I finished Queen of Shadows a few days ago, and it was EPIC. I know now why everyone loves this series! I've heard that this is the book that divides people; you either love it or you hate it. Personally this and Crown of Midnight (the first half anyway) are my favourites in the series, and I would say that if you weren't too keen on Heir of Fire you might like Queen of Shadows more. I don't know what it was with this book. I don't know why I loved this book so much more than the others - but I did. My review will have minor spoilers in it but I don't reveal any major plot points or characters.
So in case you didn't know, Queen of Shadows is the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series, which means I can't really say anything about the plot without spoilers, except that Aelin kicks ass as usual and the plot is pretty explosive!
The characters: I will admit that the Rowan in this book felt completely different to the Rowan in
Heir of Fire, but his character changed for the better so I actually finally liked him! The same goes to Aelin - I FINALLY LIKE HER GUYS. (It's only taken me four books but shhh). Manon continues to be a badass witch, and I loved how we got to see more of Asterin, Sorrel and the Thirteen. The new characters like Nesryn and Elide were really great too, and Dorian broke my heart in Queen of Shadows!
And then there's Chaol. For those of you who don't know, he is basically my favourite character in this series. As in I love him a lot and worry about his safety. He's complicated, tries to do what he thinks is right, and cares so much about Dorian. They're friendship is one of my favourite things in the books. Before reading Queen of Shadows I read a few reviews, and they were negative about what happened towards him, so I was worried. I have to admit that the chapters in the start were a bit rough on my still recovering Chaoleana heart, but by the end of the book I was happy with how the plot played out (although the ending broke my heart!).
The Plot: I couldn't not read this book, that was how riveting the plot was. Sarah J Maas linked everything together and foreshadowed events beautifully, and I loved what happened. I liked how Manon's story finally linked in with the rest of the crew (or Aelin's Squad as my friend calls them!) and Elide's subplot was really interesting. The results of the events in Queen of Shadows are definitely going to have repercussions in Empire of Storms, and I'm both nervous and looking forward to seeing what happens next.
The Writing: As usual, Sarah J Maas's writing style draws you in and doesn't let you go! There was only two really minor things that bugged me - that everything Aelin does is with 'feline grace' and that there was a lot of 'incarnates' in there. But these were minor issues that didn't stop me from enjoying the story.
Overall, I am really excited to see what happens in Empire of Storms and I am so pleased that I loved this book!
