YA in Review: Heir of Fire (Sarah J. Maas)

First of all, this post will essentially be Spoiler Free, however as this book is part of a series, it will contain spoilers from the previous books that are necessary to explain parts of the plot of this installment. Any comments by other users will not necessarily be spoiler free, so read at your own risk. Ready? Here we go!

sarahjmaas.com

Heir of Fire is the third novel in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. Now, if the huge revelation at the end of Crown of Midnight didn't cause you to want to continue this series...probably nothing will. However if you are still unsure and want to know if it's worth a read, here you go:

What it's about:

Celaena Sardothien, (or should I say Aelin Galathynius?) is now in Wendlyn. Sent there by her once lover and friend Chaol Westfall for her own protection. The king of Adarlan however, thinks she's there to kill the royal family of Wendlyn, the Ashryvers. But is Celaena going to do that? Of course not! Found by Fae warrior Rowan, Celaena is brought to Queen Maeve who promises to give her knowledge about the Wyrdkeys once Rowan deems her a worthy warrior. But will Celaena ever meet Rowan's exacting standards? Will she get the answers she needs before it is too late?

Why it's worth a read:

• We get more of Celaena's backstory! This really helps to make her not only more interesting, but more believable. It brings justification to a lot of her past (and current) actions, and I think it makes the series a lot more interesting. I'm interested to reread Throne of Glass again with this new perspective at some point.
• Magic! Creepy new creatures (super creepy)! Witches! Celaena honing new skills!
• Rowan and Aedion are awesome new characters that have both been through hell. Their perspectives and sarcastic comments are the best
• Celaena really comes into her own here. Her development, as well as her interactions with Rowan are fantastic
• Very dramatic ending that will keep you hooked and desperate for the next book

Where it disappoints:

• If you love the characters and relationships that were built up in the past two books, they don't feature as strongly as they once did
• Sometimes it feels like additional storylines were put in to stretch the book, like Maas didn't have quite enough of the main storyline to fill a full book
• Some plotlines in this don't really feel like they are moving very much. Several parts feel very repetitive with minimal moments where things move forward, and minimal character development. Personally, this doesn't feel too bad in Celaena's storyline, but it really drags in other areas.
• Time felt rather abused here. How much time has passed? Are people not questioning that this much has passed? In some cases it feels like months have gone by, but a later reference indicates it has only been a few weeks. It definitely feels a bit off
• I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP...oh, but he's cute... - If you pride yourself on consistency (as I do), you might find yourself switching teams yet again

Final Thoughts:

Heir of Fire really starts switching perspectives a lot more than any of its predecessors. So, if that is not your thing (or if you really are only interested in Celaena's storyline), then you might not be such a big fan of this installment. Although I highly disliked some of the other perspectives in this book (and consequently took longer to finish it than I did Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight), the main storyline was thoroughly enjoyable and kept me hooked. It feels like some of the aspects of the plot from Crown of Midnight were shoved aside (Wyrdmarks) for most of the book. They do come back just enough for them not to feel lost, but if you were looking for a continuation of the mystery and magic prevalent in Crown of Midnight, then you will be disappointed. If you are looking for great character development from Celaena, seeing her get knocked down a peg from time to time, understanding her backstory (and therefore justification for past behaviour), and a really cool new look at Fae and magic, then you will be thrilled with those parts of the book.

------

What did you all think  of this book/this series? Please leave a comment if you'd like further reviews of this series, or a more in-depth, highly spoilery analysis.