I only read two books in November, and I adored them both. I took my time with each, absorbing the story in short sittings, unable to rush through any of the stories told.
1. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
2. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
And my Book of the Month is KINGDOM OF ASH.
The Throne of Glass series holds a very special place in my heart. I've been with it for five years--five very long turbulent years--and that's why I had to choose it. I've never been able to pitch fantasy and contemporary YA books against each other but I'm doing a review on TURTLES very soon!
So. The final, epic book to conclude an eight-book series. KINGDOM OF ASH broke me apart and put me together with each paragraph. Each day and emotion and character told in the story filled my heart with both joy and dread. Every page felt like a ticking time bomb, wondering who would make it to the end. I had my own thoughts of who wouldn't survive, and none of that happened.
What did happen was how much I got taken off-guard with the book Sarah gave us for this brilliant final battle.
Spanning over several countries, groups, and missions, KINGDOM OF ASH shows five different armies, all fighting in their own way. My favourite, by far, was reading about Manon and her Thirteen. Yes, I wanted to know if Aelin survived the ending she got in EMPIRE OF STORMS and that broke me in ways I can never describe about a fictional character, but I adore Manon Blackbeak. Her story is so important, so moving. I can talk for days and days about Aelin's character growth but to talk about Manon is such an under-appreciated thing in this fandom. Manon is my favourite female in the series and she played a very integral part in the conclusion. So when her own tragedies befell her in the book, I wept and wept. Manon fought for everything with all she possessed and both lost and won it all.
The past eight books (including the two spin-off novella stories of ASSASSIN'S BLADE and TOWER OF DAWN) have taught me so much. Each character represented a trait I wished I could adopt for myself. The books have taught me strength, openness, fierce loyalty, determination, and how to keep hold of a thought--a concept--when you can't put it into action. Aelin suffered in darkness, knowing what she fought for even if it wasn't in reach, and that taught me a great deal. The Cadre, the Thirteen, the Original Three, the Bane, and the Rebels all brought so much joy and pain. A clash of light and darkness, KINGDOM OF ASH was truly the final book I wanted, and more.
It's hard to let go of something that's been there through so much and yet I have. The Throne of Glass series feels like a friend I can let go of, a friend I can look back on fondly after having learnt a great deal from. I read THRONE OF GLASS back in August 2013, when I was still in high school. Two months prior, everything had come out in the open about a bad place I was in back then. I needed putting back together after what felt like my entire life had unravelled. What I struggled with back then was a release for me, a bad coping mechanism when the world was too painful and loud. It only silenced when I fell into THRONE OF GLASS. Since, I've made and lost best friends, I've harbored unrequited love, I've studied in college and finished with a decent grade, tried my hand at university, got different jobs, been home-bound due to anxiety and mental health. I've seen beautiful countries, seen a million sunsets, and felt so much it's overwhelming.
Not only did finishing this series put to rest those characters but it forced me to reflect on myself. I don't feel as though I've grown as a person or become a better me at all, but to look back and smile at all these years, brought me to tears. It made me breakdown in a very strange way.
I will always be grateful and loving towards this gift Sarah J. Maas has given me.
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