We’re back in our emotional blender this week as we jump between Throne of Glass and Empire of Storms, and honestly? Sarah J. Maas is personally ensuring we never know peace.

Aelin is out here playing ten-dimensional chess while everyone else is just trying to keep up. Scheming, sacrificing, and terrifying us with how far she’s willing to go. Rowan continues to out-dramatize every brooding warrior in fantasy history, and Lysandra? Our shapeshifting queen remains unstoppable wrapped in loyalty and teeth. On the flip side, Dorian’s snark is getting sharper right along with the stakes, while Lorcan is one bad decision away from writing poetry in a storm and we can’t even blame him because… choices were made. Elide keeps quietly stealing the show by surviving, strategizing, and thriving when everyone underestimates her.

And then there’s Chaol and Irene over in Tower of Dawn territory, dragging us through pain, healing, stubbornness, and emotional growth like we signed up for a therapy session instead of a fantasy epic. We didn’t, but here we are. Deeply invested and slightly unwell about it.

Grab your headphones, your favorite comfort drink, and come scream, laugh, and spiral with us through these chapters. New twists, new heartbreaks, new reasons we’ll never recover. It’s all here.

Thanks for listening to Caffeine and Conjuring! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit caffeineandconjuring.substack.com