History YMMV / ThroneOfGlass

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Rowan, especially after [[spoiler:he and Aelin become an OfficialCouple]] in ''Queen of Shadows''. Some readers enjoy him as a [[MrFanservice sexy]], {{heartbroken badass}} fae warrior and think he and Aelin make a great power couple. Other people think he has [[SatelliteLoveInterest no personality or story arc outside of being Aelin's love interest]] and find Dorian and Chaol to be better developed (both as characters and in regards to their relationship with Celaena/Aelin). Other aspects of their relationship have generated controversy as well, namely the age gap, power dynamics and their initial hostility. Some don't see an issue with them having a MayflyDecemberRomance (especially seeing as it's a fantasy story) and view them as having BelligerentSexualTension that develops into mutual respect. Other readers view their relationship as problematic given that Celaena is a teenager while Rowan is her centuries' old tutor - and thus in a position of authority over her - and find his aggressive treatment of her abhorrent, especially given Celaena's emotional state at the time. [[note]]she's going through a depressive state and expresses survivor's guilt after the murder of her best friend and realization most of her family died to protect her[[/note]]

* CreatorsPet:
** Celaena/Aelin. Several paragraphs, especially in the later books, consist mostly of the narration talking about how wonderful, amazing, and all-powerful she is.
** Rowan, full-stop. Between the constant descriptions of his physique, the very clear DerailingLoveInterests that happened to [[spoiler: Chaol]] in Queen of Shadows for them to get together, and like Celaena/Aelin, talking about how amazing he is, it's hard not to see Rowan as anything other than this.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: There was some controversy over Nehemia's role early in the series, namely that she's one of the only major characters of color and her role essentially boils down to being Celaena's friend and [[spoiler:dying horribly less than than halfway through the series purely to motivate Celaena]]. We're later introduced to Yrene Towers, a mixed-ethnicity woman whose father is from Eyllwe (Nehemia's country). Her meaty role in the later books and in particular her being the one to [[spoiler:take out the BigBad]] almost seems to have been added to make up for the Nehemia controversy.

* HypeBacklash: ''Throne of Glass'' was a big hit in the 2010s (the original version ''Queen of Glass'' was also one of the most popular stories on [=FictionPress=] between 2003 and 2008), selling millions of copies, launching Sarah J Maas' career, and getting attempts at an adaptation before the series was even finished. It particularly received praise for being an epic fantasy teen girls could enjoy, given its lead was a teenage GirlyBruiser and the inclusion of FeministFantasy aspects, with some calling it "Game of Thrones for teen girls" or "feminist The Lord of the Rings". However, it didn't take long for the series to gain detractors, with some of the backlash ranging from complaints about rampant cliches and overfixation on romance (especially the inclusion of graphic sex scenes and sexualized violence in a teen-oriented series), to questionable depictions of people of color and gay/bisexual characters. Opinions on [[TheProtagonist Celaena]] are also [[BaseBreakingCharacter divisive]]; initially some praised her for being a badass female character who also embraces femininity (avoiding the maligned RealWomenDontWearDresses), while others find her fixation on boys, parties and fashion tends to override the 'badass assassin' part of her character and that she comes off as an over-powered ClicheStorm whose constant CharacterShilling gets annoying.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: There was some controversy over Nehemia's role early in the series, namely that she's one of the only major characters of color and her role essentially boils down to being Celaena's friend and [[spoiler:dying horribly less than than halfway through the series purely to motivate Celaena]]. We're later introduced to Yrene Towers, a golden-skinned woman whose father is from Eyllwe (Nehemia's country). Her meaty role in the later books and in particular her being the one to [[spoiler:take out the BigBad]] almost seems to have been added to make up for the Nehemia controversy.

** The scenes leading up to and following Nehemia's assassination-the brutal way the princess is laid out in her rooms, [[AdultFear how close Celaena comes to saving her friend]], and the no-holds-barred revenge that follows.

* LesYay: The series is full of female characters, so it's no surprise that there's a lot of chemistry to be had.
** Celaena and Nehemia's close bond, complete with [[AnywhereButTheirLips anywhere-but-their-lips kisses]] It becomes increasingly apparent from the closeness they share and the AffectionateNickname Nehemia gives Celaena, not to mention [[spoiler: when Nehemia is murdered she hunts down and mercilessly tortures Nehemia's killer in the same way Nehemia was killed before she lets him die. After she has got revenge she drops into utter desolation and despair that is a major driving force of the plot in Heir of Fire]]
** There is also Manon and her Thirteen, and Lysandra, a [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold courtesan]] who allies with Celaena and thinks she's proposing[[spoiler: when Celaena givesher a ring with a seal. It was an offer for a new start on a significant patch of land, but still.]]

** The fact that the King of Ardalan's sword is called Nothung drew chuckles from several readers; it's presumably intended to be pronounced something like "no-fung", but some read it as "[[TeenieWeenie not-hung]]", leading to jokes about the king CompensatingForSomething.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: There was some controversy over Nehemia's role early in the series, namely that she's one of the only major characters of color and her role essentially boils down to being Celaena's friend and [[spoiler:dying horribly less than than halfway through the series purely to motivate Celaena]]. We're later introduced to Yrene Towers, a golden-skinned woman whose father is from Eywlle (Nehemia's country). Her meaty role in the later books and in particular her being the one to [[spoiler:take out the BigBad]] almost seems to have been added to make up for the Nehemia controversy.

** When [[spoiler:Rowan and Aelin]] have sex in ''Empire of Storms'', their ardor is so intense that [[spoiler:they turn the sand on the beach into glass. And Aelin bursts into flames.]]

* WhatAnIdiot: In the first book, a bag of candy mysteriously appears on Celaena's bed on the Christmas-analogue holiday, and she just eats it, even though she's in the middle of a deadly competition and something has been horribly murdering people. While this turns out to be completely fine--the candy's a present from Dorian--one would expect ''Adarlan's Assassin'' to at least do a cursory poison check, and maybe be a little more concerned that someone got in and out of her room without her noticing.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Rowan, especially after [[spoiler:he and Aelin become an OfficialCouple]] in ''Queen of Shadows''. Some readers enjoy him as a [[MrFanservice sexy]], {{heartbroken badass}} fae warrior and think he and Aelin make a great power couple. Other people think he has [[SatelliteLoveInterest no personality or story arc outside of being Aelin's love interest]] and find Dorian and Chaol to be better developed (both as characters and in regards to their relationship with Celaena/Aelin). Other aspects of their relationship have generated controversy as well, namely the age gap, power dynamics and their initial hostility. Some don't see an issue with them having a MayflyDecemberRomance (especially seeing as it's a fantasy story) and see them as having BelligerentSexualTension that develops into mutual respect. Other readers view their relationship as problematic given that Celaena is a teenager while Rowan is her centuries' old tutor - and thus in a position of authority over her - and find his aggressive treatment of her abhorrent, especially given Celaena's emotional state at the time. [[note]]she's going through a depressive state and expresses survivor's guilt after the murder of her best friend and realization most of her family died to protect her[[/note]]

** The witches once had a Witch Kingdom, which they seek to rebuild. However, it seems strange their realm is referred to as a ''kingdom'' considering witches are a [[{{Matriarchy}} matriarchal]] and predominantly female race [[note]]in the case of the Ironteeth witches they're all-female, while amongst the Crochan witches males are rare[[/note]] while "king" is used to refer to a male ruler. The witches' rulers are always referred to as either queens or matrons. It might make sense if non-witches called it the Witch Kingdom out of ignorance but weirdly enough the witches themselves refer to it this way too, despite kings not being a thing in their society.

* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler: Nehemia]]. She's reminiscent of [[Franchise/StarWars Princess Leia]] in that she's a courageous and strong-willed princess who is WiseBeyondTheirYears and is secretly [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething supporting the rebellion]]. She's skilled at deceiving and manipulating others, with her strengths lying more in political manoeuvring and spy-work than than just throwing her weight around. She's actually more proactive and heroic than Celaena is (at first). Unfortunately, she gets killed off just two books in, with her death even serving to motivate Celaena into actually ''being'' the hero. A lot of readers were disappointed by this; it's also been pointed out that it has problematic implications given that [[spoiler:Nehemia is a woman of color - and pretty much the only major character of color in the series to boot until later on - whose main role is to die to motivate the white protagonist]].

* FridgeLogic: Chaol somehow made Captain of the Royal Guard without ever having killed someone before. Sure, he's only twenty-two (twenty-three by the second book) years old, but he's the ''CAPTAIN'' of the royal guard of an empire that spends most of its time conquering neighboring lands and dealing with rebels from said lands and he's ''never killed someone before''?

*
CaptainObviousReveal: It's mentioned several times that Terrasen's royal family were all massacred ten years prior to Book 1 but no one is sure what happened to the eight year old princess. [[spoiler:Celaena]] is eighteen at the beginning of the series and was taken in by [[spoiler:Arobynn]] after being found half-dead near the border of Terrasen a decade ago. [[spoiler:Celaena]] also mentions she used to have magic and Terrasen's royal family is known for being descended from Fae. Oh, ''and'' she has a connection to Elena's spirit, she being a former queen of Terrasen and the princess's ancestor, who all but states outright they're related at the end of Book 1 ("Blood ties can't be broken"). Gee, I wonder if [[spoiler:Celaena]] turns out to be the long-lost princess? The series does at least try to put a more unique spin on it; rather than [[spoiler:Celaena]] having lost her memory or being otherwise ignorant of her heritage, she's fully aware she's the princess but insists ThatWomanIsDead out of trauma.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: There was some controversy over Nehemia's role early in the series, namely that she's one of the only major characters of color and her role essentially boils down to being Celaena's friend and [[spoiler:dying horribly less than than halfway through the series purely to motivate Celaena]]. We're later introduced to Yrene Towers, a golden-skinned woman whose father is from Eywlle. Her meaty role in the later books and in particular her being the one to [[spoiler:take out the BigBad]] almost seems to have been added to make up for the Nehemia controversy.

* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler: Nehemia]]. She's reminiscent of [[Franchise/StarWars Princess Leia]] in that she's a courageous and strong-willed princess who is WiseBeyondTheirYears and is secretly [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething supporting the rebellion]]. She's skilled at deceiving and manipulating others, with her strengths lying more in political manoeuvring and spy-work than than just throwing her weight around. She's actually more proactive and heroic than Celaena is (at first). Unfortunately, she gets killed off just two books in, with her death even serving to motivate Celaena into actually ''being'' the hero. A lot of readers were disappointed by this; it's also been pointed out that it has problematic implications given that [[spoiler:Nehemia is a woman of color - and pretty much the only major character of color in the series to boot - whose main role is to die to motivate the white protagonist]].

* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler: Nehemia]]. She's reminiscent of [[Franchise/StarWars Princess Leia]] in that she's a courageous and strong-willed princess who is WiseBeyondTheirYears and is secretly [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething supporting the rebellion]]. She's skilled at deceiving and manipulating others, with her strengths lying more in political manoeuvring and spy-work than than just throwing her weight around. She's actually more proactive and heroic than Celaena is (at first). Unfortunately, she gets killed off just two books in, with her death even serving to motivate Celaena into actually ''being'' the hero. A lot of readers were disappointed by this; it's also been pointed out that it problematic implications given that [[spoiler:Nehemia is a woman of color - and pretty much the only major character of color in the series to boot - whose main role is to die to motivate the white protagonist]].

** Dorian/Aelin-Doraelin
** Chaol/Celaena-Chaolaena
** Rowan/Aelin-Rowaelin
** [[LesYay Manon/Elide-Malide]]

%%* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler: Nehemia.]]

* AnticlimaxBoss: Arobynn, the King of Assasins, is built up as an extremely dangerous, cunning and resourceful crime lord, with the protagonists worrying about how they're going to deal with him. [[spoiler:He gets stabbed to death in his sleep by a prostitute with no combat training, offpage, and that's the end of that]].

* {{Padding}}: A common complaint even from readers who like the series is that it can feel unnecessarily long. The story itself isn't that complicated but it gets dragged out by taking ages to get to the point or including sequences that do little to develop the plot. The original draft consisted of three parts which corresponds to the first four books, only for the finished version to be stretched to eight books in total, and most of them are[[{{Doorstopper}} very long books]] at that. Notably, the main conflict seems to be wrapped up by the fourth book, only for it to suddenly be revealed [[spoiler:that the BigBad is not the ''true'' Big Bad after all]], basically enforcing the series' continuation.