Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: September 2, 2014
She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.
Celaena
Sardothien 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. To
defeat them, Celaena must find the strength to not only fight her inner
demons but to battle the evil that is about to be unleashed.
You know those books where after you're done reading, you just need to
take a few moments, or days to process what happened because the book is
just so amazing that you can't fathom that it's over? Well, Heir of Fire
is that book. The story picks up several weeks after Celaena left
Adarlan. Ms. Maas's writing flows effortlessly, and you will never want
to stop reading. The pacing is fantastic, and there is never a dull
moment. This novel is one non-stop thrill ride that will instantly
sweep the reader off his/her feet, and they will never want to stop the
ride.
This story is much different than the previous two novels
in this series. This tells the story of a broken girl, who while
strong on the outside, is utterly broken apart on the inside. This
novel tells the story of a girl who is braving through her life, but has
absolutely no direction of where she wants to go, what she wants to do,
or who she can trust. Living with the biggest secret that she has been
pushing down for 10 years is no easy feat, and that secret is finally
rearing its ugly head. There are consequences to every action, and
Celaena must deal with her actions. One of my favorite parts of this
entire book was watching the development of Celaena's character over the
course of the book. She begins the story as a broken person, someone
who isn't the brave, tough assassin we have come to know in the previous
books. Don't worry, she is still that way around others, but her
internal thoughts are anything but. She is living with the guilt of
actions, but also carrying with her the death of several relationships,
those of her best friend and lover. Celaena is forced to confront her
powers and hone them if she wants any answers, and for her this is one
of the most difficult challenges she has ever faced. After all, how do
you give into powers that you are afraid of? As we watch Celaena
develop and come into her powers, the results are that of awe and
wonder. She truly comes into her own, and it all ends in a fiery
conclusion that leaves a new Celaena standing tall and proud. However,
she also learns to let others in, and perhaps this is the most important
lesson she learns in the entire book. This is only the beginning for
her character, and I suspect she will be even stronger, braver, and more
badass in the next book.
Because Caelena is away from Adarlan
for the entire book, we see the story from Dorian, Chaol, and several
other new characters' POV. While balancing so many perspectives might
overwhelm many authors, Ms. Maas handles it with such a grace and
excellence, it truly shows her extreme talent as an author. Chaol has
separated himself from Dorian, and he too undergoes a great growth
during the story. I loved seeing his side of things, and how he handled
everything that was thrown at him. He truly becomes a different person
by the end of the story, and I am still rooting that he and Caeleana
will come out alright in the end. Dorian finds love in an unexpected
place, and I loved watching the romance bloom. It was so sweet and gave
a nice light feeling to those scenes in the midst of the heavier nature
of the book. It was also nice to see him "moving on" from Caelena.
Dorian finds someone he can trust in Chaol's absence, and Dorian changes
immensely as well because of this. He truly shows signs of a king in
this novel.
As I said, there are several new characters in this
story, one being Rowan. And I absolutely ADORE his character. I loved
every single sarcastic, brooding moment, and boy do I want more of him.
In the beginning, he is infuriatingly stubborn and relentless with
Caelena, but there's a point where he opens up, and dear Lord, it made
me love him even more. He is such a badass character, and the perfect
fit for Caelena. While at first I thought he was a potential love
interest, I will spoil this for you and tell you flat out that there is
nothing but strong friendship between the two. Personally, I thought
everything about their relationship was handled perfectly, and Ms. Maas
wrote about true friendship; one where the two people would do anything
for each other, and see each other through till the very end.
Even
though this book is written in third person, you honestly can't tell. A
lot of times, people say that in third person, you aren't able to
connect to the characters as easily as a first person novel would read.
However, this is not the case in anyway here. You feel every single
emotion, every single heartbreak, and every single struggle these
characters are going through, and all you want to do is take all the
characters and place them in a nice situation so that they would be away
from all of the tragedy that they are facing. You want to make
everything better for them, even though you know it's impossible.
Nevertheless, by the end of this book, you will feel so much more
connected to the story and the characters that you will want to see them
through to the end (not like you didn't want to before though).
Now
let's talk about this ending. The ending is so explosive, so full of
twists, and so utterly devastating that your mouth will be left hanging
open and you will have tears in your eyes. Every single character has
their own separate ending in a way, and it proves that Ms. Maas is just
getting started with torturing us and the characters. Trust me, you
will NEED and WANT the next book right away after you finish this story,
because even though this novel is a whopping 565 pages, it's not
enough. It will never be enough.
I highly recommend this book to
all fans of the Throne of Glass series. This is yet another exciting
installment, and is not to be missed. You will be taken on a ride full
of twists and turns; one filled with suspense, intrigue, action,
adventure, and love. You will be left with a longing for the fourth
book, and will want to go back and reread this book as soon as you're
finished. And you'll want to after the huge cliffhanger that ends this
book. This is fantasy at its finest, and doesn't disappoint!
Happy
reading :)
~Cassie
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
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I seriously need to start this series, especially since I've had book one for forever. It really sounds like I'm missing out! Great thorough review!
ReplyDeleteThanks! You really do need to check it out. It's seriously so amazing, You'll love it :)
Delete~Cassie
Everyone seems to love this series, I think I might have to give it a try! Fantasy books are a bit of a hit or miss for me, but I am curious to see how this one plays out.
ReplyDeleteIf you do check it out, definitely let me know what you think :) I hope you would enjoy it!!
Delete~Cassie