Book Review: Queen of Shadows

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4): Written by Sarah J Maas

Release Date: September 1st, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children

Format of Novel: Hardcover

Rating:4.8/5 Stars

Summary (From good reads): 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 rescues 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 a 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.

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I had a difficult time reading this because lately I wasn't really in the mood to read really long books after a day from work. But, after taking my sweet time with this novel, I finally read this beast completely. Let me just say, you all probably have finished this before this review, but hell what a action-packed event huh? So many things occurred during this installment and they were fantastic. From the rescues, to the rebellion against the King of the Glass Kingdom, to Celaena/Aelin's upcoming reign as queen, to new chapters of Manon and the Thirteen. The fight scenes were on point and the drama between the cast of characters were executed

This book was in my opinion, the second best novel of Sarah J Maas (top one is ACOTAR). So much occurred that I can't say much since this review is spoiler-free. I will say that you will not be disappointed because we are learning how Aelin's court is finally rebelling against the Glass King with her old friends and new allies appearing in such an unexpected way that it makes you scream "What the hell!?" in a excited fan girl mode. And the characters, oh my god I just want to hug Carol and Dorian so freaking much right now. They are my babies and this book almost emotionally destroyed me with the changes these two made, especially Dorian. 'Cause, holy shit right in the end? (If you already read the book before me). Rowan and Aedion were great for this book because we see them becoming more developed as characters and I'm glad they're on Aelin's side because it would be more crazy if they weren't, yet at the same time, I sort of want to see them be cursed into being on the dark side or something I dunno.

What I also enjoyed was the Manon chapters. Compare to the third book to the series, I was finally able to understand more of her and her coven of thirteen. I was beginning to feel sorry for her when she learned the twisted secrets her grandmother hid from her throughout her life. But at the same time, since Aelin is the main protagonist of this epic series, I have a gut feeling that Manon is going to be the grand antagonist that we are all waiting for in the final two books.

Queen of Shadows overall was filled with great action, sass, and emotional outlooks that made my heart break, mend, break again, and cheering for the entire story to keep on going.. This story was an amazing installment to the series and I seriously cannot wait for more in the next year because I want to see how far Aelin is going to go as Queen. Is she going to keep kicking ass or did she start a new world war? Only time will tell..

Happy Howling fellow readers.

Book Review: Heir of Fire

Heir of Fire (TOG #3) Written by: Sarah J. Maas

Release Date: 9/2/2014

Publisher: Bloomsbury's Children

Format of Novel: Hardcover
Rating: 4.8/5 stars

Summary (from good reads):

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.

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I know I'm super, super late with this review. Is work even a valid excuse for you guys? Probably not.. I know. But, when you're helping out with opening a Halloween store at a fast pace, you just can't help, but avoid the computer (or in my case, my mother's computer). So now I have a little bit of time, I shall review Heir of Fire.

So Heir of Fire, what a crazy load of a book right? I mean, you have Celaena recovering from the last bit from the last book. However, in this case, you get to explore Celaena's true history as a Fae and her family. To me personally, this book was more on the 'check point' level rather than the actual plot. I loved the characters that were introduced like Rowan. Rowan was a beautiful addition to the hotness of the gentlemen in the series. He felt perfect for Celaena with naturalness into him. You know what I mean? Sure he's older, but he's able to relate to Celaena on a more deeper level than both Carol and Dorian since after all he is a fae warrior. Speaking of which, let's discuss them now.

The prince and captain are rekindling their friendship after Dorian found out about the secrets Carol and Celaena were keeping from him. I didn't feel that they were that important to the book, but once the scenes between them kept going, I grew loved them a lot more because I started to root for them. It added on to them being loyal to Celaena and figuring out a way to stop the king on the down low. Plus the 'cliffhanger' before the final bits with Rowan and Celaena, holy shit I wanted to throw my book and cry in the corner. It was completely heartbreaking!

With the new character Manon, I felt that she wasn't necessary for the few chapters in the book, but at the same time I do. Its mixed I know, but hear me out. I think Manon is going to be a huge part for the last three books with her partner-in-crime. The idea of her becoming stronger is more aggressive unlike Celaena. It made me wonder if I was seeing a mirror version of our favorite heroine here. I don't know, that could just me rambling here, but you never know right? In a literary sense, the author did a good job creating the foreshadowing, but I wish I could've understand more about her other than her feeling the pressures of being the heir to her clan and her new rider.

All in all, this story was great like the rest of the series, slow but wonderfully written and exciting. I rated this 5 stars on good reads and just like the rest of you, I'm dying to get my hands on the next one. See you guys soon with a new review, happy howling!