Review: Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass

Pages: 530

Publisher/Source: Bloomsbury Publishing Australia

Amazon - TBD

Release date: 11^th September 2014

Synopsis (Goodreads): 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?

Review: 5 out of 5 stars

Contains possible spoilers!

Wowza! What can I say about Heir of Fire, the third book in the Throne of Glass series besides it was unbelievably epic and a must read for all fans of the series or of the fantasy genre. I can’t give this series enough praise; it is brilliantly crafted and executed.

At the end of Crown of Midnight there was a pretty huge reveal and in this book we find out a lot more about Calaena and her past, her powers and her purpose.  Now in Wendlyn to avenge to brutal death of Nehemia she is broken and battered and struggling to move forward, I was a little worried at the beginning of the book how she’d get past the pain but her strength and determination enabled her to move forward.

My heart crumpled for Calaena, she was well and truly damaged and to be honest I thought she was at her lowest low; she was still snarky and had a fierce determination but there was no one she could rely on or really trust; as the book progressed so did her willpower but it took a long time to get there with a plethora of self-doubt and humiliation, a lot of it because of a Fae warrior named Rowan Whitethorn who started out as a complete and utter barbaric ass but by the end of the book I respected him and wanted to learn more about this fearless man.

Dorian Havilliard has truly progressed as a character but events in this book were painful to see play out; his father is still a controlling, selfish creep of a man! I cringe thinking about him. I’m still hoping for a Chaol/Calaena hook up but he angered me on numerous occasions throughout this book & I'm not sure he is able to get past what and who Calaena is, he redeemed himself towards the end but I’m ‘still a little conflicted about his behaviour. We also get plenty of page time with Celaena's childhood best friend and Cousin Aedion Ashryver, this guy had sheer determination and a kick-ass attitude that I loved! I can’t wait to read more about him.

I am not usually a fan of multiple POV’s but in Heir of Fire it worked, each character had a distinct voice and a unique purpose, it was done well. There are also witches, I found these chapters less interesting and at times boring but I’m keen to see how it all plays out – things are getting really exciting!

There is no epic romance in this book, it was devoid of it unfortunately which I really missed; I loved the previous Calaena/Chaol interactions but in this there were none at all with them being separated, I was also concerned there would be a Calaena/Rowan hook up but thank goodness nothing came of it.

The complex storyline is fast paced and filled with betrayal, action, magic and wonderfully crafted plotting and planning, I have no idea in which direction the author plans to take the story; normally I like to have an overall picture in my mind but I love the element of surprise in this series. The world-building and action-filled plot is amazing.

Sarah J. Maas has crafted a truly magical, engrossing story, her writing is brilliant and the many shock surprises kept things entertaining; there were twists and turns aplenty with fabulous character development and further progression of the brewing war and the overall plot.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Australia for the opportunity to read and review Heir of Fire.

About the author: Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Heir of Fire, Book 3, will be out in September 2014). Starting in Spring 2015, her New Adult Fantasy series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, will be published by Bloomsbury as well. 

Sarah lives in Southern California, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much coffee, and watches absolutely rubbish TV shows. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the California coastline with her husband.