Taking the young-adult fantasy world by storm, The Throne of Glass series is one of the most well-known books in this genre. Everyone who keeps up with young adult fiction has either read or heard of this story that Sarah J. Maas has created. With the first book, Throne of Glass, coming out in 2012, it instantly became a fan favorite. Seven books later, in 2018, the finale, Kingdom of Ash, was released. 

This series has two main categories that people who read it fall into: they either love it or they hate it. If readers love it, then they feel connected with the characters (Aelin, Dorian, Rowan, Chaol, Lorcan, Elide, etc..) and they appreciate how all the storylines weave together to create this complex and dynamic world. Comparing the first book to the last book, readers can see how Maas has grown in her writing and storytelling. Afterall, she did draft the first book when she was only 16. It only makes sense that her craft has grown exponentially since then. 

Those who don’t like it find it cliche and trope-y—something that may be seen as a guilty pleasure read as opposed to something that holds literary merit. The romances are viewed as unrealistic and the storyline changes too much from what readers were introduced to in the beginning. 

As for me, I thoroughly enjoy the series. Are there books that hold more literary merit, yes, but the story is engaging and provides a nice escape for me. Despite the fact that the later books are almost a thousand pages in length, readers can fly through these books and get lost in the characters and trials that they have to overcome. I love reading all the different storylines and seeing how something that happened in book four can have such a big impact on the finale. It is clear that Maas did some serious plotting and outlining when it came to writing this series. Also, I love the romances. Aelin and Rowan, Elide and Lorcan, Chaol and Yrene….I mean what’s not to love.