Page Count: 648
Published on: September 1, 2015
Published by: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre(s): Fantasy, High Fantasy, YA, Romance
Source: paperback
Age Rating: YA
Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon // Book Depository
My Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads synopsis:
The queen has returned.
Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she’s at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past…
She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.
She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return.
The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series continues Celaena’s epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.
~~~
Hey, guys!
If you've been following my blog for very long, you'd know about my avid love for Sarah J, Maas's books. I've been reading her Throne of Glass series for a good part of the year and I'm just so in love with it. Queen of Shadows is probably one of my favorite books of the year...actually, a good majority of my top 17 will probably be books by Maas. Prepare yourself for a ramble-y review (spoilers for the previous books will be in this review). I'll mainly focus on my thoughts on the characters, but know I just love them all. They are so imperfectly perfect.
Anyway, I adored this book. It was such a fantastic addition to the series and I love love love the characters that were developed throughout this book. The characters that were introduced in Heir of Fire were just so well developed and so beautifully done in Queen of Shadows. I thought they were fantastically written and it was such a joy to get to know even more. The changes and events that these characters live through are so realistically written and they are just so well done.
I especially enjoyed reading more and getting to know Lysandra. She is such a great character and I love love love how her character has developed. I can't wait to read more about her in Empire of Storms. I'd also love to read more about Nesryn because I kind of adore her? She's a major badass and I love her whole personality. She's so loyal and passionate and it's evident that she is falling in love with Mr. Angst (aka Chaol). I just cannot wait to see how she develops in Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn.....I need it!
Also! Can we just gush about Aedion? I just love his character. He's so dreamy and I love his relationship with Aelin and I ship him hardcore with Lysandra. I desperately hope that he and Lysandra get together. The tension between them kills me!
Can we just rave about Rowan? He is just a perfect specimen of fae prince. I just adore his relationship with Aelin. They just fit each other so well and I really want them to just be together forever. They deserve every happiness and I want them to just love each other forever and rebuild Terrasen. I just want it to be so.
Arobynn....what a sick, sick dude. I cannot stand him! He needs to just not. I really did not fully realize how awful he was to Celeana until this book. QoS really shows how much Celeana went through and how it really shaped who she is. Arobynn's behavior really opens the eyes of the reader to her trials as a human being. (And then when/if you read The Assassin's Blade, then your heart just breaks. I definitely recommend you read TAB either before or after QoS.)
I just love the interactions between Manon and Dorian. I feel like their relationship is going to be really important in the next couple of books. I really ship them. However, I feel like the death of Sorcha was a major plot device and used to develop Dorian's character. I love how their love changed Dorian and helped him grow, but his grief and heartache just breaks my heart. Maybe it was because I read these books so quickly, but I felt like the potential relationship between Manon and Dorian developed very quickly. It's evident that Dorian is absolutely crushed by the murder of Sorcha, but he just seemed to move on really quickly from it. '
The amount of world-building and plot detail that Maas includes and continues to include as the series continues is so astoundingly well done. I've always known that Sarah J. Maas is a thorough writer and has the fantastic capability to create a phenomenal world, but she just always blows me away with how fleshed out and intricately detailed her world is. The similarities between the magic system and fae world in her ACOTAR & TOG series are just amazing and it's always so amazing to learn something new about Erilea (and compare it to Prythian). I never see the plot twists or character twists coming, which is always a delight. They never seem to be too convenient or done in order to just complete the plot circle. Everything that happens in these books happens for a reason. I just love it so much.
I apologize if this is a bit of a ramble, but my Sarah J. Maas reviews tend to go in that direction. It's so hard to write about something you love so much. I find it hard to read her books very critically because they are a bit of a (not-so) guilty pleasure. Next time, I'll write consistent notes.
Happy reading, everyone!
My Sarah J. Maas Reviews:
I especially enjoyed reading more and getting to know Lysandra. She is such a great character and I love love love how her character has developed. I can't wait to read more about her in Empire of Storms. I'd also love to read more about Nesryn because I kind of adore her? She's a major badass and I love her whole personality. She's so loyal and passionate and it's evident that she is falling in love with Mr. Angst (aka Chaol). I just cannot wait to see how she develops in Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn.....I need it!
Also! Can we just gush about Aedion? I just love his character. He's so dreamy and I love his relationship with Aelin and I ship him hardcore with Lysandra. I desperately hope that he and Lysandra get together. The tension between them kills me!
Can we just rave about Rowan? He is just a perfect specimen of fae prince. I just adore his relationship with Aelin. They just fit each other so well and I really want them to just be together forever. They deserve every happiness and I want them to just love each other forever and rebuild Terrasen. I just want it to be so.
Arobynn....what a sick, sick dude. I cannot stand him! He needs to just not. I really did not fully realize how awful he was to Celeana until this book. QoS really shows how much Celeana went through and how it really shaped who she is. Arobynn's behavior really opens the eyes of the reader to her trials as a human being. (And then when/if you read The Assassin's Blade, then your heart just breaks. I definitely recommend you read TAB either before or after QoS.)
I just love the interactions between Manon and Dorian. I feel like their relationship is going to be really important in the next couple of books. I really ship them. However, I feel like the death of Sorcha was a major plot device and used to develop Dorian's character. I love how their love changed Dorian and helped him grow, but his grief and heartache just breaks my heart. Maybe it was because I read these books so quickly, but I felt like the potential relationship between Manon and Dorian developed very quickly. It's evident that Dorian is absolutely crushed by the murder of Sorcha, but he just seemed to move on really quickly from it. '
The amount of world-building and plot detail that Maas includes and continues to include as the series continues is so astoundingly well done. I've always known that Sarah J. Maas is a thorough writer and has the fantastic capability to create a phenomenal world, but she just always blows me away with how fleshed out and intricately detailed her world is. The similarities between the magic system and fae world in her ACOTAR & TOG series are just amazing and it's always so amazing to learn something new about Erilea (and compare it to Prythian). I never see the plot twists or character twists coming, which is always a delight. They never seem to be too convenient or done in order to just complete the plot circle. Everything that happens in these books happens for a reason. I just love it so much.
I apologize if this is a bit of a ramble, but my Sarah J. Maas reviews tend to go in that direction. It's so hard to write about something you love so much. I find it hard to read her books very critically because they are a bit of a (not-so) guilty pleasure. Next time, I'll write consistent notes.
Happy reading, everyone!
My Sarah J. Maas Reviews:
- The A Court Of Thorns & Roses series
- The Throne of Glass Series
- Throne of Glass
- Crown of Midnight
- Heir of Fire
- The Assasin's Blade {coming soon!}
- Empire of Storms {coming soon!}
- Tower of Dawn {to read}
Olivia
~LivTheBookNerd~
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