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.
Hello everyone!
This book has been a long time coming. Ever since Throne of Glass started (well… ever since I started to read it) I have longed for a book that was solely about Chaol and his struggle to righten his wrong-doings.
Ever since we saw his life fall apart and him becoming this rock-hard bastard, I’ve wanted -above anything else- a book about Chaol realising his mistakes and trying to learn from them.
And we got it. We finally got it.
Apart from it being Chaol’s story, it’s also a vital part in the bookseries. It was supposed to be a novella (a short story that collaborates to the main storyline but can be read separately) but the length and the importance of this story transformed it into an actual sequel to Empire of Storms.
In this novel we followe Chaol and Nesryn as they reach the shores of Antica, the capitol city of the Southern Continent. Here rules the Great Khagan, who’s help they need in the fight against the Valg King; Erawan.
But calling for aid isn’t that easy. The Khagan refuses to aid those who are destroying each other. Especially considering Aelin’s history and that of Adarlan. And telling the Khagan of the real threat is too dangerous.
Chaol and Nesryn have to be careful about who to talk to and what to talk about because in this place, even the walls have ears.
To make matters even more dangerous, Chaol needs the help of a Healer from the Torre.
Anyone who’s read The Assassin’s Blade is already familiar with the character but I hadn’t read it yet (I’m sorry… I tried countless of times but I just can’t seem to get through the first story) so Yrene Towers was a new character for me. Evenso, her character is well-rounded from the beginning.
There’s so many things that I would love to talk about right her, right now but I promised myself I wouldn’t post any spoilers that were truly major. But there are going to be mild spoilers, so if you don’t want to know anything about the book please scroll back up and go to another page or pick up the book and read.
*** MILD SPOILERS ***
In Tower of Dawn we finally see Chaol come into his own by the aid of Yrene Towers. Yrene is a very interesting character to me because she reminds me a lot of Celaena but without the assassinating skills or the cockiness. I didn’t read TAB before this but Sarah introduced Yrene as if TAB isn’t necessary.
Very very good news for me
The dynamic between Chaol and Yrene is nice to read about after all the cringy Nesryn-Chaol parts. I didn’t ship them. Never wanted to put them together and make it work. The chemistry just wasn’t there…. but it sparked to life between Yrene and Chaol the moment Yrene walked into his room and nearly killed him by looking at him and wishing him dead. It was refreshing to read about someone hating Adarlan because of justified reasons but healing that hatred by helping Adarlan’s former Captain of the Guard. They shared great banter and slowly but surely a connection grew and I shipped them like no tomorrow.
My OTP feels remain with Elorcan, though. Sorry Chaol and forgive me Chaolaena
The dynamic between Nesryn and Sartaq (really… this book is full of amazing and interesting characters) is equal as good as Chaol and Yrene. I was over the moon when Nesryn finally got her moment to shine. I didn’t like her in the previous books and kind of thoughts she was boring but this book made me turn that opinion around. I’m rooting for her and truly hope she’ll do well in the upcoming war and survive it.
Tower of Dawn is Chaol’s story but it’s also an opportunity for readers to really get to know Nesryn. To see her truly grow and develop as a character.
The best thing, however, is that this book met all of my expectations. Apart from it introducing a whole new set of characters, it’s THE STORY that I have craved for since Nehemia was killed and my OTP sank like the Titanic. Of all the character development in this book or even the series this is the most epic one.
I get that readers, even after finishing ToD, will still hate Chaol for all he did but this just proves my point that Chaol is human. He’s more human than anyone in the books. He hates himself for all he did. Hates himself for doing what he did to others. Blames himself for most of the stuff that’s happened and accepts the punishment that’s been given to him. And you get to see him accepting the fact that he’s the way he is. I was such a proud momma when he finally -FINALLY- realised his hatred and anger towards Aelin was something he needed to let go. That he needed to both forgive himself and Aelin. To realize she did honor him when she was in Wendlyn. To realize made major mistakes but not ones that aren’t mendable.
All I want now is a encounter between him and Aelin and have it be good. I’m still rooting for them even though the ship sank and hit rock bottom. I don’t want them to become a couple anymore but I would sell my soul to see them become friends and actually chat and laugh. That’s the only thing I still need right now because my bae has grown so much. (Won’t say too much about his achievements in this journey due to major spoiler content)
*snif*
As far as the discussion: Is this book really necessary? Can’t we just skip it and read ToG #7? goes… Yes and no. Yes this book is necessary. And no, you can’t just skip it and continue on with Aelin based books.
I’m not just saying this because Chaol is my bae and I want him to get more attention well I do but that’s another topic for later but because there are some major plotpoints and twists that’ll help you understand ToG #7 when the time comes. One of them is truly horrendous when you read about it. It opens up sooooooo many half-closed doors and explains so damn much about a certain character. Also, it made me scared AF when the realisation hits and leaves you gasping for air and lying on the floor for hours.
So to all those who choose to boycot this book because ToG #7 was postponed and you don’t want to read about Chaol Westfall or Nesryn for some reason… please do. Read it, finish it and realise just how much shit we’re about to face in the next book.
It’s not going to be a pretty end.
I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I definitely recommend it to any Throne of Glass fan and really advise any readers who don’t like Chaol to still read it. There’s so much to learn about other characters whom you might come to like. (Sartaq and Hasar for example)
With love,
Leanne
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