Unexpectedly excellent

First off, I should point out that yes, this is book four of the series, and I've read none of the previous three. Also, there's a good bit of Grimdark about this, with everyone doing or having done awful things, and mostly willing to do more awful things. And at the end, we have a resolution to the story within this book, but no resolution of the larger issues, and much more bad stuff to come in future volumes.

So, really, at some point, I should have been overcome with the desire to throw it against the wall, except for two things. One, it's the audiobook. Two, I loved it.

Aelin Galathynius (guessing on the spelling of the last name), rightful heir to the throne of Terrasen (another spelling guess) has quietly returned to Rifthold, the capital of the bitter enemy who killed her family and conquered her kingdom. She wants revenge on the King of Adarlan, but he's not the only target of her vengeance. She was hardly more than a child when she fled her family's killers, and she's just nineteen now, but she's packed a lot into those years. She trained as an assassin under Rifthold's king of the assassin's guild, under the name Celaena Sardothien. Part Fae herself and possessing Fae fire magic, she traveled to the Fae lands and learned the use of her magic there--and made a valuable friend in Prince Rowan. She's back now to rescue her friend and cousin General Aedion and her friend Prince Dorian. She needs to know if Chaol Westphal, captain of the guard, is still a friend. She's been through horrors, she has done horros, and she has more to face and do before she can hope for anything vaguely resembling peace.

This is a dark and bloody story, but I like Aelin, Rowan, Aedion, Chaol and his second, Nesryn, and Aelin's old rival Lysandra. Along with the darkness and blood, Queen of Shadows has romance, male friendship, female friendship, and male-female friendship, all treated in adult, satisfying, compelling way. Because, as I mentioned, I've read none of the previous three books, there's a lot I was trying to pick up as the story went along, but Maas salted in enough background in unobtrusive ways that if I didn't always know exactly what was going on at first, I was picking up enough to enjoy continuing to listen.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Audible in exchange for an honest review.

29 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Wow! Just, Wow!

Fantastic continuation of the story. Each book just gets better and better. I couldn't stop listening to it. The only negative is waiting for the next book. Sarah J Maas is a very talented writer.

23 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Everything You Were Waiting For, And More To Come!

I couldn't wait for this book, and pre-ordered the day it was listed on Audible...
I won't go into as many details on this review as I usually might, because I don't want to get into too much that might ruin it for the fans of this series... BUT, I will say that we get to see Celaena's return to Rifthold, and there is nothing but constant battles, fights, secrets and past histories reveled, and everything that the readers of this series have been waiting for... AND THERE IS STILL MORE TO COME! Although I would say the series ended in a cliff hanger like some of the previous ones did, there is definitely MUCH more story to be told, and the book ends in such a way that we know that the story will continue.
TEASER: The fight between Celaena and the king is AWESOME!
All-in-all: YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

19 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Awesome... Simply Awesome

Any additional comments?

This series has everything a fantasy reader desires! I literally couldn't take head phones off. We finally get a stand off between the king and the assassin and it doesn't disappoint. I have found myself in love with the Wing leader too. Can't wait to see how the final battle turns out.

14 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Standard YA girl series, which I loved

I've noticed trends in a lot of the YA scifi books that I've read, particularly those with a strong female lead, and this one followed all of them. It has the usual love story/triangle, and the usual rise from the lower class, and a strong female protagonist - which to be clear, I always enjoy, AND, this book still managed to give you a plot line to love, even though you've kind of heard it all before.

This one brought me back, I had lost a little hope in the last book, but this book brought me back to loving the story, and I've already set alerts on my phone to remind me to check when the next book will be released.

10 persone l'hanno trovata utile

SOOOO GOOOOD!!

I cannot explain how much this series keeps getting better and better. This book gave me something that I never knew I was waiting for HAPPINESS! the whole book is just intense and action packed. So much happens and so much that I expected to happen and not to expect happen. True bliss! Now I cannot wait another year....ugh. 😢

9 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Sarah J. Maas delivers another masterpiece.

I wish I could give this book a million stars, because it deserves every single single one. The combination of Maas' elegant and exciting style of writing with Evan's brilliant narration will make one hard pressed to hit the pause button. Though I have loved all three previous books in this series, this one is my favorite by the tiniest margin. The reason for this is tied into the enormous level of skill that Maas possesses in creating a deep emotional attachment between the reader and characters. I have been rooting for Celaena Sardothien, now Queen Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, for years. I found her intriguing and fierce throughout Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight. Then in Heir of Fire, I started to respect and admire the woman and queen she was becoming. I could go on and on, but for the sake of those reading this I will cut it short. This book, or rather series, is a must read for any true lover of the fantasy and even epic genres. There are a plethora of characters to love, hate, and never be able to quite make up your mind about. You will not regret the read or listen.

8 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Wooow!

So much happens in this book, the storyline, the characters, the relationship between the characters... Seriously, WOW! Can't say that I'd expected any of it. Authers who write books like this series are without a doubt geniuses, cunning, able to so gallantly create life-like characters. Characters that have faults and that continues to grow. Five stars easily!

7 persone l'hanno trovata utile

What the heck happened!?

I really love ToG. Book 1-3 were good but book 4...I’m done with this book.

6 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Exceptional!!

Sarah Mass gets better and better with each book of the series. A marvelously developed plot that continues to expand. Characters interesting and imperfect. Just finished the second read!

6 persone l'hanno trovata utile