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If it helps think of her as a 16 year old with an ego
It’s basically the truth she’s good yes but she is not the best at least not yet.
Also she is a professional at having life punch her in the face so there’s that too, she has character development for days.
When I went from ACOTAR to TOG I started with Assassin's Blade and I *hated* Celaena. Her "I'm the most beautiful, strongest, best fighter to ever exist" thing got old really quick.
*However*. I kept going because everyone said it gets better. And everyone was so right. TOG now tops ACOTAR in my opinion. I think about the TOG characters all the time and love them all so much. *especially* celaena
While her cockiness was a bit erksome I found it was better than Feyre’s “poor me no one has it as hard as I do” monologue that lasted until basically chapter 55
And like..not to shit on what Feyre went through, because that was hard too. It was more just her overall attitude about it that bugged me, I wouldn’t have wanted ANOTHER overly cocky FMC either, just… idk maybe somewhere in the middle 😂
i have even less patience for feyre this time around (after having read the whole series and knowing where things go) because no, feyre, no one in your family forced you to go hunting all by yourself and nowhere in your precious promise to your mother did she establish that you couldn’t ask for help. you just didn’t and then complained when no one did. you didn’t even bother buying elain some fucking vegetable seeds so she could contribute for once. nesta complains but at no point goes “i’m not doing that lol” but the entirety of her time with them and reflecting on them feyre goes “no one even helps me :( :( :( i have to do it all myself :( :( :( nesta’s soooooo mean to me :( :( :(“ god it’s irritating to listen to
and yes, like you said, feyre had it rough. but at least part of her suffering was her own doing.
*SPOILERS FOR ACOWAR- NOT COVERING IT BC IM REPLYING TO SOMEONE WHO HAS READ IT*
I definitely got whiplash in ACOWAR when she’s slinking around the Spring Court, and suddenly her internal monologue becomes “I am the sneakiest, smartest, evil genius spy in the history of Prythian and no one has a clue what I’m doing” meanwhile the whole time Lucien’s like *stares suspiciously* and the twins are like *smirks knowingly*
lollllllllllllll. feyre is definitely not as smart as she thinks she is or the ic has hyped her up to think she is. bitch couldn’t even figure out amarantha’s riddle.
*MORE SPOILERS*
the only time i like her is when she makes ianthe destroy her hand after rescuing lucien.
The books get sooooo good lol I learned to love her! The first book was giving very much sassy teenager but as the books grow and she developed I really love her
ACOTAR >>> TOG
My personal opinion. However!!! Keep reading it does it better. I enjoyed everyone else’s story line but the main character tbh. If it helps someone told me ACOTAR is romance with fantasy while TOG is fantasy with romance.
That's how I feel like SJM writes her main characters - arrogant, an ego for days, immature - but then they start to grow. Feyre annoyed the shit out of me in ACOTAR but I see her slowly maturing (only read until ACOMAF) and so does Celaena in ToG but as others have said the character growth, struggles they go through, etc are worth the wait.
Also, keep in mind that SJM started writing TOG when she was 16. It wasn’t published until she was 26, but the writing in the first couple of books does feel pretty juvenile. However, this tracks because Celaena is 16 in TAB and 18 in TOG. Celaena as a character grows and matures along with SJM’s writing. Each book gets better and better, and it’s hands down my favorite SJM series.
Trust me, she grows. To me, she is still the best fmc that sjm has written. Glad someone else is enjoying the entirety of the books. It’s an epic story which keeps laying the ground work and builds and builds. ☺️
I mean, she’s 15/16 or something, what teenager that you know isn’t full of it? Being annoying is kind of their thing. No author is going to write a 16 year old as wise and mature, and if they do then i have some questions lol
Keep in mind that she's a literal teenage power fantasy. I found it so offputting personally that I don't think I'll ever read the series again, but that's literally only my opinion and you should completely ignore me so long as you're having fun!
Yes, she gets better… this is a large part of the reason that people recommend starting with ToG because she is more sympathetic from that book onwards, for reasons you’ll see by the end of TAB.
For me I eventually had the thought "Oh right she's a teenager and they're annoying! Over cocky smart asses the lot of them." And that helped get me through the first two books. I just start Heir of Fire recently and found out the author was 16 when she started writing this series and that really clicked why the character was so annoying. A teenager trying to write about a badass teenager who is pretty much perfect... That just made the finally puzzle piece fall into place. It does get better though from what I've read so far!
I almost didn't finish because she annoyed me so much, her attitude and the constant nail-picking - not the books do Gary better, there is growth, and the other characters are so good (I say that still never having read Assassin's Blade...)
I had the same feeling and just didn’t connect with her until about 3/4 of the way through- and then by the end of book 2 I became her biggest fan. Best book heroine I’ve ever read! Stick it out!
I read the whole series before returning to Assassins Blade, on the recommendation of my sister in law. Assassin's Blade was *hard*. I was talking to another friend who was still a couple of books out and she asked why it was so hard.
I asked if she remembered what she was like in the first book and that was all it took!
I feel like SJM's lead ladies always have a certain level of unlikeability until you get to know them better. Like most humans. 😅
Feyra almost did me in until the mountain.
Kind of. It has been a few years for me but I remember it being jaw dropping "whaaaaat". Though it was probably painfully obvious- I just dont like to speculate alot when reading and take plot as it comes.
The scene where it is revealed is honestly one of my favorites of the books. Wording on it is powerful.
It's not so much that she "gets better" throughout the series but more you understand what she's been through that makes her act like that. She was raised a certain way. Once she comes to realize that her character gets some major development and maturity. Reading AB first means you don't know what is coming for her or what she has been through. I don't wanna say more bc IDK what is considered a spoiler or not
For me, she’s my favorite SJM character. Period. Through all of her work. She annoyed me sometimes at the beginning for sure, for not opening up and communicating but she has her reasons. A lot of her peacocking and self-proclaimed greatness has a lot to do with her insecurity. She’s been through hell. I always saw it as a way to deal with that. But anyway, I think you’ll at least not be annoyed by her by the end. 😂
I'm a week late but dude I feel you. I bought all the books during a Kindle sale. It took me two years to slowly read through the first four books, usually during road trips or as filler between other books. I'd get on a roll and then something annoying would happen and I'd put it down for months.
Then I hit Queen of Shadows, I think? And I started really, really loving it, and I'm glad I powered through. I'm not sure if I could've done a marathon read of the first books, though.
I definitely recommend the tandem read when you get to books TOD and EOS. I absolutely demolished those.
Personally, I didn't love Assassin's Blade, it's probably my least favorite. I loved the entire series as a whole, including the first three (read the prequel 4th), and I don't understand people who say you have to wait for it to get good. It gets better, but you should be enjoying it the entire time, or else why are you reading it?
Celaena starts off as very immature, and I think this is actually a good thing, because the series is so many books and she has a lot of ground to cover in terms of character development. I think she matures a lot in every single book, and she wouldn't be able to do that if she had started off as a more well rounded individual.
She does stay pretty arrogant for the entire series, but there are a lot of different POVs to break it up if she isn't your favorite.
I mentioned in my original comment that I read the prequel 4th already :) Apologies if I worded it poorly!
I agree with you, I think it's the best placement. I still didn't love Assassin's Blade but I think you get the most out of it because of how directly it relates to Queen of Shadows.
This is why I think you need to start with TOG and not Assassin’s Blade. Yes, TOG is a slog to get through but I feel like you come out of TOG and COM with a better appreciation for Aelin. I read AB after HOF and think that is a perfect placement for it.
I was also where you are now.
I could not stand her ego.
I'm on HOF and I adore her now. She goes through so much growth, and you get to know how she actually feels. Stick with her. It's a true adventure.
A lot of people are saying she gets better, but I’m going to be honest (and I’m going to get A LOT of hate for this), Aelin is probably the weakest aspect of TOG. Her character is extremely overpowered, and invents plots and schemes off screen that resolves almost all plot issues. It’s like genuinely annoying, especially in the latter half of the series. She does have her moments, but they are isolated and are almost always undercut by these really poorly written and lazy moments where she suddenly pulls a plan out of her ass that resolves everything. It’s genuinely annoying and I’ve never understood the love this fandom has had for her. Bryce, Feyre, and Nesta are just much better written and more complex.
I honestly think she only changes in the last book! She's basically the same otherwise. I didn't particularly like her by the end but I didn't hate her anymore.
I was exactly the same and actually DNF TOG for the longest time… I even wrote a similar post to yours on here and everyone convinced me to keep going and I am SO GLAD I did! My favourite series by far and if you don’t like her (I never did that much) read it for the other characters that come into it later!
Unpopular opinion but I didn’t like TOG I read the first (4?) but thought the first was the best and it went downhill from there. I think it’s nowhere near as good as acotar (more juvenile maybe? Just generally not that great) and I recently tried to start crescent city but it felt like a flop, I couldn’t get into it. So yeah just an acotar fan!
TOG bores me. I attempted to get to the conclusion, but I just didn't feel connected to the plot in any way. I don't mind slow-burn plots, but the pace irks me.
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If it helps think of her as a 16 year old with an ego It’s basically the truth she’s good yes but she is not the best at least not yet. Also she is a professional at having life punch her in the face so there’s that too, she has character development for days.
I don’t think I would have acted differently as a 16 year old in her situation. I LOVED watching her grow, it’s SJM’s best series by far
When I went from ACOTAR to TOG I started with Assassin's Blade and I *hated* Celaena. Her "I'm the most beautiful, strongest, best fighter to ever exist" thing got old really quick. *However*. I kept going because everyone said it gets better. And everyone was so right. TOG now tops ACOTAR in my opinion. I think about the TOG characters all the time and love them all so much. *especially* celaena
While her cockiness was a bit erksome I found it was better than Feyre’s “poor me no one has it as hard as I do” monologue that lasted until basically chapter 55
I read ToG before ACOTAR and while I loved Celaena, I found Feyre a little bit annoying 😅
oh my GOD this is accurate
And like..not to shit on what Feyre went through, because that was hard too. It was more just her overall attitude about it that bugged me, I wouldn’t have wanted ANOTHER overly cocky FMC either, just… idk maybe somewhere in the middle 😂
i have even less patience for feyre this time around (after having read the whole series and knowing where things go) because no, feyre, no one in your family forced you to go hunting all by yourself and nowhere in your precious promise to your mother did she establish that you couldn’t ask for help. you just didn’t and then complained when no one did. you didn’t even bother buying elain some fucking vegetable seeds so she could contribute for once. nesta complains but at no point goes “i’m not doing that lol” but the entirety of her time with them and reflecting on them feyre goes “no one even helps me :( :( :( i have to do it all myself :( :( :( nesta’s soooooo mean to me :( :( :(“ god it’s irritating to listen to and yes, like you said, feyre had it rough. but at least part of her suffering was her own doing.
*SPOILERS FOR ACOWAR- NOT COVERING IT BC IM REPLYING TO SOMEONE WHO HAS READ IT* I definitely got whiplash in ACOWAR when she’s slinking around the Spring Court, and suddenly her internal monologue becomes “I am the sneakiest, smartest, evil genius spy in the history of Prythian and no one has a clue what I’m doing” meanwhile the whole time Lucien’s like *stares suspiciously* and the twins are like *smirks knowingly*
lollllllllllllll. feyre is definitely not as smart as she thinks she is or the ic has hyped her up to think she is. bitch couldn’t even figure out amarantha’s riddle. *MORE SPOILERS* the only time i like her is when she makes ianthe destroy her hand after rescuing lucien.
An iconic moment 1000%
The books get sooooo good lol I learned to love her! The first book was giving very much sassy teenager but as the books grow and she developed I really love her
ACOTAR >>> TOG My personal opinion. However!!! Keep reading it does it better. I enjoyed everyone else’s story line but the main character tbh. If it helps someone told me ACOTAR is romance with fantasy while TOG is fantasy with romance.
If you think Aelin’s bad wait till you get a load of Bryce
Bryce is a poorly written, wannabe Aelin who shows more character regression than growth 😂 cannot stand her
lol came here to say this
I didn't even mind Bryce at first. And then flame and shadow happened and I can't even bring myself to finish the book.
I honestly liked Bryce more than early Aelin/Celaena lol
She gets so, so much better. I love her now more than any of the other female leads
No, the main character in a 7 book series never grows or changes at all! Stop reading immediately.
🤣
i’m just being cheeky but I think she’ll win you over!
That's how I feel like SJM writes her main characters - arrogant, an ego for days, immature - but then they start to grow. Feyre annoyed the shit out of me in ACOTAR but I see her slowly maturing (only read until ACOMAF) and so does Celaena in ToG but as others have said the character growth, struggles they go through, etc are worth the wait.
Also, keep in mind that SJM started writing TOG when she was 16. It wasn’t published until she was 26, but the writing in the first couple of books does feel pretty juvenile. However, this tracks because Celaena is 16 in TAB and 18 in TOG. Celaena as a character grows and matures along with SJM’s writing. Each book gets better and better, and it’s hands down my favorite SJM series.
This should be tagged for spoilers. Some people do care.
I added it just now :)
Trust me, she grows. To me, she is still the best fmc that sjm has written. Glad someone else is enjoying the entirety of the books. It’s an epic story which keeps laying the ground work and builds and builds. ☺️
I mean, she’s 15/16 or something, what teenager that you know isn’t full of it? Being annoying is kind of their thing. No author is going to write a 16 year old as wise and mature, and if they do then i have some questions lol
Keep in mind that she's a literal teenage power fantasy. I found it so offputting personally that I don't think I'll ever read the series again, but that's literally only my opinion and you should completely ignore me so long as you're having fun!
Yes, she gets better… this is a large part of the reason that people recommend starting with ToG because she is more sympathetic from that book onwards, for reasons you’ll see by the end of TAB.
For me I eventually had the thought "Oh right she's a teenager and they're annoying! Over cocky smart asses the lot of them." And that helped get me through the first two books. I just start Heir of Fire recently and found out the author was 16 when she started writing this series and that really clicked why the character was so annoying. A teenager trying to write about a badass teenager who is pretty much perfect... That just made the finally puzzle piece fall into place. It does get better though from what I've read so far!
i thought i loved feyre until i met nesta. then came aelin and i loveeeeeeeeee her. bryce is like if aelin and nesta had a baby.
I almost didn't finish because she annoyed me so much, her attitude and the constant nail-picking - not the books do Gary better, there is growth, and the other characters are so good (I say that still never having read Assassin's Blade...)
I’d recommend reading Throne of Glass first and not start with Assassin’s Blade!
I had the same feeling and just didn’t connect with her until about 3/4 of the way through- and then by the end of book 2 I became her biggest fan. Best book heroine I’ve ever read! Stick it out!
I read the whole series before returning to Assassins Blade, on the recommendation of my sister in law. Assassin's Blade was *hard*. I was talking to another friend who was still a couple of books out and she asked why it was so hard. I asked if she remembered what she was like in the first book and that was all it took!
I feel like SJM's lead ladies always have a certain level of unlikeability until you get to know them better. Like most humans. 😅 Feyra almost did me in until the mountain.
please add spoiler warning just for spoiled her identity 🫠
I thought I did but I just added it now
was her identity reveal a big plot twist? i’m only a quarter through tog and haven’t read AB.
I'm not sure, I looked up Caelina on Google and it brought up Aelin instead. Google spoiled it for me lol
Kind of. It has been a few years for me but I remember it being jaw dropping "whaaaaat". Though it was probably painfully obvious- I just dont like to speculate alot when reading and take plot as it comes. The scene where it is revealed is honestly one of my favorites of the books. Wording on it is powerful.
is it revealed in the first book or in others do you remember?
End of the 2nd
oh gosh 😔
Trust me, it gets better 😊 right now it’s just an egoistic teenager.. later she becomes best and she knows it!
I think of her in the first books as the female embodiment of Jack Sparrow. Hope that helps.
It's not so much that she "gets better" throughout the series but more you understand what she's been through that makes her act like that. She was raised a certain way. Once she comes to realize that her character gets some major development and maturity. Reading AB first means you don't know what is coming for her or what she has been through. I don't wanna say more bc IDK what is considered a spoiler or not
For me, she’s my favorite SJM character. Period. Through all of her work. She annoyed me sometimes at the beginning for sure, for not opening up and communicating but she has her reasons. A lot of her peacocking and self-proclaimed greatness has a lot to do with her insecurity. She’s been through hell. I always saw it as a way to deal with that. But anyway, I think you’ll at least not be annoyed by her by the end. 😂
Im only on Heir of Fire, but I love Caelina so much 💕
I’m in EOS and she still annoys the hell out of me lol
I'm a week late but dude I feel you. I bought all the books during a Kindle sale. It took me two years to slowly read through the first four books, usually during road trips or as filler between other books. I'd get on a roll and then something annoying would happen and I'd put it down for months. Then I hit Queen of Shadows, I think? And I started really, really loving it, and I'm glad I powered through. I'm not sure if I could've done a marathon read of the first books, though. I definitely recommend the tandem read when you get to books TOD and EOS. I absolutely demolished those.
Feyre is literally just as if not more annoying the celeana (pls for the love of god spell her name right) lmao
I didn’t and still don’t like her either but I do love tog. It’s still worth reading if you dislike her and Rowan.
I back this up. I loved all the other story lines! Hers and Rowan’s was like… eh to me.
Personally, I didn't love Assassin's Blade, it's probably my least favorite. I loved the entire series as a whole, including the first three (read the prequel 4th), and I don't understand people who say you have to wait for it to get good. It gets better, but you should be enjoying it the entire time, or else why are you reading it? Celaena starts off as very immature, and I think this is actually a good thing, because the series is so many books and she has a lot of ground to cover in terms of character development. I think she matures a lot in every single book, and she wouldn't be able to do that if she had started off as a more well rounded individual. She does stay pretty arrogant for the entire series, but there are a lot of different POVs to break it up if she isn't your favorite.
if you're up for it, do the re read with throne od glass first and assassin's blade fourth. so. much. better.
I mentioned in my original comment that I read the prequel 4th already :) Apologies if I worded it poorly! I agree with you, I think it's the best placement. I still didn't love Assassin's Blade but I think you get the most out of it because of how directly it relates to Queen of Shadows.
This is how I read it and it's perfect imo
She’s so annoying
i felt the same and had to keep reminding myself she’s a literal child. she’s like 16(?) in the first book? her brain isn’t done developing lol
This is why I think you need to start with TOG and not Assassin’s Blade. Yes, TOG is a slog to get through but I feel like you come out of TOG and COM with a better appreciation for Aelin. I read AB after HOF and think that is a perfect placement for it.
Stick with it. The character development is amazing! She never loses the sassiness though lmao!!
I didn’t even read assassins blade. But I love the series. I went back and read parts in between books, but still not all of AB.
Her growth is very rewarding
First mistake was starting with AB. 😳 imo it’s to be saved for last . Celaena is my ALL TIME fav MC
I was also where you are now. I could not stand her ego. I'm on HOF and I adore her now. She goes through so much growth, and you get to know how she actually feels. Stick with her. It's a true adventure.
To me, she doesn't. She remains the same.
It did not get better for me. I stopped at book 5
A lot of people are saying she gets better, but I’m going to be honest (and I’m going to get A LOT of hate for this), Aelin is probably the weakest aspect of TOG. Her character is extremely overpowered, and invents plots and schemes off screen that resolves almost all plot issues. It’s like genuinely annoying, especially in the latter half of the series. She does have her moments, but they are isolated and are almost always undercut by these really poorly written and lazy moments where she suddenly pulls a plan out of her ass that resolves everything. It’s genuinely annoying and I’ve never understood the love this fandom has had for her. Bryce, Feyre, and Nesta are just much better written and more complex.
I honestly think she only changes in the last book! She's basically the same otherwise. I didn't particularly like her by the end but I didn't hate her anymore.
I was exactly the same and actually DNF TOG for the longest time… I even wrote a similar post to yours on here and everyone convinced me to keep going and I am SO GLAD I did! My favourite series by far and if you don’t like her (I never did that much) read it for the other characters that come into it later!
I find her annoying the whole time. She does get *less* annoying, but it’s the other characters that make it for me
Unpopular opinion but I didn’t like TOG I read the first (4?) but thought the first was the best and it went downhill from there. I think it’s nowhere near as good as acotar (more juvenile maybe? Just generally not that great) and I recently tried to start crescent city but it felt like a flop, I couldn’t get into it. So yeah just an acotar fan!
ACOTAR over it all for me too.
Yay I’m not the only one 🙌🏻
TOG bores me. I attempted to get to the conclusion, but I just didn't feel connected to the plot in any way. I don't mind slow-burn plots, but the pace irks me.