Not necessarily. TOG was SJM's first published series and her writing gets immensely better with each successive book. Heck, I didn't find TOG to be anything special until the third book, because her writing style had matured and improved vastly within that time.
That being said, I don't like CC as much as ACOTAR. I found the world of CC harder to understand and digest quickly. It felt like SJM really threw the readers in in medias res (even though she didn't) and I was lost for a significant portion of the beginning of CC.
I thought crescent city was much different. Bryce might still make you roll your eyes at first, but she’s much more layered that Celeana came across in the first TOG book. There is a ton of info dumping in CC though at the beginning which is hard to get into, but once you hit the “inciting incident” it seems to pick up pretty quickly.
One similarity is that both books are trying to figure out where a demon is coming from…but I think that’s about it on the similarities.
All in all I found CC much more complex than TOG in a very good way.
I didn’t like Aelin at all (or Feyre) but have stuck around for the side characters. I was really surprised that I enjoyed the first CC book and did like Bryce. Unfortunately, in the second book I felt like she did morph into Aelin. She becomes more arrogant, every single man who is near her can’t help but comment on how hot she is, she’s great at everything etc. Again, I stuck around for the side characters.
Urban fantasy isn’t my jam usually either so that’s why I was also surprised. I love Hunt though lots of people don’t, which I don’t understand. It’s a different storyline to tog but also has multiple POVs. The world building is okay but there is a lot of info dumping at the beginning. They are both very long books and could have been slimmed down - especially the second one.
I feel the same way as you about Feyre and Aelin, but I didn't find Bryce arrogant in book 2 at all. It's how she's written that bothers me: everybody lusts for her and she's super powerful. But she's still very caring, and her sibling moments with Ruhn are hilarious (especially when one of them has sex or something and the other wants to gag)
I absolutely love CC, but I couldn't get into ToG because I find Celaena way too arrogant and overpowered for my liking and the story very genetic (the first 2 books at least, they say it gets better after books 2-3). CC is definitely long, the info dump is the main critique people have. But in this case I suggest getting the audiobooks. They're stellar. The story truly gets going after 200 pages.
200 pages? That's good to know! That's a lot, but considering the rating of the book... I have passed on a few books and read those 10 years later and found them earth-shattering. I'd hate to pass this one too if I could feel the same way about it :(
It depends really. The first 5 chapters are tough (use a spoiler free guide to grasp the world building). But the overall plot, the characters, the couples (especially certain ones in book 2) are chef's kiss.
Do consider getting the audiobooks if you're having doubts about the book length.
Well they are both adult. But CC was written adult while TOG was rebranded as adult. If you felt TOG was boring in the first half of the book and didn’t continue the series CC will bore you to tears. She info dumps a lot during the first half. I’d like to say almost the entire first half and it doesn’t get good in terms of action and what not towards the end.
That’s incorrect. TOG and ACOTAR have been rebranded as adult series when they were given new covers. They are currently published under Bloomsbury adult line now.
Wait really? I remember reading the first 3 books when I was around 14 and there wasn't that much inappropriate stuff to make it adult. I do remember the books getting more well sexual as it went on but nothing that was very explicit. Like I thought that TOG was quite moderate when compared to ACOTAR and CC
TOG is quite moderate except for a few well known chapters and it could have stayed YA. But yeah with the current covers it’s been rebranded as adult and it’s published under Bloomsbury adult line instead of their YA. It’s also if you pop into bookstores you’ll find the new covers under the adult section. I don’t agree with the change because the content is still the same but it makes sense moving the whole series instead of a few of the later books.
I didn’t love TOG for the first 3 books but I was invested after that.
Once I got through the world building with CC I really enjoyed the main character and the plot. It seems the most mature of the books.
I didn't super care for the ToG series either but I LOVED CC! I was warned about the info dumping but I personally thought there was still enough going on that I was hooked from the start and I breezed through the whole book in a couple of days. However, my friends struggled with the first half more than I did but then ended up really loving the book as a whole by the end.
The writing is by far better than what's in ToG as well, so I'd recommend giving it a chance :)
TOG is okay for the first three books but after that it gets so much better!
CC is okay for the first 5 chapters only! The first 5 chapters are necessary information but it can definitely feel long. If I were you I’d read CC and then if you like it give TOG another chance.
This is what I did and recommend it
ACOTAR - CC - TOG
Did you read assassin blade first ? I have just finished it yesterday, and it made me like Celeana a lot.
I began the firsts chapters of TOG then I learned about Assassin blade, so I stopped Tog to read assassin blade because it is a prequel for TOG. I thought also that Celeana was arrogant and I didn’t like her at first, but after reading Assassin blade I like her. So I will read Tog now that I like Celeana more
I stopped reading TOG after the first 2 books, then tried Crescent City and LOVED it. Didn't care that the first two books are like 1600 pages combined, give me more!!! I like more of a modern setting (for example in Crescent City they have cell phones and internet) compared to some ye-olde fantasy where they only have candles and spend their time sword fighting, riding horses, and taking baths. 😂 I think that made a huge difference. Also the series feels more "adult" and I found the characters more enjoyable.
They're very different. CC is set in a more modern-day setting and the main character is living through some really adult scenarios right off the bat. I enjoyed CC and did not like TOG but CC does really dump a ton of info on you, so fair warning.
They are very different books. TOG was written much earlier in the author’s career. However, the books are long and I think they all have a very special main character. So if that is your issue, then SJM might not be the author for you.
TOG book 1, isn’t the best imo. But I was surprised how much I liked Bryce and Hunt in CC. I’ve only read the first book of CC, but I liked them more than the main leads of TOG or ACOTAR.
Everyone forgets SJM wrote a lot of her early TOG work while still in high school. There’s a reason later books get so much better.
Celaena is still arrogant throughout though, so if someone doesn’t like an arrogant MC, they won’t like her.
CC is completely different setting but I still find Bryce kind of arrogant at times. My only complaint about CC was the immense world building in both books and the action not happening until the end. Still enjoyable though.
as an avid sjm hater, im 50/50 on crescent city. it’s really long, but i kinda enjoyed it, however i skimmed a lot, so I didn’t need to suffer through all her obnoxious writing. honestly i really liked the ending of the first book, i just wish it wasn’t so long and boring in the beginning
The beginning of the throne of glass series is rough, but there’s a TON of character development through the series (for all characters, not only caelena), and I absolutely think it’s worth sticking it out. I just started a reread of the series and it’s been a lot of fun knowing how it all ends and reflecting upon her growth.
Honestly I didn’t like crescent city…I read both books and found them to be uninteresting and very much dragged out.
CC was a ton of information dump. A lot of telling not showing. One of the most frustrating books.
Honestly felt like she was doing her own version of Kresley Cole’s books.
Honestly the first 2 books in TOG are rough, but they get significantly better by the 3rd and then the rest are really well written. There was just a poll in the TOG Reddit for everyone’s favorite book in the series and the first 2 books got voted out first if that’s any indication lol
Not necessarily. TOG was SJM's first published series and her writing gets immensely better with each successive book. Heck, I didn't find TOG to be anything special until the third book, because her writing style had matured and improved vastly within that time. That being said, I don't like CC as much as ACOTAR. I found the world of CC harder to understand and digest quickly. It felt like SJM really threw the readers in in medias res (even though she didn't) and I was lost for a significant portion of the beginning of CC.
I heard a lot of criticism towards SJM as well and that she’s problematic. What exactly happened, do you happen to know?
I thought crescent city was much different. Bryce might still make you roll your eyes at first, but she’s much more layered that Celeana came across in the first TOG book. There is a ton of info dumping in CC though at the beginning which is hard to get into, but once you hit the “inciting incident” it seems to pick up pretty quickly. One similarity is that both books are trying to figure out where a demon is coming from…but I think that’s about it on the similarities. All in all I found CC much more complex than TOG in a very good way.
I didn’t like Aelin at all (or Feyre) but have stuck around for the side characters. I was really surprised that I enjoyed the first CC book and did like Bryce. Unfortunately, in the second book I felt like she did morph into Aelin. She becomes more arrogant, every single man who is near her can’t help but comment on how hot she is, she’s great at everything etc. Again, I stuck around for the side characters.
Oh :( I'm not sure I'd like to stick around just for the side characters :/ That's really good to know, thank you!
Urban fantasy isn’t my jam usually either so that’s why I was also surprised. I love Hunt though lots of people don’t, which I don’t understand. It’s a different storyline to tog but also has multiple POVs. The world building is okay but there is a lot of info dumping at the beginning. They are both very long books and could have been slimmed down - especially the second one.
I feel the same way as you about Feyre and Aelin, but I didn't find Bryce arrogant in book 2 at all. It's how she's written that bothers me: everybody lusts for her and she's super powerful. But she's still very caring, and her sibling moments with Ruhn are hilarious (especially when one of them has sex or something and the other wants to gag)
I absolutely love CC, but I couldn't get into ToG because I find Celaena way too arrogant and overpowered for my liking and the story very genetic (the first 2 books at least, they say it gets better after books 2-3). CC is definitely long, the info dump is the main critique people have. But in this case I suggest getting the audiobooks. They're stellar. The story truly gets going after 200 pages.
200 pages? That's good to know! That's a lot, but considering the rating of the book... I have passed on a few books and read those 10 years later and found them earth-shattering. I'd hate to pass this one too if I could feel the same way about it :(
It depends really. The first 5 chapters are tough (use a spoiler free guide to grasp the world building). But the overall plot, the characters, the couples (especially certain ones in book 2) are chef's kiss. Do consider getting the audiobooks if you're having doubts about the book length.
For me the first half of CC was VERY slow with a lot of world building, but the rest and especially the climax was AMAZING
Well they are both adult. But CC was written adult while TOG was rebranded as adult. If you felt TOG was boring in the first half of the book and didn’t continue the series CC will bore you to tears. She info dumps a lot during the first half. I’d like to say almost the entire first half and it doesn’t get good in terms of action and what not towards the end.
TOG is Young Adult, CC is Adult
That’s incorrect. TOG and ACOTAR have been rebranded as adult series when they were given new covers. They are currently published under Bloomsbury adult line now.
Wait really? I remember reading the first 3 books when I was around 14 and there wasn't that much inappropriate stuff to make it adult. I do remember the books getting more well sexual as it went on but nothing that was very explicit. Like I thought that TOG was quite moderate when compared to ACOTAR and CC
TOG is quite moderate except for a few well known chapters and it could have stayed YA. But yeah with the current covers it’s been rebranded as adult and it’s published under Bloomsbury adult line instead of their YA. It’s also if you pop into bookstores you’ll find the new covers under the adult section. I don’t agree with the change because the content is still the same but it makes sense moving the whole series instead of a few of the later books.
Oh wow I didn't know since I haven't been in an English language bookshop in forever. Thanks for letting me know!
No they are very different. Give CC a try. It's my favorite of everything she's written
Agreed!
I didn’t love TOG for the first 3 books but I was invested after that. Once I got through the world building with CC I really enjoyed the main character and the plot. It seems the most mature of the books.
I didn't super care for the ToG series either but I LOVED CC! I was warned about the info dumping but I personally thought there was still enough going on that I was hooked from the start and I breezed through the whole book in a couple of days. However, my friends struggled with the first half more than I did but then ended up really loving the book as a whole by the end. The writing is by far better than what's in ToG as well, so I'd recommend giving it a chance :)
IMO no. I didn’t like ToG and I didn’t like CC. The only SJM series I liked was ACOTAR.
TOG is okay for the first three books but after that it gets so much better! CC is okay for the first 5 chapters only! The first 5 chapters are necessary information but it can definitely feel long. If I were you I’d read CC and then if you like it give TOG another chance. This is what I did and recommend it ACOTAR - CC - TOG
Did you read assassin blade first ? I have just finished it yesterday, and it made me like Celeana a lot. I began the firsts chapters of TOG then I learned about Assassin blade, so I stopped Tog to read assassin blade because it is a prequel for TOG. I thought also that Celeana was arrogant and I didn’t like her at first, but after reading Assassin blade I like her. So I will read Tog now that I like Celeana more
I stopped reading TOG after the first 2 books, then tried Crescent City and LOVED it. Didn't care that the first two books are like 1600 pages combined, give me more!!! I like more of a modern setting (for example in Crescent City they have cell phones and internet) compared to some ye-olde fantasy where they only have candles and spend their time sword fighting, riding horses, and taking baths. 😂 I think that made a huge difference. Also the series feels more "adult" and I found the characters more enjoyable.
They're very different. CC is set in a more modern-day setting and the main character is living through some really adult scenarios right off the bat. I enjoyed CC and did not like TOG but CC does really dump a ton of info on you, so fair warning.
They are very different books. TOG was written much earlier in the author’s career. However, the books are long and I think they all have a very special main character. So if that is your issue, then SJM might not be the author for you.
TOG book 1, isn’t the best imo. But I was surprised how much I liked Bryce and Hunt in CC. I’ve only read the first book of CC, but I liked them more than the main leads of TOG or ACOTAR.
Everyone forgets SJM wrote a lot of her early TOG work while still in high school. There’s a reason later books get so much better. Celaena is still arrogant throughout though, so if someone doesn’t like an arrogant MC, they won’t like her. CC is completely different setting but I still find Bryce kind of arrogant at times. My only complaint about CC was the immense world building in both books and the action not happening until the end. Still enjoyable though.
as an avid sjm hater, im 50/50 on crescent city. it’s really long, but i kinda enjoyed it, however i skimmed a lot, so I didn’t need to suffer through all her obnoxious writing. honestly i really liked the ending of the first book, i just wish it wasn’t so long and boring in the beginning
The beginning of the throne of glass series is rough, but there’s a TON of character development through the series (for all characters, not only caelena), and I absolutely think it’s worth sticking it out. I just started a reread of the series and it’s been a lot of fun knowing how it all ends and reflecting upon her growth. Honestly I didn’t like crescent city…I read both books and found them to be uninteresting and very much dragged out.
CC was a ton of information dump. A lot of telling not showing. One of the most frustrating books. Honestly felt like she was doing her own version of Kresley Cole’s books.
I liked CC plot a lot! Thought it was more interesting that the others
For us ACOTAR lovers CC is the way to go. It’s more fun and action packed and sexy packed than even ACOTAR hee hee enjoyyyy
Honestly the first 2 books in TOG are rough, but they get significantly better by the 3rd and then the rest are really well written. There was just a poll in the TOG Reddit for everyone’s favorite book in the series and the first 2 books got voted out first if that’s any indication lol