Book Series Review: Heir of Fire & Queen of Shadows

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

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Title: Heir of Fire
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Published: 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Celaena 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. Will Celaena find the strength to not only fight her inner demons, but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed?

The bestselling series that has captured readers all over the world reaches new heights in this sequel to the New York Timesbest-selling Crown of Midnight. Packed with heart-pounding action, fierce new characters, and swoon-worthy romance, this third book will enthrall readers from start to finish.

Review*:

  Although Heir of Fire & Crown of Midnight have always been my least favorite of this series, I think after finally re-reading both of them, I can say that I prefer HoF over CoM. We are introduced to Manon, a lot of the story for the remainder of the series starts to truly form. Although in CoM we learn about wyrd keys, that information is really only the tip of the ice berg. 
  Celaena's journey to Mistward really set in place a lot of the backstory for what is happening, adding in some key characters for the future as well. The first four chapters were introductions for new characters. Chapter one was Celaena doing a lot of self-reflecting on failing Nehemia, breaking up with Chaol, and how despite how desperately she wants to help her people, the hopelessness she has for actually being able to make a difference. This leads us to the introduction of Rowan, who although I was meh about for the most part, I feel like I have more of an appreciation for him now. Chapter three inserts Aedion, Celaena's cousin and general for the King of Aderlan's army. His path followed similarly to his cousins, ending up as a weapon for the King to wield that did shameful things in the name of a country that butchered his own people. Chapter four introduced the most important character of them all. Miss Manon I'm-killing-three-men Blackbeak. 
   Celaena, who was sent to Wendlyn  to dispatch the royal family, wanted to speak to her aunt about wyrd keys. Fortunately, with the introduction of Rowan and his kidnapping Celaena to Mistward, the assassin gets her wish. Unfortunately Maeve tells Celaena that she wont give her any information about the wyrd-keys until she can prove herself to enter Doranell, the Fae lands Maeve is Queen of. So of course, Celaena has to train with Rowan to prove herself worthy. 
   This means a lot of breaking of Celaena, both physically and mentally. At this point in the series she's at her lowest emotionally. She's spent her life up until this point living a lie and fighting her heritage. Her breakup with Chaol and the restrictions regarding their relationship is a barrier she finds bleeding into accepting her right as Aelin Ashryver Galathynius. The "secretly a royal" trope isn't my favorite, I do appreciate that she was aware of her title rather than having the entire thing be a surprise, which is more common.
   Although her relationship with Rowan was super icy from the start (pun intended), obviously it wasn't going to stay that way. Rowan has spent centuries as a frigid soldier to a dark queen, and now he's assigned to monitor and trail someone as stubborn and emotional as Celaena. The dangerous situations and respect the duo build together eventually gets Rowan to open up to Celaena and the pair talk through the damaging events from their past.  All the while, Celaena was finally mastering magic by shifting between her Fae and Human form and controlling her fire. Rowan had bound himself to Maeve years ago, and Celaena, being the sassy, stubborn person she is, frees him from the dark queen's service to be bound to her as part of her newly formed court. Of course this is all happening as said sassy Celaena is telling Maeve, who didn't provide any new information regarding wyrd-keys, to shove it thanks for nothing.
  Meanwhile, in Rifthold. Aedion swaggers into the King's castle wearing what looks like a Valg ring. Dorian and Chaol, who are familiar with the general are totally eye-rolling at this arrogant monster. The duo describe Aedion as "the wolf of the north" (Sound familiar, Martin?), and how he's never been exactly someone they look forward to seeing.  Though the trio aren't exactly friendly, events lead to secrets being revealed about both parties. The first, and most dangerous, is Dorian's magic and besides them and Sorsha, who I will get to in a minute, nobody is aware. Dorian and Chaol reveal to Aedion that his cousin and queen is alive, in Wendlyn, and working for the King as well. Aedion then launches into a guilt-trip of all the fucked up shit he's done to innocent people in the name of the king. The annoying bit about Aedion and Aelin not being together, is Aedion continuously mentioning how he may not or doesn't deserve to see his cousin. Like bro, forgiveness is a thing.
  To circle back to our friend Sorsha, before we get too much farther, she is a healer who works in the castle. Through the dangerous stuff Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian go through in books 1 and 2, she has been there to mend their cuts with no questions. Dorian decides she's a great rebound from Celaena. I know there are a lot of readers of the series who find Sorsha a "problematic character" in the sense that a person of color was introduced and then murdered, much like Nahemia. Although I didn't care for Nahemia, between these two characters that suffer from a similar narrative, Sorsha was somewhat useless. If we think about the part she played in the greater story; she healed, like many others in the castle did, she wrote letters to a rebel army, which Nahemia was also doing, and she loved Dorian, which everyone does. I don't think she deserved to be murdered, but I think the position her character takes could have been fulfilled if Nahemia remained alive through this installment of the series.
  Now that all this information is out between Aedion, Chaol, and Dorian, some lines are drawn in the sand. We as readers now understand that the Kingdom of Terrasen will have to rise to defeat the evil of Adarlan. Aedion, having been part of the royal family of Terrasen and loyal to Aelin, is now assisting the remaining rebels from Terrasen. Dorian, aside from trying to master his magic, is stuck between his duties to the crown as Prince and what is right for Erilea, but can also recognize how much of a monster his father is. Chaol however, is adamant and fairly vocal about how his number one priority is his loyalty to specifically Dorian. This is where Chaol's best attributes start to annoy me. Dorian is aware of what his father is doing, sees it as wrong, and assists the plot to stop him. Dorian is brave. Chaol, on the other hand is over here like "Don't rock the boat, Dorian gets sea-sick."  As much as I hate this term, nut up Chaol and do the right thing.
  Chaol and Aedion discover what is extinguishing the magic in Erilea but not the other continents. Some of Aedion's previous warriors in the north were dispatched of their duties and came to Rifthold. One man in particular talks about a giant spire made of shiny, black rock being implemented in the area. This is the first clue that leads the duo to figure out that these spires are linked by a spell that is keeping magic from being wielded in Erilea. Chaol brings his theory to Dorian who confirms with a tiny demonstration of the same magic with ice.
  As I mentioned previously, the best character of all was introduced to the series. Witches are mentioned prior to Manon showing up, but we find out there are at least two types. They are a combination of valg and fae people and fall into Crochan, which took more after the fae side, and Ironteeth, that take after the valg. Manon is the heir to the Blackbeak clan of Ironteeth witches. Originally, the Ironteeth were from the wastes in Erilea but a Crochan witch cursed their lands and they've slowly been building back their influence across the world. Manon's grandmother, who is referred by her title The Blackbeak Matron, is strict in the witches beliefs of "Obedience, discipline, and brutality" and similar to what could be considered the Surpreme.
  Part of the witch-rebuilding process, the Blackbeak, Blueblood, and Yellowlegs clans are brought together to assist the King of Adarlan who will in turn help the witches reclaim their lands in the wastes. To find who will be the wing leader of the witch army, the three clan heirs are to acquire wyverns, which are dragon like creatures, and compete in the War Games. Although the Blackbeak Matron finds Manon to be weak by choosing a wyvern that isn't the best and brutal and by saving the Blueblood heir in the War Games, this is when I find Manon to be the best character. It's easy to be brutal and cruel, such as the Grandmother or Iskra. To have Manon be ruthless but understand respect is much more compelling and a relatable character. Manon, though trained to consider her 13 in their coven as expendable, is better for not treating them so cruely. She gains their trust and respect which in the long term can be far more useless than mindless loyalty. 
   Although the matron finds Manon weak, the heir had to murder some sitgeon spiders to get their silk for Abraxos's wings. Her wyvern had been used as bait, a lot like in dog fighting, so Abraxos has a little worse for wear. He values the connection he has to Manon, listening to and defending her when Manon herself doesn't necessarily see herself in danger. In turn, Manon takes care of Abraxos by healing his wings with the silk, understanding the meat may be tainted, and with the bond she has, understanding the pain either wyern or rider would feel should they lose the other.
  At the end of this book, shit has flipped upside down. The King of Adarlan is aware that Aelin Ashryver Galathynius has killed his three valg prince in Wendlyn and has established herself as his enemy. Aedion and Chaol have now both put themselves against the King as well, after running out during the King's butchering session. Dorian sacrificed himself as a distraction to get Aedion and Chaol out, and in turn earned himself a brand new collar from dear ol' dad. Aedion is held prisoner by the King, because also he wasn't murdered by the king he was still captured. Most importantly, by utilizing the "Sam Mantra" from the end of Assassin's Blade, Celaena has finally embraced herself as Aelin. Lets get this party started dudes.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J, Maas

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Title: Queen of Shadows
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Published: 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

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. 

Review*:

  We start off this book with all the players on the field and a time for action. Dorian is enslaved to is father under the influence of the collar placed around the Prince's neck. Aelin made it back to Rifthold and was meeting up with her friends she promised to come back for. Rowan was in Wendyln, though not for very long. Aedion is now a prisoner, scheduled for a public execution on Dorian's birthday.
  With Chaol no longer in the guard, the influence of the Valg has crept more over Rifthold. The red and gold of the King's colors have been changed to all black. There are wyrd-hounds prowling through the city sewers and guards are toting black rings.
   The most pressing step of over-turning a Kingdom is to get the band back together. So naturally, finding Chaol and rescuing Aedion are priority one. The scene where Celaena manages to rescue her cousin from the chopping block is one of my favorites in this entire series and for some reason I always think it's earlier than it is. While she pretends to be one of the dancers hired for entertainment and then switches to stalk around as another assassin is something straight from a movie.
  Of course, as fun as rescuing Aedion was, there of course has to be some Debbies out there, right Chaol? Aelin is convinced there is no saving Dorian from his possession by the valg. But of course, hard-headed Chaol tells her that slaughtering his BF is a hard no. This leads to arguing, and me remembering why I hate Chaol so much.
   He completed freaks out on her, thinking she's just been trapes-ing around the west continent with a Fae prince like this is fucking LaLa Land. I don't see Chaol providing much other than introducing us to Nesryn and hiding in the shadows sniveling that his boyfriend is currently preoccupied. I understand that he is a caution person, but is sitting here with the Valg in control really better than allowing those who have ruled with magic powers for centuries to save Erilea? 
   Also, I find it every privileged of Chaol to shame Aelin for having grown up the way she did. Chaol was a Lord's son who made the choice to step away from his seat of power to work in the King's guard. Aelin had her family butchered around her and was found by someone who was kind enough to take her in but with a price. It's not like Aelin chose to step away from a crown to go play murderous barbie in Rifthold. She did what she had to do to survive. Part of me feels like Sarah put this part in the book more for the reader to connect these dots than to show a break or strain in their friendship. It makes me wonder how people out there can defend Chaol as a good guy when yes his intentions are good, but he's so fucking thick.
  In this book we finally get closure with Arobyn. He's still the slimy King of the Assassins, however now he has no prodigy to tote around. Lysandra is still entertaining him, and now is accompanied by Evangeline, a young would-be courtesan that had her face marred. Although Arobyn has been sitting pretty in his keep, he also has been all too aware of the Valgs in Rifthold. He and Aelin chose to work together to figure out what they can about the purpose of the possessed demons.
   I have to wonder what Aelin thought the outcome of working with Arobyn again would be, even though she later mentions the potential of Arobyn trying to 'sire her children'. His death seemed like the only logical answer. We can make an educated guess that if he remained alive when Aelin finally took her throne, what would he do? Arobyn already informed us that he doesn't like to share his things, he killed Sam over it. When he slipped that ring on Aelin's finger and tried to assume power over her I felt like we got the most satisfying "I knew it!" moment in this series. Aelin mentioned that her relationship with Arobyn was never defined and often times was confusing. Lysandra slitting his throat was also so satisfying, especially knowing he drowned in his own blood. Sarah does a great job of tying some loose ends that she kind of strings out along the journey and this scene from talking over wyrd keys to changing his will for her benefit is a great example of it.
  With Arobyn out of the way, the court can focus on the information they have and what the next step agains the King of Adarlan is. They start to plan on how they are going to defeal the valgs that are very clearly not something anybody wants to keep around.
  Meanwhile, Manon has moved from the western continent to Morath. Her grandmother, the matron, had struck a deal with the King of Adarlan to get back the witch clan's land as long as they assisted him with world domination. Being the wingleader, Manon is assigned to fly to Mortah with the Thirteen to assist the Duke and King in whatever it is they are needed for.
  The events that happen in Mortah, though very necessary for the story are also really fucking gross. The silver lining to this cloud of ew is that we meet Elide. She is a timid girl who is of noble birth but is a slave to her Uncle, who is the only remaining relative that she has. Manon develops some sort of possessive girl crush on Elide when she realizes the girl has a hint of Blackbeak blood in her veins.
    Manon shortly comes face to face with the most gruesome piece of this story. The Duke has requested that Manon pick a litter of Blackbeaks for the Valg to use. Now to remind us all, witches are the offspring of Valgs and Fae. So you know, for experiments sake, lets take some witches and some valg as see what happens now. That clan of witches, they become breading machines for these sick bastards. I am so happy Kaltain wiped all of that abomination out of this book. 
 Of course, Arobyn had one more trick up his sleeve. In his will, should he die the truth about Lysandra being a shapeshifter would become knowledge to the King. Yeah, let me slap you with that out of the blue. This fact seemed like a somewhat hasty way to tie the court and Manon's thirteen together.
  The King decides to rush Lysandra to Morath personally with Dorian in tow. Aside from visiting the Duke, which is obvious if you are aware of their internal situation (Pst. The valg thing), it seemed odd for a King and his prince to escort a prisoner. The court decides to follow to save Lysandra before she enters the pit of Morath.  This gives everyone the opportunity to meet and try to kill each other. First Dorian and Manon get to meet and flirt in the most awkward way possible. Then the crew gets caught freeing Lysandra by Manon who then decides to attack Aelin. This leads to a long chase and fight where ultimately Aelin saves Manon's life. It is such an odd scene, it feels like somebody turned a movie on in a book.   
  The thirteen in this book really are the greatest. Astrin would act out against Manon, despite their upbringing to be unyielding in their loyalty. After hearing her story about her lover and then her miscarriage was so utterly heartbreaking. I think Manon, despite her facade of being obedient, was always ready to stand up for herself from her grandmother. Manon reflects back a lot on the Crochan witch she was told to kill. Her resistance to supplying a blackbeak clan and instead letting a willing yellowlegs clan take their place. The valg breeding, Asterin's truth, and the secrecy from her grandmother all just pile onto Manon finally being the badass I know she is and do things her way. It makes me respect Manon more, despite allowing the valg breeding to go too far. 
  Last but not least, I want to address the OTP in the room. I would like to start by saying, I don't know if it's because I'm listening to audio vs. reading but I feel like Rowan and Aelin's relationship is moving so slowly with not a lot of burn. I can feel in my heart that because of the slow steps Sarah has been taking with this relationship it shows a deeper relationship between the pair, but girlfriend I need a bit more burn with this. I may be comparing it to Feyre and Rhysand who were getting hot and heavy in a cabin in the woods before making it official but I need a little bit more passion. I have high hopes for Kingdom of Ash and this deeper bond really shining in the final book.
  And I can't forget the most important aspect of this book that I wrote several times in my notes while reading: I love Nesryn. When I knew Nesryn was with Chaol for Tower of Dawn it is what made me pick it up. I wanted to know that she was going to get a happy ending and not be some character like Nehemia or Kaltain that were just wiped away. She's so silent and so strong for not allowing her pain to show while helping Chaol. I just love her so much.

Next are the two parallel books in this series before everybody meets up together in Kingdom of Ash. It's been really hard to remain as spoiler free as possible as I read through the series again so I'm hoping to blow through these two quickly so I can finally find out what happens in the last book. 

Have you guys read Kingdom of Ash yet? Let me know, but sans spoilers please, in the comments below!