I have never met a single person who has read the ACOTAR series and liked Ianthe, and with good cause- she is truly awful. Tamlin's childhood best friend should have stayed on whatever island she ran off crying to during Amarantha's reign. That in mind, we're going to do things a little differently today. It's a hatefest! We're going to pour a ton of hate on Ianthe! She truly, truly deserves it.
This is like. A no-brainer. This woman isn't living, she's playing a constant game of mental chess and everyone around her are the pawns. She will say anything, do anything, to get what she wants. This isn't just a toxic trait, that girl has made it her entire personality. It's not becoming. I kid you not there is no scene in these books that has had me squirming more than the scene where Ianthe manipulated Tamlin into whipping an innocent man. She got what was coming to her though.
The core of Ianthe's problems is her ambition, but sometimes her manipulation goes further than just her craving for power. Lucien of all people should be able to attest to the fact that even on matters that are more or less trivial, Ianthe simply will not take no for an answer. That fact hurts countless people around her, and quite frankly it's a bit disgusting. I think, more than anything, this is why she has become so hated. This is why she's bad.
If there is one person in this entire fandom who has an army, it is Lucien Vanserra- and rightfully so. He's a good man. And right from when Ianthe was introduced it was abundantly clear that she wanted him. Whether it was because he was the son of a High Lord or just a pretty face, she had her eyes set on Lucien and Lucien only. And in her determination, she crossed lines that no person should cross. Hearing from Lucien what happened at Calanmai was devastating, to a degree that I cried for him- and I do not cry easily. It was abhorrent. Awful, disgusting. Worse, I'd dare say, than what Amarantha did to Rhysand Under the Mountain.
Another thing that sits right with no one- Ianthe ran. She ran when Amarantha condemned the High Lords, right to where no one would catch her. She had no right to either. She used her pretty privilege, batted her eyes, and was on a boat far away while everyone else suffered. And she didn't run to recuperate, work with the Gods, and try to find a way out. She ran and left everyone and everything else in her wake condemned. She's not just manipulative and power-hungry, she's a coward. She spent years using her postion as a Priestess to get her way, and making it her excuse for any bout of bad behaviour. It's just.... ick.
This article was too nice to Ianthe by a longshot.