Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, 5)

There are two things that I want to make note of before starting my review: 1). If you want to have the greatest experience reading this series, it is absolutely imperative that you read each book in order. The world-building, character development, and chain of events will make the greatest sense to you if you don’t skip around. Pay attention to each detail. It will make sense as you get deeper into this series. 2). I will be listing a few spoilers in my review. Some things have already happened. If you are reading the books in order, you will already know what I am about to disclose. No, I will not give away the ending. It is going to shock you as well as break your heart. I don’t want to take that experience away from an avid reader such as yourself. Now, let’s get started. I love this series. The author, Sarah J. Maas, did a phenomenal job developing each character while giving them room to explore one another and grow into their surroundings. Some writers tend to rush things, so their word count isn’t too lengthy, or they simply follow a formula that has worked for them in the past. Sarah doesn’t give a damn about any of that. She writes to her heart’s content and strings us along with amazing storylines. In this book, we come to learn more about Nehemia’s homeland and the battle she was fighting to try and protect her people. Her death took a huge toll on Aelin. She still blames herself for misreading the situation with her best friend. The struggle to stay true to the promise she made Nehemia is real. We get to see how she copes with the guilt she has laid upon her shoulders, knowing she should have been there to help Nehemia during her last few hours. In all honesty, I don’t see how she could have helped her while doing what she was doing, but Aelin is torn up by her grief over the situation. The scar on the palm of her hand is a constant reminder of what happened under the King’s rule. There is also the constant struggle she has as she grows into being the Queen everyone expects her to be at the tender age of nineteen. Of course, she has her detractors that are plotting and scheming to take Terrasen for themselves. It will be up to Aelin to prove these old men, who are not only set in their ways but are afraid to turn against the possible support of Erawan, wrong. She will have to show that she is cunning enough, loyal enough, and talented enough to reign over her rightful Kingdom. Old men are lecherous by nature, though. The people she thought she could count on will let her down, while others will rise to the challenge. In this book, we are finally shown the true depth and size of the upcoming war. All of the main characters are in place. We have learned about the Wyrdkeys and their importance. We know who has which ones and where they are destined to be. We are left wondering about the great army and the tools being created by Erawan. We’ve been exposed to his treacherous ways and now know that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. With the old King’s death, it appears that nothing will stop him as he advances to what he assumes will be his victory in this great battle. While the battle for all of the territory’s rages on, there are ongoing storylines that are developing in a natural way. Not once did I feel bogged down with the details, or did I question the pairing up of certain people as they formed allegiances with one another. We have Rowan, Aelin, Aedion, and Lysandra moving forward with their plans. Manon and her Thirteen are on their own adventure as they try to determine right from wrong. We mustn’t forget Abraxos and the growth in his storyline, either. He becomes such an integral part of Manon’s life. We have Lorcan and Elide, Fenrys, Gavriel, and Maeve, not to mention the additional bonus of seeing what develops between now King Dorian and Manon. After the original King is killed, we see more of Dorian’s powers develop within himself. He is trying but just has not learned how to control the ice magic that lives within him. He is faced with the uncertain future of Ardalan once his friends are forced to move North in their attempt to secure Terrasen for Aelin and her people. What happens in Ardalan is not only terrifying, but it also shoves King Dorian into a growth spurt that reflects a new, harder edge to him that we haven’t seen up to this point. He has a surprise savior that comes to his aid when he least expects it. The King does step up and we get to see him in a whole new light. Manon is in for her own character development after certain things transpire. One event will force her to look upon her supposed family in an entirely new light. She must learn to accept certain things about herself while trying to remain true to the witch she has been molded into since birth. Some things that come out might shock you. For me, she has become one of my favorite characters in this book. She grows in such a way, (which I always suspected), while undergoing a cruel twist of fate. I love watching her turn into the woman I always knew she could be. The relationship she shares with Elide, Abraxos, and her loyal Thirteen will only endear her even more to you as the book progresses. Speaking of Elide, she truly comes into her own in this book. In the last one, her history was explained, and she was given a pretty good chunk of a storyline. In this one, her travels become imperative to her growth not only by herself, but also with Lorcan. Lorcan starts out hunting Elide but through time, he becomes closer to her as she exposes his softer side. I am still on the fence as to whether or not I like him but that seems to be the case regarding Lorcan. Aelin, Rowin, and the crew don’t know if they can trust him either. In the end, I am extremely upset with Lorcan, but we shall have to see what happens next. Rowan and Aelin continue to grow their pair bond as they travel forth. Aelin still doesn’t let her guard down enough to share her plans with anyone, but after what she has endured, I can understand this. Do I think she should let Rowan and Aedion know what is happening more than she does? Yes. Yes, I do. Will she relent and tell them more of her plans? No. No, she won’t. She keeps her cards closer to her chest at all times. I guess not knowing who you can genuinely trust will do that to a person. She is cunning and exceptionally brave. Rowan is patient, loving, and extremely protective of Aelin. Does he sometimes become overprotective as the male Faes are wont to do? Again, yes, but you have to understand that this is the nature of the Fae. They tend to mate for life and will fight tooth and nail to protect their loved ones. One can’t read too much into that situation if you genuinely like fantasy characters. The Fae are who they are for a reason. The same goes for Lorcan, Fenrys, and Gavriel. We also get to see the Fae men grow on this journey forward. Fenrys and Gavriel, through their blood oath, have been ordered to kill Lorcan as soon as they come across him. What happens next, though, is a very clever way to work around a blood oath. Maeve is surely going to impose some harsh punishments at this apparent thwarting of her wishes, but that day hasn’t arrived yet. I also enjoyed watching Aedion come into his own. He has always been a powerful general, riding the line of safety and fighting for the future of Aelin and Terrasen. In this book, we get to see his real-time struggles as he learns certain things about Aelin, Rowan, and now, his father. He is also, in his own way, getting closer to Lysandra. I love this coupling! Lysandra is a strong character on her own. Now that magic has been released upon all the lands, she can live her life in different animal forms since she is a true shapeshifter. The ways that she offers to help Aelin are miraculous. We are exposed a bit more to Elena and Gavin, too. The backstory that they bring to this tale is imperative, if not frustrating at times. There were certain points in time that I wanted to shake both of them and make them stop speaking in riddles. I get the point of this character trait but jeez, sometimes I just want the characters to speak plainly. I am not the best at solving riddles, so, yeah. I like it when things are spelled out for me. Elena and Gavin hardly ever speak directly regarding any given topic. Aelin and Rowan’s relationship continues to grow and deepen as they explore their pair bonding. The included sex scenes aren’t really necessary, but they aren’t overly graphic either. It covers just enough so that you get the point but doesn’t go too far into detail. We really get to see how patient Rowan is with Aelin as he comes to understand her fierce stubbornness and determination. He also walks side by side with her as her fire magic continues to grow and develop into the mighty person that she is. Aelin is just now learning how to control her water magic. I love that we finally learn more of their backstory individually and combined. I do also want to note that Chaol isn’t really in this book very much. I won’t tell you why, but the reasoning is important to the next book. I loved the world-building, character development, and the descriptive writing utilized in this book. All of the characters are finally on their set paths. We have the full backstory of everyone, but I am sure more hidden details will be exposed in the next two books. Sarah isn’t going to give us everything at this point of the series. She makes you work, enjoyably, for every detail provided. I cannot wait to start Book Six. I will also tell you that I hated the ending of this book, in a good way. I cried so hard. That’s it, though. I won’t tell you what happened. You will need to read the book to find out for yourselves. I cannot recommend this series enough. I had never read Sarah J. Maas before last month. Now, I am glad that one of my best friends never stopped recommending this series to me. It is a must-read for any fantasy reader.

Re-Read Update: This book destroyed me. I cheered when my baby, Abraxos, appeared (legitimately out loud cheered) and wanted to cry at those fateful words. If you've read this book, you know which ones I'm referring to and if not, I can't say because there would be spoilers. Despite the issues and shift in the characterization of some of our leads, this book takes you on an incredible emotional journey with highs that make you cheer (see above) and lows that bring you to tears (almost). Despite the length of the book, I didn't feel as though the story lagged or the pacing was poor. Any free minute I had, I immediately turned to the book to continue where I left off. Even knowing what was going to happen, it managed to enthrall me. One of the problems that I have with this book is its portrayal of relationships. There are aspects of it that are so swoon-worthy and make your heart hurt, but there are some that are not healthy. It's nice to see diverse portrayals of love and relationships, but my concern is that a young adult reader might see the territorial Fae nonsense in the book and not realize that it's an extreme. It might seem normalized. As I am not a teenager, I am aware of the intricacies and can roll my eyes at the "nonsense" without putting any weight on the idea. That may not be the same for teen readers. There are aspects of the character development that seems off and others that, although regrettable, are completely valid. For example, Dorian has gone through an incredible amount of turmoil and emotional upheaval in the last two books. It's understandable that his personality would not quite be the same carefree, flirty scholar that we met in the first book who wished to stand up to his father but could never garner the courage to do so. In a similar vein, we watch other characters develop into multi-faceted people and understand them more. Manon and Lysandra have become much more interesting characters as they were expanded upon, and at least for me have become some of my favourites. Despite the huge cast of fairly main characters, each is still given the time to shine and grow. Finally, the world building continues in this book to an immense degree. A combination of the book's size and the various viewpoints has allowed Sarah J Maas to expand the world we have come to know. Erilea has been developed and we are able to see more pieces of Nehemia's homeland, Aelin's kingdom, and so much in between. I still love this series and highly recommend it to young adult/teen readers who enjoy fantasy books. Original Review: These novels are so addicting, emotional and indescribable - but I'm going to try to do them justice. If you've not yet read up to Empire of Storms, please avoid this review as it has spoilers. I try to leave out the major plot points and just focus on the characters/world, but it's not free from them. Please read on only if you've read the series. Our main cast of beloved and some tolerated, main/supporting characters grows throughout the series. Although we lose Nehemia, which I am still so sad about - we are introduced to the Fae. Their inclusion in the series brings the genre into high fantasy and makes it even more enjoyable. Prior to this series, I hadn't read many novels in which the supernatural creatures were the Fae but now I am obsessed. The world of the Fae isn't experienced or explained much, but I would love to see more of it. Their powers or abilities are so intriguing and well written. Just enough information is given that you can understand what is going on, then beautifully populate the world and battles in your mind. Sarah J Maas makes you fall in love with each of the characters, whether you liked them when they were first introduced or not. One of the first perspective shifts we experience is when we are introduced to the bloodthirsty Manon Blackbeak. At first, you wish her scenes weren't there as they take away from time with our main characters but by the fifth novel she's one of the characters you're rooting for. Although she's a witch and over one hundred years old, she is given the ability to develop and change over the course of the novels. It takes time because she's learning that things she believed her entire life aren't true and don't need to affect how she views life. Even characters that we were originally introduced to, like Lysandre are able to evolve and change over the course of the books. She and Celaena start off butting heads and competing, but that doesn't last. They join together and made a formidable pair (especially once magic is restored to the land). Lysandre grows into one of my favourite characters and her wholehearted commitment to the cause is inspiring. Seeking more information about the Wyrdkeys, Celaena seeks knowledge from the Fae Queen Maeve. Unwilling to give her information away for nothing, Queen Maeve makes a deal that Celaena must train with and impress one of her trusted warriors, Rowan. Prince Rowan is able to manipulate ice and wind, whilst also transforming into a hawk. Her inner circle are sworn to her with a blood oath and a group of Fae warriors that include Rowan, Lorcan, Gavriel, Vaughen, Fenrys and Connall. Later on, this group is affectionately titled Rowan's cadre and some join our heroes on their journey. Unsurprisingly, we discover that Celaena is actually the Princess (or Queen) of Terrasen and that revelation brings with it some people from her past. Her cousin, Aedion was forced for years to do the bidding of the King of Adarlan whilst secretly helping his people. He is a general and his legion of warriors called the Bane are loyal to him rather than the King. We also meet another person from Terrasen, the daughter of the woman who sacrificed herself to allow Aelin to escape as a child - Elide. She was mistreated by her Uncle for years, until Manon Blackbeak helped her escape. After only a few days, she crosses paths with Lorcan who is a member of Rowan's cadre and they begin to journey together. Lorcan is not well liked by Rowan or Aelin when we first come across him in Rifthold. He is still bound to Queen Maeve and is seeking to find and destroy the Wyrdkeys. Throughout his journey across Erilea, he discovers that he has a soft spot for Elide and protects her. Some of the other cadre are viewed in a more favourable light by Aelin and her friends, as they attempt to delay their orders from Maeve to help on the quest. Sarah J Maas writes the best pairings that fill your heart with so much feeling then she rips it out and stomps all over it. Rowan loves Aelin with his whole heart, every part, the good, the bad, the broken and beaten, the assassin, the Queen, the Fae and no one else has ever done that for her. Their love is true and enduring. Heartwrenching and pure. Even though they didn't start off on the best footing, after training her for a time and even breaking his blood oath to Maeve - Rowan is completely enamored. Plus, they're mates so there's nothing more important and bonding. Each relationship is authentic and pulls at your heartstrings. Throughout the novels, you are able to experience more of the lands with Erilea from the dark, twisted towers of Morath to the Queen's home of Terrasen. They are welcome additions to our mental maps of the land and wonderfully illustrated through words. This is one of my favourite series by far and is highly recommended to all - also specifically to young adult readers who enjoy well writen novels with developed characters, immersive world-building and fantasy.

Wow. Just wow. I am still reeling from the conclusion of this book. I’ve always enjoyed these books, but Empire of Storms shows Maas maturing in both her writing and storytelling. I have to admit, it started a little slow for me. While I was happy to see all of my favorite characters again, the action didn’t really pick up for the first ~250 pages or so. But when it did pick up, it was brilliant. With each book, this series grows increasingly complex in the world-building, plot and characters. I don’t read many books where I genuinely care for as many characters as I do in this series. This book was the first glimpse we get of the big war to come. Now that most of the lesser villains are out of the way, we see the true threat Erawan (and arguably Maeve) presents to Aelin, her court as well as the other kingdoms. We have a few parallel story lines in the book: Aelin, Aedion, Lysandra, and Rowan travelling to Terrasen, Dorian in Ardalan, Manon in Morath and Elide after she recently escaped. While many of these story lines eventually intersect, I enjoyed seeing each of them progress individually. I wanted to note a few things I really enjoyed about this installment. As I mentioned above, the character development was excellent. These characters have grown and matured with the series and I am starting to see the leaders they are meant to be. The relationships and friendships that developed and grew between some of the characters were lovely and I enjoyed all of the pair-ups that happened. I loved all of the connections to The Assassin’s Blade in this installment! Maas tied it in beautifully and it was great seeing some old characters. That being said, I think reading The Assassin’s Blade is a must to fully enjoy this book. I also wanted to note that Maas can write some truly epic battle scenes. I often felt like I was watching a movie. Finally, that ending. It broke my heart and was perfect all at the same time. In terms of the characters, I was thrilled to see Dorian back. I love this new Dorian. I know he has been to hell and back in QoS, but I liked this slightly hardened, crueler Dorian. And I loved his interactions with Manon. They make such an interesting pair and I am curious to see what the next book holds for them. Manon is hands down my favorite character in this book. Her story has been slowly developing for two books now and I was happy to see some dramatic developments in her story arc. Abraxos is as sweet and lovable as always. I love those two! Elide is another character with a great story in this book. I liked her chapters in QoS, but I admit I skimmed a little and found some of them boring. Elide really shined in this book. She is arguably one of the physically weakest characters in the book and yet she proves to be one of the strongest characters. She is smart and knows how to use it to her advantage. Lorcan crosses paths with her and I loved watching their relationship develop. It was slow and realistic. I went from hating Lorcan to loving him. Sarah J. Maas, how do you always do this with your characters! I am also happy to see Aelin finally happy and settled in her love life! I’m pretty sure Rowan is it for her, even though it took us a few love interests to get there. As much as I enjoyed their relationship, I wasn’t a huge fan of the sex scenes. I noticed this in ACOTAR with Tamlin as well, but she tends to have a lot of “worshiping” and “saying my name like a prayer” kind of lines and it just felt cheesy. As for Aelin, I like her and don’t like her at times. I didn’t agree with every decision she made but she does redeem herself at the end of the book, so I guess I can’t criticize her too much🙂 You will all be pleased to know that we finally get some questions answered in this book! We learn more about Erawan, Elena and Gavin through some flashbacks and we get some much needed answers that I have been wondering about for this entire series. I was also happy to see some questions about Aelin and Rowan’s relationship addressed. I also wanted to also touch on the fact that Chaol is not present in this book at all aside from a few mentions from other characters. I was completely okay with this. I know some people are not happy with the direction Chaol’s character went, but I personally think Chaol had a lot of growing to do and I have a hunch that a lot of this maturing happened over the course of this book and the next time we see Chaol he will be a different character. I’ve also noticed a trend in this series of characters not revealing their knowledge and plans to the reader. In the earlier installments, I enjoyed it. I had no idea what was going on and it was exciting to see Aelin had a plan the entire time. However, after the first five times this happened I got tired of it. This occurs again in this book and while it does make for an action-packed, cliffhanger finale, I’ve grown tired of this tactic. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it exceeded my expectations. It is obvious that Maas’s writing ability has dramatically matured throughout the series and the plot and characters are growing increasingly complex. I have grown quiet attached to these characters and I will be eagerly awaiting the next book. 4.5/5

After the battle in the last book, Aelin starts preparing an army and finding allies for her new kingdom. We all know there's going to be a big battle coming, and this book is all about getting ready for it and moving the plot along. There are no huge revelations or events that really happen over the course of this book, except for a bit at the end. It is setting up the necessary scenes for what is to come. This did not, however, make it a dull read. There is plenty going on. It just isn't as intense as the events in the last couple of books have been. One of the best parts of Maas' books are all the characters there are to love. Some of the characters are together throughout the book, so I found it easier in some cases to describe my reactions to the characters together, rather than on their own. For Aelin and Rowan, there was not as much strong character growth as there has been in previous books. They've both undergone such huge growth in the past that it's apparently missing in this book. That doesn't make them any less enjoyable to read, but they are very stable from beginning to end. I felt like they were very much the same people I'd come to love in the last book, and continue that throughout. Manon's story was perhaps my favorite of the ones present in this book. She continues the growth I began to see in the last book and quickly becomes a meaningful character that I adore and could relate to. I found myself looking forward to her chapters from the very beginning. Elide's story started to develop in this book, and I found myself interested in her story despite its normalcy compared to the other stories. Maybe it is because it is a bit normal compared to the “specialness” of all the other stories. Plus, her story was separate from the others. Many of the characters were together for the entirety of the book, so her story was a fresh bit of something a little different. Dorian's character is a little different in this book. I didn't really like his character, but I understand where it came from and how it fits. After the tragic situation he went through, he went through a period where he was lost, hopeless, and very easy to walk all over. He's come out of that and has his confidence and will power back, but he is still in a very dark place. He has a pessimistic look at the world and is still a very broken character, but he starts standing up for himself and others again. His personality is not one I enjoyed reading about, but it makes logical sense for this to be a next step in his journey back to some sort of “normal. While Aedion continues to have more of a side character role. The reader continues to learn more bits about his character and the changes he's dealing with throughout the story. Like previous books, I learned snippets about him here and there, but nothing major. I found that the slow addition of further information, paired with that from the previous books, is slowly making him a likable character and I'm glad that it was included when he so easily could have been ignored. Lysandra really started to shine for me as a character in this book. Her role and the choices she made me love her as a character more than I ever had before. Her self sacrifice especially makes her such an admirable character. I started to see her in a different light in the last book, but it's this book that really brings her personality and character to the forefront. The plot of this particular installment had a very simple premise. The plot moves the main characters together, and is really more of a set up for bigger battles coming in the future than it is a complete work within itself. While the slow but important aspects of the plot in this novel were still enjoyable to read, it was the last 100 pages or so that made this book completely and utterly worth it. Things come into play that had me longing and loving the characters over again and yearning for the adventures to come in the next volume. It only solidified for me that this truly was a good book, not just one I enjoyed because of my previous love of the series. While the calm plot didn't bother me, there were certainly a couple things that did. The first was the abundance of sexual scenes. I'm all for steamy scenes, and I was fine with them in ACOMAF (A Court of Mist and Fury), but I liked that this one was separate. This has been about bonds with people and war and conflict, and there have been relationships, but it has not been about being steamy love scenes. Also, the bit again about the Fae territorial parts and marking mates was just like it is in ACOMAF. It felt like a copy-paste from that book, like a bit of a rerun. It didn't have enough element of its own to feel like it belonged in this book. The other thing was the amount of characters pairing off in this book. It was a little ridiculous. It felt completely unrealistic and took away from the book more than it added to it. I'm all for those characters perhaps getting together, but you can't pair everyone off in the same book! I think it would have been a much better delivery if one couple had been paired off, while another vaguely hinted at a possibility that didn't happen or fully develop until the next book. Then it would at least feel a lot less forced. It felt like a child was playing with her dolls and had to have a Ken for every Barbie present. Rating This book earns a 3.5 out of 5. I love the series, and I love the author's writing, but one of the best parts in her books is the strong character development and growth that is lacking in this book. That combined with the lack of a larger plot in this particular volume left me unable to rightfully give it a full 4.

OMG! If you are planning on reading this book be prepared with lots and lots of kleenex for the ending. First I will just give you and overview opinion of the book and series and then I will get to the spoiler so you know when to stop reading. First I just have to say that I enjoyed the first two books when Celeana was described and the story began to unfold but the last three books have really gotten me hooked on this serie. The books are just so well written and I love all the complex caracters and the whole world that Sarah J Maas has created. It is truly The Fellowship of the Ring meets Twilight (romance wise) meets the Avengers :-) It is just amazing how this world is created and how one gets involved with the caracters. Since Rowan appeared I was totally in love, I loved how Rowan and Aelin had to struggel to finally open up and eventually fall in love. This fifth book I was really looking forward to reading, I did not know that it was not the final instalment. I thought this would be the final book. I am glad I have one more book to look forward to. As to the erotic part, I would say this book is more for YA between 17-19 to start with (or older :-)), it is not for a younger reader since there are som very explicit scenes in this book. I for one loved this but I am an adult so I am comfortable with these descriptions. I really enjoyed how the relationship between Rowan and Aelin evolved and how their love grew. I was also very happy to find Dorian matched with Manon, good choice there :-) As to Aedion and Lysandra I just really want these two to get it together.....NOW. I for one did not miss Chaol, but that's me. If you like fantasy, romance and strong heroines, then this is the book for you. The ending is devastating and was a bit to much for me, I cried like a baby reading the final chapters, but now I am hoping for an EPIC final with Aelin and Rowan side by side at the end. I really hope the final book will have a Happy Ending and an Epilogue describing 10 years later (with lots of babies/children and happiness). SPOILERS COMING NOW: After having invested so much time and feelings on these caracters, I for one was devastated by the ending. I also fell cheated when it was just mentioned that Rowan and Aelin had been married in secrecy, I was really looking reading about there weeding and their commitment to eachother. I hated that nothing happened between Aedion and Lysandra (it is about time now). I also love how I have come to admire and like Lysandra with each new book. Lorcan and Elide have to end up together and Lorcan has to get his act together. I also really love all Fae warriors (Gavriel has grown on me as well as Fenrys). I am so looking forward for these males together with Rowan to kick som ass once they come to rescue Aelin. The action and the battles were very intense in this book so I am hoping to get some Peace time in the final book, because there will be a lot of battles in the final book and that really is a bit too intense for me (not wanting our beloved caracters to die). All in all I hope for an EPIC, romantic and happy FINAL book, the main caracters have to survive and I want to read how their life turn up after the final battle. MAEVE and EREWAN really have to GO (disappear)! Thank you Sarah J Maas for these amazing book!!

This series is a must read if you love fantasie with a GOOD story and well described. Is a good book almost at the end of the series

I want you to stop for a moment and think about all the characters within the Throne of Glass series, how you perceived them, what they look like, what they sound like, and the decisions they are known to make. Now, throw all of what you know into a blender. Close the lid. Press down on the go button and turn the nozzle all the way up to its highest level. What you are left with is a nourishing and new delightful new dish that our minds weren't ready for. Sarah J Maas turns everything upside down in Empire of Storms, her 5th installment in the series, which has us all scrambling for more immediately. Maas brilliantly makes each of her characters into something they weren't before. They all develop organically into new people, but these new developments make perfect sense. For example, Aelin begins the book heading North of Terrasen in order to help build herself an army. She finds that the people are not so inclined to back her up, considering she's been gone for over 10 years, but was actually always present with her sworn enemy, the late King of Adarlan, playing as his puppet assassin as Cealena Sardothien. Many don't take too kindly to her history, and many of those that she encounters find more reasons to not back her up, than to do so. Based on the Aelin we've grown to know, we would think she would blow up into a vengeful tirade, spewing her new found power of fire, stopping close but short of a tyrant. However, that Aelin is not there. She's become ever more calculating, less hot-headed, and deathly more focused on saving her people and land. She not only fights two wars against both the Dark King Erawan and her Aunt Meave, Queen of the Fae, she does more than crosses blades in these wars. She uses her mind as well as her muscle in order to produce an end result she wants. From page one until the very end result, Aelin orchestrated EVERYTHING. It's that type of sleight of hand intellectual reflex that has me blown away with her character growth. Prince Rowan, once sworn to Queen Mauve, now sworn to Aelin, serves his Queen in every way possible. When we first met him in Heir of Fire he was disassocitive, broody, and not the most likeable character. Aelin has helped to transform him into something more vulnerable, to the point where he will freely show some PDA with Aelin in front of others. While some of his old cadre (old Fae friends/associates sworn to Mauve) would see this as a weakness, this is in fact far from the truth. Prince Rowan will stop at nothing to protect Aelin, even if it means protecting her from herself. He's still a fierce fighter, but now, he has a worthy cause to fight for---a future with his Queen. Aedion goes through some pretty hefty transformations that mainly deal with things that come out from the plot itself. I won't discuss everything, but Aedion grows to accept who his parents are and what that means. He's every bit as fierce as Aelin can be, and he becomes one of her most loyal soldiers. He also finds a budding romance with a shapeshifter by name of Lysandra. Their relationship was very sensitive, on account of Lysandra's history. She has been defiled by many men, and Aedion is very cautious with her at first, as he should be. Lysandra was a very refreshing character to read about. Her ability to transform into almost anything was pretty epic. Lysandra's fight sequences were some of the best of the series, and she reminded me of a mini Aelin. She's also completely devoted to Aelin, almost to a fault. It's a magical experience to see such a fierce and brutal character, rife with molestation, loss of power, and a dehumanizing childhood, turn into a character that is able to finally allow love to blossom. King Dorian has the biggest transformation in the entire series. A fair warning to those about to read Empire of Storms, this will not be the same character you grew to love. His innocence is gone. His power is his own. The killing of his father by his own hand, seeing the love of his life Sorscha murdered because of his father, and the months of being held hostage inside his body by a Valg Prince has changed Dorian forever. He is darker, less talkative, and more of a man of action. He has become sadistic and this leads him to a very surprising romance (although I approve) with Manon of Blackbeak. He's become as cold as the ice he wields, and he has now become a force to be reckoned with along side Aelin. He is after all, the King of Andarlan. King Dorian begins to realize the position he is now in, and you see him push his weight around when you least expect it. However, he's very quiet during heightened situations, especially when it comes to plotting along side the other characters. You knew when he decided to speak, his words would change the dynamic. I'm not sure if I personally love his more sadistic side, what I do love is that he recognizes his power. I look forward to seeing how he'll wield it in the future. Lorcan, another Fae male that's apart of the cadre. Also, the same person who Aelin and Rowan tricked at the end of Queen of Shadows into thinking he took one of the wyrdkeys from them for his Queen. He's known as the Fae male who trained Rowan into what he is now. He's a character filled with vengeful hate, and it becomes amplified 100 fold when he realizes that he was tricked. However, a long his journey he meets Elide who is also on the run. Manon helped her escape her uncle and the tower she was held captive in, and now Lorcan and Elide travel together. To be brief, Elide melts away the ice around his heart, and helps to provide him with a worthier reason to fight. Their romance was the one that had me the most excited, because it really did feel like it was straight out of Beauty and the Beast. Manon of Blackbeak has the most intense storyline out of them all. I fell in love with her since she was first introduce, and this new installment has just solidified that. Monon, still ever fierce, but we see some major things happen to her. I don't want to give anything away, however I will say that Manon has always known that something wasn't "right" with how her people were living. Some secrets are revealed, some major ties are cut, and we find Manon no longer in a position of power. Until...that is...when she crosses paths with Aelin again. They're plenty of other characters I can discuss but these are the ones that had the most affect on me. Empire of Storms exceeded my expectations with every aspect of the book. It had the perfect dialogue, right amount of plot twists, and pages upon pages of cinematic fights. The ending will leave you in pieces, as I'm still trying to find all of the pieces of myself. Consider this book a rollercoaster, which has a long death drop and it keeps on dropping even as you turn to the last page. I still haven't reach the bottom yet. And yet, I know I won't until the next book comes out. Sarah J Maas has just written the best in her series, possibly even the best book of her career. Do check it out! Happy Reading!

Empire of Storms completely swept me off my feet! The story is epic, thrilling, and full of twists that kept me hooked from start to finish. Aelin continues to be my forever favorite—fierce, clever, and unstoppable—while Rowan is just as compelling, complex, and loyal as ever. I loved seeing the twists with Manon, Lorcan, and Elide—their growth and changing dynamics added so much depth and excitement to the story. Each of these characters surprised me in new ways, and watching their paths collide with Aelin and Rowan made the stakes feel even higher. With intense action, magic, heartbreak, and triumph, this book is everything a fantasy fan could hope for. Five stars, without question!