Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas: Book Review

The queen has returned.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she’s at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past…

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return.

The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series continues Celaena’s epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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Describing this novel in one decent sized review will never ever be enough to express how much I love Sarah J. Maas and her books. Having just met her only a couple of weeks ago when she visited Auckland, New Zealand for her Queen of Shadows book tour I am obviously still shaken up by the experience and how much more amazing she is (and totally gorgeous!) in person. Not to mention that she said to me as soon as I walked up to her, "You're so beautiful, oh my gosh!". If you don't believe me I will have a video up on my channel to prove it which I will link here on this post once it is up *flips hair confidently*.

Basically everything that I had dreamed of about this series had come true in this wonderous six hundred page novel. That doesn't make sense now really but when you read it, you'll totally find yourself agreeing with that bold statement. More blood, more sass, more vengeance and more romance. This book is literally the best one out of all four (not including the novella of which I haven't read yet so I'm hoping Allen & Unwin will be nice to me one day and send me a copy). Thinking of what could happen next is a total mystery to me as there are no clues that I noticed while reading Queen of Shadows to hint very much about what will happen next apart from the obvious when you get to the end. SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST THREE BOOKS YET!: Celaena Sardothien now goes by the name Aelin Galathynius and she makes a hell of an appearance when she returns from Doranelle. A lot of things are at stake, including family and friends and little does she realise what her sudden outburst in Heir of Fire convinces the King of Adarlan to do in spite of the Queen of Terrasen's actions.

Aelin and Chaol finally see one another again although things are still tense and Chaol has more struggles of his own. Trying to find his way after having sent Aelin to the safety of Wendlyn did not go as planned once he realised what the King was fully capable of and decided to take the risk of becoming a rebel. There is a lot of tension and catty arguments which might break you into laughter as it did to me. This novel definitely has all the right sass, love and heartbreak that every other ToG book had, just times that by a thousand.

Things I absolutely LOVED about Queen of Shadows:

* Lysandra is basically Aelin's soul twin and I love her! She is introduced as an old friend from when they were in the hands of Arobynn Hamel, King of the Assassins. At first she isn't welcomed to easily but the differences of her personality are noticable to Aelin and therefore begins to trust her a bit more. She's just the friend Aelin needed after being so torn from Nehemia's death.

* Aedion is the best cousin ever and he's so loyal to Aelin! Obviously Chaol's plan to save Aedion is somewhat of an event in this novel so it was quite interesting to see Aedion's reaction to Aelin saving him and Aelin's reaction to his cousin. In four words I would describe it as - It warms my heart!
* Manon is a serious badass and may even have a soft side! Elide is a new character introduced in QoS and Manon seems to notice something different and special about this new young girl. Having much more trouble with her second, Asterin, than usual, Manon takes the time to figure out Elide and develop a little sense of empathy towards her. This is definitely something I wanted to see and everything that develops from that is simply so awesome!

* If you thought Heir of Fire was dreamy and made you swoon over Rowan Whitethorn, wait until you read Queen of Shadows! Only Sarah J. Maas knows how the story ends up but I just always felt like Rowan was exactly the type of mate that Aelin needed. They are very close through spending so much time together in Wendlyn and finding out that they were each other's carranum, but in the fourth installment they begin to realise that the way they feel together is much more than that and a blood oath. The answer to how that goes down is basically in this novel and that's just the thousandth reason why you have to read it!

Overall, I have rated this book (yup, you guessed it) a five out of five stars. It could not have gotten any better and the way Sarah is able to use descriptive words in such a delicate way that it melts your brain into an overload of amazingness and inspiration (how else could I explain it? Her writing is beyond words really!). As much as I tried to stall reading this so it could last longer I didn't managed to savour it well because I could just not put the book down. If you would like to be completely blown away into a whole differet dimension of fantasy and romance then pick up this book, retreat to your happy place and do not leave until you have devourered it with your body, mind and soul. Okay not the first one but you get what I mean. Sarah J. Maas is a literature Goddess and I will never ever take that back.

Go add Queen of Shadows to your Goodreads list HERE

Go buy it on MightyApe with 1 day delivery in New Zealand HERE

Buy it on Book Depository with free shipping world wide HERE

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas: Book Review

She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.

Celaena Sardothien has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak—but at an unspeakable cost. Now she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth...a truth about her heritage that could change her life—and her future—forever.

Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. To defeat them, Celaena must find the strength to not only fight her inner demons but to battle the evil that is about to be unleashed.

The king's assassin takes on an even greater destiny and burns brighter than ever before in this follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Crown of Midnight.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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As if Sarah J. Maas wasn't one of the best upcoming authors of all time! Heir of Fire truly proved her worthiness and amazingness (if that is even a word). The third instalment of the Throne of Glass series promises new adventures, magic and swooning, tasteful chemistry between Celaena and a lustfully romantic new ally. Celaena is now in the land of Wendlyn, the land where magic and fae still seem to exist. A long lost aunt seems to be the answer to stopping the King of Adarlan and the wyrdkeys, but how can she trust her when her mother, Evalin did not dare even eighteen years ago. This novel has got to be my favourite so far out of all three in the ToG series and I feel like it's Maas' best work of art to date. Since Chaol found out about Celaena's past, being a Fae of royalty and carrying the bloodline of a lasting legacy which let's her wield unexplainable powers, she must decide how much it will cost to bring back the ghost stories of Aelin Galathynius and also rise to the reputation, power and hope of which that name brings.

Celaena's character development in this novel was beyond believable due to the things she sacrificed, the abilities she accomplished with her new-found comrade, Rowan, and how she managed to deal with the pain and fear of her past life which was installed into her brain by her previous master, Arobynn Hamel. We think we really got to know Celaena throughout the first two books of the series. Well that my friend is a complete lie. In Heir of Fire, you will discover how much she really resents her life, the kills she had been forced to carry out has left a massive emotional burden on this girl and she has somehow still managed to get by without dying or killing herself for that matter. Celaena is a much stronger and smarter chick than we had all realised and I feel like this really came through for her in this book. Rowan is a key support in this, no matter how tough and ignorant he seems to be at the start. He will eventually melt your heart from the ice that had formed during Crown of Midnight and let it transform into tiny little butterflies until you decide that you have to sit down and read for the rest of the day, no matter how many chores need doing that day. You are going to find out what happens after Rowan sheds that one little smile which you know has been locked away in his heart for a few hundred years at least (you will find out why). Celaena shows truly selflessness in this novel for the first time, a generous amount which helps prove that she really hasn't been faking been nice but really was a psycho killer this whole time. Of course she was a psycho killer before but meeting Dorian, Chaol and Nehemia helped her find her heart and regain a tad of her original sanity.

For me this novel did not help me like Chaol any more than what the first couple did and it makes me sad because I know that he is a good guy and he means well for Celaena and Dorian, but he has difficulty deciding where his true loyalties lie for a while so it makes him look a little selfish, if not like a young boy who can't make up his mind about which sweet he wants at the store. He eventually decides but by that time my hope for him was ruined as he just took way too long. I feel like if he had of really cared about his friends then he would have just known straight away and done something better to help everyone out - this also may have helped him not look like such an outcast.

Three new characters were introduced in this novel: Rowan, of course as I mentioned before, is a Fae warrior of Celaena's aunt Maeve who is sent to retrieve her in Wendlyn a few days after she arrives. The second is Aedion who is described to look exactly like Celaena with his turquoise blue eyes and light hair, and seeing as Celaena is Aelin and Aedion was her cousin, it seemed like a good character to fit in around this time. She had to have at least one person who survived that horrible night ten years ago when her parents were killed. I noted down while reading that if you were to use the books as symbolism using Celaena's relationships, Throne of Glass would be a crush/fling (Dorian), Crown of Midnight would be a first relationship (Chaol), and this novel would symbolise a serious and mature relationship that bonded through a tough love/hate friendship first before they realised what they really meant to each other. I'm not going to mention who, at this point, it could be as it could be one of a few people she meets in this book that you will figure out yourself easily enough, but I feel like that is a real major development in Celaena's love life and in a way symbolises her evolution from a child to a woman. Last but not least, Manon was the most intriguing character of all three in terms of species. She is introduced as a witch of the Blackbeak clan and is the heir of her grandmother. Like Baba Yellowlegs was described, Manon had iron teeth and nails and seemed to love killing for blood. As we first see her, she seems quite vicious and heartless but develops greatly throughout the novel. She never ran into any of the main characters in HoF but it is quite obvious that she has some major part in the King's plans and I cannot wait to read more about her and see her grow as a woman.

This book definitely had much wittier lines and had me laughing to the point where I had tears in my eyes. Heir of Fire is an unforgettable tale full of companionship, hardship and truth which has not failed to impress me, as has Sarah J. Maas and her skills as an author as I always seem to say though I cannot express that fact enough. I give this truly wonderful novel a 5 out of 5 stars because how else do you rate an impressive book such as this one? A definite must-buy, especially for fantasy book lovers. I would be highly surprised to meet someone on Booktube and find out that they had not yet read the Throne of Glass series. Here's to another two years of amazing books in the series to be released (I already have Queen of Shadows and I am aching mentally and physically just having to write this when all I want to do is go continue to read about Aelin Galathynius' magical journey to save her kingdom)!

Go add Heir of Fire to your Goodreads list HERE

Go buy it on MightyApe with 1 day delivery in New Zealand HERE

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith