Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis: The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.
WARNING. THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD...
It goes without saying that I loved this book. The more I think about this book, the more I realise just how much I love it. Up until this point, Heir of Fire was my favourite book in this series because the emotional journey that Aelin went on was so incredible to read and we got to see her grow and develop as a character so much more than in Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight, but now I think Empire of Storms might have just over taken Heir of Fire as my favourite. I think the main reason for this is because I loved all the characters in this book.
If you've read my discussions of the other books in this series, you will know that for the past two books I have really struggled with Manon as a character. I just could not empathise with her, she really annoyed me and I really didn't enjoy reading her point of view sections. The same with Elide in Queen of Shadows, I just didn't really enjoy her as a character. One of the first chapters in Empire of Storms is from Elide's point of view and I immediately loved her. It was so strange. I think this happened because she was on her own. She wasn't surrounded by people who were more powerful than her, who gathered round her and stopped her from being the bad ass person that she is. As soon as we started seeing her in the woods alone, I knew I was going to enjoy reading about her because we now have an opportunity to see Elide really fight for herself, without anyone else there to help her.
Lorcan as well is a character that I did enjoy in Queen of Shadows but I wasn't sure what we were going to do with him in Empire of Storms. When I started reading about Lorcan and Elide I wasn't sure I was going to like them as a couple. It turns out I really, really enjoyed them together. I loved that Elide put Lorcan in his place time after time and being around him seemed to bring out the best in Elide. By the time we met up with Manon again I felt like Elide could now stand next to Manon and the Thirteen as an equal rather than a bystander.
The same with Manon. Like I said, I have never been able to relate to Manon in the way that I've seen other people do. In this book though, I really enjoyed reading her chapters. The scene where she saved Dorian was the moment where I realised I could really like Manon. And then Asterin was sentenced to death and Manon fought her grandmother and almost died and I was sold on her character. I'm going to be honest, I'm not completely sold on the Dorian/Manon relationship. I don't hate it but I'm not completely on board with this train just yet. By the end of the next book, I'll probably ship it but for right now...I'm not sold.
Lysandra and Aedion is a relationship I do ship. I ship it so much it hurts. I saw this coming at the end of Queen of Shadows when the two of them caught Rowan and Aelin kissing at the end. I loved them together. When Lysandra was exhausted after the battle in Skulls Bay and Aedion sat with her and told her that he was going to marry her, I loved that so much. That whole scene was so amazing. Lysandra as a sea dragon was incredible and also terrifying to watch as she fought against those sea wyverns was so tense because no one could really do anything to help her until the very end. Speaking of this scene, the moment where Aelin was taken over by Deanna was so strange. Seeing Aelin delving so far in to her power that even Rowan was scared for her was incredible to read about, and then Deanna appeared and took over her body and almost killed the entirety of Skulls Bay. This whole scene was so tense; I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it.
Lets talk about our girl Aelin. I felt like Heir of Fire was Aelin accepting her role as being heir to the throne but Queen of Shadows was Aelin saying goodbye (in most part) to Celaena, and getting revenge for all of the things that were done to her during her time as Celaena. This is the first book for me that we've really seen Aelin as a Queen and I adored it. I knew from the beginning that getting her throne back wouldn't be easy but even so, Darrow was so self-righteous and arrogant and I hated him for keeping Aelin from her home. Sending Rowan to help Dorian was the best thing for everyone because Dorian finally had someone to begin to help him with his magic. I loved that they got to Skulls Bay first and went to try and get Rolfe on their side before Aelin got there because of her history with him. Which brings me on to a point to note; if you haven't read the Assassin's Blade before this book, you really need to read it because most of the characters from those stories return in Empire of Storms.
When Aelin returned to Skulls Bay and they all walked in to Rolfe's office to find her there is possibly one of my favourite scenes in the whole book. Not least because we briefly get Celaena back. I love that everyone who knows Aelin can tell when she is being Celaena and just acts along with it, no questions asked. When she's flirting with Rowan and he tells her he has someone already and they smirk at each other...argh I love them so much. When Aelin is messing with the jewels and Rolfe immediately tells her to put the ones she's hidden in her sleeve back, and then she takes one from her mouth. Dorian is just watching like, how on earth did she get that in there? And then, to top it all off, Lysandra walks in as Aelin and freaks Rolfe out completely. Like I said, this was possibly one of my favourite scenes in the whole book.
Another amazing scene was the scene where Aedion and Gavriel meet for the first time and Aedion lays in to him. I thought this was a really well written scene because Gavriel did need to hear what happened while he was with Maeve and what Aedion's mother did to protect him. I would have liked them to reconcile a little bit in this book. They did protect each other, but I kind of wanted them to talk to each other and for Aedion to maybe concede a little bit that Gavriel didn't know he existed. I'm hoping we get that in the next book.
I loved that the whole little adventure to retrieve the mirror, Dorian works out that Manon and Aelin are the two people who can use it and manages to convince them to step in to this mirror and leave them all on the eve of a battle. I'm not surprised Aedion punched him. Who does that? Dorian, I love you, but that was kind of a stupid move. And then we find out exactly what Elena did a thousand years before and what she bargained away. She bargained away Aelin's life because of her mistake. She got to live her life with Gavin, but is going to take Aelin away not just from Rowan, but Aedion, Lysandra, Chaol, Dorian...all these people who have become her family. I've never been sure of Elena's motives and hearing this just turned me off her completely. She did redeem herself slightly when she saved Aelin from drowning the night Marion was killed but still...the fact that Aelin had worked this out and it had shocked her so much she threw up was so horrible to read.
I honestly didn't think it could get any worse. Aelin has been told that she is going to die, that she was born to be sacrificed, and Nehemia had known all about it even before she set foot in Rifthold and then she is faced with Maeve. And to top it all off, Aelin has very little magic left. How can this get any worse? Apparently, Maeve has been planning this all along. She knew that Aelin and Rowan would be two of the most powerful people ever so she staged a mate bond between Rowan and Lyria and then killed Lyria so that Rowan would be so broken that he would swear the blood oath to Maeve. And then we discover that Lorcan set this up in a twisted way of trying to protect Elide which just backfired completely. Seeing Maeve force Aelin to give herself up was heart-breaking, seeing Fenrhys and Gavriel try and help her broke me a little bit more and then Maeve brought out the whip.
I don't cry easily at books. This scene broke me. The one thing that could break Aelin, the one thing that haunts her nightmares more than anything, is being whipped at Endovier. And that psycho queen brings out the whip and tells Aelin to count the whips she receives or they'll start over until she does. And Aelin doesn't do it. Despite everything, despite her body shaking with fear and the pain that she's in, Aelin doesn't count. And in between the tears I was so proud of her. And then she was place in the chains and the iron mask and put in an iron coffin and...I still don't know what to do with all these feelings that I am feeling right now. To top it all off, we then find out that Rowan and Aelin got married in secret so Terrasen would have a King (I got slight ACOMAF vibes from this I'm not going to lie) and Rowan and Aedion essentially represent my feelings in this moment. Especially when we find out that Aelin had called in all of the debts owed to her. Ansel and the rest of the silent assassins and Galan her cousin from Wendlyn come to provide Terrasen with an army and Aedion is left sobbing because he yelled at her that she hadn't done anything to get an army and it turns out she had all along and just let him yell. Lysandra's act from earlier in Skulls Bay is coming back, she is going to act as Aelin to make sure everyone keeps fighting for Terrasen and there was a conversation about Lysandra having children with Aedion in the future as Aelin to keep the bloodline going and to keep the ruse. Aelin did all of this knowing she would likely not see it happen herself. And it broke my heart in to a thousand tiny pieces.
I think that's everything I wanted to discuss - at least that I can think of for now. I hope it made a little bit of sense, I'm sorry if it didn't! I can't wait for the final book in this series, I need to know how it all ends. Sarah J Maas is an incredible author and I love all of her books. This series is wonderful and I can't recommend her books enough. If you haven't read Throne of Glass or the Court of Thorns and Roses series, and you enjoy high fantasy novels, then I really recommend picking these series up! Let me know your thoughts and feelings on this final book and all the other books in this series!
