Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5)

                Hello happy readers!  So I spent the weekend helping out my family but I was with very very slow internet so I wasn’t able to really get on and respond to any Stacking the Shelves posts until today because well…I gave up.  Seriously it was a nice weekend but it made me miss and appreciate my internet speed so much more.  Anywho that said I was excited to get back so I could post my thoughts and feels on Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by the lovely Sarah J. Maas.  I reviewed the previous books here, Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir ofFire, and Queen of Shadows.

               

Rating: 5 Stars

                So first let me say it took me a while to catch up with the last two books and not because they are in fact massive but because I was nervous about reading on which I mentioned in my Queen of Shadows review.  Then after that I was finally able to see other reviews and thoughts on it but still avoided spoilers for Empire of Storms like the plague.  Still from what I gathered about the series so many people who love the series and whose opinion usually melds with mine pretty well thought it was the least favorite of the series and a little bit of a let-down.  Also had some people mention it was focused too much on the sexy scenes than the rest of the story.  I find all of this was in no way true for me.

As always I love flip of the back!

                I loved this book.  I continued where I left off with Queen of Shadows listening to the audiobook because it was amazing and I listened to it mostly on my way to and from ApollyCon and then the Crown of Wishes launch event so I did most of it in large chunks.  I loved it.  The story has gotten so much larger than we first thought when starting Throne of Glass.  We have so many different characters and story lines that all have become so deeply important and vital not just to the reader wanting to know more but to the larger overall story.  I wasn’t the biggest fan when we first started learning about Manon and even Rowan because I wanted my original core group but then as the story unfolded I started to enjoy their stories and can’t imagine the story without them now.  We also don’t see any Chaol just mention of where he went at the end of the previous book.  This makes since as we will see more of him with his own book of stories this year!

                Aelin is of course our star and I love how she has progressed through the series.  She has really come into herself.  While she does make some mistakes still, she is young after all, she keeps going and keeps fighting, learning with every step.  Rowan really took me by storm.  I went from liking him as a character but not a romantic interest to thinking seriously about him in that way to….OMG I LOVE him!  Seriously Rowan and Aelin are so on point.  Seriously their connection and back and forth alone was priceless but wow true equals and I love it.  They just have this way of understanding one another.  Dorian is still recovering from what he’d been through, not something that will ever fully leave him but he is fighting to push forward.  He has some really great moments, some great quotes that I wish I had been able to write down in the moment because they gave me goosebumps.  Manon really came around for me in the last book first with her affection for Abraxos and then her Thirteen.  When she took in little Elide and helping her and helping save Dorian in the previous book she was one of my favorites.  Elide was a different break as well, she is so much different than the other characters we know.  She is determined and strong of heart but she has no training in combat or strategy and is actually permanently injured.  Still she is determined to find her Queen and do whatever she can to help her and that is something that is refreshing.  I also loved getting to know more about Rowan’s old Cadre Gavriel, Fenrys, and Lorcan.  We have seen them before, Lorcan for sure as he was none too happy with our Aelin or Rowan.  Seeing a different side of him was nice and getting to know more about the others now that we know who Gavriel really is.  All the feels for all the characters.

                 So anyways we have so many stories and things happening.  Things are never easy for our people that is for sure.  Aelin is en route to her home with her new court, a different court to change the world.  Still while she may be Queen by name and birth she has been away and thought dead for some time.  Politics isn’t the best game to play with the war on the cusp of tearing the world apart.  Many doubt her as a ruler given her time as Celaena Sardothien the assassin and her choice of court.  She’s different and not a normal type of queen and that is why we love her.  She has been through so much and yet no matter the odds she keeps fighting for the people she loves and the whole world.  She has one Wyrdkey and has two more to recover and find some way to destroy them, not an easy task when you are also fighting Erawan and his evil hoards of Vlag creatures and Queen Maeve of the Fae. 

                We really get to see so much more of the world in this one.  We even get to re-visit people and places from her past including those from the novellas.  This I enjoyed it was a way to bring in all the different stories and tie in everything.  Showing that everything had a purpose.  I was on the edge of my seat through most of the book and had it not been for cruise control probably would have had a lead foot.  There are constant twists and turns but we also learn even more about the past and things that have been vague and only slightly on the edge of our senses are explained.

                 There was always something happening to keep you guessing.  Action and death everywhere and no one is safe.  That’s the hardest part is loving so many of these characters and knowing they could all die.  Romances bloom or develop which had me even more excited because some have been brewing for a while and others were new and interesting and things. I could sit here and discuss every detail of every part of the book for hours and still have so many more questions and theories.  I want things to work out for everyone but with the information we have and the seriousness of the story I don’t think everyone will make it out alive.  Given how we left things off…fyi heads up HUGE cliffhanger that will leave you completely lost and reeling…I’m nervous and excited for more but 2018 is SO FAR!

                I love this book and this series as a whole and highly recommend everyone get caught up before the last book comes out next year.  This gives you plenty of time to devour them though! 

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4)

                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.

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…