest, but the things I was thinking whilst reading was that it might have something to do with them being carranam. Perhaps this connection goes deeper than we think it might, and Aedion seemed very against their blood bond, thinking it a threat to him and Aelin ruling together. We also have to remember that for a long time Rowan was in service to Maeve and it was my understanding that he probably didn't have a lot of time to enjoy himself until Aelin came along, and I think he was also in mourning until she came along and showed him that there could be more to life than he might have assumed. We also have to remember that they spent a long time together, mostly just the two of them, and they bonded, and I think it was hard for them to be away from each other when they had such a deep connection. I know this is very long, but as I said before, this is just my interpretation and reasoning for everything that happened.
I actually wrote a really long goodreads review of this, so I'll just talk about Chaol because he's probably my favorite discussion! I personally loved his character, because I thought it fit well with the end of the last book. We pick up presumably about a week after HoF, so Chaol has been fighting demons and considering himself a traitor. To me, it made sense that he changed so much, and when Aelin's plans conflicted with his, they both got angry. They're both really passionate characters, so I don't think they ever hated each other, they just couldn't agree and they had their past relationship hanging over them, which is why Chaol says at one point it's nice not to be arguing with her. As far as Chaol/Aelin relationship goes, I didn't think they'd end up together just based on hints near the end of HoF, like Celaena taking off his ring.
Also, Dorian and Manon had become my new ship of this series!!!! Possibly my favorite current ship out there!
Hi! Now that I think about it, I see what you mean about Chaol. I was stuned when I saw his relationship with Aelin at the begining of the book, but I also somehow get why they were like that. If I recall correcly, the one who started the bad relation was Chaol because he didn't trust Aelin. You know she is reliable un some way and would never do anything forma no reason, but if you think of it, I think you can understand why he didn't trust her.
I wasn't that surprised with Aelin and Rowan because a totally shipped them in the thrid book and I saw it coming.
I agree with you about the plot, is so amazing! And you aren't the only one who ships Manon and Dorian 😁
PS: Sorry if I spelled wrong some words. I'm Spanish and I don't feel like searching for every word I'm not sure about.
I agree! It seems like one day Sarah woke up and decided she didn't like Chaol anymore and added Rowan just to be a fill-in. His relationship with Aelin seems so forced! I was really disappointed about how Chaol turned up...
finally someone who wasn't all that thrilled with Rowan and Aelin relationship......I would love Dorian and Manon together......but if he does end with Aelin like most hope I will just die........I LOVE MANON :-)
I agree with a lot that you said this book definitely was great but so many things came out of nowhere and where abrupt, and Chaol's character did a complete 180. I happen to notice you didn't really talk about Chaol's new love interest.
I don't think the character arcs were abrupt at all. From previous books we know how Chaol feels about Celaena being Aelin, and Aelins feelings about him because of Nehemia. I always saw Rowan as a love interest as well, because their attraction and connection to each other was hinted at in book 3
I feel like the Chaol in this book was mostly the reprucations of how everything went down in Heir of Fire. Dorian is possessed and the King is becoming more of a villian than ever before and he knows that Aelin is really the only person that can stop him and she doesn't come to the rescue. Of course he isn't aware of all the stuff she had to go through in Heir of Fire. With the case of Rowan, I feel like his and Aelin's relationship was a very natural progression. With the blood oath they are pretty much one being. So how could you NOT fall in love? Also distance makes the heart grow fonder ;) my favorite book of the series by far!
Yea I was kind of torn too but just decided to accept that it happened and enjoy the book for what it is bc I dont WANT for that conflict to ruin the book for me cause 98% ofit was frickin amazing! I read a lot of tumblr posts that were really convincing of it being character development and there was one about Rowan that quoted bits of HoF hinting towards a romantic relationship that a lot of us prob skipped over (there was equally a lot of hate too T-T but haters are generally more vocal so..)
And i LOVED Kaltain. Kaltain's development, holy CRAP.
I totally agree with your opinion about Rowan suddenly being the love interest. I feel like it was pretty clear in the third book that Aelin and Rowan were close because of that magic bond but if I remember correctly she was always making remarks about them being nothing more than friends. And then in this book they're just lusting for each other all the time? I like them but I wish they had gotten together later in the series.
I also feel like Chaol was just put aside in this book and his character was not important until the end. And I'm also hoping Manon and Dorian end up together!!
So I enjoyed the book on its own as you said but I don't think I like how it fits with the rest of them.
I literally rolled my eyes at every Chaol pov chapter until the last like third of the book lol....i feel you girl.
I agree with everything you said abut both Chaol and Rowan. That 360 transformation of character really was weird. Like, if you go back and read ToG and CoM, it contradicts a lot of things in QoS, I get that Celaena moved on from Chaol, but how can she forget all the memories they shared? same goes for Chaol, like in HoF I thought he was still heads over heals for her, and now he suddenly hates her? I think I wouldn't have minded this had Sarah J Mass given us a better explanation for their behavior, but it's unexplained until the very end, and the conversation they have about Nysrin and Rowan, it felt like a half hearted attempt to justify the changes in the plot. Plus plus plus, Celaena/Aelin is a furiously loyal character, to have her forget someone this easily, even thought he hurt her in some way is disturbing me. It makes me wonder what sort of queen would she be. I also did not like the fact that she was so willing to kill Dorian, I mean okay it would've been a relief to him, but at least she should've tried to do something else instead of just giving up on him that easily. Moving on to Rowan, he seemed like a very deep character in HoF, and I was so interested in learning about his past, and explore his platonic friendship with Aelin, which was so fun to read about in the last book, but now, his character feels weird and shallow, not to mention that I did not like the fact that apparently he's been secretly in love with Aelin from the very beginning. That was just upsetting.
i'm with you on the dorian/manon ship! love it!
Okay, first off, I really really loved the book, but I also got the whole change from Chaolaena to Rowaelin. For me, it was because it was obvious that when Celaena changed to Aelin, she really changed as a person. Underlying, she still had her loyalty, pride and snarkiness, but when she truly embraced her past as a queen, she was no longer just an assassin; everything she did was calculated. The reason why I ship Rowan with Aelin (not Celaena) was because he understood the burden of magic and responsibility as large as the lives of a kingdom at stake. Chaol was perfect with Celaena; a girl who had been through a lot and had a soft side. The thing is, Chaol never fully accepted Celaena's cold blooded killing and heart-driven actions. Chaol was very black and white, loyal to the depths of his heart; Celaena was an untamed wildfire, ruled by shades of grey. Aelin and Chaol are fundamentally different in the way they view things because Chaol would always act on his loyalty and rightness but Aelin knows how to weigh choices and make sacrifices, something Rowan both understands and accepts. Although the shift was very awkward, after a lot of contemplation, I kind of understand why Aelin needed Rowan and Chaol needed someone like Nesryn. And for the people saying that Aelin and Rowan are like two horny teenagers, well, remember the time when Chaol and Celaena spent a week having sex on every surface possible and even in a bloody broom closet? I rest my case.