Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

Goodreads summary:

Consumed by guilt and rage, Celaena can't bring herself to spill blood for the King of Adarlan. She must fight back...

The Immortal Queen will help her destroy the king - for a price. But as Celaena battles with her darkest memories and her heart breaks for a love that could never last, can she fulfil the bargain and head the almighty court of Terrasen? And who will stand with her?

***SPOILER WARNING***

If you have not read Throne of Glass or Crown of Midnight, this post may contain spoilers.

Heir of Fire is quite a long book, and its pace is definitely slower than Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight. There wasn’t so much mystery in this book as the previous two, but it really didn’t need it. There was more action to compensate.

Several new characters are introduced in this book, my favourite being Rowan. Rowan is a fae prince and warrior who teaches Celaena how to use her abilities properly. He starts out as quite a hard person, only speaking when needed, and giving Celaena one hell of an ass kicking whenever she tries to land a blow on him (she believed she could, and tried to prove it). Slowly, as she opens up to him, he does the same and the two realise that they are actually quite compatible together, and a friendship grows into something rather unbreakable. He is not a romantic interest for Celaena, but rather a friend to fill the gap that Nehemia has left. And it’s beautiful.

Another new character we meet is Manon and the other members of the witch clans. I really didn’t like them.  I guess this is to be expected, because they are to be the King’s pawns, but they really slowed down my progress through the book.  I found them to be quite dull and every time I came to a chapter involving these characters, I’d set the book down. Eventually, I just decided to plough my way through those chapters and just go for the remaining portion of the book.

We also meet Sorcha, who is a healer at Rifthold. She has technically been in the previous books, but was just a nobody healer until Dorian finally notices her. He befriends her, as she can mix up a tonic to keep his magic at bay. She turns into a romantic interest for him too, which I think is necessary for him to realise that he is over Celaena.

There is also a formidable new foe to worry about too. These creatures are very much like the creature Celaena and Dorian meet in the chambers below the library in Crown of Midnight, only much stronger and are killing demi-fae. Celaena’s first meeting with one forced her worst memories to surface, and to say it didn’t go well is an understatement.

Aedion is another new character. He is a soldier for the King, but is working from the inside to overthrow him. He strikes up an alliance with Chaol and they plan ways to get Dorian and Sorcha safely out of the castle, since Chaol is leaving for Anielle anyway. Aedion is the cousin of the missing heir of Terrasen (who we learn is actually Celaena in Crown of Midnight) and is striving for the day when she is finally Queen. Although quite a no-nonsense character, I found him to be likeable.

The book is divided into three plot lines, one following Celaena and Rowan, one following Chaol, Dorian and Aedion and the other following Manon and the witch clans. Celaena and Rowan are thrown into battle before setting off for the Queen’s palace, Chaol, Dorian and Aedion come face to face with the King, and the witch clans are competing for the highest rank amongst themselves to prepare for when they fight for the King.

Some of these events go well.

One does not.

Overall, this book was excellent and despite the slow going, I still give it a 5/5 rating and can’t wait for Queen of Shadows later this year!

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas Review

Goodreads summary:
Crowned by Evil.
Bound by Duty.
Divided by Love.

Celaena Sardothien, royal assassin, is the King of Adarlan's deadliest weapon. She must win her freedom through his enemies' blood - but she cannot bear to kill for the crown. And every death Celaena fakes, every lie she tells, put those she loves at risk.

Torn between her two protectors - a captain and a prince - and battling a dark force far greater than the king, Celaena must decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart or the fate of a kingdom...

Review:

Oh. My. God.

I thought the first book was amazing. This one is better! I could not stop reading. I read it in a day and immediately started Heir of Fire!

The characters are as consistent as the first book, and the story just flows on from the end of Throne of Glass. I love the development of all of the characters, especially Celaena and surprisingly, Dorian, who has discovered that he too has some special abilities.

Some of the way, I was thinking, "Celaena, just do what you're told!" but where's the fun in that? Lol. And then it turned out that I was right!

I loved the advancement of the relationships in this book. I wasn't really fond of the pairing in the first book, but this one got it right (I ship those two so much!).

There were a few new characters, as well as one favourite character of mine that is gone for (as far as I know) good. This departure was necessary though, as it triggered the climax of the story (and ripped my heart out along the way).

If there's one thing we can all learn from this series, is that you should never push Celaena's Berserk Button. Shit goes down, and down it went!

I don't know how I got the impression that Celaena didn't remember her past before she became an assassin, but that's what I thought from the start of Throne of Glass, and then I realised as the story progressed, that Celaena knows exactly who she is and hides it on purpose, not only because she doesn't want anyone to know, but that she'd rather not take up that particular role again.

Whilst the book didn't end on much of a cliffhanger, Chaol's realisation in the last chapter that Celaena isn't who he thought she was gives the impression that his attitude toward her is going to change dramatically. For better or worse, I'm looking forward to finding out!

I can't wait to finish Heir of Fire, and I'm sure it won't disappoint! I give Crown of Midnight a rating of 5/5.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas Review

Celaena Sardothien is an assassin. After being imprisoned at a death camp, she is downtrodden and has little future to look forward to. That is until she finds herself removed from the camp on the condition that she competes against other assassins and rogues for the position of the King’s Champion. If Celaena wins, she must do the King’s bidding for a few years, but after that, her freedom will belong to her once again.

I love this book. If I were to make a list of my favourite characters, it would be full of those who are independent and have multitudes of strength. Celaena would be right near the top. Right from the start, her character is absolute and stays consistent throughout the entire novel. Despite her headstrong nature, she still has a quieter, feminine side – she loves dresses, candy and books.

The story is full on, right from the beginning and I could not stop reading. I love the world that Maas has created and I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next. There’s mystery, humour and plenty of kickass fight scenes. And then there’s romance. Is it a love triangle, or a square? Celaena seems to have her pick of the most eligible bachelors in the kingdom. There’s Chaol – the Captain of the Guard, Nox – a fellow competitor that becomes her ally, or Dorian – the Prince, who comes with all of his other suitors that really don’t have a chance, especially Kaltain Rompier, who sees Celaena as her biggest threat and thrives for Celaena’s demise. She is also very annoying.

I’m very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Rating 5/5.