Rating: 5 stars (although you probably already knew that)
Synopsis: Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien's only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan's Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King's Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan's biggest threat - and his own toughest enemy. While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?
Review: Do I even need to say how amazing this book was? Because, it was. Heir of Fire is the third book in the Throne of Glass series and, this series just keeps getting better and better. At the end of every book, I finish thinking that the next book can't possibly top this one and it does. If you have not read the previous two books in the Throne of Glass series and don't want to be spoiled for this book, then leave now; go and read this series, and then come back and discuss!
Okay, so Heir of Fire is split in to three narratives; Celaena, Chaol/Dorian and Manon. This worked so well, especially in this book where our core characters have been separated because it meant that we could see what was happening with each character, wherever they are. Switching POV can be tricky in books, because it can sometimes feel like we're talking to the same character. Each character needs to be distinctive and Sarah is a pro at this. Every character we see has a history and a story and, because of this, each character has a distinctive voice.
I'm going to start with Manon. I think Manon is my least favourite character in this book. It took me so long to come round to her because, to begin with, she wasn't likable at all. I mean, her very first scene is her butchering village men who were hunting her. I think the main reason she grew on me was Abraxos. To begin with, I thought Manon and Titus would be perfect together but I was so happy when she claimed the bait beast as her own instead. I think that was the turning point for Manon - picking the underdog to be her mount, rather than the 'fighter' of the pack. Abraxos made Manon more human. When he sheltered her from the wind so she could sleep was so cute and when he was eating the wild flowers? Abraxos made those Manon chapters for me and I became more and more invested in those chapters the more he was involved in them. I'm definitely interested to see what will happen when Manon and Celaena meet - I'm thinking fireworks.
Chaol infuriated me in this book. In Crown of Midnight and Throne of Glass, I did initially ship him and Celaena together, but I wasn't really invested in it. And now we're in book 3, I'm beginning to wonder how I even managed to half-heartedly ship them together! Every time he appeared I felt like screaming at him. He can't see that the woman he loved is still in there, or at least, she was. I could have kissed Dorian when he called him out on it - you can't pick which parts of her to love. Despite their fleeting romance in Throne of Glass, Dorian and Celaena are still friends and he accepts her for who she is which I love. Chaol can not let it go that she kept her identity a secret from him. He did stand up to the King at the end of the book but, even then, he ruins Aedion's plan of surrendering to keep Chaol safe. If he had done that earlier, so many things would have been resolved sooner. I hope he and Celaena make up when they meet again, but somehow, I doubt it.
Speaking of Aedion, I'm more than slightly obsessed with him. I think he's my favourite character in this series so far. From the moment we knew who he was, I knew he wasn't loyal to the King but I was worried about how he'd react to finding out his cousin survived all those years ago. I needn't have worried. He's spent the last ten years being so loyal to Celaena, going as far as winning back her father's sword from the King in her memory. The flashback scenes we got when they were children were so sweet. He was devoted to her even then and I need a reunion between Celaena and Aedion in the next book. Especially after he was willing to die without seeing his cousin again because he knows that Chaol and Celaena have a history together and she would be upset if he died. I love him, I love him, I love him.
I know Sorsha gets a lot of hate and she definitely wasn't my favourite character, but I did like her for her relationship with Dorian. She made him happy and, while I never really believed their relationship, I was pleased that Dorian had someone to confide in about his magic since Celaena's not there. I liked how accepting she was of his magic and how she tried to help him control his magic in a practical way, which no one else did. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't devastated when she died, but I did feel for Dorian in those moments because he did care for her.
I'm dreading seeing what happens to Dorian in the next book. Now that he's possessed by the Valg prince, I'm definitely nervous about what Celaena is going to do when she finds out. I think she'll try to save Dorian but, after what happened in Wendlyn, I think she understands that it's more of a mercy to kill him rather than spare him. I don't think it will get to that point, but Dorian will definitely be changed after all of this and I'm interested to see what happens next.
Oh Celaena. Am I the only one who wanted to give her a hug? Seeing her struggle with her power and her own guilt and rage was heart-wrenching. Those early scenes with Rowan were horrible, because you knew why she didn't want to shift, why she was scared and you were left wanting to yell at Rowan to just leave her alone but, I did understand why he pushed her so hard. He knew she could do it, knew she would be powerful and ten times stronger if she embraced who she truly was. The way I think about it, he didn't owe Celaena anything. He was being forced into this as much as she was, but, I genuinely think that after a couple of sessions, he realised how strong she could be if she embraced herself and I think it peaked his curiosity.
The scene where she thought she'd burnt herself out is possibly my favourite scene in the whole book. It was such a huge turning point in Rowan and Celaena's relationship, and I enjoyed reading Rowan's POV where he realises how cruel he was to Celaena and why she reacted the way she did when he threatened to whip her. His fussing over her after that was so cute and I loved how close they grew after that.
WARNING. THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD...
Okay, so Heir of Fire is split in to three narratives; Celaena, Chaol/Dorian and Manon. This worked so well, especially in this book where our core characters have been separated because it meant that we could see what was happening with each character, wherever they are. Switching POV can be tricky in books, because it can sometimes feel like we're talking to the same character. Each character needs to be distinctive and Sarah is a pro at this. Every character we see has a history and a story and, because of this, each character has a distinctive voice.
I'm going to start with Manon. I think Manon is my least favourite character in this book. It took me so long to come round to her because, to begin with, she wasn't likable at all. I mean, her very first scene is her butchering village men who were hunting her. I think the main reason she grew on me was Abraxos. To begin with, I thought Manon and Titus would be perfect together but I was so happy when she claimed the bait beast as her own instead. I think that was the turning point for Manon - picking the underdog to be her mount, rather than the 'fighter' of the pack. Abraxos made Manon more human. When he sheltered her from the wind so she could sleep was so cute and when he was eating the wild flowers? Abraxos made those Manon chapters for me and I became more and more invested in those chapters the more he was involved in them. I'm definitely interested to see what will happen when Manon and Celaena meet - I'm thinking fireworks.
Chaol infuriated me in this book. In Crown of Midnight and Throne of Glass, I did initially ship him and Celaena together, but I wasn't really invested in it. And now we're in book 3, I'm beginning to wonder how I even managed to half-heartedly ship them together! Every time he appeared I felt like screaming at him. He can't see that the woman he loved is still in there, or at least, she was. I could have kissed Dorian when he called him out on it - you can't pick which parts of her to love. Despite their fleeting romance in Throne of Glass, Dorian and Celaena are still friends and he accepts her for who she is which I love. Chaol can not let it go that she kept her identity a secret from him. He did stand up to the King at the end of the book but, even then, he ruins Aedion's plan of surrendering to keep Chaol safe. If he had done that earlier, so many things would have been resolved sooner. I hope he and Celaena make up when they meet again, but somehow, I doubt it.
Speaking of Aedion, I'm more than slightly obsessed with him. I think he's my favourite character in this series so far. From the moment we knew who he was, I knew he wasn't loyal to the King but I was worried about how he'd react to finding out his cousin survived all those years ago. I needn't have worried. He's spent the last ten years being so loyal to Celaena, going as far as winning back her father's sword from the King in her memory. The flashback scenes we got when they were children were so sweet. He was devoted to her even then and I need a reunion between Celaena and Aedion in the next book. Especially after he was willing to die without seeing his cousin again because he knows that Chaol and Celaena have a history together and she would be upset if he died. I love him, I love him, I love him.
I know Sorsha gets a lot of hate and she definitely wasn't my favourite character, but I did like her for her relationship with Dorian. She made him happy and, while I never really believed their relationship, I was pleased that Dorian had someone to confide in about his magic since Celaena's not there. I liked how accepting she was of his magic and how she tried to help him control his magic in a practical way, which no one else did. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't devastated when she died, but I did feel for Dorian in those moments because he did care for her.
I'm dreading seeing what happens to Dorian in the next book. Now that he's possessed by the Valg prince, I'm definitely nervous about what Celaena is going to do when she finds out. I think she'll try to save Dorian but, after what happened in Wendlyn, I think she understands that it's more of a mercy to kill him rather than spare him. I don't think it will get to that point, but Dorian will definitely be changed after all of this and I'm interested to see what happens next.
Oh Celaena. Am I the only one who wanted to give her a hug? Seeing her struggle with her power and her own guilt and rage was heart-wrenching. Those early scenes with Rowan were horrible, because you knew why she didn't want to shift, why she was scared and you were left wanting to yell at Rowan to just leave her alone but, I did understand why he pushed her so hard. He knew she could do it, knew she would be powerful and ten times stronger if she embraced who she truly was. The way I think about it, he didn't owe Celaena anything. He was being forced into this as much as she was, but, I genuinely think that after a couple of sessions, he realised how strong she could be if she embraced herself and I think it peaked his curiosity.
The scene where she thought she'd burnt herself out is possibly my favourite scene in the whole book. It was such a huge turning point in Rowan and Celaena's relationship, and I enjoyed reading Rowan's POV where he realises how cruel he was to Celaena and why she reacted the way she did when he threatened to whip her. His fussing over her after that was so cute and I loved how close they grew after that.
Hearing what the King did to the slaves in Calaculla and Endovier was so horrible. Seeing Celaena break down because she knew her promise to Nehemia had been broken broke my heart. What I loved the most though, was that short scene in the theatre in Rifthold, where the orchestra played songs honouring each city and the slave camps, before walking off. I thought that was such a touching scene and showed that people in Rifthold are aware of the slave camps and the injustice of killing all those people. It added a human touch to a place that, up until now, just seemed filled with people who only cared about themselves.
Watching Celaena being drained by the Valg and being surrounded by her loved ones ties with my favourite scenes in this book. It was slightly Harry Potter-esque but I loved it. Having eight year old Aelin telling her to get up was such a beautiful moment. That was the moment Celaena truly embraced her past and who she had been running from for ten years. It was such a well written scene and getting to see those flashbacks to the night her parents were killed and seeing the sacrifice that Marion made for her and how the King manipulated her family into retreating after that dinner...it never felt like an info dump. It was so beautifully crafted and well placed in the plot and I was on the verge of tears reading about it.
I knew Rowan and Celaena were carranam from the moment it was mentioned. I loved that whole end scene in Doranelle where Celaena faced Maeve and broke Rowan's oath and set fire to the whole place. I think Maeve had underestimated her and that final showdown was a beautiful moment in Celaena's arc. At the beginning of the book, she wouldn't have dared to show even a flicker of that fire, and now, she's not afraid of it anymore. I loved that Rowan immediately bound himself to Celaena - again signifying the development of their relationship. The tattoo as well that Rowan did on Celaena's back - the story of her loved ones over the scars from Endovier. I loved that because it was like both halves of Celaena had come together.
I am so excited about Queen of Shadows. I can't wait to see what happens when Celaena gets back to Rifthold.
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