Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, 5)

’But there was no such thing as a better world – no such thing as a happy end.’ ‘Empire of Storms’ is the first book in the ‘Throne Of Glass’ series that wasn’t a re-read for me so naturally I was highly excited to discover exactly what would happen next. Especially given just how extreme the danger consistently is within this devastatingly brutal yet enchanting world. Needless to say I was hooked on this novel and didn’t want to put it down. Every moment spent lost within its pages was a delight and I can’t wait to discover exactly how this series will end. Like the previous books in the series this book is jam packed with action, adventure, danger, romance and intrigue. There’s so much darkness and devastation yet all of the romances that you also get to watch play out sizzle with heat. There were times, I admit, where I was left wandering is this series truly is YA due to how heated some of the scenes became. The romance and depth of feeling behind all these pairings never ceases to amaze me though. Every connection seems to crackle with chemistry which is a wonder to behold. There are lots of twists, turns and dramatic showdowns. Aelin kept me on my toes, as ever, the way that her scheming mind manages to work leaving me breathless on occasion. There were revelations that left me staggered, a dive into the past that revealed mountains of information, and many shape-shifting dynamics that left me breathless with anticipation. So much happens in this book. It’s awe-inspiring to watch everything continue to slot into place. Although how this series will end I simply do not know. This is certainly one fantasy series that keeps you in constant suspense. Oh and that ending? How on earth did readers wait for the next two books to release after that? Needless to say I’m itching to dive into the final (I’m writing this review after reading ‘Tower Of Dawn’ too as time got away from me) now. Personally I think ‘Queen Of Shadows’ is still my favourite of these books to date – due mainly to the staggering number of twists, turns and some of the showdowns that I’d been waiting for – but I still adored this book regardless. The whole of this series is undeniably a ‘must read’ for all fantasy fans.

As with the previous books, this one starts off at a great pace. We learn more about the characters and the world building, scheming and romance really heats up. I said in my review of the previous book in the series that “Manon really comes into the forefront and Chaol really fades back” - well this is even more true of this book. Manon is becoming my favourite character although not enough for me to forgive how she loses her essence around Dorian. As a dog lover, I think that Manon’s relationship with Abraxos is wonderful, he’s kinda like a big dog…but deadly…and with wings. We learn more about the other characters in this book which is nice but I found myself a bit lost with who was who and how and why they are a king/queen or why they are in debt with so and so. The replays from history helped but I’m still a bit unsure of the alliances. The pace of the book was good and the fight scenes are very well written. There seemed to be a lot more focus on the plot and movement of the story in this book and a lot of secrets were revealed. Maeve is a great evil character and her ruthlessness and cunning was fantastic. I wasn’t as put off by the sex scenes as others seemed to have been, they are not the best written but they are not the worst either. Although I didn’t enjoy this book as much as some of the others in the series, I am looking forward to reading the next one and the ending obviously leaves this right open to slide into.

I felt rage, glee, heartbreak, shock, annoyance, envy, awe, and so many other things while reading this. I decided to do the tandem read with Tower of Dawn and it was a great decision, reading both stories at once felt so impactful. What I know right now is that I am so ready to start Kingdom of Ash but melancholy over the bittersweet knowledge that it’s the last SJM book that I have left to read and even knowing that there will be more, I can feel myself already starting mourn the loss of all Sarah’s amazing characters and beautiful world building and WOW the plot twists. I love that no character is perfect but their flaws are exactly what they need them to be.

I love this fantasy series. From the first book (prequel) you want to keep “reading just one more chapter”. They are filled with places that are so beautifully described you feel like you’re there. This series is filled with twists that make you say “whatttttt” out loud, people you love to hate and hate to love, and magical aspects that are uniquely written and different from anything else. I love that each character is so different and the heroes are squeaky clean. Another thing I love about this series is that there are multiple storylines going on through the series that twine together throughout the whole thing. The bouncing around between storylines really keep you reading and keeps the story fresh and wants to keep reading to find out what happens to the next person.

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 ...