I haven’t reviewed the rest of the series so far [that I recall] so this is going to be a bit of both a review of the book itself and the series overall. 

KOA is a long ride through a dark night. In the conclusion of this series all of SJM’s strengths and weaknesses are on display. The intricate world building, the poignant moments of growth for each character, and Aelin’s final stand against every force that’s been bending her life all paint an intricate and lovingly crafted modern fairytale. The overdrawn battles that feel like paraphrashed scenes from Lord of the Rings, the repetitive sparing, descriptions, the men being forgiven for doing and saying incredibly fucked up things to the women they claim to love, or “banter” that appear to be the same 5 lines repeated [if I drank every time Aelin “winked”, someone said “mate”, “scent” or “gods save us” after a throw away joke, I would have died of alc poisoning]; without most of these this book probably could have been shortened 10-15%.

  Aelin’s escape from the mask

, the women's growth into their power and the acceptance of the cost, any scene with Manon, and Lysandra saving everyone’s ass 500x are stand out moments to me.

Overall, it is clear Maas spent a large amount of time mapping out this finale to give her beloved characters an end she felt fitting [I still think Aedion should have been killed but I guess he just continues to breathe regardless of his uselessness] and close out the window on the first world she created. I think it was the best of the series, both a blessing and a curse.

Throne of Glass is a fantasy series that builds a beautiful fairytale of a woman who, despite all odds, refuses to back down from what she really deserves. It can feel hard to find fantasy these days that spends as much time really working through the trauma and beauty of wanting to be alive in these kinds of flushed out settings. However, especially as someone who has read her other series the recurring themes, tropes, descriptions, and sentences grow exhausting and lose luster. I genuinely enjoy Crescent City [well maybe the first two…less so the third] and ACOTAR helped me through a time I really didn’t think I would be able to move on from. Slogging my way through Throne of Glass had many highs and lows, but mostly it made me appreciate the other two series for what they’re pacing and character growth. Enjoyable, but not something I think I will be rereading in the next 10 years.