Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

HEIR OF FIRE
Series: Throne of Glass #3
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: September 2nd 2014

Book Length: 562 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Source: Physical Copy, Goodreads 

Review: 5/5 *Full Review Below.

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.

The king's assassin takes on an even greater destiny and burns brighter than ever before in this follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Crown of Midnight. 

“She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.”

The Throne of Glass series just keeps getting better and better, hands down Heir of Fire is the best of them all and my absolute favourite… for now. With Queen of Shadows so close I can taste it (being delivered today *freaks out*) re-reading this book has been the highlight of the year with it’s deliciously long pages, new characters and simply stunning character growth.

Heir of Fire is told from multiple POV’s and each set in a different location: Wendlyn and Adarlan, so I think it’s best to set the review out in terms of characters because it's kind of hard to talk about the book with out spoilers.

“She was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius—­and she would not be afraid.”

Celaena still remains to be the most badass heroine out there but Heir of Fire yet again shows so much more in terms of character development. Over the course of the series we’ve seen Celaena hit rock bottom and come back but in this book she truly fall apart and hits an even bigger low, it’s right here where she emerges as Aelin. More memories are revealed from her harrowing past that she carries with her but she was able to accept her past, live with the regret and guilt and turn into something she in is control of. Her character growth was extraordinary, she has finally become the person she needed to be to defeat the King of Adarlan, Celaena was remarkable but Aelin is unstoppable.

“The man—-male—down the alley was Fae.

Tall, broad--shouldered, every inch of him seemingly corded with muscle, he was a male blooded with power.

... a wicked--looking tattoo was -etched down the left side of his harsh face, the whorls of black ink stark against his sun--kissed skin.”

This is the love of my life Rowan Whitethorne. Where to even start? Prince Rowan (yes prince! *puddle on the floor*) is tasked with training Celaena by Queen Maeve, only then will Celaena get her answers about the Wyrdkeys. Rowan is a warrior, one of the best, he’s brutal, cunning, broody and well guarded although the best thing about him is he can kick Celaena’s arse all the way to Timbuktu without even breaking a sweat, can I get a hoorah? It’s about time she met her match and thanks the Gods he came in the gorgeous form of Rowan.

“Gods, he was brilliant. Cunning and wicked and brilliant.

Even when he beat the hell out of her.

 Every. Damn. Day.”

Celaena and Rowan are both physically more importantly emotionally scared and what starts with quite the epic battle of wills during their training soon turns out to be one of the most important friendships for Celaena. There are no secrets between the two, Celaena doesn’t have to hide any part of herself, she’s emotionally raw and Rowan accepts every part of her. As much as I adored there friendship, I ship them so hard. After re-reading this series I’ve my changed mind about all the love interests bar this one… their relationship is so utterly perfect and even though I was trying not to read too much into their chapters I really did get the sense that they could become more than friends, they would be a formidable force! Well here’s hoping away.

“She yawned, and Rowan rubbed his eyes, his other hand still in hers. But he didn’t let go. And when she awoke before dawn, warm and safe and rested, Rowan was still holding her hand, clasped to his chest. Something molten rushed through her, pouring over every crack and fracture still left gaping and open. Not to hurt or mar—but to weld. To forge.”

Dorian and Chaol both struggled in this book, Dorian with trying to hide his magic from his father and Chaol having to decide when this inevitable war came, whose sides would he be standing on? Chaol got on my nerves so much in this book; I felt like he completely abandoned people when they needed him the most, his stupid pride and head just got in the way. I’ll always have a soft spot for Dorian and I just want him to be happy but in this book the arrogant prince is left behind to make way for the honorable King he will one day become.

“She was not becoming anything different from what she always was and always had the capacity to be. You just finally saw everything. And once you saw that other part of her… You cannot pick and choose what parts of her to love. Just as you cannot pick which parts of me you accept.”

Another new character is Manon from the Blackbeak coven of witches. Manon is both a wild and unruly character and I was often able to see the comparison with Celaena but Manon is a bit more extreme as in she’s got no sense or morality whatsoever, I really enjoyed her POV but definitely understand why people didn’t. The fantasy was picked up a notch with the introduction of the witches and giving us a look into the King evil plans.

Our last new character was Aedion Ashryver, Celaena’s cousin who is actually one of the King’s best warriors. When he discovers that Aelin didn’t die on that dreadful night 10 years ago he becomes determined to dethrone the King of Adarlan and serve Aelin as his true Queen. Aedion was such an amazing new character, he’s incredibly loyal, fierce and cunning, I certainly hope he gets a reunion with Aelin in Queen of Shadows!!

It’s really hard to talk about this book without giving anything away and I wouldn’t dare spoil a thing especially when I feel like this is the best one yet. The world building is flawless as we are taken to Wendlyn and introduced to the long awaited Fae. There's hardly any romance in this book, it’s much more focused of the characters themselves are what each of them are going through with some action thrown in. Also be warned the cliffhanger is an absolute killer, I was nearly in tears, so heart breaking! In addition to some jaw dropping plot twists Maas has enabled us to see just how big this series can be, slowly enticing us with secrets and revelations that leave you desperate for the next installment. I really have no idea what to expect from Queen of Shadows and even though I’ve waited a whole year, I’m kinda nervous to read it but I have so much faith that it’s going to be epic!

“Aelin was a warrior, able to fight with blade or magic. And she was done with hiding.”

“Aelin of the wildfire.”

Ooops so many quotes and rants there... take home message: Try this series! :)