Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.
His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.
But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.
REVIEW
Well, that was unexpected.
Like many Throne of Glass fans, the news that the final installment would be pushed back by a full year, instead replaced by a novel revolving around Chaol Westfall, broke my heart. And yes, I have not been a Chaol fan since the beginning, after a blue-eyed prince captured my heart and never let go. But, I know the beloved royal guard had a few fans and I too grew irritated when Sarah opted to change Chaol into a jerk, something she accomplished with the character of Tamlin in A Court of Thorns and Roses as well.
Despite this dislike of the main character, I gave in to my growing need to know what has been happening in this world after the ordeal in Empire of Storms and was wonderfully surprised to have enjoyed this beast of a book. The moment I started the second chapter, narrated by my only loved character heading into this book, Nesryn, it felt like coming home. Sarah's writing has always been one of my favourite styles - descriptive, yet beautifully poetic and riveting.
I know that Antica and its great armies are needed, but the number of new characters introduced worry me because we already have a host of characters within the Throne of Glass world, each one with a powerful story that all started when Adarlan chose to attack their neighboring countries. So, my question is, how will just ONE final book encapsulate all these characters? I want to know how each story ends and to do this, we'll probably need a book twice the size of Empire of Storms. But, the prospect of that thrills the bookworm within me.
I am struggling to hold back spoilers as I write this review, because there is so much I want to discuss but I know quite a few people have yet to read it. But, I honestly encourage all Sarah fans to read this book. If not to give Chaol a second chance, then do it for Nesryn because my girl is finally getting her happy ending. Do it because this world is beautiful and each character is essential and the various plot twist will leave you staring at the ceiling for a good 20 minutes, wondering HOW Sarah could do this to you. Again.
However, even though I enjoyed this book, there were many faults. This story is at heart a love story, built around redeeming the character of Chaol. The plot twist that will affect the rest of the series merely danced around the true storyline. Even though I was a sucker for the romance dripping off the pages (Nesryn and Sartaq are my everything now), I did think this book was way too long. The back and forth, denial and arguments between our main characters, who you just KNOW are falling in love, was stretched out. I really started to enjoy this book when we reached Part Two, which dealt a lot with Nesryn and her journey to find herself.
The ending literally gave me goosebumps as our lead characters sailed the seas. It only made me want the final book more, because help is on the way and we might just stand a chance with all the revelations revealed in this book.
Also, I couldn't help but love the way Sarah ended the scene with Chaol. It was sort of cheeky, as if she knew once her fans ended this book, they would feel bad for doubting her when she wanted to write about Chaol. I am so happy I chose to give this book a chance, which only solidified Sarah as one of my favourite story-tellers.
What did you guys think about this book?
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