Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, 3)

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas Steph's Rating: 5 stars Overall Rating: 5 stars Steph's Review: *the review itself is for the most part non-spoiler, but the area for my predictions is packed with spoilers for Heir of Fire* What better way to get back into blogging than with a book that also ended with a bang? I think I've read Heir of Fire three or four times over the one month period that it's been out--in other words, I've just been reading some sort of page from this pretty much every day. Still not over it either. The pretty hardcover is still sitting on my nightstand even though I've got other selections I'm reading. The books in this series release pretty far apart from each other so this obsession is really not good seeing as I've got at least another eleven months to go before book four rolls around. Celaena has been cast away from Adarlan for her own safety by none other than Chaol Westfall. She's ignoring her duty to the King while she's slumming it in the streets of Wendlyn. She is approached by a menacing Fae warrior, who leads her on orders to the her aunt, and Fae Queen, Maeve. Celaena knows Maeve knows the information that she dearly needs to accomplish solving the mystery of Adarlan's seemingly overnight triumph, but Maeve is withholding that knowledge with a series of conditions. She is sent back to the peaceful demi-Fae town of Mystward, to master her heritage and the magic that has quietly dwelled within her for over ten years. If she proves successful and rediscovers her conscience, she may become the biggest living threat that Adarlan has ever seen. If she fails...everything is over for Terrasen. Now, I've read tons of reviews for this one. Many people give it five start but then go onto say that it wasn't their favorite book in the series since Crown of Midnight is still their absolute fave. I too, and giving it those five big, obnoxious stars but Heir of Fire is my favorite book within this series so far. I love Crown of Midnight, I do, but I still felt like Crown of Midnight is a "thriller" book of sorts. It's a roller coaster that is exciting and something you'll always remember (at least for me), but once it's over, it's over. Heir of Fire is a much deeper book because of its fantastic character development. In fact, I think this entire book is pretty much dedicated into recreating Celaena's character that will define her for the rest of the series. Heir of Fire is an intermission of sorts, but at the same time also the bridge that is going to connect two vastly differing parts of this series--and I love the new Celaena. HoF also is just a big staging book; its triple POV/triple setting sets up lots of great subplots that will definitely become major contributions to the rest of the story. There's a lot of mystery shrouding the whole series, but I'd like to think some of that is made known to us with this novel. Along with Celaena's character development, Maas gives us a lot of flashbacks to Celaena's childhood that tell us why Celaena is how she is. The background is a heartbreaking tale and I have to take back every bad thing I said about Celaena--her arrogance, brattiness, and selfishness--that I said about her when I wrote my first thoughts on Throne of Glass. Troubling times are ahead for her, but as long as she stays on the course that she's paved anew, she is going to reach the goal she seeks. While there is a large focus on Celaena herself, Maas also starts brewing trouble in places Celaena is not even in. Chaol begins to question everything he's ever been trained to know about Adarlan--and also wonders if he's going to follow through with the deal he made with his father to return to his homeland and become the Lord of Anielle whilst giving up his honorable position as Captain of the Guard. Dorian is wondering how much more of his father's dictatorship and oppression he can take, especially when he has two secrets that are imperative to keep hidden from him. Either one of them could ruin him and earn him exile at the least-- and at worst, he'll be digging his own grave if either one is found out. I feel like with every book, Sarah J Maas improves her writing to be ever more meticulous than the preceding installment. Her craft is expanding, and I love absolutely everything about it. Can't wait for the next book and also, her new series, A Court of Thorns and Roses! From Here on Out, There WILL be spoilers for Heir of Fire. These are my predictions for the book 4 that I wrote a while back after my first round of reading. Read at your own risk! ****************** My thoughts and predictions based on what happened in Heir of Fire: If somehow you didn't get the message earlier, there will be some spoilers from here on out for HoF!!! 1. Manon Blackbeak. I enjoyed reading her POV. This girl is a badass, and she needs to show all the other witchies who's boss. She was such an underdog at the start of the book I feel like (because she chose the "injured" wyvern), but in the end she showed them she was better than everyone else. So my prediction for her: I think she will clash with Celaena at first, (somehow I feel like it might actually be in book 5, I'll get to the why for that later) but begin to understand that the King is just using them, and who knows, might not actually keep his end of the bargain. If Celaena continues to represent the freedom she is so far, I think Manon and her crew will eventually side with her for the big showdown. 2. Chaol: I'm sorry, I am no longer on board the ship Chaolaena (rd to #4 as to why :D). I think after Chaol's errr falling out with the King, he will find Celaena and reconcile what happened between them in CoM. I also think Chaol isn't going to be as supportive of the growing Terrasen uprising as we want him to be, since he is still from Adarlan, but in the very least he isn't going to be fighting for the king. As said in the book, he'll fight for Dorian (who I hope will eventually side with Celaena) 3. Dorian. No. NO NO NO NO NO NO. I'm terrified that Dorian might end up dead, now that he's got that stinking collar around his neck. Since Celaena had to kill the Valg princes (and those collars STILL weren't broken even then)…I just have a bad feeling. But IF everything goes well and Celaena and Chaol can save Dorian from his father's clutches, I know Dorian will be on Celaena's side. 4. Rowan Whitethorn My fave new character. I really wish he and Celaena didn't separate at the end of HoF, after all Rowan said that Mala thinks they make a good pair. I totally ship Rowan + Celaena now….but I also feel like this isn't ever going to happen. Maas made it clear several times in the book that Celaena / Rowan only felt platonic love for each other and only have the urge to protect each other because they have the carranam bond. Plus, Rowan's already lost his mate and it's also been said that mating bonds go beyond death. A girl can still hope though ;) As long as this book has MORE ROWAN, I'm satisfied. I wonder if we are still going to have a little bit of his POV, seeing as the duo is separated now. Now for less explanation predictions: 5. I think Celaena is going to return to Rifthold to find Arobynn at the Assassin's Keep and demand for the Amulet of Orynth, which he probably refuses to give her. He probably won't be surprised that she shows up, and probably already knows her heritage at that. I doubt that he knows about the Wyrdkeys though. I hope she kills him, and doesn't fall for any of his sweet talk. --This is the 'why' for Manon's prediction. If more of the book is going to focus on Celaena's return to Rifthold, I can't see Manon and crew attacking her yet. Maybe at the end of the book, or in book 5? 6. Maeve is going to come back to haunt Celaena. Maybe not in the next book, but when the "revolution" gets bigger, I feel like Celaena is going to be on the verge of victory to have her plans foiled by that Fae Queen. 7. Do I smell and Celaena/Ansel alliance coming? --On that note in general, maybe the Silent Assassins from the prequels? 8. Please let them save Aedion (or have Aedion break himself out). I feel like if Aedion dies, all of the character development in HoF might crash into bits and pieces. I need to see a reunion between these two. 9. I think the King might find out about Celaena/Aelin in the next book, but as much as I want to see him dead, I don't think he will be AT LEAST until the end of book 5 at the soonest. I'll update with more predictions as I think of them, and I also feel like these are my predictions for the overall rest of the series instead of solely book 4 :) --Steph @ A Walk on Words

I was honestly ready to walk away from this series. This book was going to be the make or break point for me, and (thankfully?) I’ll be sticking around a bit longer. I guess I should have believed everyone that kept telling me the third book was when things really picked up and things started happening. Which isn’t to say that some of my issues from the start of this series weren’t present—they were—but they were easier to forgive with the introduction of my new favorite character(s), as well as the growth Celaena/Aelin undertook that finally started endearing her to me as a character. I will start by saying that pretty much all of Choal/Dorian/Aedion’s chapters were the least interesting. There just wasn’t much going on there, and the biggest conflict for them was STILL the fact that none of them could just talk to each other. So much time could have been saved, lives too, if they could have all stopped pouting and just been honest with one another. The miscommunication trope in YA just happens to be one of my least favorite tropes, so while there aren’t many chapters with just the boys, they just stick out more to me because of my personal tastes. I also still think Chaol gets done so dirty by pretty much everyone… It looks like that’s finally changing, but it took way too long in my opinion. The book was slow though. So much of it was a training montage and an introspection of grief and survivor’s guilt, and a study in self-loathing. However, I did really enjoy seeing Celaena/Aelin going through those issues, because I just personally found her to be irritating a great deal in the first two books, so it was really nice to see that façade drop and real growth occur. But it did get a bit repetitive at times… And while I know what purpose Rowan ultimately fulfills in this series, a lot of the intensity of them together, or just them being together sometimes, felt forced at this point. But the slowness, and the kind of repetitive nature of Celaena/Aelin’s grief was forgiven by Manon and Abraxos (even if their story lines right now are pretty disconnected from the main characters), and the sheer insanity that was the last 20% of the book. Whereas Celaena/Aelin’s attitude in the first two books irked me, something about Manon’s murderous arrogance felt more natural, more deserving of that character. It was more an unknown mask that this character doesn’t know she has been wearing for her long, long life than a mere simple act like how our main girl put on. Her chapters were easily my favorites and I wish there were more of them, I also wished Manon's story arc was a bit more connected to what was happening with the rest of the story, but whatever, I still enjoyed it. I wanted to see more of the witches and their mounts in general, and for a character that is supposedly heart and soulless, Manon’s chapters had me feeling the most, hands down. I also really enjoyed when things finally started coming together; the King of Adarlan’s hand was finally shown, and these warrior main characters began actually standing up, and fighting back. The monsters were interesting (even if I could have used more fleshing out of the world they inhabited), the magic intense, and Maeve is a particularly slick kind of manipulator that I personally love in fictional adversaries. The King of Adarlan is billed to be this master manipulator, but honestly he always felt one dimensional to me; evil for evil’s sake, power hungry simply because. Whereas Maeve is a different beast all together, and I liked that more and am eager to see what happens on that front. So yes, I’ll be sticking it out with this series a bit longer. Manon was the MVP for me this time around, and I am very worried about Chaol and Dorian, even if Dorian didn’t really have the same swagger that he did in the previous books. Things finally feel like they are happening, and I am intrigued and excited about where they are headed, which is why this book gets 4 stars from me. I know this is an older series so some things are naturally spoiled with fan art, but please don’t tell me specifics! I’ll eventually find out for myself…

Heir of Fire is gripping, magical, breathtaking and amazing. Celaena Sardothien has survived a deadly competition, battled demons from other worlds, and endured heartbreak that came at a great cost. Now she has to travel to a new land seeking answers where she will face her inner demons, fears and more as she confronts the truth about her heritage that will change her life forever. Dark forces are gathering in Eriela and Celaena prepares to fight them before they enslave the world. Back in Eriela, Chaol and Dorian have their own struggles as Dorian struggles to control and hide his magic and Chaol has joined forces with the rebels in the fight against the king. Heir of Fire has more magic and action, and there is more about Celaena’s past and more about the Fae, the witches, and the others kingdoms as more of the Throne of Glass world is explored. Heir of Fire is full of struggles, magic, choices, and embracing destiny. This series just keeps getting better and better and I love every bit of it. Celaena Sardothien now reveled to be Aelin Galathynius is traveling to Wendelyn with a mission from the king to kill Wendelyn’s royal family. Instead, she decides to seek out answers about the Wyrdkeys to defeat the king and she meets Rowan, a Fae warrior who takes her to meet her aunt, Queen Maeve of the Fae. However, in order to get the answers, Celaena is to prove herself by embracing her Fae heritage, her magic and who she really is. So she trains with Rowan to gain control over her magic and helps her face her inner demons, fears and past. Eventually she overcomes her fears, gains control over her magic, and helps Rowan track down a creature hunting demi-fae in the area. Their search leads them to the king’s army in Wendelyn and a shocking discovery of who leads them and what they are after. Back in Eriela, Dorian continues to learn to control his magic and keeps it hidden from everyone, mostly from his father. He meets a healer named Sorscha, a healer who helps him with his magic and begins to grow close to her. Chaol is torn between his loyalties after learning the truth about the king and Celaena’s true identity. He has joined forces with the rebels along with an unlikely ally in the fight against the king. Chaol and his ally, Aedion also investigate the king’s power and how he brought down magic a decade ago. There is another side story being told in Heir of Fire following a witch named Manon, heir to her witch clan, the Blackbeaks. Manon and her clan and two other clans have been summoned by the king to be a part of his army. The army will have the witches and winged creatures called Wyverns, and in return the witch clans can keep the Wyverns and reclaim their homeland, the Witch Kingdom after they have served him. Manon tries to become the best but that becomes hard when she has the other rival witches willing to do whatever it takes to win the price of wing leader in the king’s army. Celaena is facing more challenges than she has before and among them is dealing with her grief and embracing her magic. Celaena has become vulnerable and self-loathing after everything that has happened and what she’s supposed to do now. She gets better towards the end. Dorian and Chaol have their own struggles throughout the book. Dorian is still trying to master his magic and trying to hide it from everyone, most of all from his father who will kill him. He is also starting to finally stand up to his father and become a true king that he is destiny to be. Chaol’s loyalties are torn but he has become bolder and is willing to make sacrifices as he joins forces with unlikely allies for the greater good. There are a number of new characters being introduced in Heir of Fire. Rowan is a fae warrior who Celaena trains with and they form a friendship. At first I didn’t like Rowan for his tough love approach but he later grows on me and I love him in the end. Aedion is a general in the King’s army and is also Aelin/Celaena’s cousin who becomes an ally of Chaol after learning that Aelin was alive. He is very devoted to Aelin and is willing to die for her. I love him. Sorscha is sweet, caring and tough in her own way and I like her. I also liked the growing relationship between her and Dorian. Manon is tough and scary and someone I don’t want to cross paths with. I liked her but unsure of why her story was being told in the first place. Overall, Heir of Fire was beyond amazing. I am in love with his series with a mixture of magic, medieval setting and amazing characters. Celaena, Chaol and Dorian have grown up in this book as they have faced some of their faces and took a stand on where and what they are willing to fight for. I liked the romance between Dorian and Sorscha, the alliance between Chaol and Aedion and the friendship that grew between Rowan and Celaena. The last few chapters filled me with so many emotions and it left me eager for more. I cannot wait for the next book.

EPIC! This is Sarah J. Maas's best book yet! It's also tied for my number one all time favorite reads of 2014. Oh the feels I have for this book. This book deserves 10 stars! Sarah's writing is highly addicting, and incredibly enticing. Everything I had hoped would happen in this book, and then some, happened. I have loved this series since Throne of Glass. Each book has gotten better and better, but this book takes the cake. Everything I've loved about this series is present in this book. The characters, the world building, the action, romance, plot twists, and the way each of the relationships is developed are all masterfully done. Magic, Fae, Shifters, and more. Heir of Fire introducers readers to a whole new kingdom, with some unforgettable characters. Magic, Fae and more make up this kingdom. Celaena will stop at nothing in her quest for answers and to reclaim a crown that is rightfully hers. Nothing about her quest will be easy. If you thought she had already been through hell and back up to this point, you've not seen anything yet. Celaena has no idea what she's in store for until it's too late. Celaena's journey in learning and claiming her true destiny is one that breaks her, literally. It's during this time that I swear I about emotionally broke for her. It's been awhile since I got teary eyed over a character, but I did with Celaena, thanks to Rowan. Everything that Celaena has been through and dwelt with up to this point in the series does not compare to what Celaena has to learn to over come, accept, and lose in this book. One of those is learning to use and control the magic she's worked so hard to hide. Through all this, she comes out stronger and more determined than ever. I loved how much she grew as a character and how bad a she was. I claim Rowan as mine! I have a new favorite character in this series, and it's Rowan. I loved how Rowan's character was introduced into this series, and the way his character developed. All the emotions that Celaena felt towards him I felt. Rowan is a fierce Warrior and tied to Celaena is a surprising way. I'm leaving this review spoiler free, so you'll have to read it to find out why they're tied together. There's so much more to Rowan than his being a brute during his training Celaena. I loved the way Maas wrote and developed Rowan and Celaena's relationship. It was down right maddening, beautiful, heartbreaking, and so well done. They offer each other what no one else has given each other before. Individually they've been through their own personal hell, but together they give each other strength and hope. I liked that it takes awhile for their relationship to build up to that. Their friendship is one of my all time favorites in all of the YA books I've read. As I mentioned, I'm keeping this review spoiler free, which is a little hard when it comes to these two, because there is so much I have to say about them. Oh the feels. These two emotionally broke me, and in a good way. The world building is as awesome as ever. Heir of Fire's world building is down right awesome. I loved how Maas expanded the world in this series. She's created such an amazing, vast world that she gave readers a glimpse of in her previous two books. In doing, she has also introduced characters to come well known characters in the Fae world. I loved how they are all introduced. I'll just say things are about to get crazy in this series. Readers begin to see how the kingdoms are tied together, and the games the various rulers are playing to control them. Within this world of power is deceit, deception, secretary, dark magic, magic and at the heart of it is a courageous heroine who's on a mission to re-claim her crown. She will stop at nothing to keep her promise and claim what is rightfully hers. I seriously need the next three books in this series now. I need to know what happens with all my favorite characters. The plot twists were as brilliant as ever, making it extremely hard to predict what was going to happen next. That ending! I thought I had things figured out, but I now have no idea what's going to happen next, and part of me fears what that means for a couple of the characters. If you've not picked up this series, I HIGHLY recommend it!! It's one of my all time favorites!

OH MY GOD. THIS BOOK. JESUS. I absolutely LOVED this book. Like, it has everything. The action, the attraction, the intensity, the suspense. EVERYTHING. I can't begin to describe how exciting this book was. I'll admit, it started a bit slow, but it picked up right where it had to. Celaena is now in Wendlyn. She's in this crappy place in life where she couldn't care less if she lived or died. Her best friend was killed and the person who she believed loved her is practically afraid of her. The only thing keeping her alive is the promise she made to Nehemia. She would free her people and destroy the king's empire. So now she's trying to win her way to Doranelle so she can get the answers she needs to solve the mystery behind the king and the Wyrdkeys. There's only one person who could answer these questions, but she will do it only when and if Celaena manages to control her magic. So, she's stuck with this ruthless soldier, Rowan, who's nothing but mean and cruel and he's supposed to teach her. Now, accepting something she's been hiding and running from her entire life isn't easy. To embrace her power, she must accept her past and be proud of it. They say after you've hit rock bottom, there's nothing else but to get yourself back up. Will Celaena be able to do it though? There's no one on her side. There's no one that will fight with her and for her. Can she do this all by herself? “She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.” So far, this is my favorite book. I wasn't expecting to love new characters and hate older ones. There are a few things new to the story that I actually found a bit boring (like the witches), but it was mostly because I was so curious and intrigued with the rest of the story and what the characters were going through. So, if I had to say something that I didn't like from this book was that, Manon's side of the story. But overall, Sarah's writing is just FLAWLESS there are so many details to the story, so many twists and questions and answers. It feels like everything is perfectly entwined, and I know for sure there's a reason for everything she includes in the story. New friendships and allegiances are now forming and they couldn't be more perfect, especially since Celaena is currently in this weak state of mind and she needs someone to trust and someone she can rely on to be there, to whatever end; someone that sees her for what she is, what she can accomplish and is not afraid to tell her the s*** she needs to hear to get back up on her feet. But even though she starts this journey thinking very low of herself, she manages to get up and fight. She embraces her true nature, conquers it and is able to fight off her demons. She can be really frustrating sometimes, but you can't deny Celaena is a kickass warrior. Then there's Dorian. My sweet, sweet Dorian. I knew I loved you for a reason. He's no prince, he is a king, in mind, heart and soul. I love everything that he represents, his certainty when it comes to do what's right, and trusting in people and being loyal to those who deserve it. I love how much he cares for Celaena, even after everything. He trusts she'll come back for him. He's a fighter, even though he doesn't believe himself to be one. He's strong and I love the way he cares. He is brave and just down right perfect. “You cannot pick and choose what parts of her to love.” And then we have Rowan. Jesus Christ. He was such a beautiful and unpredictable surprise. I was not expecting him being this rude and arrogant and so DAMN AMAZING. The friendship and loyalty he ends up giving to Aelin. Wow. To him, she is Aelin, rightful Queen of Terrasen. To him, she is a fighter, a warrior, a fire-heart. To him, she is exactly what the world needs. I love, love, love, love Rowan. “I claim you, Aelin. To whatever end.” I swear, this book was just incredible, from page one. After I finished it I couldn't wait another second so I one-clicked the 4th book, because I needed to know. So, here I am, reading Queen Of Shadows! Hopefully it won't take me that long to share my thoughts on that book. Seriously guys, you NEED to read this series. It's everything you'll want in a story and MORE. Promise. Definitely a must read.

In the end, I liked this book more than Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight. But it took a long time to get there. The thing is that the book just felt completely different. We're introduced to a bunch of new characters, and I took a long time to warm up to them. But some of them actually outshone the old cast. In the end. I was disappointed to realize that this book was not heading towards an ending to the "trilogy," mostly because I had gone in expecting it, and partly because it took so long for me to get into this book that I wasn't sure I would want to read another. This book has more of an epic feel to it. In the end of CoM, Chaol had Celaena sent to a far away land where she could be a fae to her heart's content, or so he thought. So she's there, learning how to use her powers so she can get answers from Maeve (who is a queen of the fae). We're also following a bunch of witches, mainly Manon, who we hadn't met before this book, and they're off practicing for their Quidditch Tournament on dragons. We're still following Dorian, who's basically in love, and that's it, and Chaol, who's dealing with Celaena's cousin (who I don't think we ever even heard of before this book, but whatevs). Each of those story threads, except Manon's has at least one other POV, so you're juggling a lot of perspectives, and I do think that at times there was too much unnecessary switching between POVs in the same thread, particularly between Celaena and Rowan or between Chaol and Aedion. Here's who I was all, "Why do we care about this person?" at the beginning of the book: Sorscha, Manon, Aedion, and Rowan (a little less for Rowan). Here's who I was all, "Hell, yes, I want to follow their story!" at the end of the book: Celaena, Manon, Aedion, and Rowan. Sorry, Sorscha. I never really cared. Anyway, for such a slow beginning for me, I did get very involved in the story, particularly Celaena and Rowan's part, and I nearly cried 4 times. This is high praise. I don't cry for books, usually (because there's no soundtrack). I adored Celaena and Rowan's relationship. I also loved Aedion's devotion to Celaena, though I'm not sure I felt like we earned that the way we did Rowan's. I think the book's biggest problem was that it was coming out of an established series that it didn't feel like it was a part of. I spent a lot of time at the beginning trying to get into those new characters and situations and even the new feel of Celaena's storyline. Celaena herself was Celaena, so it wasn't the character, just that the outer conflict was so new to the series for a majority of the book. And only in the end did we seem to bring it back to the King of Ardalan. But by then I was invested in what was going on in this book. On a totally unrelated note, here is a question. Celaena stood before the king many times (with a weapon, I believe). Chaol has stood before the king with a sword. Aedion has stood before the king, who believes him in his thrall, with a sword. Why the hell is nobody even thinking about cutting off his head? There has been no mention, that I recall, of the king having any sort of protection from a weapon. If not Chaol or Aedion, surely Celaena, Ardalan's Assassin, could have killed him. I get that we need him alive to continue the story, but have someone at least think of a reason why he's not dead yet. I'm pretty sure all their other goals would be a lot easier with him dead. Anyway, so there are my rambling thoughts on this book, which mainly suffered from being a very different book 3 from book 1 and 2. The slow start is what keeps it from being 5 stars. Recommended for fans of: The Throne of Glass series, epic fantasy, series that are not trilogies, fairies and half-fairies and demons, devoted non-romantic relationships, stories of healing, fire magic, witchy politics, new characters introduced mid-series, Quidditch on dragons instead of brooms

Where do I even begin with this review? I have SO many thoughts. Like sooo 😵 Ok, well start at the beginning. So I read the first 2 books back in 2021 but never finished the series. I was really enjoying it before then so I don’t know WHY it’s taken me this long to get back to it. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Needless to say I needed a refresher of those 2 books before I could continue on with the other books in the series. I enjoyed my re-read of them, and loved them even more the 2nd time around 😁 So I promptly dove into this book, my first fresh book in the series. And wow 😳 This book just packs so much into these pages! I was astounded at what all this one book encompasses for a thrilling read as well as setting up so much potential for the following books! To say this book was gripping is a severe understatement. Rowan and Celaena’s storyline was by far my favorite. And it was the most dramatic. I love Rowan so much 😍 I mean, who doesn’t love a hot, broody male fae?? 🥵🔥Now I have to say that I have been basically spoiled for all the couples in this series due to all the glorious artwork out there on Insta, so I am a bit puzzled by this book where certain people are concerned, but have high hopes for the future books 👀 But seriously, these two together are the best reading material! Their initial grumpy interactions are hilarious, then their friendship and mutual support for all the trauma and stuff they’ve gone through in their lives🥹 It just hits you right in the feels Manon, my glorious savage witch ⚔️ I loved her from the very first page of her introduction. How could I not? I hope for so much for her 🖤🖤 I don’t trust her granny though after how things ended with her PoV 👀 And I’m so curious about this potentially softer, more merciful side of Manon. I’m SO curious to see how things play out for her and the Thirteen (whom I also love!). And Abraxos, you adorable flower loving sweetie 🥰 I was definitely shocked when I met him since he…uh, doesn’t look quite like that in the artwork I’ve seen online of him & Manon 🤫 Very curious to see how that comes about… Dorian. I’m sorry to all his supporters out there, but I’ve never been a fan of him from my previous reading of books 1 & 2. He just screams spoiled Prince who always gets all the ladies and has a fit when he doesn’t get this one girl 🤦🏻‍♀️ On my re-read of those 2 books though I didn’t mind him so much. But in this one he went right back to annoying me lol. I always groaned when it went back to his POV because it was so dull and whiny. He was all butthurt with Chaol for things even though some of those things were kept from him to keep him safe, the ungrateful brat🙄 But Chaol had his own stupid moments too lol. Anyway, Dorian’s pov in this didn’t offer much other than another fling, blah blah blah. Until that ending 🤯 Omg!!! He’s now redeemed himself in my heart, and now I MUST know that he’s ok!! 🙉 Chaol. Why are you so twitchy and mistrustful of magic wielders??? You magic-phobe idiot. He makes no sense with this, other than omg magic is outlawed whatever. BUT he was alive before magic disappeared so I’m sure he came across people in that time who had it and didn’t harm him. So why he’s so twitchy about it with the people he’s close to… derp. But omg I loved his pov chapters and everything he’s up to…with…people 👀🤐 The way things end with his pov too has me dying for more. Obvs I’m probably going to be diving straight into Queen of Shadows soon. I just have so many things that I just MUST find out 😱 I do hope we see more of Rowan’s “kitty cat friend” as Celaena calls him 🐈 I think he could be very interesting to have around 🦁

What I would give for the rest of the series to be out already. I cannot get enough of this enthralling tale created by Sarah J Maas. I loved the first book. I had wondered if the second would be as good or fall prey to the second book slump that so many do. It did not. I got better. Then I wondered if it really could get better each time or if the third would be slump. Folks, I am here to tell you this book is not a slump. It is the mighty vault into a whole new arena of splendid storytelling. Maas really is getting better with each book in this series. This one in particular was nuanced and could have been the crash to the bottom that Celaena's soul took. Somehow, in the midst of a very sorrowful point in this multi-book story, it was captivating. ***Spoilers from here on out*** Celaena, our favorite assassin, is at her lowest as she contemplates all she has unwillingly lost and willingly let slip through her fingers. I honestly wondered numerous times if Maas had dealt with depression before because the way she wrote Celaena's depression was disturbingly accurate. The depth of her character growth is unparalleled. There are obviously better writers out there and far more complex fantasy narratives but the character of Celaena is one of my all-time favorites. Maas proves why Calaena deserves that spot in this third novel. I love a redemption story, a phoenix rising from the ashes if you will, anyy day of the week. Heir of Fire was that with so much depth and heart. It was just so good. The novel's pacing is slow in the first third and starts to pick up until it's the fast paced, revelation-dropping action we came to know in the first two novels. I don't think it's less of a good read for it though. If anything, it made it richer as we went through the tough places the characters where going through. Sorcha was alright as a character. I liked her and Dorian together though and wished that ending had been different. Chaol was right when he said the kingdom could use a healer as a Queen. Aedion is a very interesting character. His loyalty to Aelin is endearing. His ability to play the submissive king's general is impressive. I really can't wait to see if he survives past the next book and joins Rowan in Aelin's court. Can you imagine those two in her court protecting her and fighting alongside her? Some surprises for me where how much I loved Manon's story and Abraxos. She was intriguing right of the bat and I really started rooting for her when she chose Abraxos. I fell in love with her as she started realizing she cared for Abraxos and even started to gain things like honor and compassion. Who know I would root for a Blackbeak witch. I'm really interested to see where her story goes. Another surprise was my complete boredom with Chaol. I remember loving him in the first two books and really rooting for him over Dorian. I like Dorian better as Calaena's friend/equal (as they are both heirs to their kingdoms) than as a lover. However, in this book, Chaol really lost if for me. I still appreciated him. I liked that he was becoming unlikely friends with Aedion. I really loved how he was helping Calaena and Dorian from afar and chose them even when he didn't know where his alliances lied in terms of king and country. But man, I just got bored with him. It took him long enough to finally stand up for what was right and go against the king. *********Major plot spoilers********** Another surprise was my near crying. I found myself tearing up towards the end. It was mostly the huge revelation of Calaena's past, what really happened, and how heartbroken she was. I think what really got me was seeing how dearly loved she was by hear parents only for her to lose them and her own sense of self in one fell swoop. I also teared up when little Aelin said "Get up" and all those who had loved her echoed the same phrase. Calaena/Aelin had been through so much. She had so much self-loathing and thought they hated her for all her dark deeds. That scene was just beautiful as she saw the truth and started fighting again. I got so much joy from seeing Calaena claim who she is. When she stood up against Maeve, whoa buddy! I wanted her to kick Maeve's butt for what she did to Rowan and how she tried to control Calaena. But when she made that power play against Maeve, Aelin was just the queen we'd been waiting for, a queen who would not bow even to one of the fiercest queens around. "It would not take a monster to destroy a monster-but light, light to drive out darkness." "She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one." I have noticed numerous reviews on here noting, mostly disliking, the lack of romance and more sorrowful plot points. Maybe they should go back to reading lesser quality series like Twilight if they just want a juicy love triangle because this series is about so much more. Do I appreciate the romance in the first two novels? Of course! Would I love to see Calaena dive back into the romance pool in the upcoming books? Heck yes! However, this series is not just a romance series. It is a daring epic tale of this assassin who turns out to be so much more and must claw her way back to being who she was born to be. It is a tale of coming together to fight for the good left in the world even when you've been to its darkest depths. I'm glad this novel didn't have the romance of the first two. It wouldn't have fit where Calaena was in her story. Her connection with Rowan, while at times I did wish for more, was healing and challenging all at once. I liked that even if something does become more romantic between the two of them later, it didn't happen in this book. "I claim you Aelin, to whatever end." Let's not forget Chaol. I loved him in the first two but where he was in this book was just annoying. Again, this was great for making a character three dimensional instead of just the rugged hero archetype. At this point though I would say I don't want him to be with Calaena, not with who she is becoming as Aelin. This is random, and I don't know if anyone else felt this way, because most people seem to love Rowan and I'm right there with them. However, for some reason I kept wondering if a triangle/square would happen with Aedion at some point in the future. It was just those throw away remarks from both Aedion and Calaena/Aelin about how close they were and how in the past people thought they would be a great couple politically. Things that happened in this book started as throw away comments in the first and second so I really wonder about that. I wouldn't be opposed. I felt a shift in my heart from the Dorian/Chaol love triangle to a potential Rowan/Aedion love triangle. This seems to have come from our main character's shift from Calaena to Aelin. I really am going to hate this waiting. Some part of me wishes I hadn't read these novels till the whole series was out. That would have been the sane choice. Then again, I wouldn't have wanted to miss this series for anything.

Heir of Fire is the third book in the Throne of Glass series, and for me it marks a real turning point. The world expands dramatically as we're introduced to the four witch clans—the Crochans, Yellowlegs, Blackbeaks and Bluebloods. I was particularly drawn to Manon and the Thirteen. The Blackbeaks' creed, "Obedience. Discipline. Brutality." tells you everything you need to know about the harsh world they have been raised in. What stood out most to me, though, was how Sarah J. Maas portrays grief and depression through Celaena. Rather than being resolved in a chapter or two, her pain lingers throughout the story. She drifts through her days fighting, drinking, isolating herself and believing she's not good enough. It felt like an honest depiction of someone who is broken and struggling to find a reason to keep going, making her journey all the more powerful. I also couldn't help noticing that Terrasen's royal colours are green and silver—the same colours as Slytherin in Harry Potter—and I smiled at the line, "Don't give me a lesson like you're some mystical-nonsense master!", which felt like a fun nod to Yoda. This book has everything I've come to expect from the series: magic, danger, secrets, memorable new characters and plenty of emotional moments. By the end, I was completely invested in the story and couldn't wait to pick up the next book. Another easy 5⭐ read for me.

perfecto

Brilliant series

Forcée de partir pour Wendlyn, Celaena laisse tout derrière elle : Dorian aux prises avec son nouveau pouvoir qu'il ne contrôle pas, Chaol et ce qu'il représente pour elle, le roi et ses manigances sinistres avec les Wyrdmarks, le mystère des Wyrdkeys… Elle fait face aux terres des Fae, là où la magie est toujours présente et où résident les réponses à ses questions. Ce troisième tome de la série Throne of Glass est incontestablement à la hauteur des deux premiers, si ce n'est même mieux ! Une grande partie du roman est consacrée à l'apprentissage de Celaena, son rite initiatique, en quelque sorte, pour enfin s'accepter telle qu'elle est. Trois nouveaux personnages font leur apparition, et ils jouent un rôle clé. le premier est Rowan, ce Fae au service de la redoutable Maeve, reine des Fae. Dans un premier temps il est assez antipathique, dur et sans compassion envers Celaena, et il s'adoucit finalement pour devenir son meilleur allié. On découvre également Manon, héritière du clan des sorcières Blackbeak. Elle n'est clairement pas du côté des humains, qu'elle dévore avec grand plaisir à pleines dents, mais c'est un personnage que j'ai trouvé extrêmement intéressant. A travers elle, on plonge dans un autre aspect de l'univers créé par Sarah J. Maas, celui des sorcières et de leur culture. Je sens qu'elle va jouer un rôle primordial dans les prochains tomes. Le troisième et dernier nouveau personnage est Aedion, le cousin de Celaena. Il est surnommé The Wolf, et joue un double rôle depuis des années, tuant au nom du roi d'Adarlan mais oeuvrant en secret pour les rebelles, pour le retour de la reine légitime de Terrasen : Aeilin. Tout comme Rowan, il m'était assez antipathique au début, mais quand on découvre la profondeur de son amour pour sa cousine et ce qu'il est prêt à faire, il est plutôt attachant. De leur côté, Chaol et Dorian sont plus développés. Ils n'évoluent plus par rapport à Celaena mais par rapport à eux-mêmes et leurs convictions personnelles, ce que j'ai beaucoup apprécié. Cela les rend beaucoup plus supportables ! Chacun des personnages évolue de manière très visible dans ce roman. le plus marquant restant Celaena, qui devient Aelin en s'acceptant enfin totalement. J'ai particulièrement apprécié pouvoir enfin connaître les événements traumatisants qu'a vécu la jeune femme 10 ans plus tôt. Cela répond à beaucoup de questions et permet de mieux comprendre pourquoi elle en est arrivée là. Encore une fois, Sarah J. Maas nous livre un roman incroyable. Elle maîtrise tous les éléments de son histoire et sait nous les révéler à petite dose, créant à chaque fois stupéfaction et fascination. L'univers se complexifie et on comprends de mieux en mieux ce qu'il se passe, les pièces du puzzle se mettent en place, jusqu'au final qui m'a laissée sans voix, et très heureuse d'avoir le tome 4 sous le coude pour savoir ce qu'il se passe ensuite !

I can’t stop reading and can’t wait to read all of the books