Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 560
Pages: 560
Source: Bought
Genre: YA (16+) - Fantasy
Genre: YA (16+) - Fantasy
Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity
My Rating:
 |
| THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING!!! |
My thoughts
This book. Man, this book was DEEP. Maas pulls so many powerful punches in Heir of Fire; without question, even more than she did in Crown of Midnight (and that's saying something because that book was flipping intense!). I feel so strongly about this book, and my thoughts are kind of all over the place, so I'm glad that I did write notes right after I finished reading it initially. I've since read another book in between to try and gather my thoughts, but still I don't know.
Heir of Fire is written in a few different perspectives where we follow various important characters: Celaena, Dorian, Chaol, Manon (heir of the Blackbeaks, of the Ironteeth clan), and a few others. It picks up directly after the events of Crown of Midnight, as far as I remember. Celaena has discovered that she is Aelin, the lost heir of Terrasen, and of Fae heritage; she can also summon fire. Prince Dorian has also unlocked magical powers of his own. Chaol is torn by these new discoveries.
First, let's talk about Celaena. I just felt so much for her... seriously, she just goes through hell and back, yet again. In Crown of Midnight you see more sides to her but in Heir of Fire ALL of her is exposed, all is revealed. Her past, her future... She goes through even more hell. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally and spiritually. Her journey is grueling and heart-rending and difficult--she has been taken away to Doranelle and the land of Queen Maeve of the Fae (sorry if these are incorrect, it's been a long time since I read it!) to harness and control her powers and eventually, become Queen. There's a lot of internal and external struggle throughout.
I could talk about Celaena forever, but let's move on to Rowan. Rowan! The chemistry and tension between him and Celaena... I LOVE Celaena x Chaol but there's something so beautiful about the relationship between these two. They start out similarly to CxC, but their ending is vastly different and their implications and expectations of one another and futures... Rowan is a dream; usually that bothers me but this time, I don't mind. He's something else. There's something so incredibly glorious and gorgeous about him, and he's got those rough edges, and it just works. I can't wait to learn even more about him and watch the development of their companionship unfurl even further. The Celaena and Chaol thing was one thing; this one is another thing entirely, on a completely different level.
As for Chaol, Dorian and the others we have met previously... The demons and challenges they were faced with from the ending of CoM continue and escalate in this book. Where they're left at the end of this one makes me impatient for the next book, but we must wait. :S I don't want to go into too many details, but I was glad that each character was given some focus, space and time to have further character development. Maas pays so much respect to her characters in that manner: her characters breathe life.
The relationship that develops between Dorian and the healer, Sorscha. It felt slightly forced or rushed, but it was incredibly beautiful and opened up another side of Dorian that I feel is going to be important for the next books. The fact that he can open up to and be with another woman means that he is finally okay with being just friends with Celaena. Maybe this will change in the future, but this is what is the case at the moment. Sorscha also becomes his driving force for action, meaning he will act and be even more motivated in the next book. (If you've read HoF you know what I mean!)
There is a major build-up for the next book. This book was epic and action-packed and well planned and brilliant. We learn more of Celaena's other self, and the other world and other people, other Fae. I feel like the people she has met in this other world will bear significance for the next novel. I hope that when we do finally get our hands on it that Maas will do a good job of re-introducing us to all of them. (Because my memory sucks and I forget names.)
One more thing that I need to address: I feel like the arc with the Ironteeth clan wasn't... complete. Or maybe I just wanted more connection with the "main story" because I felt like it was just taking away from the main story. Like when this part came up all I wanted to do was race through it so I could get back to Celaena, or Rowan or Aedion or Dorian or Chaol, etc. Manon is like a Blackbeak Celaena in a way, and it'll be interesting to see how they finally meet, because they WILL meet, it's just a matter of when and how. I loved the sort of How to Train Your Dragon feel to the story arc though (with Abraxos).
There is no question of whether or not you should buy this book. Yes, buy this book now! The Throne of Glass series is otherworldly; if you have enjoyed the previous books (or even tolerated them or thought they were just okay) then don't even hesitate. The previous books were good; this one is even better. Heir of Fire was rich in detail, character development, emotion, action, world building... this book just had everything and I was wonderstruck and glued to the pages from beginning to end. This book had me from the word, 'Gods'.
Quotes
First line: Gods, it was boiling in this useless excuse for a kingdom.
Favourites:
"Each of the scars, the chipped teeth and broken claws, the mutilated tail--they weren't the markings of a victim. Oh, no. They were the trophies of a survivor. Abraxos was a warrior who'd had all the odds stacked against him and survived. Learned from it. Triumphed." (227)
"She tapped a foot, bobbing her head, eyes on the three smokeless fires and the silhouettes dancing around them. She did want to dance. Not from joy, but because she felt her fire and the music meld and pulse against her bones. The music was a tapestry woven of light and dark and colour, building delicate links in a chain that latched on to her heart and spread out into the world, binding her to it, connecting everything." (358)
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I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.
