ARC Review: Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas @SJMaas @bloomsburykids

Blurb:
Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.
While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

Title: Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Publication Date: September 2, 2014

Brooke's Review:

I want to thank Bloomsbury for sending me an advanced copy of this book to read and give an honest review. You cannot imagine the amount of squealing that went on when it arrived in the mail. Receiving this book for free has in no way altered my opinion or review.

***SPOILER ALERT*** If you have not read any of the books in this series, then this review will surely contain spoilers from the prequel novellas and the first two books. So I suggest you close this out and pick up <i>The Assassin's Blade</i> so you can find out what the awesomeness of these books is all about!

There is no way to keep this review short, or to do this book the justice it deserves. I don't even know where to start or how to do it without spoilers! But I will try my hardest to do it!

First I must talk about the awesome cover of this book. I have loved them all but this one is truly my favorite, Not sure if it's because of the color, or just the fact that Celaena looks so bad ass on it. And it shows her fae side, which I absolutely love because while we know she has been trouncing around as a human for so many years, her fae side becomes far more important than we would have ever realized.

I think my most favorite part of this book is that you get so many different points of view. I usually am not a fan of third person but it is the only way this book could make sense. And it is the only way Maas could have given us all the different elements we need to see as the plot of the book comes together. I love that she introduced new characters, once again. Characters that make us think and wonder what purpose they serve.

So we are once again thrown into Celaena's world as she tries her hardest to navigate Wendlyn and figure out how she will do the King's dirty work without getting her hands dirty. In <i>Crown of Midnight</i> we see that Celaena has no intention of getting her hands dirty at the request of the King, so it's not a surprise when we see that she has been hanging out in Wendlyn and has yet to do anything about the job she's been tasked with. But she has other plans, plans that Chaol must have known she'd come up with when he suggested to the king she be sent to take care of the royalty of Wendlyn. Calaena is focused on finding out more about her fae heritage and about how that part of her can help stop the Kind's atrocities. She remains strong and confident in how she pursues this, as she did in the other books. But she still has this self-loathing that underlies everything she does. This makes her put herself at risk more often than not, because she continues to feel she is not worthy of living this life, or any other life. My heart breaks for her and the way her thoughts run through her head.

I will say that I absolutely, positively love Rowan. He's crass and brash, cold and brutal and many times cruel. He's also and closed off and he's the perfect ying for Celaena's yang! It's like they are two halves of a whole. They compliment each other very well. There's banter between them that I thought would surely lead them to kill each other. But there's also this underlying connection that you know will ultimately bring them together. They fit like a lock and key. I won't give more information than that, because I don't want to spoil their relationship, but let's just say there is no disappointment in how they interact.

Manon is an interesting twist to this story. Mass brings us more into the witch's realm in this book. We got a bit of it in <i>Crown of Midnight</i> with the Yellowlegs and her interaction with Dorian and Celaena. But in this book, we see that the witch's are gathering, under the guidance of the King's men, and that they will play a huge part in his war that he has been waging. It's not completely clear how he will use them, though they train for battle in this book, so obviously he has some kind of conquering in the works, but their ultimate goal as warriors is still a bit of a mystery at the end of the book. These characters never directly interact or cross paths with the other characters in the book, but I can see how they will be essential to the plot of the future story in this series.

We also meet Aedion, the King's general who has no qualms about doing the king's dirty work. But Aedion is not all he seems. He plays a huge part in Celaena's plans and life, so much more than we would expect. I won't give away more than that because I love how Maas weaves plot twists in so we can see how the characters are linked.

And we are introduced to other fae and demi-fae (Emrys, Malaki, Luca, Gavriel) throughout the book. Characters who show Celaena she is so much more than she believes she is. They make her question herself and why she is so important to her people. The are essential to her development as a leader in the Fae world, as their queen. Although Celaena is reluctant to really accept this role, the fae and demi-fae ahead lots of light on her need to accept who she truly is.

Of course we still see Dorian and Chaol in this book, which made me really happy. I still cry over Celaena's loss of Sam and I really need to see her find some kind of love, through friendship or romance. I know eventually she will learn that she is worthy of it, but I also know that it can't happen until the world is set straight. And for the record, I team Chaol. I was from the moment I met him in <i>Throne of Glass</i> and I will be until the end.

Mass has several story lines going at once. I thought it would be hard to keep them straight, but it's not. They are all intricately woven and each means so much to the story. The world building is incredible. Each time we are introduced to a different area of this world it gets more and more intricate. And Maas keeps you on the edge of your seat with it all. I have to say that I get antsy when I read a Maas book, but not because I feel the need to put the book down, more because I just can't read fast enough to find out what happens. My nerves gets jittery and I literally hand on the edge of my seat. Maas has a way of infusing a certain energy into her books that makes them epic. And I love how Maas reintroduces us to things, so if you've read her other books a long time ago you are not lost. She reminds us of things that have happened without boring the reader who has already read those books.

One thing I usually love about YA stories is you get some romance. But honestly, you don't really get that in this book. There is the underlying leftovers from the previous books, and most of it made me sad, to be honest. But the book doesn't need it. It's got so much other stuff going for it, that not having a ton of romance really gave the book a life of it's own. It didn't rely on the heroine pining over someone. It relied on that fact that she's strong and has other things to worry about.

My only complaint about this book, one that I'm surprised was not addressed, was the fact that the Kind does not even check up on Celaena. She's sent off to murder the Wendlyn royalty and he has threatened to kill Chaol and other's she loves if she does not return, yet she is gone a long time without any word and he never necks on her. I kind of wish this would have been addressed.

Overall this book is absolutely fabulous. I thought it would take me forever to read, with how long it is, but I finished it in only three days! And the ending! OH GOSH I need the next book yesterday. I have no idea how I will wait. But the one thing I must say, it's not a cliffhanger that makes you annoyed and wanting to kill the author. She does wrap the story up in a nice enough package that you can wait a bit for the next installment (that is if you are crazy enough to want to). Maas has created a world that is on par with Game of Thrones, if not better. It's intricate and energized, fun and terrifying, all at once. Pick it up, you won't be sorry!

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Heir of Fire, Book 3, will be out in September 2014). Starting in Spring 2015, her New Adult Fantasy series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, will be published by Bloomsbury as well. 

Sarah lives in Southern California, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much coffee, and watches absolutely rubbish TV shows. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the California coastline with her husband.

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