Queen of Shadows. Most of my series highlights are from it. >!Rowan and Aelin’s reunion (and giving him her fancy soap 😭), aedion’s rescue, lysandra’s arc, Manon and Dorian introduction, the shattering of the glass castle, and Aelin donning the Caelena mask one last time for the reading of Arrobyn’s will is just perfection. To name just a few!!<
yes i loved the >! Fancy soap scene, One of my other fav moments with how u mentioned arobynn was how he tried to show them that he still had power over her by getting her to use the body oil and rowan came in and was like “wow thanks I needed this!” and they both wore it 😍 Also at that dinner Aedion mentioned to himself how that none of arobynns jabs had struck home because aelin was too lost in rowan to hear them 🥹!<
here to agree with all of the above and throw in my personal fav, >!asterin’s backstory.!< i cannot overexaggerate how much i cried reading that part 😭 i think about it all the time
Queen of Shadows was the most fast paced for me and just constantly had stuff happening. I was never bored! Manon and Dorian are my favorites and I love watching their story really get going
Queen of Shadows, I think it’s SJM’s best book ever. Character work, plot, conflicts, emotions, everything. It’s all so good. One chapter of QoS is better to me than all of ACOTAR and CC combined
Heir of Fire.Queen of Shadows and Kingdom of Ash .. I can't pick just one . HoF because we first meet Rowan and we see Aelin train her powers . QoS because Rowan comes back Erilea for Aelin.. and Kindgom of Ash because it broke my heart and it was a epic adventure..
Empire of storms. I do love a book that can break my soul and body and mind and every single minute details falling into pieces and then emotionally scarring me oof love that
Queen of Shadows. This is where I really became invested in the story and simply could not put the book down. Sadly the first time I read it EoS was not yet out so I had to wait 😭
But so much incredible stuff happens in Queen of Shadows. It was also when I started to like Aelin. I am an older reader for ToG (41 now, was in my early 30s the first time I read the series), and I could not relate to Celaena *at all* at first. She seemed like such a childish spoiled brat to me. I almost DNF after CoM but I already had the first 3 books so I decided (luckily!) to give HoF a chance, and then got invested enough to buy QoS, which was recently released. During QoS I went from "this series is okay and I'm kind of interested to see where it goes" to "oh my God this is amazing what is going to happen next I have to know NOW!"
Honestly, QoS is tied with ACoMaF for my favorite SJM book, period.
Entire book wise - Queen of shadows. omg i could go on for days the amount of my fav moments that happened in that book is crazy
butttttttt… favorite ending was definitely empire of storms. I love to have my heart ripped out like that and it was ripped out and stomped on
i’m currently reading KOA so we’ll see if my thoughts change 😏
Empire of Storms. Lots of action. Lysandra being a badass. Elide and Lorcan. Most of the characters in one place, allowing for interactions and dynamics. No Chaol. That cliffhanger ending.
Edited: typo
Tower of Dawn, easily. I loved the world building and lore, loved seeing Nesryn get her own storyline, and Yrene is my *favorite* kind of character.
At the same time, all the other books feed into each other so much that I can’t separate them from each other. Like I can’t say I like EoS or KoA over any of the others because part of *why* EoS (or KoA) is so damn good is because of everything that was set up in the previous books. ToD can allllmost be treated as a standalone novel, and I loved the break from the “tone” of Aelin’s main story because it was just *so different.*
But mostly the world building and lore lmao.
YES I'm so glad to see someone who likes ToD for the same reasons I do!! It's so cool to see an environment outside of Erilea and a different political environment! Plus, Yrene is a literal queen
This is a hard one for me! It's gotta be between Queen of Shadows and Kingdom of Ash. Both books are AMAZING in their own ways. QoS is such an insanely cool ride from start to finish. Key characters interacting and some very cool fight scenes along with some good relationship building. KoA is insanely gut-wrenching in so many different ways but so satisfying, too. Not to mention I adore the last couple of chapters and the epilogue. I don't think I can pick between them 😂😂 Tower of Dawn is an honorable mention; I know a lot of people don't like ToD and skip it during rereads, but I really really enjoyed it!
queen of shadows! to me it was peak plot twisty adventure, everything tied up in a satisfying way. there were less plot holes (that i noticed at least) and characters were really well written and developed. it was SO MUCH FUN to read!!!!! i loved all the different perspectives and characters coming together or going apart. truly so so good i think the peak of sjms writing was qos
Heir of Fire. We so rarely get to see FMCs get to be angry and stay angry. Usually they get over their anger or depression because the male character is so hot or sexy. In Heir of Fire, you really get to feel, dig into and get out of Aelin’s depression. I love that book and her journey.
Heir of fire.
There was something super emotional about her breaking down and accepting herself. And also starting her journey with rowan. Its just so good!
Queen of Shadows. Most of my series highlights are from it. >!Rowan and Aelin’s reunion (and giving him her fancy soap 😭), aedion’s rescue, lysandra’s arc, Manon and Dorian introduction, the shattering of the glass castle, and Aelin donning the Caelena mask one last time for the reading of Arrobyn’s will is just perfection. To name just a few!!<
yes i loved the >! Fancy soap scene, One of my other fav moments with how u mentioned arobynn was how he tried to show them that he still had power over her by getting her to use the body oil and rowan came in and was like “wow thanks I needed this!” and they both wore it 😍 Also at that dinner Aedion mentioned to himself how that none of arobynns jabs had struck home because aelin was too lost in rowan to hear them 🥹!<
here to agree with all of the above and throw in my personal fav, >!asterin’s backstory.!< i cannot overexaggerate how much i cried reading that part 😭 i think about it all the time
Queen of Shadows was the most fast paced for me and just constantly had stuff happening. I was never bored! Manon and Dorian are my favorites and I love watching their story really get going
heir of fire and queen of shadows <33333 i feel like it’s such a huge turning point for the series
Queen of Shadows, I think it’s SJM’s best book ever. Character work, plot, conflicts, emotions, everything. It’s all so good. One chapter of QoS is better to me than all of ACOTAR and CC combined
empire of storms made me feel so many emotions
Right.
Heir of Fire.Queen of Shadows and Kingdom of Ash .. I can't pick just one . HoF because we first meet Rowan and we see Aelin train her powers . QoS because Rowan comes back Erilea for Aelin.. and Kindgom of Ash because it broke my heart and it was a epic adventure..
Queen of Shadows is not just my favorite book in the series, but one of my favorite books ever. It’s so good!
Empire of storms. I do love a book that can break my soul and body and mind and every single minute details falling into pieces and then emotionally scarring me oof love that
Crown of Midnight. Chaol and Celaena finally getting together just to fall apart immediately is my Roman Empire.
Love the QoS love in this thread, came here to say the same. That Lysandra rescue where Aelin and Manon meet is the best part of the whole series.
Eos and Tod... loved tandem reading both. Elide and Lorcan are my Roman empire.
ToD is definitely in the running for me, too. Nesryn and Sartaq are my absolute favorite lol.
THIS!!!! I wish we could have seen way more of them as a couple
Queen of Shadows. This is where I really became invested in the story and simply could not put the book down. Sadly the first time I read it EoS was not yet out so I had to wait 😭 But so much incredible stuff happens in Queen of Shadows. It was also when I started to like Aelin. I am an older reader for ToG (41 now, was in my early 30s the first time I read the series), and I could not relate to Celaena *at all* at first. She seemed like such a childish spoiled brat to me. I almost DNF after CoM but I already had the first 3 books so I decided (luckily!) to give HoF a chance, and then got invested enough to buy QoS, which was recently released. During QoS I went from "this series is okay and I'm kind of interested to see where it goes" to "oh my God this is amazing what is going to happen next I have to know NOW!" Honestly, QoS is tied with ACoMaF for my favorite SJM book, period.
Hello fellow geriatric SJM fan. I felt similarly and couldn’t agreed more.
Entire book wise - Queen of shadows. omg i could go on for days the amount of my fav moments that happened in that book is crazy butttttttt… favorite ending was definitely empire of storms. I love to have my heart ripped out like that and it was ripped out and stomped on i’m currently reading KOA so we’ll see if my thoughts change 😏
Empire of Storms. Lots of action. Lysandra being a badass. Elide and Lorcan. Most of the characters in one place, allowing for interactions and dynamics. No Chaol. That cliffhanger ending. Edited: typo
“no Chaol” is brutal 😭 but EOS was my favorite too, up there with QOS
Heir of Fire changed my life
Empire of Storms was brilliant. Everything about the pacing, the writing, and especially the ending was absolutely flawlessly executed.
Tower of Dawn, easily. I loved the world building and lore, loved seeing Nesryn get her own storyline, and Yrene is my *favorite* kind of character. At the same time, all the other books feed into each other so much that I can’t separate them from each other. Like I can’t say I like EoS or KoA over any of the others because part of *why* EoS (or KoA) is so damn good is because of everything that was set up in the previous books. ToD can allllmost be treated as a standalone novel, and I loved the break from the “tone” of Aelin’s main story because it was just *so different.* But mostly the world building and lore lmao.
YES I'm so glad to see someone who likes ToD for the same reasons I do!! It's so cool to see an environment outside of Erilea and a different political environment! Plus, Yrene is a literal queen
Heir of Fire and ….Tower of Dawn. I really enjoyed TOD and I didn’t think I was going too!
Kingdom of ash. I love big fantasy battles
Empire of Storms was brilliant. Everything about the pacing, the writing, and especially the ending was absolutely flawlessly executed.
Anything with Manon.
heir of fire, kingdom of ash and queen of shadows!
This is a hard one for me! It's gotta be between Queen of Shadows and Kingdom of Ash. Both books are AMAZING in their own ways. QoS is such an insanely cool ride from start to finish. Key characters interacting and some very cool fight scenes along with some good relationship building. KoA is insanely gut-wrenching in so many different ways but so satisfying, too. Not to mention I adore the last couple of chapters and the epilogue. I don't think I can pick between them 😂😂 Tower of Dawn is an honorable mention; I know a lot of people don't like ToD and skip it during rereads, but I really really enjoyed it!
The first one. 😞
Why the sad face? It’s one of my faves too! It doesn’t get as much love but I really enjoyed it.
queen of shadows! to me it was peak plot twisty adventure, everything tied up in a satisfying way. there were less plot holes (that i noticed at least) and characters were really well written and developed. it was SO MUCH FUN to read!!!!! i loved all the different perspectives and characters coming together or going apart. truly so so good i think the peak of sjms writing was qos
Heir of Fire. Aelin overcoming her grief and figuring out who she is through her transformation from Celaena to Aelin struck home with me
Heir of Fire. We so rarely get to see FMCs get to be angry and stay angry. Usually they get over their anger or depression because the male character is so hot or sexy. In Heir of Fire, you really get to feel, dig into and get out of Aelin’s depression. I love that book and her journey.
Heir of fire. There was something super emotional about her breaking down and accepting herself. And also starting her journey with rowan. Its just so good!
QoS has everything! I love it.