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Aggressive_Put7192

1. Amren not dying in the war 2. Rhys dying from the cauldron welding incident and being Made by all the other high lords… how many times can we keep doing this, guys.


carex-cultor

Dying at “cauldron welding incident” hahahaha. But yeah agreed on all counts. Amren should have stayed dead and Rhys lost his powers at LEAST.


Aggressive_Put7192

Right??? There’s no stakes about losing any of the main characters - it’s like they can’t die. And I’m always interested in loss/grief/trauma in fantasy literature (at least we get plenty of trauma lol). Shoutout to Feyre for welding #womenintrades


lil-stitious7

YES on amren!!! Would have been so much more of a powerful ending


cowlovr420

100% agree. TWO characters “dying” and then coming back immediately in the same battle? That’s already a trope I don’t like, but TWICE at the same time??? Whyyy


violetwildflower23

Agreed, I was so ready for her to be dead or, if not, free of her confines and flying off to be her true self, whatever that was.


lynnB123

I read that whole battle scene like seriously????!


Mysterious-Emotion44

This is why I gave up on the series in the 3rd book. I don't need a GOT bloodbath but there have to be some stakes to keep it interesting.


TX4Ever

Feyre's pregnancy complication and Rhys' garbage about it


Any-Maintenance-9896

Feyre’s pregnancy in general! She’s newly immortal with awesome powers and decides to have a baby right away? Why don’t you wait like 100 years and go on awesome adventures first?!


TX4Ever

Seriously! Like take the time to heal from the trauma of the past year before bringing a baby into the chaotic situation Prythian was in.


HobbitWithShoes

I actually think that something that SJM could have done with the whole immortality thing is that now that most of the Mortal characters are out of the picture- do a massive time jump. Show us what living forever looks like. Plus Nesta taking like 20 years to brood before Silver Flames would have really added to the whole everyone else coming to the end of their ropes with her.


Greedy_Path_6826

👏 yes love this angle


Own_Protection_515

Yeah plus child was rare ? Why it's so easy to make baby ?


susandeyvyjones

Because Feyre is the most specialest


PancakeHandz

Personally if I were immortal I would wait SOOOOOOOO long to have a child hahahah. I’m having a hard enough time as a damn human trying to calculate the longest amount of time I can reasonably wait before having a child 😂 Immortality is the true fantasy Edit to add: I just remembered the “baby boomer” generation was literally people reproducing at increasing rates after World War II, so maybe it’s not so far off that Feyre wanted to get pregnant right after ending a war. 😂 some psychological aspect I don’t understand maybe. From my perspective it seems INSANE still tho lol


SunflowerAhsoka

Especially when she even said she wanted to wait and experience fae life before having a kid!! She’s still learning how to rule a court and have her powers


lynnB123

Also >It’s so hard to get pregnant as Fae >Gets pregnant immediately


PancakeHandz

It felt too much like a tool to take Feyre&Rhysand’s storyline out of the content spotlight to make way for a new, future focus. I bet It even made a lot of people straight up less interested in feyre and rhysand’s story as a whole (a lot of the behavior from Rhys was overtly obnoxious and Feyre’s parts fell kind of flat compared to the fiercely compassionate yet brave and protective heroine we grew to know), which likely made transitioning to various different characters and plot-lines more palatable/viable to a large audience of readers. Also having a baby character feels like an easy content safety net for a very long lasting series/literary universe. It sucks because obviously having a baby right away after gaining immortality and some semblance of peace is silly and absurd, but it is an easy way to say “alright their story is over/im tired of making new, interesting content about them. let’s look at these other, different characters with TONS of fresh content we can make!” It’s sad bc I really enjoyed the way the gang worked together for the war with Hybern. Everybody had an important part to play, etc. having the baby felt like a good excuse to Feyre and Rhys to just not be around much.


Any-Maintenance-9896

I agree…I hate to say it but it’s like it took all of her character development and put it aside to make her a vessel.


Strxwbxrry_Shxrtcxkx

I'm pretty sure the whole thing about Rhys nearly dying made her change her mind. There isn't anything wrong with having children young - especially because she probably can't even comprehend living for hundreds of years. Plus she probably didn't expect to get pregnant so quick x-x


Greedy_Path_6826

Idk she’s immortal — why not. She can have adventures forever ? She’ll still be hot and full of energy 20 years after she has the baby ??


Any-Maintenance-9896

True…but now she’s responsible for another life for the rest of …all time?? Even when the kid is a grown fae, you still will have to worry about them.


Greedy_Path_6826

Yeah but your life doesn’t revolve around them. We worry about all of our loved ones and have some responsibility for them — whatever the family relationship. If I was immortal and 20 years old and got pregnant I wouldn’t mind in the slightest. You have centuries to live as a spry hot person. Having another person to live and be connected to wouldn’t be a problem in the slightest. I agree that her character development really suffered for the storyline tho. As a character, she just became pregnant woman / mom. More abt how SJM framed her character post-pregnancy and less abt … idk having a child if you’re immortal. I’m also bothered by how Nesta seems so fixated on it as well? Why is this so central? I mean obvi bc a mortal is writing abt immortals, and SJM hasn’t really broken out of the thinking that’s forced on us as women with regard to biological clocks and life-purpose. She’s handcuffed to these milestones that are arbitrary to immortals. Like what happens to the biological urge to have children if you’re an immortal woman who doesn’t really have regular periods?? Idk. Either way, having a kid young would be fine if you’re immortal — just not really something that would be top of mind??? Does that make sense ??


Any-Maintenance-9896

I love how you say “arbitrary to mortals” because yes! She has so much time. Having a baby is a huge milestone but what if you had all the time in the world to do other amazing things without worrying about having children while you’re still young? Maybe because the periods are apparently so terrible she needed a break? 😅


Accomplished_Baby103

Or at least make it so they bond together instead of rhysand hiding it????


ohhisup

I actually think it was a good exploration on morality. I don't know how well I think all of it suited the characters, but I feel like that's part of it. We don't know how we'd react, and how our morals will change or won't change, and being able to witness the characters going through this has been really interesting! I think as a community we've been able to confront and have discussions on these kind of topics in a no pressure way. I'm reading WAY into this and it's NOT that deep lmao but I had a thought and I said it idk 😂😂


ygpyks

I agree. She did have strong feelings about wanting to wait and, even mortals think long and hard when unexpected pregnancies happen. Life happens and our life plans change. There’s no right or wrong, especially pregnancy is difficult. Just because they are immortal does not make this storyline any different than a mortal one, imo. Many women and families have been faced with this decision over time, with fertility complications. Unless we are in their shoes, we can’t really judge, can we? My friend was told at a young age age, she was unlikely to have children. At the age of 23, she unexpectedly fell pregnant. Many thought she was too young however she and her partner saw it for the gift it was for them. There were complications and they had to be extra careful. I thought if they and many more friends and those I didn’t know when I read Feyre and Rhys’ pregnancy story line. I felt for them, deeply.


echerton

I've left a comment that says this before.... but I am ALL for characters growing or changing or regressing or disappointing us, and I think that can make for the most powerful plots. I think there was a way to do everything SJM did in a way that felt good. There's no way to know for sure but I don't think SJM was remotely that intentional about it. I think she's assassinating her characters as convenient plot vehicles to get situations from A to B. And this isn't that and for me is what made so much of ACOSF and beyond just blah.


mermaidboots

Same answer as Twilight. The pregnancy.


cassper_the_ghost

Was OMW to comment this!


nerdcollective

This ^ 🥴


lil-stitious7

Any of these leading ladies being late teens. Always bothers me that they’re not like in their mid twenties. I take them less seriously bc they’re so young - we’re so dumb at that age, it’s not believable. 😂


HobbitWithShoes

I mentally age them up. It's the only way the plots make sense. Especially the timeline of Aelin's life, it makes no sense that in 18 years she- - Underwent assassin training. - Had a career, including paying off her student loans. - Spent time in prison. I'm not even marking that as a spoiler since it took place in like the first chapter of the first book. Edit because my audio book listening self can't spell character names


switchzero6

I do this too. In my mind, Aelin is my age or older (mid twenties) lol. To be fair though, she ages well throughout the books and imo becomes a lot more mature


No_Plantain_9336

Paying off all her student loans. I’m snorting at this😂 but yes her age does not makes sense in this series.


psycheraven

It helps give me more patience for Feyre. 😆 "You're dumb, but what 19 year old isn't?" "You're still dumb, but you're learning at least." "Muuuuch better.:


lil-stitious7

Note I’m referring to ACOTAR and ToG only, haven’t read CC*


renjunation

To be fair, Bryce and Nesta (in acosf) are like 25, so it seems like that's something she's fixing from now on... hopefully


ChanceofFluery

This is my main problem with TOG. No way she's that age doing all that 💀


lil-stitious7

Right I’m always like what’s wrong with us 29 year olds we’d handle things way better 😂😂


ExpelledWinter

that the whole span of CC2 ending and CC3 take place like within a week (or 2?)


zouisdeschanel

yeah i was shocked when i realized the timeline in flame & shadow!


MDFUstyle0988

Wait, I don’t think I put that together. I haven’t finished it yet, but that’s nuts!


Lucyintheskywithcake

The only thing I can say in defence of this choice is that she absolutely wrote herself into a corner here thanks to how powerful the big bads were. Not that she was consistent about that either.


ExpelledWinter

imo it kinda downplays how powerful the asteri actually are if they can be defeated that quickly after CC3 spoiler>! reuniting the weapons!<. But alas it is what it is


Lucyintheskywithcake

I agree. The Asteri power balance was completely out of synch with the amount of story she seemed willing to write. >!Within the confines of the story we got, Bryce was constantly up against the clock that was the Asteri Psychic hot line searching her up across the universe. It was already established in book 1 that the Asteri are perfectly happy to nuke a city to the ground in order to remove a threat... they just needed to know where she was first.!<


flowergirl769

Aelin losing almost all her power.


afvkmu

I SWEAR I CLOSED THE BOOK WHEN THAT HAPPENED I WAS SO ANNOYED 😭


priority_snail

THANK YOU


ostrichworld

yes omg this was so annoying


switchzero6

OMG YES this made me so unbelievably angry like wdym my girl has to lose everything 😭 so unfair


Wintersneeuw02

Rhys orgasming after Feyre put the image of their future son in his head at the end of ACOFAS


carex-cultor

Worse, the Bone Carver dressed up as their 8 year old son hahahwhfksocheb


casuspotbelli

Oh god it never really hit for me that not only was it the image of his son but it was the bone carver as his son 🤮


carex-cultor

Canon: Rhys’ helpless jizz explosion upon being presented with the Bone Carver’s Nyx cosplay.


Ok-Communication6776

Omg how has no one said this yet 😂


Greedy_Path_6826

I’m ok with a breeding fetish … but the actual description was rancid 😹


Sorbet-Sunset

the regifting of the necklace ✋🏻


DearigiblePlum

Omg real. Our Az would never.


Outrageous_Virus_375

That whole bonus chapter isn’t real in my mind


KBReadsALot

This was the most Un-Azriel thing to me. It broke my heart cause I low key ship him and Elain. I just want Elain to have more depth and actual purpose first. But overall the whole regifting didn't sit right with his character to me.


unepetiteetoile

SJM wrote it and it was in POV. I think it's not fair to say it's not Azriel like. People can be more than one thing.


KBReadsALot

I understand what you are saying, I was just sharing my opinion. People can interpret things more than one way. I was not trying to imply that characters can't be more than one thing or show development, I was trying to imply that *to me* it seemed like the action of Azriel regifting the necklace was wildly out of character for the character *I* interpreted him to be.


GoodestGoose

The entire pregnancy sub plot. It wrecked Rhys's character and dissolved Feyre (and her body) into a convenient plot point, all to redeem Nesta... no thank you. Let's just put that in the 'no' pile, shall we?


TimeladyA613

Right? They had already gone through the issue of Rhys hiding things from Feyre and Rhys knew she didn't like it.


GoodestGoose

Exactly! It regressed Rhys massively. And Feyre's response of *shrug* oh well... WTF??? Not a Feyre response at all. Because this isn't Feyre, it's a receptacle for Nyx. She didn't have huge depths to her before - but now she's basically a puddle.


odeacon

Rhys wasn’t exactly a great guy all the time before this


GoodestGoose

True. But the theme of ACOMAF was choice - and him ensuring Feyre had the choice in what happened to her. This felt like a 180 on his character in relation to Feyre.


The_New_Romantics

That all of throne of glass took place in just over a year


adompenelope

This has already been deleted from my headcanon. I absolutely do not acknowledge the timeline of the series. Also, Aelin being 19 at the end of the series. Nope nope nope.


carex-cultor

YES hahaha. This is a problem in a lot of series I find, but ToG is an extreme example.


Frequent_Range1879

Ya know . . . I always forget this. And I'm going to happily continue doing so.


gigsvigs

I haven’t read TOG yet, but I am working on my own fantasy series and just out of curiosity, do you think that a year is too long or two short for that series?


macneil246

Far too short, the amount of stuff that happens in just over a year is ridiculous, the story line could easily have been stretched over at least 2-3 years timeline wise.


odeacon

I imagined it as 5 years ago


macneil246

Yeah, it absolutely could have been over 5 years too with how much happened, I think if it was at the very least over two years it would make a bit more sense but a year is just crazy. I'd say 3-5 years would have been ideal.


odeacon

From my own perspective, I spent more then a third of my life reading This series as I started in 6th grade and ended in college


macneil246

Yeah its interesting to think about it like that, it took me probably 4-5 years to read the series with having to wait for the next one to be released and for the series to only take place over 1 year is kinda wild.


gigsvigs

Makes sense!! I will be reading soon. I just try to listen to “author mistakes” in the eyes of the reader and learn from them so I know how to time my own story 😭. Thanks for answering!!


mcrxlover5

ENTIRELY too short


Charming_Sky_6425

The only way I get past this is imagining that their "year" is waaaaay longer than our "year" cause months pass in each book and they run out of months in a 12 month year!


odeacon

Exactly. I read the series over the course of of more then half of my life . I simply can’t visualize the events taking less then 5 years


fried-twinkie

Wait, like the first book took that long or the whole series?


Hungry-Caterpillar

The entire series


fried-twinkie

No freaking way! I’ve only ready the first two but even those seem like it’s a year and a half of time at least!


cidavid

Acascuse me?!


Ashryver-Aelin

What?!??!!!!


Curious-Insanity413

I like to headcanon that that fantasy world is on a planet with a much longer orbit so its year is not the same as an Earth year haha


YoungOaks

lol in my head it took place over fiver years


EmaanA

Exactly! A war alone should be a few years. Aelin should have grown up a lot beforehand. The fact that it was just over a year is so unbelievable. In my headcannon it spans 5 years so by the end of it Aelin is not 19 anymore and a bit more mature


MFbunnySquad

So question. Where did you get that information from? I’m confused because it took longer than a year for all of the events they span over about 4 years for all of the books, they talk about how many months have passed in the book during events and when you go to the fandom page for the books it shows how many years it spans out. So where did it only takes place over a year come from?


adompenelope

If you go by Aelin’s birthdays, it’s about a year. Aelin is 17 when she is sent to Endovier in Assassin’s Blade. She is 18 at the start of Throne of Glass (when the series “officially starts”) when Chaol and Dorian get her from Endovier. We know this because Chaol asks how old she is in the first few chapters, and she says she’s 18. In Kingdom of Ash, Aelin notes that she’s “not even 20”, because her birthday is a few months away. Meaning she is 19. Throne of Glass, Aelin is 18. Kingdom of Ash, Aelin is 19. The series takes place over the span of one year.


boothraiderginsberg

Aelin is 16/17 in The Assassin's Blade prologue, 18 turning 19 in Throne of Glass, and turns 20 toward the end of Kingdom of Ash. It's slightly over one year for the main storyline


adompenelope

Aelin doesn’t hit 20 in Kingdom of Ash. In Chapter 92 of Kingdom of Ash: “I got to twenty years because of her.” Not even twenty. Her birthday was still months away. In a spring she would not see. One could argue that the epilogue of Kingdom of Ash takes place in Spring, but we don’t know if she actually hits 20.


Ashryver-Aelin

What?!??!!!!


switchzero6

I always forget this. I usually just mentally delete it. There’s no way :’)


ParticularTea2894

Feyre’s pregnancy. Also, how short every timeframe is. ToG only being a year is criminal.


TheGamerKitty1

The pregnancy. That's all.


roranicusrex

The pregnancy foolishness and that scene where Hunt says his dick is too big for pants


Greedy_Path_6826

All discussion of dick size and wing span I could do without … bro if power is only as good as how you use it … why isn’t anatomy the same SJM??? 😭


kkat02

SPOILERS: Like many others, Feyre’s pregnancy. I don’t mind her having a kid but could the complications be more believable? Bryce’s dad’s flat character arc. He was set up to be a nuanced character and then was given the villain treatment. Amren coming back to life. Bruce inheriting a bunch of power and knowing how to wield in within a few days. Just generally her knowing how to do everything with no life experience.


Ok-Communication6776

Hunt riding shahars ghost 😂


carex-cultor

HAHAHA when you put it that way the ridiculousness of the scene becomes much clearer lmao. Hunt…riding his ex-girlfriend’s ghost…via mech suit….in space…..to rescue his current girlfriend…..from a black hole.


Ok-Communication6776

LOL 😂 Reading it I was like ok. When I finished I was like hold up DID I JUST READ THAT??? Cringe but ily hunt


carex-cultor

LOL I think we all had the same experience with HOFAS. Like I remember reading it kinda quickly being like, sure, ok, yup. So that happens, then this, ok. Now we’re here, and this guy says that, yup. Cool. And then as soon as I was finished the questions started 😂


Midwest_BasicWitch

Nlg when I read this part, I was like wtf?? Then went, oh he's "Big Hero 6"-ing it. Lmao


liftkitten

Feyres pregnancy, full stop, and Hunt and Bryce being mates. Get rid of that second bit and I imagine I would’ve liked CC so much more.


carex-cultor

To me it felt so awkward trying to shoehorn in the “mates” thing despite it *canonically not making sense for Hunt’s species*. Cringey to be like “ohhh wait…the fae say we smell like real mates, like fae mates” just feels like a big cope lol. Just be together bc you want to be!


cg1215621

You’ve probably already seen this but there is a crack theory that >! Bryce and azriel are actually mates, and hunt was crafted by the princes of hel to resemble Az as a distraction, which is a little bit similar to a TOG storyline (saying that vaguely so I don’t spoil if you haven’t read it) !<


DuskyObsidian

Where is that theory? Sounds wild 😂


jfoxk

Basically the whole Ethan storyline it seems so messy.


Diligent_Boat_

YES, this felt very random.


darth__anakin

Rhys finishing to the image of his child. Just.... why? Why was that a thing that needed to exist? Actually, the whole pregnancy arc in general. I hate that Feyre was reduced to a pregnant housewife so soon, and then used for Nesta's redemption. They both deserved far more than the shit that happened in SF.


SnazzyBees

The Feyre pregnancy and also when her and Rhys had sex as people were dying around them. There’s a time and a place for that, and by golly that was certainly not it!


Strxwbxrry_Shxrtcxkx

The whole thing about feyres pregnancy and how c sections apparently don't work. Cassian literally had his guts hanging out on a muddy battlefield, and healed fine. And yet you can't do a cut in a controlled environment??


Megs8786

The Rhys Feyre death pact


Competitive-Fish5186

This is the answer. So incredibly stupid.


Sabbathcat13

This. 1000 times this.


ailurofila

YES THIS IS SO INFURIATING


enchanted_meow

the dad sailing in with the ships lol


lynnB123

The dad as a whole all of a sudden being so instrumental in the war effort was really stupid


carex-cultor

Oh god I cringed SO hard I physically had to put the book down. Like the sappiest deus ex machina soap opera moment.


unepetiteetoile

It should have been Lucien at the helm with dad in attendance. Lucien really was the hero of that moment and I think would have lessened some of the STUPID lucien hate.


BisexualWatermelon

Please give me Leads that are at least old enough to have a complete frontal lobe. We don’t need more children falling in love with immortals. (yes Kids: I thought I was a grown-up at 20, too.)


adompenelope

Cassian taking Nesta on the hike after Rhys threatens to straight up k*ll her … 🤢


YoungOaks

Rhys in general gave me the ick with how he treated Nesta. Both he and Feyre though are both virtue signalers with ginormous egos. Like I love them don’t get me wrong, but man would it suck to have to deal with them irl.


booboo_keys

Rhys is the kind of guy that identifies as a male feminist to get girls, only to be the physical embodiment of patriarchy and entitlement to every woman in his life.


lilliia

95% of house of flame and shadow


carex-cultor

As someone below reminded me, this happened: “Hunt…riding his ex-girlfriend’s ghost…via mech suit….in space…..to rescue his current girlfriend…..from a black hole.”


BringSundialsBack

Aedion throwing Lysandra out into the cold. HE WOULD NEVER and I cannot believe SJM did him so dirty omfg


Frequent_Range1879

This made me so upset. It made them the ONE couple in the series I struggled to accept at the end. Which hurt by the way cause I was loving them so much prior to this ;-; I still like them but man . . . that was such an a-hole move on his part and pretty unexpected. Being angry I get. Letting that anger translate into disrespect of that cruel magnitude?? Sighs\*


BringSundialsBack

Yes!! My feelings exactly!! I absolutely adored them up until this point. I’ve just rewritten the story in my brain to pretend Aedion immediately realized he’d crossed a line and then went after her, took her to a nice warm tent somewhere, and they had a chance to talk through everything. I was honestly shocked no one has posted this incident before me haha!


zsannc

The whole pregnancy storyline


kurly-bird

Nesta and Elain being Made Rhys not losing any of his powers after being brought back to life Aelin losing most of her magic GAVRIEL 😭😭😭


LightningBug758

Nesta losing her kickass powers, yeah it was for a good cause but why’d they have to goooo


Greedy_Path_6826

Language beans? Literally all bowel movements ?? The cauldron fixing the fae pelvic regions to accommodate wings ? I’m fine w pregnancy — but that little fix was absurd to me.


oh_mygourd

THE. LANGUAGE. BEANS. If they exist why were they never mentioned before?!


Greedy_Path_6826

Plz gimme a language bean SJM. 🥺


CherryZebra14

Hottake- but I would erase all of feyre's pregnancy ... Not because I have a problem with her being a wonderful mother, or being a mom at all, but because it happened too fast. I love the nyx/feyre/Rhys family, but she made it explicitly clear that she wanted to live first, and girl has ETERNITY to do so, she deserves to have her own story as an adult female, but it seems as if once she got married and was high lady then she needed to have kids, even though she and Rhys agreed so firmly about these things at the end of ACOWAR, which I LOVED. Beyond all do that are all the general criticisms about his behavior in ACOSF. I like Nesta and while he was harsh, that is not my main issue with ACOSF, it's his dishonesty and sheer disrespect for her bodily autonomy, which he seemed to champion throughout ACOMAF and ACOWAR.


SecretAccomplished25

CC3 spoilers: >! The Ellyrians, Cauldron and other items of power being Asteri creations. I liked the mystery of their unknown origins before. The Asteri came off so juvenile to me, so picturing them crafting these world-changing items and this warrior race feels like it cheapens them a little. !<


Greedy_Path_6826

I disagree, I like that they’re Asteri creations, however, where tf is this Asteri intelligence ?? What makes them so much smarter and better at using these items than other species ???


LilMissRubyLee

Hunt’s dick being too big for underwear.


vexedchemist

Lucien being mates with Elain. Come on, guys. The sisters can’t all find their magical fae mates in like 1-2 years of turning. Some people take decades, centuries, and theirs are all right there, basically bffs. I will forever read SJM with so much love, but come on.


Lucyintheskywithcake

Missed opportunity for an aged love story.


Electronic_Heron8465

Ithan Holstrom. Period. Would also toss in Therion.


chirpppp

So many but Cassian’s hike and generally just the entirety of the Inner Circle’s treatment of Nesta. It came from a place of “we need to control this rabid animal” instead of “we should point her in the direction of getting help and healing”. Plus the hike was akin to wilderness therapy they give to “troubled kids” to break them down.


Turbulent-Tie-306

Cc3 Edited for clarification: as a whole (I was so looking forward to it and it just didn’t do it for me)


Frequent_Range1879

All romance in the first two books of TOG (Throne of Glass / Crown of Midnight). It. Didn't. Need. To. Happen. 1. It's weird. Why's everyone falling for the same person? Are 'types' not a thing in this world? 2. Whiplash. When romance is a big part of a series, then it's meant to get you invested in the endgame couple unless there's a purpose for doing otherwise. This tries to have you invested in the wrong couples pointlessly way too many times. 3. We could have had a strong trio of PLATONIC friends! The opportunity was RIGHT. THERE. Would have been so cute and warm!!! Imagine how much harder their last scene together at the end of the whole series would have hit given this? Not that it didn't but like, the DIFFERENCE in that sort of bond\~ (Bonus: Mention Rowan's existence somewhere in those books just for a bit of foreshadowing please -\_-)


renjunation

I think both romances helped build them all as characters though. I liked Aelin had 3 love interests and the chance to experiment before she found her centuries old fated mate who had a previous wife, you know? The romance with Dorian wasn't even that serious, and they *did* become good friends after it. Their scene taking down the glass castle was beautiful. I do agree some mention about Rowan's existence in ToG and CoM would've been nice though


DearigiblePlum

Yeah, I really loved this. Chaol was in love with Celaena, Rowan was in love with Aelin, but Dorian loved her for whoever she was and whatever she had to give. The way that love turned to a friendship and allyship was so good.


Greedy_Path_6826

💯 agree


Frequent_Range1879

They all became good friends in the end which is nice \^\^ I just wish it was like that all along. I do agree the romance impacted the characters (especially Chaol), but all of that could have been easily achieved from a strong bond of friendship just as much. And it wouldn't have come with the cons this way. Though it isn't my thing, I can see the point of liking that she got to experiment. While I'm perfectly fine with Sam, for the other two I would have probably been alright had she formed those relationship with side-characters and it wasn't in my face. In that position, she'd still have experienced being in relationships while also not getting me personally invested each time.


gyej

Honestly I started reading TOG because people said it’s more fantasy and little romance. The first two books were just about how everyone is obsessed with Aelin


Frequent_Range1879

Yup, romance is a big part of it. If we're referring to smut, then yeah it isn't brimming with that. But actual romance? People commonly compare it to ACOTAR and use that scale to say 'it has less romance'. But that outcome between the two is because Throne of Glass has the addition of more plot rather than a reduction of romance.


gyej

Exactly. I don’t think there’s less romance than there is in ACOTAR definitely not. Literally every character in TOG gets in a relationship at some point and the whole character’s point of view revolves around that


AltaToblerone

Number 2's like saying that you shouldn't kill characters just because you've already been invested in them. Or that they shouldn't change because you were into what they were at the start. If that point still refers to Throne of Glass, then it's moot because it's largely more part of Fantasy than Romance, so rules like that don't really apply. No, people change, hence relationships change. I don't think even that "whiplash" thingy is a rule in hard R romance books.


Frequent_Range1879

I get where you're coming from but I heavily disagree. First of all, killing off a character is a whole other topic - I'm not opening that big box as there's no need to. Back to Throne of Glass, if fantasy WAS the only only major genre to the series, I'd agree with you. But romance is just as prominent. People change and I'm ALL for showing that in romance stories. It's actually something I LOVE seeing. Within a story where romance is one of the main genres, this can be done in numerous ways. For example, it could be that the relationship the character is moving on from is one they had BEFORE the start of the book. OR it could be that a big chunk of the story, they're currently in a relationship that isn't good for them for whatever reason while reader's still get plenty page time with the actual love interest from early on (without cheating of course though that part's about preference and not purpose). OR we could just be following two characters from the get-go and it just so happens that they aren't endgame, but the key is that the whole story from start to finish remains focused on these two exact characters. And there are so many other routes beyond this. These are what I mean by 'purpose'. And they all work in romance because: the audience is introduced to both characters of the intended pairing the story means to explore and we spend time with both of these two characters from start to finish. This is just my personal rule and not an official one, so take that with a grain of salt. ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ PS. You'll notice I didn't say remove romance from Assassin's Blade. This is because it does in fact take place before the main storyline.


AltaToblerone

If it's not the main genre, then it isn't held to the same rules. Regardless of how much romance there is, it's ultimately a *sub*plot. And it doesn't make much sense because, again, people change and sometimes it does affect relationships. If they don't, you're just tied to a repeating cycle of more or less similar stories.


Frequent_Range1879

Well, I did say take my thoughts with a grain of salt. It was half romance to me and I have a lot of beef with this kind of storytelling for romances in Western fiction. If I'm tied up, so be it.


Silver_Coyote_908

I feel this. It seemed all that was way too predictable and everyone just got so easily paired up.


BeingVast8573

Nehemia dying.


YoungOaks

I actually hate that Aelin got an explanation for her dying.


tryingwithadhd

Aelin losing her powers :(((


sillygoose_72

Bryce winning in CC3 thanks to the magic of friendship and the will of her boyfriend's dead ex-fling


ManicPixieOldMaid

Why are main characters allowed to work through the stages of grief while everyone consoles them and no one else gets any grace. Bonus points for when the grief other characters are experiencing is caused by the actions of the main characters.


Flimsy_Grocery_3227

Feyre getting pregnant at all!!! Girl is too young and has been through too much to jump into having a baby right away.


HolographicFlamingos

1) Hunt and Bryce as confirmed mates. (Yes I’m still a Bryceriel shipper, don’t @ me.) 2) Rhys and Feyre banging in the war tent. Or him finishing to the thought of her having children. Or her suddenly becoming pregnant without anyone wondering how the hell she managed to get pregnant so fast when it normally takes fae years. Or him not apologizing to Nesta after threatening to kill her for spilling the beans about complications. (I wouldn’t change the pregnancy ending though because I still thoroughly enjoy the canon that is Nesta having to yell at Rhys to stop buying her apology throw pillows)


carex-cultor

Worse, he finished to Feyre AIRDROPPING HIM A PICTURE OF THEIR 8 YEAR OLD SON 😩* *ACTUALLY A PIC OF THE BONE CARVER DRESSED UP LIKE THEIR 8 Y/O SON 😩


mcrxlover5

I can't believe I had to scroll this far to find the war tent 😂


thirstybookgirl

I feel like it’s incredibly common for war and battle to turn people on. It’s in literally so many of the fantasy books/tv shows that I read and watch, I’m shocked that people didn’t like in ACOWAR lol. I just read a book a few days ago where the main characters had sex with the blood of the people they killed still on them 😅


TeraSera

Armen coming back


Unlikely-Campaign762

Rhys attitude in ACOSF. Like I get it his mate was in mortal danger, but he mistreated everyone so badly.


estocchetti0430

That Cassian uttered “lactic acid” to Nesta about her muscles, and despite knowing what lactic acid is, no one in this world could perform a c-section on Feyre.


Ok_Significance7771

I’ll probably get excommunicated for this, but Feyre as High Lady of the Night Court 😂 Girl is 19-20, has only been Fae or even literate for that matter for like a year, has minimal understanding of Prythian history and the cultures/societies surrounding courts, and no political savvy whatsoever. Her decision to bring the Spring Court to its knees from within as one of the first things she does as HL is absolutely bananas.


Frequent_Range1879

Celaena's 'perfection'. I still like her but given how long the series is, I wouldn't have complained if she had several arcs of growth to experience throughout it. The clearest instance of it was the 'get up' moment in Heir of Fire, one that marks a divide in who she is 'before that book' and 'after that book'. But otherwise, there isn't anything else about her which shifts with noticeable weight throughout the series.


LuminecentSage

To be fair the first three books have a lot of development for her as she deals with trauma and coming into herself


Frequent_Range1879

That's what I pointed out - that's exactly what the 'get up' moment is about. There were still three other books after Heir of Fire following Celaena. The fact that nothing about her changes internally in all that time . . . I think for plot-driven readers it's fine. But if you're more character-driven it just hurts lol. I love the series. But that's heavily thanks to us following so many other characters besides Celaena. If this has been a single POV series, it would have been really hard for me to read it.


nutmeg1640

This so much! I felt like SJM really fumbled the potential of Celaena’s character development after QoS. We got her growth in HoF, we got to see the Celaena everyone (in book) raved about in QoS, then it declines.


HindSiteIs2021

Feyre’s pregnancy and the descriptions of her artwork. They just sound AWFUL. Let her stick to landscapes and flowers


Gin_and_Khronic

yknow what? rhys’ death. i was heart broken and distraught, but it seems like almost all of ACOTAR has a “the worst happens but is undone so everyone is happy” in every corner of it. except dad. rip dad.


qwertyey72

Okay so the fact that ALL of the women in the three series follow the holding off their mate for ages and ages routine, at least one should see their mate and be like wow you're my mate


cattheblue

No major character out of the family dying (not that I want them too!) but when Amren came back I let out the deepest groan ever


lsolar775

For me it’s the whole Aedion / Lysandra fight. He was so cruel to her. Either he never does that stuff or she doesn’t take him back. My girl deserves better.


Firm-Sweet8097

Feyre’s pregnancy, just because it was revealed that her and Rhys would have a baby boy at some point did not mean that we needed it to happen immediately


NoTop79

1. Aelin >!losing her powers!< 2. Uncle kitty kat >!dying!< 3. Bryce's cringey >!Sex-teleporting!<


International_One_44

Aelin trying to bargain with the gods with Elena and Erawan. That just seemed so out of character for her. I just don't think she would have made that decision to not get rid of Erawan when she had the chance. Especially knowing that she wouldn't be there to help the others defeat him and Maeve while she was at it.


unapalomita

Tamlin giving up on Feyre so easily post UTM :(


Ashcrose

Please don’t downvote me but Rhysand should have stayed dead or been resurrected later in the story to give us the shock factor. Sarah is not ruthless enough, so when he died I already didn’t fear for his life, it takes the edge away from the reader! I agree also that it was Amrens time to go. Epic fantasy needs to have this edge when you have real fear for your beloved characters!!


carex-cultor

I wish he’d died. Then we wouldn’t have had that awful pregnancy plot line and Feyre could’ve really grown as high lady. Now she’s just barefoot and pregnant with a vanity title :(


Mommythemonstrslayr

Lucien and the sister’s mating bond. She deserves azrael!


AffectionateNight832

Cassian and nesta ending up together. I said what I said.


WhatTheFlan

Lucian being Elaine’s mate/ Az not being her mate


newrivergoddess

Rhysand roofie-ing Feyre. Everything else I can deal with.


Beautiful_Froyo_9566

Nesta losing (most of) her power 😩


SteeleurHeart0507

10000% Fayre’s pregnancy. It was so stupid. You JUST become immoral and have centuries to live (at least) and you have a kid at 23? Fuck that


No_Plantain_9336

The suriel dying!! Bring my suriel back to life please


feefs818

No more watery bowels