Hello
happy readers! So this week set me back
a bit from schedule but storms in my area last weekend were intense and
internet/damage issues needed to be handled.
I've been so behind in this series but I’m catching up! That's right Queen of Shadows (Throne of
Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas. Spoilers for
the first few books for sure! I've
reviewed the previous books: Throne ofGlass, Crown of Midnight, and Heir of Fire.
Rating: 5 Stars
So
first I have to say I have not yet started the newest book that came out last
year. I wanted to get this review out of
my head before I put more in. I loved
this book. I'm shocked it took me so
long to read it when I had been craving it and planning to marathon read it on
release day. Long story it got mixed up
in the mail and after having to wait I tried pacing myself which didn't work at
all either and eventually just had to go through it quickly just a bit
late. Plus after the first five chapters
didn't fix what ripped my heart out in Heir of Fire I wasn't emotionally ready
for it. Seriously poor Dorian.
My
thoughts on this book are split between reading and listening. I read almost the first third of the book
then switched to the audiobook format. I
think I enjoyed the audiobook a bit more.
One I learned how wrong I was about pronunciation and that helped me
keep track of characters better; I mean there are a lot of unpronounceable “A”
names that I would jumble at times. And
second the book is massive and no easy feat to hold while reading which acted
as an arm work out but also had me worried I’d rip the pages keeping my grip.
Celaena
Sardothien is the girl we knew. The
assassin who had clawed her way out of the mines and into who she was meant to
be, not Celaena but Aelin. A Queen. She has been through so much in her life but
now she has to embrace the life she has run from, Aelin Galathynius Queen of
Terrasen. I admit even when she was
called Aelin through the last book and first bit of this I still kept
autocorrecting in my head to Celaena.
She was Celaena to me still but as the book continues I realized she
isn’t. She has truly become someone
else. Like a new character reworked from
what she was and the new name fit. Aelin
and Celaena are similar and still vastly different which sounds crazy but I
think most who read will understand what I mean.
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| The awesome back! Love these! |
Aelin
is on a mission to free magic and stop the evil brutal king who killed her
parents and enslaved so many, including her dear friend. Dorian. We see things through so many POVs it’s
intense. Seeing things from Dorian, how
he was still in there somewhat was so hard.
I think those were the hardest chapters to read/listen to. So much was happening in Adarlan both inside
the castle and without and seeing the inside, the evil, was interesting. We also get a deeper understanding of the
Valg and their possession of people.
We
also got to see more of Manon and the Thirteen and all that is going on under
the mountain. I know I took a bit to get
into them last book I enjoyed their pieces in this much more, they felt much
more important with so much depth. Her
connection with her wyvern Abraxos is still my favorite part but as she grew
closer in her own way to Elide I liked that.
There
are so many amazing and intricate story points in this book it’s intense. Aelin is trying to free her cousin, Aedion,
and release magic to take down the king.
She still has unresolved issues with her former trainer, Arobynn and
that’s just to start. See what I mean
about “A” names? Anywho we also got to
see more Rowan which I loved because I adored getting to know him in the
previous book and there was just so much more to him. Lysandra and Kaltain continue to play a part
and we see new sides to them as opinions can shift I mean I kid you not so so
much is happening. Now I had to go back
I almost didn’t remember who Kaltain was (plus audiobook I was hearing it and
not like I imagined go figure) and Lysandra with their past with Arobynn.
This
book was simply amazing. So much
love. So much. Speaking of love. Okay so I previously have been completely
Celaena & Chaol. So that is still
the case, I do love Celaena with Chaol but the truth is she isn't Celaena anymore. As mentioned above she's changed into whom
she was meant to be, Queen Aelin. So
while I'm totally on board with the ship that seems to be sailing in this book
and do root for it I also feel like Aelin could be with anyone or no one and
I'd love it. Though romance is pretty
awesome! The sexy time and tension is
legit! I also saw some kindling of other
possible connections which I hope to flush out more in the next book! But yeah Rowan….yep I'm on board with
that.
So
my final thoughts were that it was amazing.
I was so caught up in the whole book but the last third of it was just
completely mind blowing. Some meet up's
we've been waiting for since last book, some dues paid, and everything coming
to a beautiful and chaos filled end. Epic! I had planned to stop at the end of one
chapter thinking it would be right before this tipping point but then the last
minute of the chapter dove right in and I didn't sleep that night finishing it
up! So happy though because WOW. Highly
recommend. Now that this is finished I'm
ready to start Empire of Storms soon! I
want to be caught up and know if any of my half-baked theories will play out. What did you think of this book? I'd rank it as my favorite thus far.
Until
next time…
