Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
Series: Throne of Glass,
Published by Bloomsbury on 2015-09-01
Length: 648 pages
Reviewing Hardcover from My Book Shelf
Rating:

The queen has returned.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series contrinues Celaena's epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

HOLY WOW!!!! Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas is the page turning fourth book of the Throne of Glass series. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I LOVED this book!

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius has returned and she is out for blood. After spending a few months in Wendlyn, Aelin is ready to fight for her kingdom, her crown and her friends. The broken girl from the previous books is gone. This girl, this queen will blow your mind. This Aelin is who I always pictured her to be (especially after reading The Assassin’s Blade): fierce, cunning, loyal, and demanding. And she is all these things and more.

The plot really focuses on overthrowing and killing the king of Adarlan. To do this though Aelin has a list of things she must accomplish first: save Aedion, kill Arobynn, gain the trust of the rebels, repair her fractured relationship Chaol…you get the picture. It’s fast-paced, page-turning, can’t-read-it-fast-enough! I loved every word on every page ☺️

While Aelin and her goals are the main focus, the author has built wonderful side characters and side plots, the witches specifically. Manon Blackbeak is first introduced in Heir of Fire as the ruthless leader of the Thirteen and heir of the Blackbeak coven. This character is truly fascinating to me. I’ll admit I didn’t like her in the beginning. In fact during Heir of Fire I had a hard time not just skimming her chapters. But wow….did that change this book! The Wing Leader is evil BUT she’s learning that what she has been told her whole life may be wrong. This brings up a ton of questions and “what-if” scenarios.

Truly Maas’s ability to tie the witches subplot into the main action is sheer genius! It is done seamlessly and in such a way that the witches and their story is a big part of the main story. And remember Celaena’s encounter with Baba Yellowlegs? Yeah that comes back to haunt her ?

Now the romance….I will admit I was worried going into this book that Maas had set up our Aelin in a dreaded love triangle. But fear not…this is handled really well AND I was quite pleased with its resolution.

Overall I LOVED this book….have I said that too much already? Seriously though if I could give it more than 5 ‘s I would. I would give it 10+!!! If you are already a fan of Maas’s Throne of Glass, you will be delighted to read this addition. If you haven’t read the prequel novellas I suggest you do before reading this one. The Celaena you meet in The Assassin’s Blade is very similar to the Aelin that develops in this book. If you enjoy high fantasy, romance, and just epic adventures, READ THIS SERIES!!!

My only complaint: I HAVE TO WAIT A WHOLE YEAR TO READ THE NEXT ONE?!?!

Final Conclusion: +

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