Review: Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In the next installment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, follow Chaol on his sweeping journey to a distant empire.

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.

Chaol is my favourite character from the Throne of Glass series, so you can imagine the excitement when this was announced. The agonising wait is over at last. Tower of Dawn is set after Queen of Shows and the same time as Empire of Storms so this review will contain spoilers from that and previous books in the series. It is a spoiler free review of Tower of Dawn though.

∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼∼

My rating:

★★★★★

We follow Chaol and Nesryn on their journey to Antica where they have travelled to seek treatment from the healers of the famous Torre Cesme, after Chaol’s injury (caused by Aelin destroying the Glass Castle in Queen of Shadows) and hopefully, build ties with the Khagan’s and their armies in the coming war.

I have to say it, I LOVED Tower of Dawn. Ever wondered what happened to Yrene after The Assassin’s Blade? The wait is finally over and Yrene isn’t the only familiar face to make an appearance either. I’m not going to say who it is, I have often wondered what happened to this person after we met them. Not only are we introduced to a whole host of new characters, scattered throughout are references to characters and events that brings a touch of nostalgia and definitely helps during those moments when you’re missing Aelin, Rowan and Dorian.

In Tower of Dawn we really get to know Chaol and who he is as a person in this instalment. As the story progresses we find out more about his past that sheds some light and clarity on why he’s done certain things. I’ve never been one for court politics, I was fascinated by it in the Khaganate Court, watching the various games play out.

At times I felt the placing was a little slow, but there were plenty of fast paced scenes to make up for it. I won’t say much more as I don’t want to spoil it for you. I know a lot of you dislike/hate Chaol, don’t let it put you off reading it though. Aside from Chaol, Tower of Dawn has so much to offer and I have a feeling it will help when the next book comes out.

Published by: Bloomsbury

Published: 05/09/17

Pages: 660

Buy from: Book Depository  Waterstones

Have you read Tower of Dawn yet? I’d love to hear your thoughts, let me know in the comments.