why kingdom of ash failed

[@estisochorcova977]

Also I hated how the woird key plot was resolved. She could get rid of the enemy right there and yet she didn't because she want to save person who is already dead and was the reason this war was happening. It wasn't a heroic thing because so many people died because of this!! Also I think Dorian was a missed opportunity to make something interesting. I think the stakes could had been much higher if they decided to go to orinth first and destroy the keys after, but the enemy would be too strong with both of the vilians, so dorian would due to his emotional damage decide to sacrifice himself to get rid of the keys and erawan. That would make an epic moment and a cool ending for aelin and chaol. For aelin because she wouldn't be the ultimate hero and she would have to live knowing he sacrificed himself instead of her. For Chaol it would be devastating, because he really cared about him and viewed him as the ultimate king.

[@illreadwhatshesreading]

The plot was very all over the place. Throne of glass has always been more character driven, but because all the characters have plot armour we don't really feel afraid for them. Dorian dying before the confrontation with Erawan could've been very cool because then Aelin would know that there's no other option, and she has to be the one to die to forge the lock. I don't know, there were a lot of roads not taken with this book and I think because it plays it so safe and conventional, it suffers in quality.

[@KrombobulousMitchell]

Bang on, repetitive and stakes weren't high enough as no main character is ever in any real danger since they never incur any actual reprocussions for their major actions..plot armour thicker than a bowl of oatmeal

[@atusadav24]

Yes, exactly! For me throne of glasses started out good and it showed promise. The world of TOG was interesting and i was invested in following the characters journey. But as you said, it eventually went downhill and finished in a very unsatisfying, happily-ever-after type of YA. It's a shame, because at the beginning the books were actually good. Now, knowing the ending i have some reservations about re-reading the first books, despite liking them a lot.

[@illreadwhatshesreading]

it does suck when an ending kind of ruins the good beginning. like with Star Wars yanno. it also sucks cause now I have all these books on my shelf that I just kinda look at like 'well. where do we go from here?' But for real, in my opinion, one of the most compelling parts about KoA was Aelin grappling with her inevitable death. It would've been even more interesting if we hadn't known from the beginning that they'd find some loophole way out of it, because there's no way SJM would kill her. The lack of tension does it for me.

[@atusadav24]

@@illreadwhatshesreading Yeah. I think in the beginning, especially after heir of fire, the possibility of Aelin, Dorian or Chaol dying was very real. Even almost halfway to end of KoA i thought at least Aelin or Dorian are going to die. But when it reached the first major battle (in Chaol's home) I thought: nah...none of them are gonna die. Even Lorcan survived! The only significant character that died in this book was Gavriel, which really didn't impact me at all.

[@illreadwhatshesreading]

@@atusadav24 I was excited when it looked like lorcan died! not because I wanted him to die but because I thought that was ballsy. I think the lorcan/elide plot had the most potential to divulge from the other romances and end differently. but no, it was just another same old happily ever after. I just wanted some variety, y'know?

[@atusadav24]

@@illreadwhatshesreading I know. Like you said this series started out like fantasy who had romance elements but mostly ended as romance in a fantasy world. If the series had been like that from the beginning it would have been okay (I read a series in which romance had a major role in it and was set in a fantasy world. It was nonetheless enjoyable) but changing directions in the last two books ruined it for me.

[@illreadwhatshesreading]

@@atusadav24 the problem is when romance is such a focus you know that any character involved in a romance is going to survive, because how can a character possibly have a happy ending if they're single? Maybe I would care more if I actually liked the romances haha.

[@starmoalitiny]

I AGREE. All the couples are the same and I hate it!!!

[@illreadwhatshesreading]

SJM really said I will ride and die with one dynamic and one dynamic only.

[@jandejmal6392]

When you talk about war and romance on the same level, honestly, that's exactly what I liked about Throne of glass series. I missed it in the ACOTAR series so much. And when you pointed on couple people not dieing, for me that thing with mortals and imortals is already really heartbreaking...

[@illreadwhatshesreading]

totally cool if you like the war and romance being on the same level, for me I just think it strikes this weird imbalance. War is a theme bigger than individual characters, where as romance is a very personal theme, so to have these two things going on at once, described with the same level of intensity in the narrative, it's just off-putting to me, personally. And I totally get not wanting characters to die if you like them, I just didn't care much for a lot of the characters. All a matter of personal taste, really! Thanks for watching :)

[@taylorthatwriter6865]

I read all the way through Empire of Storms and I just couldn't do it anymore. But I was fascinated by what would happen. Glad to know I didn't waste my time! LOL

[@illreadwhatshesreading]

Honestly Taylor, you had it right. Wish that were me. Rip.

[@kari_325]

Im years late to this video, but im about 300 pages into Kingdom of Ash and its already too long. I have had such a love/hate relationship with this series. I did the romantic order when i read the series: tog, com, hof, tab, qos, tod and eos (tandem), then finally Koa. Honesty the first 3 books were just ok for me. I actually loved assassin's blade, mostly because of Sam. The only part i liked about queen of shadows was the revenge on arobynn for Sam, other than that it was ok. I attempted a tandem read with empire of storms and tower of dawn. I ended up dnfing empire of storms. But i loved tower of dawn. Ive always loved chaol and i dont understand the hate he gets. But i loved his whole healing story. Im reading kingdom of ash because i feel like i have to finish it. I like parts of it so far. But i agree, there are way too many povs. I skimmed a few pages here and there, but im determined to finish the damn series. 🤣

[@illreadwhatshesreading]

i felt like dnfing this book so many times while i was reading it but i pushed through just so i could have that sense of completion. for me it truly just wasn't worth it lol. congrats to the people who did love it tho! happy for you!

[@milo-z4k]

i disagree and people probably think oh well? nobody asked for your opinion on this video. but honestly all the fandom is on tt and kingdom of ash is still a thriller with tones of plot twists. you really can’t find that much to hate on it and the pros overtake the cons massively

[@cafesparrow28]

OMG I agree with everything you said. Now that I trust you, what fantasy series do you recommend?

[@illreadwhatshesreading]

I've recently become obsessed with the locked tomb series so maybe try that one!

[@cafesparrow28]

Thank you for the suggestion! I was so disappointed in the second half of this book for all the copious reasons you listed, and agree that she went from an ending like HOF (the best 50 pages in the series imo), to a dramatic romance that took precedent on Rowan/Aelin over everything else. It was infuriating because it was set-up so well. @@illreadwhatshesreading

[@massy-mia-xl4fx]

This book is extremely boring!😅😂😂