Empire of Storms

"Would this be the cost? Not just in blood shed, but in dreams yielded?"

I love and hate this book so much. And for that reason it is now my favorite of the series. This book had me in the feels constantly. I went through so many emotions throughout. At one point I'm pretty sure I felt like ten emotions in like two pages. I really enjoyed this one. It starts out giving us more background into the Elena and Gavin war with Erawan. I enjoyed the different perspective and the background because it felt like the perfect time to get to know more. I liked seeing more connections to that generation and our current group.

All the main players experience some dramatic shifts in this one. Elide is still making her way to meet Aelin and she has an show more insane journey to get there. Manon and the Thirteen experience some insane moments I didn't see coming; she is going to face some intense repercussions for her decisions. Aelin is forced to face some hard truths about becoming queen. A lot of this one is Aelin and group trying to find the third key and follow the new instructions to search for something called the Lock. All while our dear sweet Aelin is trying to find a few alliances to fight with them against Erawan.

The number of shocks this book gave had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Aelin is still her scheming self and I love it. She is clearly working on something and each time we get the reveal I am shook. My brain could not handle all the information I was getting in this one, because it was just one "oh my god" moment after another. Once they were revealed they made perfect sense. Each one was either beautiful or devastating. I don't think I will recover from this one anytime soon. It was just so amazing. show less

Wow…. What can I say about this series.. I know I am very very late to the party but after finally finishing all the books, I really think my decision was right. And kudos to all the fans who managed to wait for the books year after year after year. I mean, these books have some insane cliffhangers and I was so engrossed and thrilled and tensed that I binge read the whole freaking series in a week. And obviously didn’t find any time to write reviews in the middle of my reading, so this is going to be a single SPOILERY rant about all the books.

I liked the first book enough to make me want to continue even though it wasn’t great. The whole competition for the Champion had a Hunger Games effect and thankfully it wasn’t the major show more part of the plot, because we always knew that Celaena would win. What makes the beginning enjoyable are the characters. I just loved all of them – Celaena, Dorian, Chaol, Nehemia. I have a special place in my heart for the female friendship here. And as the series continued, the plot became more intriguing, the world building exploded and the characters went through such highs and lows that at any point in time, I didn’t know who I liked more.

Celaena/Aelin is a super badass character who is both good and bad, murderous, extremely protective, obviously “the fire-breathing bitch queen” but what really endeared me to her was her love of books, chocolates and clothes. I mean, how can I not love her. I think I especially liked her from Heir of Fire when she got to finally acknowledge her royal heritage and her magical powers. Her mastery over her powers, her absolute love for her friends and her wrath when she starts fighting are a sight to see. I especially love her insane plans whether it’s to rescue Aedion, kill Arobynn Hamel, save Dorian or finally amass the armies for Terrasen all the while not letting anyone in on them. I really hope she starts trusting her court a little more but first… I really hope they all meet up soon. I mean what the hell was that ending in Empire of Storms. I was amazed at her audacity and emotionally devastated at her sacrifice and I can’t believe that they are all separated now. Even though I am in love with Aelin Galathynius, I absolutely enjoyed the exploits of Celaena as Adarlan’s Assassin in the prequel novellas. Assassin’s Blade truly gives us a portrait of what she is capable of even without her magic.

Dorian is the sweetest character in the whole series. I adored him right from the beginning. His transformation from a happy go lucky Prince flirting with the ladies of the court to trying to control his magic to being tortured by the Valg to finally killing his father is very emotional to watch. After Aelin, he is probably one who undergoes a lot of pain because he is so good at heart and if given a chance, I think he will be a great King, probably better than Aelin. I really liked both of them together in the first book and though they broke up, I am happy that they remain friends. It was heart breaking to see when she finally frees him from the Valg’s control because she promised that she would come back for him. I wept during that scene. I really think they both understood each other very well, could really see through each other’s strengths and weaknesses and trust each other totally.

Chaol Westfall is probably one of the most contradictory character I have ever read. I was not very impressed with him in the first book and was just about okay to like him in Crown of Midnight because she loved him. I avoided all spoilers about this series because I wanted to make up my own mind and I had an idea that there are multiple ships in this series. After reading the series, I can really say that I was never Team Chaol. Even though he is loyal to Dorian, he never really understood Aelin, could never accept her completely, couldn’t embrace her as a person with a ruthless past and magical powers and a world changing destiny. I agree that he loses a lot of himself during the course of the series, but he never seems to accept his own decisions and I obviously hated him when he blamed Celaena for the actions of the King. I didn’t miss him at all in Empire of Storms and I enjoyed reading Tower of Dawn, but mostly because of the characters from the Khagan’s court and not for him.

Nehemia is another badass female character and I was sorry to see her die in the second book itself. She and Celaena shared such a sweet friendship and I loved that Nehemia had such a beautiful heart full of dreams for a better world. I guess it was really fitting that her sacrifice propels Celaena to finally acknowledge her bloodline and every time she remembers her, I feel tears rolling from my eyes.

Lysandra is probably the one character who comes closest to match Celaena in her passion and temper and fierce nature. I was very happy that they could become friends, especially because of their shared grief and Lysandra’s killing of Arobynn is one of the most satisfying scenes of the books. And knowing that she is a shape shifter was awesome and her action sequences in Empire of Storms are a sight to behold. I just can’t wait to see what she will do in the next book while impersonating Aelin and leading all of her armies. It is truly heartbreaking but I don’t think anyone else could have really served the Queen this loyally.

Manon was really terrifying in the beginning and I hated her on sight. But what great character development does she have. Her relationship with Abraxos and Asterin and Elide bring out this compassionate side of her heart that she didn’t even know existed and it was wonderful to see her change. Her confrontation with her grandmother was brutal but I hope she gets to return the favor in kind. I am not sure how I feel about her with Dorian but we will have to wait and watch.

Prince Rowan – I obviously didn’t like him initially because he was very very mean to Aelin and troubled her so much during their training. But I really liked how their relationship progressed, how they began to trust each other and depend on each other so much. But I really loved them as friends and would have been very happy if they remained as best friends with a deep sense of loyalty. I don’t really have a problem with their ship but he is over three centuries old and she is nineteen. Obviously, when I see them together, I understand how they are perfect like fire and ice. He really treats her with respect and sees her for who she truly is and that is what makes him such a great partner.

The only reason I am mentioning Aedion last is because he is my most favorite character in the series. I just absolutely totally love him. He is brave and loyal and fierce and kind and everything that I can think of. His relationship with Aelin is probably the most beautiful sibling relationship I have ever read. He loves her so much and after ten years of believing her to be dead and then almost on the verge of execution, all he wants is to see her once. I mean, how devastatingly emotional is that. The first scene after they reunite where they just instantly understand and accept each other completely made me weep tears of joy. I love that their pasts don’t matter to each other, they are just loyal and protective because they have this soul connection, it’s just amazing. Even with all the great warrior Fae males in the series, I think he is the bravest and his introduction in Heir of Fire was the best thing that happened to this series.

So, this has been a really really long rant. But I really didn’t know how else to express my feelings about these awesome characters and their amazing kickass plots. This series made me gasp out loud, cry buckets of tears and shout at the cruel villains. Sarah J. Maas really knows how to bring out emotions from the readers. Now, I have no freaking idea how I am supposed to wait for the finale… 🙄🙄🙄 show less

Color me surprised. Or rather, shocked. Or frozen. Or a bit inflamed.

Either way, I am surrounded by a bunch of water and it's full of dead bodies.

There's a lot of cutesy romance that I didn't mind all that much or much at all, but I really liked the political wrangling, the subterfuges, the glorious battles, and magical maelstroms. And believe it or not, I really enjoyed all the female side characters. It's just the BOYS that are somewhat annoying. And before you call me on calling them BOYS, I'm well aware that there are few of them under 500 years old.

... they're still boys.

The plot is probably my favorite part. Honestly. This might be the best of the series. :)

After the disappointment that was Arcana Rising, I was scared to read this book. Scared, because Kresley Cole had sunk down to cheesy cliches, and I was so scared Sarah would do the same.
Oh hell no.
I stayed up as long as I could last night, reading this book. I fell asleep near the end, and this morning, the minute I woke up, I went back to reading.
This. Book. Will. Rip. Your. Heart. Out.
I have had a steady stream of cursing going through my head, and between chapters, released the curses on the world. From the first page, to the last page, this book made me fall in love, broke me, remade me, then broke me again.
I loved this book, even as I hated it.
Kudos to you, Sarah, for creating such a masterpiece. Please don't make us wait another show more year before giving us the next book. Please. My heart hurts so badly right now.

Update: I just finished my reread in preparation of Kingdom of Ash. I’m not okay. I’m hurting just as much as last time. show less

I have been somewhat impartial the whole time I’ve been working my way through this series. The first 4 were good but but it always felt like they were missing something for me. I devoured the ACOTAR series, so I was waiting for the same feeling here. I still can’t quite place what I was waiting for but let me tell you...Empire of Storms DID NOT disappoint.

I CRIED! CRIED!!!

I wanted to jump into this book and fight Maeve. What level of insane do you have to be to plot on a child for THOUSANDS of years? I need someone to get Aelin out of this damn box.


This book was amazing and I am so here for Aelin calling in all these life debts and giving Darrow exactly what he asked for. I wanted to slap the shit out of him but I understand why show more he did. Still want to slap the shit out of him though...

BOTTOM LINE: SOMEONE GIVE ME KINGDOM OF ASH NOW. PLEASE FIND A WAY FOR EVERYONE TO NOT DIE BUT I ALSO KIND OF WANT SOMEONE... ANYONE BUT AELIN, ELIDE, LYSANDRA, MANON AND ROWAN TO DIE IF SOMEONE HAS TO....just someone I care less about PLEASE. show less

With a book like this.... where does one begin? That's really the question.

>spoilers lie ahead... ye be warnedexplicit scenes in there... Very detailed at times. I can understand this book "growing" with the reader similar to HP books (they get a little more serious and more detailed/graphic as the books go on) and maybe that was the purpose of this book but now that all the books are out, young readers will be more likely to pick this series up and binge through them when they're not age appropriate. It's kind of unfortunate especially when this is sold as a YA series and in a lot of cases is put in the YA section.

>Stepping off my soap box now Do the tandem read!

I also want to say, it's definitely possible to tandem read with audio show more and kindle because I have all three (physical, audio, and kindle) and jumped between them for whatever was convenient at the time.

Aelin:
I dont feel like I can really talk about the twists without talking about Aelin. She was the star of this book, as she should be since she's the FMC of this series. We get to see just how powerful she is in EoS, destroying whole ass Valg armadas on the open sea, destroying a horde of 500 ilken flying to destroy her and her friends.... but she has a flaw and that flaw is her pride.

She is so smart and great at scheming to get her way: captures Ilium so she can get Rolfe and the Mycenians on her side, has Lysandra turn into a sea dragon to pull more sway from the Mycenians to join her cause, sends letters to everyone calling in life debts from those she's saved in the past, or pleading them to join her cause for a better future a better world... She does a fantastic job of gaining allies and positioning those allies in a way that will take on Morath. In most cases she left me wondering how a 19 year old could be such a spectacular war leader when she really doesn't have that experience.

BUT where she falls short is not keeping her inner circle in the loop. I think Rowan and Aedion have every right to be mad at her for her scheming. Yes, she has set them up very nicely for the war to come but she has done them a disservice by keeping them out of the loop. They're her generals. They are the people who are supposed to give her advice and even though they may not agree with all of her plans, she could still choose to do what she wants regardless of their advice. It just doesn't take any effort at all to let them in on what her plans are. Instead she lets her pride get in the way because "what if they didn't come" or "what if it didn't work out".... or "she just wanted to see the look on their faces when the information came out". Because of that, Maeve was summoned and the battle at the end ensued. It may not have been avoidable but who knows.

Aelin is a good queen but she could be a GREAT queen if she would just confide in her people.

That being said, I'm so excited for her people to hunt down Maeve and find Aelin. I dread reading Aelin's POVs to hear how she's suffering or being tortured but I cannot wait for the Rowaelin reuniting scene.

Ah! That reminds me, I need to talk about Rowaelin! I have not been the biggest Rowan supporter and if you've followed me on this journey, you already know that. He has always felt like more of a mentor/teacher/friend to me. YES! I friend zoned Rowan, come at me bro... haha!

It wasn't until EoS where I really felt or understood their draw to one another. Obviously I knew they were mates (who doesn't...) but it wasn't until EoS where I really felt like Rowan would burn down the world for Aelin and vice versa. He is the one that gets her to calm down on the ship when she's gone too far into the depths of her power, he is the one that gets Aelin to push Deanna out of her body, he is the one that can calm her flames when she loses herself in them, he is the one that seeks out his cousins and pleads with them to join their cause and turn the tide of battle... HE won an army for her. The things this man will do for her!?!?! OH MY GOD I LOVE ROWAN!

I HAVE OFFICIALLY HOPPED ON THE ROWAN TRAIN **CHOO CHOO BITCHES**

"Where is my wife" killed me. Absolutely sent me into the pits of despair. Like I said, I cannot wait for the reunion scene.

Other honorable mentions in the relationship department are: Manon/Dorian, Lysandra/Aedion, and Elide/Lorcan. Everyone was hooking up or falling in love in this book and I'm here for the journey. I just know something terrible is going to happen in Kingdom of Ash so I'm not holding onto a lot of hope that these relationships will be long term (mostly worried about Lysandra and Aedion because he's got a temper and doesn't forgive easily and Lysandra is quick to sacrifice herself for Aelin...) but we'll see!

Various characters:
Manon defies her freaking grandmother. Did you hear me!??!?!?!?! SHE DEFIES HER GRANDMOTHER! She FIGHTS her grandmother and I was chomping at the bit for her to destroy her. But this is another reunion and battle I cant wait to see happen. Manon protected her 13, discovered she's the last Crochan Queen and allied with Aelin who was her enemy. Manon is the real MVP here. She relies on her 13, her family, and when they come to the rescue at the end I was in tears.

Honestly, I was in tears for the majority of the end of this book. Sobbing silently at 2am while my husband slept like a baby right beside me without a clue that I was having a mental breakdown while reading. HA!

Ansel!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love her! I love her! I love her! (pulled a little SJM repeating in 3s for ya there -- side note, this is a huge pet peeve of mine with SJM. She does this in every book to emphasize something and I hate it. Say it one time... that's enough, we get it. Don't repeat it in 3s please for the love of god).

Fenrys / Gavriel - I love them too and I'm so happy we got more of them in this book. They defy Maeve as much as possible, fall in love with Aelin as queen (maybe their future queen???) and help defend against Maeve's attack as long as they can. I love them and I hope Fenrys is able to protect Aelin as best as he can while she's with Maeve

I'm trying really hard to keep ToD and EoS separate in this review which is hard since I did the tandem read but I think this really covers it!

If you made it to the end, you're the real MVP. show less

A solid 3 stars for Fifty Shades of Whitethorn, aka Aelin Galathynius and the Horniest Road Trip Ever

If the characters in this book hadn't been so hormonal (apparently forgetting there was a war going on in the effort to keep their clothes on) or insistent on keeping secrets from each in favor of dramatic reveals that ultimately only hurt their cause (*cough cough* I'm looking at you, Aelin) maybe things would have gone smoother and the book would have been half its size and less of a waste of my time. It had all the potential to be another Heir of Fire, but instead it was a porno pretending to be a fantasy novel, curled toes, biting, and all.

The landscapes were nice though.

And in true Sarah J Maas style, I was able to predict with show more perfect accuracy the main love plots in this book literally before I even started reading it. Definitely a downgrade from where I thought the story was going.

Tower of Dawn better be rutting good. show less