BOOK REVIEW + DISCUSSION: EMPIRE OF STORMS BY SARAH J. MAAS (Spoilers!)

Title: Empire of Storms

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Goodreads Summary: The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Rating: 2.75-3 out of 5 stars

Review: 

Okay, we're five books in now. This non-spoiler section is going to be short. If you saw my review for Queen of Shadows, you'll know that I wasn't a big fan of it. As someone who really enjoyed the first three books of the series, it was heartbreaking to have an installment be so disappointing. Having said that, I did enjoy this book more than QoS, but it still doesn't feel the same as the earlier books of the series. The series took a big shift in QoS and we kind of just have to deal with it now, but I also just don't enjoy it as much anymore. I really like how the world has built and the complex plots that have surfaced, but the characters feel harder to connect to (some moreso than others, of course) and I am pretty tired of a lot of the romances occurring. I've decided I can still enjoy some parts of this series if I accept this difference but it's just never going to spur the same love I had for it in the beginning. I also feel like some of the plot points mirrored those in ACOMAF (which I wasn't fond on either), which bothered me a lot because it shows SJM struggling to keep her two series separated. 

Okay, onto spoiler stuff so I can actually discuss my feelings instead of being super vague! Warning: this will probably be long. I have a lot to talk about!

BOOK REVIEW + DISCUSSION: QUEEN OF SHADOWS!

Title: Queen of Shadows

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 2/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis (spoilers!): 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 will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. 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.

Non-Spoiler/General Thoughts:

Okay, I'm not going to dwell too much on the non-spoiler-y section of this review. It's also really hard because this is the fourth instalment in this series so it's hard to talk about just this book without spoiling the rest of the series. So, in summary, I am a huge fan of the first three books of this series. However, I am not a huge fan of this book. Books 1-3 of this series introduced some wonderful characters and had beautiful character development and compelling relationships. Queen of Shadows then decided to ignore all that and make half the characters unrecognisable. The world is still interesting and complex but the characters were my favourite parts of this series and because of that, I found this book really disappointing. I would still recommend the first half of this series, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned for the future of it.

But that's all I've got to in regards to non-spoiler stuff. If you haven't read the book and want to keep everything a surprise, it's time we say goodbye. Come back once you've read the novel. TTFN.

Discussion under the cut!