Empire of Storms

3.5 stars

I liked the book and the direction we were heading until the last 100 pages. It felt like there was to much going right and it needed to be crashed.
I hated the cameos from Assassin's Blade since I hated the characters in this book but they were as remembered and still got on my nerves.
The romance scenes: I couldn't care less and some even ruined ships for me (way to go). Also: everyone must have romance.... Why couldn't there be main characters without a love interest? (Also Dorian got kind of cocky with Manon and so he got also on my nerves and thrown off my favorite character in this series throne).
Overall I wished the book was shortened by the romance and some dragging scenes and I hope the next two books will be better than this one.

Updated rating in 2019: 3.5 stars.


First rating in 2017: 4 stars.

This review contains spoilers for books five and six in the series! You have been warned!

Random Shit I Wrote Down In My Notes While Re-Reading Empire Of Storms Because I Just Wanted To TBH:

• The last chapter of my last read (Lodestar by Shannon Messenger) ended with Nightfall. The first chapter of this book is titled Nightfall. What the fuck-
• Every time they mention the Bane I think of the Bubbleshock drink from The Sarah Jane Adventures

I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW! The rollercoaster of emotions I just went through can only be solve with the next book... must I really have to wait

THE COVERRRRRR

There may be spoilers.

UGH, This book! I was looking forward to this book SOOO much, and I was just let down. I am tired of how much EVERYONE licks Aelins butthole, verbally, all the time. I get it. She is dabes. She is Rowan's fireheart. blah,blah,blah. And Aelin is such a tantrum throwing bitch when people arent licking her butthole. Get over it! Or, I should have put the book down, but this is how I felt for the first oh, 40% of the book. I was begging for more Manon, more Lorcan, and more Elide.

And when I got them I was not disappointed! Manon is seriously such a bad ass. And I really liked the story with Lorcan and Elide, until that bit at the end with Maeve. Then the butt licking was back. Is it bad that I am really hoping Aelin dies? I am hoping she doesn't have plot armor here. Cause I hate her. OH yeah, she bursts into flames when her and Rowan finally do it. HOW RIDICULOUS!

I may or may not be reading the rest, there was NO fucking reason for this book to be 700 pages, because for the first 40% I felt like nothing happened. Except to see Aelin throw fits, and her court make silly threats which also made them look childish.

absolutely wonderful.

I'm just wondering how she's going to fit everything into one more book.

Holy fuck. Holy shit. Holy gods. Holy fucking shit. Holy. Fucking. Shit.
I don't even know how to express myself. Holy fucking shit.
I am so pissed. And I am so excited. But so fucking pissed. Holy shit.
Holy fucking shit.
I have no words.

However shall I wait till next year for the final book :'(















Spoiler: Is it her thing to throw secret weddings at us?

WARNING: WALL OF TEXT, because FEELINGS.

Throne of Glass continues to prove itself to be the most devise series in YA, in my opinion. It is not the differences in opinion that cause this, but the amount of vitriol surrounding about series, and the petty bitterness and sometimes nonsensical criticism and praise. To all you Chaol (ugh) people out there, please don't rate this 1 star because “OMG HOW CAN CHAOL NOT BE IN THIS BOOK WTF!” I had deep problems with how Maas dealt with Chaol in QoS, but there is over 100 pages of only Chaol and Nesryn, so you can all gush over that with praise. TO be fair, the style, and my perceived intended audience has shifted greatly in each book, so that may be the root of this anger from some.

A continued return to form by Sarah J Maas after disappointing me in A Court of Thorns and Roses and Queen of Shadows. The things that annoyed me in QoS are severely toned down, though the sex is toned up, although I must say I enjoyed the Manon and Dorian. Maas finally breaks free of the shackles of writing fluffy early-YA fantasy (whilst somehow handling topics such as rape and slavery, which created an odd contradiction), and if the wish fulfillment that is Aelin and Rowan's relationship the cost of that, so be it.

A schism has be caused by Maas' writing maturing into something that can have multiple POVs and plot lines and make it work. This book strays into adult fantasy at times, and I think it's really good. The fans of the light fluffy nothingness that was most of Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight with its pre-teen romances and attempts to deal with adult themes whilst appealing to 12 year old girls is gone, replaced by a more maturity, for the most part. Oh, no, here comes my Aelin and Rowan discussion.

Forewarning: I ship Aelin and Rowan, but that 5 star rating comes at the cost of forgetting those sex scenes. I accepted them in ACOMAF with a heavy heart because the series never pretended to be anything more than a soft core erotica book first (with a far more sexually focused and animalistic fae race) and a surprisingly decent fantasy book second. But, please, please leave these scenes to the fanfic writers, Mass. You think you're good at them, but you really aren't, and they ADD ABSOLUETLY NOTHING to the plot. I am a huge fan of off scene sex scenes, especially when everything else is so bloody good. I could accept them if they weren't averagely written wish fulfillment that is of barely better quality than fanfiction. I do accept Dorian and Manon's scene because was that an insight into the both of them, or what.

Also of huge annoyance, as always is the fae, “fight me” mentality and the whole thing with sex and relationships that turns a centuries old immortal warrior into a horny teenager, with an alpha-male complex. But it has been written into the series since the first appearance of the fae, so I'll ignore it and still give a 5 stars because....

EVRYTHING ELSE IS SO GODDAMNED GOOD. Finally Aelin is someone who I think I'd like love; she has dropped the mask of arrogance that she wore as Celaena, except for when it's needed; she has lost every part of her mentality I disliked in QoS: the superiority, the complete confidence. These traits made a fun, exciting and badass assassin with no responsibilities, but Aelin now has the weight of the world on her shoulders, and also needs to grow up, because it is still very annoying. Darrow was much needed.

And as I said, Maas' writing has matured. The plots lines have just the right amount of complexity, and are smart and clever. Maas has made me care about this wide array of characters and the drama and plots twists are beautiful and terribly EVIL.

edit: chapter 38 is a great example of shitty metaphors for sex and sex-related things. if you are interested in writing shit soft-core erotica, chapter 38 is essentially your dictionary!

Ugh. I'm giving it a four-star rating for now, but after I digest and reread, I'll probably change it to five stars. I love the world Sarah has created, and, though this is not something I normally enjoy, I like that I'm not sure where we're going with the story. I ordinarily hate surprises (and love spoilers for that reason), and I generally try not to start a series until it's completely finished so I can be done with it. But Sarah has me on the edge of my seat, and although I know good will probably prevail, I'm still incredibly nervous for the characters, and I want more!

Additionally, even if it's cheesy, I love watching the characters pair up, especially the new stuff:
Everyone knew Manon & Dorian and Lysandra & Aedion would get together, but Lorcan and Elide?? Who saw that coming?? I didn't, but I LOVED it! Plus Rowan and Aelin married?? Mated? Squee! But it also makes me sad for Sam. Maybe he and Lyria can be together in the otherworld? (Is it weird that I wonder about that, even though I know they're not real people?) And Chaol and Nesrin? What the hell? Where are they? Nothing? That made me sad.

Really minor gripe, and I'm not sure if it's just that I've read and reread the series so many times that these things stand out to me, but certain words and phrases are used over and over and over to the point when I read them, they automatically stand out and annoy me. I guess I'm only putting this out there because I'd like Sarah and/or her editors to change this in the future. I'll buy the rest of the series (and ACoTR too) regardless, but fwiw, this drives me crazy! Some examples: "incarnate" used in EoS 4 times. Okay, that doesn't seem like that many times, but add in the other times it's used in the series, and it drives me crazy. If it were just one character's favorite word, then fine. But all the characters use it. It's a great word, but it's not a regular word. There are synonyms."sides of the same * coin" *insert fair, golden, other adjective here, or use none at all. It's still over used, IMO.Petty? Maybe, idk. It's not like I could write anything like this or like Sarah. But something that could be improved perhaps? Bees?

September 2017 is too far away. Sarah–I'll be happy to beta though, should you need another!! wink wink wink