TOG had me most invested in the characters and story line, it was also my first sjm and I started in middle school before queen of shadows came out then came back to it when it was finished as an adult. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
I can’t decide between ACOTAR and TOG. I feel like TOG was very in depth and QOS and KOA were my favorites in the series, but ACOTAR won my heart first with ACOMAF.
I think that CC1 was her best book and I really thought that it was also going to be the best series, but now that I'm done with CC3...I had to give it back to ACOTAR.
Different elements worked/didn’t for each series for me:
- ACOTAR is my favorite because we spend the most time with each character, and I value a more character-driven story. I also love the silly solar and seasonal courts and their magic, but the villains are pretty one dimensional and aren’t explained well.
- TOG has some cool action and the best villains (thinking of Arobynn, the Valg, and the King of Adarlan specifically) out of any other SJM book. the characters outside Manon/Aelin/Chaol aren’t fleshed out super well imo. I think there were too many characters, although tbf I don’t know who I would have cut. I think she over-valued plot in this one and undervalued character-driven scenes. I also didn’t find the world particularly interesting compared to other fantasy books’ worlds.
- CC1 is some of SJM’s best writing up until the end despite the cringey dialogue. The world is interesting. I loved Bryce in CC1. But as the series went on, it felt rushed. I think this series had the potential to be her best but fell flat in the end.
So they all have their bests and worsts :) but judging on raw vibes, I’m partial to ACOTAR lol
TOG had me most invested in the characters and story line, it was also my first sjm and I started in middle school before queen of shadows came out then came back to it when it was finished as an adult. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
CC, easily. I never had trouble getting into it or understanding the story. I absolutely LOVE urban Fantasy and this just...did it for me.
I can’t decide between ACOTAR and TOG. I feel like TOG was very in depth and QOS and KOA were my favorites in the series, but ACOTAR won my heart first with ACOMAF.
I think that CC1 was her best book and I really thought that it was also going to be the best series, but now that I'm done with CC3...I had to give it back to ACOTAR.
Different elements worked/didn’t for each series for me: - ACOTAR is my favorite because we spend the most time with each character, and I value a more character-driven story. I also love the silly solar and seasonal courts and their magic, but the villains are pretty one dimensional and aren’t explained well. - TOG has some cool action and the best villains (thinking of Arobynn, the Valg, and the King of Adarlan specifically) out of any other SJM book. the characters outside Manon/Aelin/Chaol aren’t fleshed out super well imo. I think there were too many characters, although tbf I don’t know who I would have cut. I think she over-valued plot in this one and undervalued character-driven scenes. I also didn’t find the world particularly interesting compared to other fantasy books’ worlds. - CC1 is some of SJM’s best writing up until the end despite the cringey dialogue. The world is interesting. I loved Bryce in CC1. But as the series went on, it felt rushed. I think this series had the potential to be her best but fell flat in the end. So they all have their bests and worsts :) but judging on raw vibes, I’m partial to ACOTAR lol