It’s been 2085 days since Kingdom of Ash (KOA) was released and here I am, finally finished reading it. You’re probably wondering why it’s taken me so long to read this book? How can someone read the entire series and not want to know how it ends. When you love something so much, you don’t want it to end and that’s how I was with this series. This book literally stayed in the Barnes and Noble bag (along with the receipt) since I purchased it on October 23, 2018. I only took it out to take a selfie with it and then back in the bag it went. This also happened to be around the time where I made my exit from book reviewing/blogging and really, I had such a negative experience with reading that I didn’t read much for years. I’m talking of going from 150 books a year to maybe 5, if I was lucky. I loved my time as a book reviewer and running a blog; I met some amazing people along the way (both readers and authors) and I’m disappointed in myself for letting a lot of those relationships fade when I made my exit in the book world (my biggest regret, really). The pressure of reviewing books by a deadline and even feeling like I had to like a book that I was sent for review, even if I didn’t. I think that negative pressure is what did me in because most of the books I read, I truly enjoyed reading.
But let me get back to my love for Sarah J Maas’ (SJM) writing and specifically, Throne of Glass (TOG). I was first introduced to SJM at my very first BEA (Book Expo America) and I kept hearing people talk about this book but I wasn’t really familiar with it. I was able to get in to her signing line, met and got a copy of the book. She was super nice (and absolutely stunning) but I was excited I was able to get this book everyone was talking about. It was one of the first books I read when I got home and I understand the hype of it all. I was thrust in to this amazing world and amazing characters; I felt like I was actually right there in the story, with these characters. I just needed more. Sometimes, the hype is actually worth it. I instantly became a fan and started following her on social media and just waiting for the hardcover to be released (I’m a sucker for hardcovers).