Heir of Fire Book Review

My sincere apologies in advance, because to my dismay, I am not going to write a review for Crown of Midnight, lest I plan to reread it. The reason for this is that while I should have been writing one, I had already started Heir of Fire and some of the events in this book made my emotions change directions. I don't feel like writing a review for it now would give an adequate view of my opinion of the book and its content. That being said, I did really love CoM (is it a thing?) even more so than I did ToG (it's a thing or I'll make it one).

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

This book was a lot bigger than the previous two, but the start felt a little slower for me as well. With having to study for tests and everything I haven't finished the book as fast as I would have liked to. There's a lot more traveling, training, and new characters in this book, which generally speaking slows the pace of a sequel. That does not mean I didn't love it. I think Crown of Midnight's on top right now, then Heir of Fire, and Queen of Shadows at the bottom. That more or less follows the general ranking of the first three books of a series whether a trilogy or a larger series, so it was to be expected.

Synopsis:

I really can't tell you anything about the book without spoiling you for Throne of Glass. Go read that book and we'll reunite here to discuss or feels and teams.

Rating:

5 stars (duh.)

Warning of Spoilers

by Sennett Young

So when Crown of Midnight finished, I was devastated. A brief update on why exactly I was more dead than alive: Choal, my wonderful heap of chocolate-cake-bringing adorableness almost got killed and it would always be him and that was when the feels overwhelmed me. I didn't want to leave Adarlan whatsoever. I didn't want to stop fighting monsters with Celeana and talk with my dear friend Mort. (I love him. If I wasn't so attached to Choal, I would ship Celort.) So I wanted to both strangle and kiss Choal. And then there was Dorian with his deliciously naive new magical power shit and Celeana killing a witch (that part was intense). I wasn't ready to leave that behind. Plus, the boys need the sassy queen to save their asses.

In short, I wasn't too motivated to pay Wendlyn a visit.

I ended up loving it there, though, once Aelin/Celeana/Elentiya learned to shift and use cool flame power, and Rowan stopped being such a bitch about everything. The fights with the creatures, like the skinwalkers and the Valg Princes (getting into that later) are just one of Sarah's strongest points. In Crown of Midnight, the fight in the clock tower scared me so much, I just wanted my parents to come upstairs and turn on the light because I couldn't take it. Every single thing we discover about the king's armies and Wyrdkeys are so interesting and I love the way the picture is coming together with the triangle over the map and everything. This plot has something Harry Potter -ish about it in the way that it's just that good and crafty. And because I needed to remember so many names, objects, past events, and bloodlines that I couldn't keep up. Brannon who? The lover with the sword defeating the what? The Wyrdkeys were taken where?

The shipping is... complicated. As soon as Rowan's character was introduced, I knew he was, at least, going to be a contender. Now, I was Team Choal throughout book one and two, but now I don't feel that anymore really. That requires some explanation, though.

I feel like Dorian and Choal and Celeana are just not on the same level anymore. When I think of them, Celeana is just so much older and wiser in my brain ladder of adulthood. She's seen the world, she can shapeshift AND has super powerful magic, and she's the Chosen One. Dorian and Choal are still kind of two teenagers who don't really know what they're doing. Chaol doesn't know where he's standing and Dorian has powers but doesn't know shit about them.

But I'm not all the way in on Rowan, either, because he is so much older than her, physically as well as spiritually. She's still kind of a girl and he's ancient. It's not about pedophilia here, but more about whether they will understand each other's problems to the right extent.

So, because emotional decisionmaking doesn't work, I turn to logic and experience. What have I seen in other books? What's obvious? I still have no f-ing clue about who will end up with whom. Dorian's now a monster, which matches some story lines I've seen before and would suggest he'll be the one, but that's not a solid rule. I hope it's not Dorian, because I see him and Celeana more as friends, like Hermione and Harry.

Chaol is a completely different matter. He has the biggest chance of meeting her next, but he doesn't really accept who and what she is, which will be a big leap to cross.

Rowan, at the moment, seems most likely to me, but she's leaving him now, which is always a bit of an issue.

Yes, people, we are in a love square. (Or for those who drag Aedion into it, a love pentagon.)

The Valg Princes and their accompanying character development. A thing of beauty. First of all, because I almost cried when they were telling her to get up. Second of all, because it really made me understand her issues. When you read the books, especially Crown of Midnight, it's very clear that Celaena is NOT the picture of mental stability. At all. She's a completely messed up little princess, but now I finally get why, and this calms me. And third of all because they, too, remind me of Harry Potter.

We were also introduced to a new POV in this book: Manon. I kind of liked her, not as a character necessarily but as a POV. It's like with GoT, you can see what's happening on the other side of the wall with Jon while the other characters don't notice a thing. I enjoy that. I like being on both sides, so I can see things that the main character(s) can't. Manon's story itself reminded me unmistakably of:

I got to a point where I pictured Abraxos as Toothless. But I just loved Abraxos and how he sniffs flowers and shields Manon from the rain. I actually like him more than any of the witches. (*spends three minutes thinking about how funny it is that these witches are bitches and how it rhymes*)
But yeah, this was a solid read. Occasionally a tiny bit slow for comfort, but always with good reasons.
Also, Sarah J. Maas, if you're planning on throwing any more possible suitors at us, I wish you good luck picking one that makes everyone, aka me, happy.