Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire
(Throne of Glass #3)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Published: September 11, 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
My Rating:

Consumed by guilt and rage, Celaena can’t bring herself to spill blood for the King of Adarlan. She must fight back…

The Immortal Queen will help her destroy the king – for a price. But as Celaena battles with her darkest memories and her heart breaks for a love that could never last, can she fulfil the bargain and head the almighty court of Terrasen? And who will stand with her?

“She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.”

I have no words that will serve this book justice. This sequel is spot-on perfection!

We all know Sarah J. Maas’s writing power can’t be debated, so let me just tell you that once again, I was beyond amazed with the way she delivered this sequel using her usual scheme– surprising her readers with a series of twists.

Things got more and more interesting in Heir of Fire. In this sequel we can see Celaena’s different side– her vulnerable and helpless side. She’s now delving into a new world called Wendlyn, the land of the faes. From there she met the ferocious Queen Maeve and her devotee, Prince Rowan Whitethorn who later on trained her to unfold her fire abilities. Meanwhile, Chaol and Dorian are having conflicts in Adarlan. Chaol is trying to protect Dorian from unleashing his magical abilities and exposing himself to the King and at the same time, he’s allying with the King’s General Aedion Ashryver, treading in dangerous waters in order to fight back against Adarlan.

The character development of Celaena in this book truly amazed me. It’s nice to know that she isn’t a complete Mary Sue. She is brave yet at the same time she is flawed. In this book, I saw a Celaena who was haunted by her past and was constantly visited by those nightmares that will forever etch her mind. What happened to her when she was a child opened my eyes and made me understand her even more. The moment those flashback scenes were narrated– I died a thousand times. I wasn’t able to help myself but cry and feel so sorry for her. What a cruel, cruel experience it was for Celaena!

What also impressed me was the establishment of the new world, Wendlyn. Wow. It was utterly refreshing. I loved how SJM described this magical land and all those faes and demi-faes that are living there. Not only did the author give us a new setting but she also introduced a bunch of new characters that in a way, changed the entirety of the book– like Rowan, Aedion Ashryver, Manon, Sorscha, and Ren.

I especially loved Rowan. For me, he is character-driven and full of mystery. And I loved the way he’s too brave to protect Celaena and guide her all the way to becoming what she is. He is simply… adorable. 🙂 Aedion, on the other hand, also enthralled me with his masculinity (Am I too shallow? Lol). Actually, I kind of hated him at the start but later on I warmed up to him when I discovered what his true motives are. His dedication towards his people and his queen was truly remarkable.

And Manon. This witch is so kick-ass! I have never fangirled over a female antagonist before but there was something in her fierceness that strangely gave me goosebumps. She’s still a mystery to me, though, and I can’t wait to read more about her character in the next books.

Now on to Chaol and Dorian. Their friendship was tested big time here but I was amazed to find out how deep their bond is and how they’re both willing to give up everything just to save one another. Dorian’s character development was great here. Where’s the weak Dorian we’ve met in the first two books? NON-EXISTENT. I loved how he stood up against his father. I also loved the way he schooled Chaol and said these things to him:

“You cannot pick and choose what parts of her to love.”

Oh, Dorian, I LOVE YOU EVEN MORE! Now while I saw a huge development in Dorian’s character, I found it lacking in Chaol. I don’t know but it seemed as though his character only shined in the final chapters.

The action scenes in this book, on the other hand, were too terrifying and so beautiful I can’t help but gasp. I particularly loved those scenes where Rowan trained Celaena. I loved the banters and the way their friendship bloomed.

What I also loved was how secrets were slowly unfolded. Celaena’s past and roots, the missing Wyrdmarks, Maeve and her sister’s history, what really happened before the magic in Erilea was vanished… Wow, there were really lots of things that were unraveled here and I’m so glad. It was definitely a huge improvement.

So I wrap everything up by saying that this sequel lived up to the first and second book. There were so many things that happened here that wowed me. I’m now excited to dive into the fourth book, Queen of Shadows. I know there will be a lot of huge obstacles that need to be overcome by Celaena and the rest of the characters, so I’m crossing fingers that they will get through it and defeat the King.

Rating:

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