Heir of Fire Review

I just finished reading the first three books of Sarah Maas's Throne of Glass series and loved every minute of it. I haven't had a chance to blog about the first two in the series yet, so I'll use this post to review all three at once. I was first introduced to the series at the Book Expo of America a few months ago when Sarah Maas stayed late signing books long after her scheduled time to sign for all of her fans. That's when I got my hands on the third book in the series, so of course I had to go out and get the first two books in the series. And I loved them all.

Since I read them all back-to-back, they're all kind of blurred together at this point, so I'll post summaries for each individual one, starting with book one, and do a lump review at the end to review all three at once. For those of you who are already fans of the series and are searching for a hint as to what happens in the third book, feel free to jump to the bottom. Here we go...

Throne of Glass Summary:
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Crown of Midnight Summary:
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

Heir of Fire Summary:
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?

Series Review:
If you've never picked up any of the books in this series, take a break from reading my blog and order the first one (and then come back, of course). Although all three of these books are rather lengthy, particularly the third, they're still amazing reads. If you like strong female protagonists, love fantasy, or are itching to read about a teenage assassin, look no further. Celeana is a very strong, bold character who still feels a lot of the same emotions teens today face. Initially, when she's first pulled out of the salt mines by the prince and his Captain of the Guard, she seems like an unsympathetic character, but Maas does a good job of quickly convincing the reader that Celeana has a heart, and not only that, but she has the courage to make hard decisions.

The first book opened up so many different plotlines and left so many questions unanswered, that you'll be dying to get through to the end. And if you're anything like me after reading the third book, you'll be wishing the fourth one was out already. Maas does such an excellent job with world building, and has developed really strong characters. And unlike some books out these days, she's not afraid to kill off some of her characters, which I like about her.

At first I didn't like that the series was told from the third-person point of view, but now I understand why. By the time you get to Heir of Fire, the story is not only being told by Celaena, but also by Prince Dorian, Chaol, Celaena's cousin Aedion, Prince Rowan (a totally new character), and Manon (an Irontooth witch vying for a lead spot in the king's army of witches). And I like it. The one thing I will say though, is that I didn't love reading about Manon's character in Heir of Fire. I'm sure Maas has a reason that will be obvious in the fourth book, but I'm already so invested in Celaena's story, that reading about someone she's never even met before was a little off-putting.

For those fans who can't wait to get to your hands on the third book next month, I won't give away too much. But I will say that it leaves a lot of unanswered questions at the end of it. Maas introduces Prince Rowan as a new character, that you'll learn to love by the end of the novel, and Celaena isn't done revealing shocking truths about her past yet. And if you're waiting for Celaena and Chaol to get back together, you'll have to keep waiting. Celaena spends the entirety of the book far away from Rifthold, so there's still hope for a reunion in the fourth book, but alas, we will have to keep waiting. Happy reading!