Book Review: Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6)

I know we usually do a Waiting on Wednesday today, but since it's my birthday today I really wanted to celebrate by sharing my review for a book that holds a very special place in my heart (and is by one of my favorite authors)!

About the Book:
Title: Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Pub. Date: September 5, 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Pages: 660
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.

His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.

But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined. 

Review:

Okay everyone...it's time to stop what you're doing and pick this book up, because it needs to be read right away! The current Goodreads rating (4.52 stars) shows just how amazing this book is, and Sarah J. Maas and Tower of Dawntruly deserve every single one of those stars. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit hesitant to read this book because it was "Chaol's" book. And even though I loved his character at first, he definitely wasn't my favorite after the 2nd book. But, SJM made me change my mind about him once again, and I went back to loving him...which was kind of bittersweet. This easily is one of my favorite reads this year for multiple reasons that I'll go into, but truly showcases SJM's talent and dedication as an author. 

I will say that I think it's a little helpful to read the Throne of Glass novella collection The Assassin's Blade before reading, but at the same time it's not really necessary. The reason (besides the obvious of why would you not read a ToG novella collection?) is that one of the characters from the novellas is featured in this book. It was helpful to know about Yrene prior to the story and made things connect. I loved seeing how far she had come and how things tied together...because as we all know, Sarah J Maas doesn't do anything accidentally; everything and everyone has a purpose. However, this being said my friend who also read this book didn't read the novellas and wasn't confused (or felt she was missing out) at all. So you can read the novellas or not, doesn't really make a difference. But again, why would you not read a ToG novella collection?! 

“You would be surprised by how closely the healing of physical wounds is tied to the healing of emotional ones.” 

Now, let's get into why this was so spectacular. First and foremost, I adored the new characters and the setting. When the story begins, it is slightly slower paced than normal because of introducing the Southern Continent with its new culture and characters. Despite what some people might say (e.g. that this slower pace made the book extremely boring and that parts seemed unnecessary), I found them to be expertly written and the perfect way to begin the book. I loved the world-building that SJM established because it was all incredibly important information to know. It tied things together from other books in the ToG world and that really cemented things for me. I loved learning about a new culture and new people! I loved seeing the ins and outs of their everyday life! I loved learning about the new royals! By beginning the story like this, SJM laid the groundwork for the rest of the story (and the rest of the series). On top of all of this, all of the characters (except Chaol of course) were of a different race. Let me tell you how nice this is to see and how refreshing it is to read! Lastly, the care and compassion that SJM put into developing these new characters really struck a chord with me. All of these new characters are obviously going to play vital roles in the next book, so to take the time to really cement these characters into our memory--and believe me, these characters will stick with you for a long time--and have their characterization so perfectly done by the end of the story, just makes me love Sarah J Maas even more. You can tell how much of her heart and soul she puts into this book (and this series in general), and it makes you love the story even more.

“I once lived in fear of other people. I let other people walk all over me just because I was too afraid of the consequences for refusing. I did not know how to refuse.” 

The next thing that I loved about this book was Chaol. Trust me, I never thought I would say that but here we are. Not only did I love his development throughout the story but also the fact that the major character is one that has a disability. I know this is a touchy subject, and you can find plenty of reviews giving Sarah major props and major hate for this. However, because I do have personal experience in this department, I can give Sarah major props for her portrayal of Chaol and the emotional journey he undergoes. Everyone's experience is different though, so keep that in mind.

I thoroughly enjoyed Chaol's character during this entire book. He obviously is going through a lot at the time this book takes place, not only physically but mentally as well. Chaol starts his journey off very resentful and upset about his situation. He is faced with this drastic change in his life and he really doesn't know where to go from here. How can Chaol do any of the things he has done in the past in his current situation? Ultimately, he feels very hopeless and lost. And it takes Chaol almost the entire novel to truly come to terms with what his life is like and what happened to him. Every chapter that went by, you started seeing little changes that meant progress toward accepting his circumstances and beginning a "new" life. You see him begin to dispel that notion that he is "less" or "not important." He began to see himself in a new light. 

“We don't look back. It helps no one and nothing to look back.” 

I know that some people might be able to relate to Chaol a lot or not at all, but from my experiences these are the exact emotions that a person in a wheelchair feels. My mom has been in a wheelchair for the majority of my life. She has a neurological condition called CRPS which has resulted in her having one leg amputated in hopes that it would help (it didn't) and exhausting all treatment options only to find nothing works.  As a side note...I wholeheartedly wish that healers like Yrene existed so that my mom could be free of pain. Now my mom is more mobile than Chaol, but we always have had a unique relationship in which we are open with each other and how much being in a wheelchair has impacted her life. One day she was walking and the next she was in a wheelchair. And she has talked about the exact same things that Chaol endures...feeling "less" of a person, feeling invisible and as if you don't matter. Even from my perspective, I see the stares or the "looks" people give my mom. I see the way she is treated by others as if she is some "outsider" or as if she has the plague. I see the way people act as if she is invisible and doesn't matter when they skip her in line or trip over/bump into her or ignore her entirely. It's difficult when the way you plan out your life is by where your wheelchair can "fit." For example, we avoid certain restaurants because we know her wheelchair can't even fit through the bathroom door; or she chooses not to go into certain stores because there is way too many things crowding the aisles. And my mom defintely has good and bad days. She says it's easy for her to get depressed and feel as if she is "useless" because she needs to depend on me or my dad for certain things. She says it's easy to fall into that pit of "why me." So for me, Chaol's emotional state throughout Tower of Dawn speaks volumes and is incredibly realistic. It shows the mindset of people with a disability. SJM's portrayal of Chaol's character is incredibly real, incredibly raw, and incredibly honest. 

I appreciated how Sarah chose to end Chaol's journey. Not everything is all fixed and better by the end. A lot of the progress Chaol made physically is for nothing, and it's extremely sad and heartbreaking. But, the progress he made mentally and emotionally did do something for him. And you realize he is a completely different person by the end of this story. Chaol is not ashamed anymore and knows that it's okay to rely on other people in certain situations. So thank you Sarah for writing such an amazing character that many people will be able to relate to (whether it's directly or indirectly). 

“Using the chair is not a punishment. It is not a prison,' he said softly. 'It never was. And I am as much of a man in that chair, or with that cane, as I am standing on my feet.' He brushed away the tear that slipped down her cheek.

'I wanted to heal you,' she breathed.

'You did,' he said, smiling. 'Yrene, in every way that truly matters . . . You did.'

Chaol wiped away the other tears that fell, brushing a kiss to her hot cheek.” 

Okay, enough about Chaol. Let's move onto Yrene and the other characters. I adored all of them so much, but Yrene will always have a special place in my heart. She definitely has an emotional story attached to her. Yrene has gone through a lot in her life but she is stronger because of it. Perhaps this is what made her character so fantastic....she is a different kind of "strong" than we are used to in this series. We are used to women who are kick-butt heroines who know how to fight and will take no prisoners. But Yrene is a different type of kick-butt heroine. No, she's not a fighter, but her compassion and heart knows no bounds. She goes through a different type of emotional journey with Chaol and for that she is stronger as well.

“He didn't understand-how she could be so delicate, so small, when she had overturned his life entirely. Worked miracles with those hands and that soul, this woman who had crossed mountains and seas.” 

The other characters in this book: Nesryn, Sartaq, the Royal family, the horse named Butterfly, etc. are all so wonderfully written. I honestly can't go into too much detail about them because they're all chock full of spoilers. But I loved the addition of the Ruks and I already know how big of a role they'll play coming up. I feel like this is how SJM looked while writing this whole book because of all the big things to come:

I truly loved this book from start to finish. I always go into writing reviews of SJM books with the intention of it not actually being a long review. But at this point, I'm failing miserably with that so I'm starting to think it's next to impossible. Sure, the book is a little slower than a normal ToG book, but the amount of important information in here and the PLOT TWISTS (lord almighty, the plot twists!!) make every single second of this book worth it. You definitely can't skip this book as it is that important to what is coming next. Oh and that last chapter (all 2 pages of it I might add), I only have to ask: WHY SARAH??? WHY DO YOU DO THESE THINGS TO ME??? HOW DO YOU DESTROY ME IN ONLY 2 PAGES?! With that parting thought...go read this now!

Happy reading :)

~Cassie

P.S. Here's a picture of my parents and I celebrating my graduation from PA school back in May...all smiles here!!