I wasn’t a chaol hater, but I found his arc to be more boring compared to what was going on in EOS. Buuuuut, there are some characters I loved meeting in TOD, and some p big reveals that are clutch to the over all story. TOD, imo, started off a little slow but once it got rolling, I was p into it. Give it a chance ^__^
i would urge you to read it just for the fascinating continent that is Antica. It seemed so beautiful to me and i was so sad we didn't get to explore more places of that empire
I’m not a Chaol fan either but it’s worth it. If for nothing else but the important plot points of the overall series, I actually finished it with a new love of Nesyrn and Yrene. Oh and Borte. 🤭
I loved it. Probably my second favorite in the series. I am not a Chaol hater or lover, but there are other characters you will meet in this book that are lovable. Also, it’s very well written.
Search up fanart! You’ll love Sartaq, I personally rlly hate Chaol and just listened to the audible book and sometimes followed along with reading a few chapters
Imo Tower of Dawn is the best one of the series. But I also love difficult characters who are forced to face themselves and realize they don't always have the right of it. His character development is top tier for me.
I agree with you. I even went back and read TOD after KoA and I didn't miss out. He's the most grating, bitching character to me and I have zero regrets
Even if you hate Chaol, you will meet some incredibly interesting characters in TOD in my opinion! Yes, he’s there unfortunately, but so is a whole new cast of unique people. It’s also a great chance to explore outside of Adarlan/Erilea more. Be strong, see past the Chaol of it all 😂
I was a Chaol hater as well, but trust me, this book is worth it.
And I will tell you what someone had told me when I was in the same position as you - “he suffers a lot, so hope that makes it better” 😂
it’s a little slow at first and i was also a little wary but by the end its a honestly a beautiful story like i was definitely welling up. it’s kind of like silver flames where a character overcomes their internal hardships. i don’t get the hate and DEF don’t skip. it’s become one of my favs.. like better than the first four
I’m gonna be real.. I loved every book in this series except that one. It was so hard to get through, and I was just missing Aelin the whole time, especially after the cliffhanger we were left on in Empire of Storms. I wanted to skip it so badly, but I forced myself through this book, and it didn’t even start getting interesting until the last 200 pages.
Your only motivation should be for a very VERY VERY big plot twist towards the end of the book…. It literally changes the trajectory of the whole story in the most shocking way possible.
I also have always had a so-so opinion of Chaol the whole series… he was always just meh to me but this book you can truly see the humanness of him and the other characters in the book. IMO it’s the one book in the series where you truly feel as if the characters are actually real.
Arguably the best written book of the series. The fact that a new world had to be built in the second to last book and was so well done should be motivation enough! It has so much great lore that ties back to soooo many little things throughout the rest of the books. The beginning is rather slow, but literally every SJM book has a boring set up. Once I got even like 100 pages in, I couldn’t put it down. It was such a fun read, and I think I liked it more than EoS. I love the way the healers and their system was written, loved the dynamic between the royals and our mains in the book, I grew to love Nesryn so much (when I truly didn’t care for her going into the book), and Chaol getting humbled, growing, and finally facing all his emotional issues. I liked Chaol throughout all of the books. He is so human when everyone else seems so able to handle the craziest shit, he’s just doing his best not to fall apart. He’s literally a 23 year old guy who has had his whole life flipped upside down, lost his love, his job, his whole way of life, everything he’s ever believed was right and wrong has been switched, he lost his >!bestie!< his >!mobility!< I honestly would complain sooo much more than he did if it were me lol. I have been much pettier and bitchier for wayyyyy less.
Also, you don’t have to wait years to get back to the cliffhanger at the end of EoS like the people who were reading the books as they were coming out, so in reality, you are your only obstacle to finishing it and getting to KoA.
I hated Chaol and seriously considered skipping ToD but a few chapters in I fell in love with the story and am now a serious Chaol stan. And I actually re read ToD! 😅
I don’t hate him but I wasn’t excited for that book. I ended up really liking it! Honestly it kept me guessing on who is a shady character and what is gonna happen
I wasn't a Chaol hater, but he wasn't one of my favorites. But after reading ToD I found his character arc to be one of the best in the whole series. Also, before ToD Nesryn was kind of a "meh" character to me, but I loved her after ToD. Plus the characters introduced in ToD, specifically Sartaq and Yrene, are awesome. I loved everything about Sartaq pretty much from the moment he was introduced. Honestly, ToD is one of my favorites in the series. It's got a mystery element to it and also some big revelations that will affect Aelin and co.
I’m not a Chaol hater but I’m neutral on him. I’m currently about 1/3 of the way through TOD and LOVING it so far! I’m doing the tandem read though, idk if that makes a difference
I was in the same boat but found myself quickly enjoying the book once I started it. It’s now in my top 3 of the entire series, the world building is so good
i was not excited for TOD, but I find myself thinking back to the world building and the southern continent often now and really looked forward to it on the re read.
I did the tandem read, and really grazed through a lot of TOD but there’s really important info in it and I think if you skip you’ll miss some key elements to the end of the story 😊
Gonna be honest, I just did a reread of the entire series and frankly, I don't understand the hate.
I think Chaol was douchey but it was his personal growth era and I somehow just really liked the khagan and his family and their closeness. I also liked the ruhkin.
Go into it with an open mind and it's fine if you don't like Chaol at the end but he's only a part of that book tbh
It's a disliked opinion on this sub, but you can skip it and still understand KOA. You'd be missing some backstory and need to just embrace a few new characters, but everything is explained if you really don't want to read it.
Respectfully, yes. That's exactly what I did and I absolutely understood the entire book.
I did eventually go back and read TOD and yep, didn't miss anything. So respectfully, you're wrong on this.
Also, I've seen many comments on this sub of people who did the same thing and agree with me. So it absolutely can be done.
To each their own. I LOVEDDDDD the way the big reveals were made in KOA and I personally loved reading TOD at the end of the series (after KOA). It just made it a better, more emotional reading experience for me.
I read ToD (and most of the series) as it was released, and I didn't know until after I started it that Aelin and co. weren't in it. But I loved it. I was so ravenous for anything from the world and these characters. It seems crazy to me that people skip a whole book by an author they love about a world they love. I feel like if the author included the book, it's obviously an important part of the series and she wants you to read it.
That said, I guess I kind of understand because the first time I read ToG I didn't know about AB and so I didn't read it until my first reread of the series. I definitely didn't miss it, and had no trouble understanding the rest of the series. And honestly, I hate AB, Celaena is such a brat and I find the writing so juvenile, I have skipped it on every subsequent reread. To each their own.🤷🏻♀️
I also read them as released. I went and got TOD the day it came out and when I got home and realized what it was I threw it across the room and decided to just wait for the next book.
At the time I thought it was like TAB where it’s great info, but not critical to the story. In my opinion, that actually holds true.
I loved the way I got all the reveals in KOA. And frankly, I liked reading TOD after KOA as a nice side story/dive back into the universe but not where it really mattered.
I was a Chaol hater & had serious dread over starting it but I loved it! Stick it out, it’s worth it
ooh this is good news, thank you
I wasn’t a chaol hater, but I found his arc to be more boring compared to what was going on in EOS. Buuuuut, there are some characters I loved meeting in TOD, and some p big reveals that are clutch to the over all story. TOD, imo, started off a little slow but once it got rolling, I was p into it. Give it a chance ^__^
thank you for this!
i would urge you to read it just for the fascinating continent that is Antica. It seemed so beautiful to me and i was so sad we didn't get to explore more places of that empire
There is actually a lot to love about this book. The world-building for the Southern Continent is really cool. It's worth a read for that alone.
he SLOWLY gets better as a character. overall a good book. i’m almost done
ooh okay good to know
Focus on Nesryn because she is my girllllll. Don’t worry, I think less than half the chapters are Chaols POV (but I haven’t counted)
ooh okay good
I’m not a Chaol fan either but it’s worth it. If for nothing else but the important plot points of the overall series, I actually finished it with a new love of Nesyrn and Yrene. Oh and Borte. 🤭
One sentence in that book is gonna have you clutching your pearls so power thru, fam…
oh shit now I’m interested
what is it
Just finished ToD and I loved it!
I went in to this book thinking it was just a push to the end to start the next book. I was very happily surprised by the end. 4.5/5 stars for sure.
I’m a Chaol hater and I did actually really like TOD. It’s not my favorite but it was way more enjoyable than I expected it to be
I loved it. Probably my second favorite in the series. I am not a Chaol hater or lover, but there are other characters you will meet in this book that are lovable. Also, it’s very well written.
There’s awesome world building, settings, and characters in this book (even if you don’t grow to appreciate chaol more).
You get tea about Maeve. Thats all I will say.
Search up fanart! You’ll love Sartaq, I personally rlly hate Chaol and just listened to the audible book and sometimes followed along with reading a few chapters
Imo Tower of Dawn is the best one of the series. But I also love difficult characters who are forced to face themselves and realize they don't always have the right of it. His character development is top tier for me.
There are important things revealed and new characters to meet. I wish I’d have done the tandem read…but yeah you have to read it.
I was so close to skipping tower of dawn because I didn’t want to deal with Chaol… it ended up being one of favorite books of the whole series
I agree with you. I even went back and read TOD after KoA and I didn't miss out. He's the most grating, bitching character to me and I have zero regrets
like i feel like he just constantly complains 😂
It is a great book. I think most of us were unhappy when we realized what tower of dawn was but then you read it and it great! I really enjoyed it!
Even if you hate Chaol, you will meet some incredibly interesting characters in TOD in my opinion! Yes, he’s there unfortunately, but so is a whole new cast of unique people. It’s also a great chance to explore outside of Adarlan/Erilea more. Be strong, see past the Chaol of it all 😂
Nesryn’s story makes it worth it. And Sartaq is a babe.
I was a Chaol hater as well, but trust me, this book is worth it. And I will tell you what someone had told me when I was in the same position as you - “he suffers a lot, so hope that makes it better” 😂
LMAO
Hate that book, but it's apart of the journey.
it’s a little slow at first and i was also a little wary but by the end its a honestly a beautiful story like i was definitely welling up. it’s kind of like silver flames where a character overcomes their internal hardships. i don’t get the hate and DEF don’t skip. it’s become one of my favs.. like better than the first four
ooh okay i do love some character development so that’s promising
Besides Chaol and Yrene, the whole book is pretty nice and you'll get to read KOA once you're done.
I’m gonna be real.. I loved every book in this series except that one. It was so hard to get through, and I was just missing Aelin the whole time, especially after the cliffhanger we were left on in Empire of Storms. I wanted to skip it so badly, but I forced myself through this book, and it didn’t even start getting interesting until the last 200 pages.
You can do it! It's a bit slower. But just tryyyy to keep an open mind and his arc might turn you over. The other POVs in it are fantastic as well.
Your only motivation should be for a very VERY VERY big plot twist towards the end of the book…. It literally changes the trajectory of the whole story in the most shocking way possible. I also have always had a so-so opinion of Chaol the whole series… he was always just meh to me but this book you can truly see the humanness of him and the other characters in the book. IMO it’s the one book in the series where you truly feel as if the characters are actually real.
I'm still a chaol hater and I loved it. Though I wonder how Nesryn's back is doing after carrying that book for me. 😂
😂
Arguably the best written book of the series. The fact that a new world had to be built in the second to last book and was so well done should be motivation enough! It has so much great lore that ties back to soooo many little things throughout the rest of the books. The beginning is rather slow, but literally every SJM book has a boring set up. Once I got even like 100 pages in, I couldn’t put it down. It was such a fun read, and I think I liked it more than EoS. I love the way the healers and their system was written, loved the dynamic between the royals and our mains in the book, I grew to love Nesryn so much (when I truly didn’t care for her going into the book), and Chaol getting humbled, growing, and finally facing all his emotional issues. I liked Chaol throughout all of the books. He is so human when everyone else seems so able to handle the craziest shit, he’s just doing his best not to fall apart. He’s literally a 23 year old guy who has had his whole life flipped upside down, lost his love, his job, his whole way of life, everything he’s ever believed was right and wrong has been switched, he lost his >!bestie!< his >!mobility!< I honestly would complain sooo much more than he did if it were me lol. I have been much pettier and bitchier for wayyyyy less. Also, you don’t have to wait years to get back to the cliffhanger at the end of EoS like the people who were reading the books as they were coming out, so in reality, you are your only obstacle to finishing it and getting to KoA.
thank you so much for your thorough response!!
I’m glad to hear you liked it more than EoS. I did as well and I was worried it was a controversial opinion lol.
I hated Chaol and seriously considered skipping ToD but a few chapters in I fell in love with the story and am now a serious Chaol stan. And I actually re read ToD! 😅
I LOVED ToD!! It definitely started out slow but I loved his arc as well as the intro of the new characters
I don’t hate him but I wasn’t excited for that book. I ended up really liking it! Honestly it kept me guessing on who is a shady character and what is gonna happen
Idk good luck I still haven’t finished it haha but I moved on to her other series
I wasn't a Chaol hater, but he wasn't one of my favorites. But after reading ToD I found his character arc to be one of the best in the whole series. Also, before ToD Nesryn was kind of a "meh" character to me, but I loved her after ToD. Plus the characters introduced in ToD, specifically Sartaq and Yrene, are awesome. I loved everything about Sartaq pretty much from the moment he was introduced. Honestly, ToD is one of my favorites in the series. It's got a mystery element to it and also some big revelations that will affect Aelin and co.
I’m not a Chaol hater but I’m neutral on him. I’m currently about 1/3 of the way through TOD and LOVING it so far! I’m doing the tandem read though, idk if that makes a difference
LMAO you’ll like the other characters PLUS he has a lot of character development !! That’s just me though!
I was in the same boat but found myself quickly enjoying the book once I started it. It’s now in my top 3 of the entire series, the world building is so good
i was not excited for TOD, but I find myself thinking back to the world building and the southern continent often now and really looked forward to it on the re read.
I was also a Chaol hater and loved Tower of Dawn although and the characters. Also the descriptions of Antica was so detailed!
I did the tandem read, and really grazed through a lot of TOD but there’s really important info in it and I think if you skip you’ll miss some key elements to the end of the story 😊
I’m wishing i’d done the tandem read now 😭
ToD is one of my favorites. It might not make you like Chaol any more than you do now but the other 3 main characters are great.
I hated Chaol and it ended up being one of my favorite books!!
I tandem read and it was actually pretty good that way. Not sure why there is so much negativity surrounding that book
I just finished tower of dawn and it was soooooooooo good
I loved it!! Liked Chaol by the end!
I’m literally in the same boat right now. ToD is dragging so hard rn
Gonna be honest, I just did a reread of the entire series and frankly, I don't understand the hate. I think Chaol was douchey but it was his personal growth era and I somehow just really liked the khagan and his family and their closeness. I also liked the ruhkin. Go into it with an open mind and it's fine if you don't like Chaol at the end but he's only a part of that book tbh
i wanted it to be over so bad because i found chaol boring lol i wanted to see where everyone else was
It's a disliked opinion on this sub, but you can skip it and still understand KOA. You'd be missing some backstory and need to just embrace a few new characters, but everything is explained if you really don't want to read it.
Respectfully, no you ✨cannot✨ just skip an entire book in the tail end of a series and really think you’ll be able to fully understand the final book
Respectfully, yes. That's exactly what I did and I absolutely understood the entire book. I did eventually go back and read TOD and yep, didn't miss anything. So respectfully, you're wrong on this. Also, I've seen many comments on this sub of people who did the same thing and agree with me. So it absolutely can be done.
A lot of things can be done but it don’t mean they should! <3
To each their own. I LOVEDDDDD the way the big reveals were made in KOA and I personally loved reading TOD at the end of the series (after KOA). It just made it a better, more emotional reading experience for me.
I read ToD (and most of the series) as it was released, and I didn't know until after I started it that Aelin and co. weren't in it. But I loved it. I was so ravenous for anything from the world and these characters. It seems crazy to me that people skip a whole book by an author they love about a world they love. I feel like if the author included the book, it's obviously an important part of the series and she wants you to read it. That said, I guess I kind of understand because the first time I read ToG I didn't know about AB and so I didn't read it until my first reread of the series. I definitely didn't miss it, and had no trouble understanding the rest of the series. And honestly, I hate AB, Celaena is such a brat and I find the writing so juvenile, I have skipped it on every subsequent reread. To each their own.🤷🏻♀️
I also read them as released. I went and got TOD the day it came out and when I got home and realized what it was I threw it across the room and decided to just wait for the next book. At the time I thought it was like TAB where it’s great info, but not critical to the story. In my opinion, that actually holds true. I loved the way I got all the reveals in KOA. And frankly, I liked reading TOD after KOA as a nice side story/dive back into the universe but not where it really mattered.