Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)

by Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas's global #1 bestselling THRONE OF GLASS series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth instalment.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. Now she returns to the empire – to confront the shadows of her past ...

Bloodthirsty for revenge on the two men responsible for destroying her life, and desperate to find out if the prince and his captain are safe, Celaena returns to Rifthold. She has accepted her identity as Aelin Galathynius, the lost Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, there are dark truths to learn and debts to be paid. Aelin must stay hidden beneath her assassin’s hood and draw on her mortal strength as Celaena to prevent the King of Adarlan from tearing her world apart. Only then can she fight for her people.

Readers will be held rapt as Celaena’s story builds to an agonising crescendo, packed with heart-pounding action and searing romance.

• ISBN10: 1408858614
• ISBN13: 9781408858615
• Publish Date: 1 September 2015
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 1 February 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Imprint: Bloomsbury YA
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 656
• Language: English

Reviews

[herseriallife]

Before we start, just wanted to let you know that it is a spoiler-free review.

This is actually a re-read, and more precisely, the second time I'm reading the entire Throne of Glass series. And like for most of my re-reads, I listened to the audiobook version of [b:Queen of Shadows|18006496|Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441230104l/18006496._SY75_.jpg|25272067].

What I love about Queen of Shadows
[b:Queen of Shadows|18006496|Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441230104l/18006496._SY75_.jpg|25272067] is the book that transformed an awesome YA fantasy series into an obsession and one of THE best epic YA fantasy series of the 2010s. I loved reading the characters grow into their powers, build new and old stronger relationships. They mess up, a lot, and get it right sometimes. The writing, with the multiple POV (point of view), is sublime and Sarah J. Maas takes us to a whole new level of fantasy.

Book #4 is also a pivotal book where a lot is answered, but also a lot more questions popped and still too many are still unanswered. Moreover, we get to learn more about a few characters in Aelin's close circle and among her enemies as well, which was a joy to read.

I also really love the audio version, mostly thanks to Elizabeth Evans who narrates beautifully the entire series.

And what I liked less about the book

What I like the least about [b:Queen of Shadows|18006496|Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441230104l/18006496._SY75_.jpg|25272067], is the too low amount of romance. Moreover, there is only one main romance, and it's advancing at a very, very slow pace. But we can see the emergence of possible romantic relationships, with light flirting and trailing thoughts.
For all these reasons, I rated Queen of Shadows 5-star. And I cannot recommend enough the Throne of Glass series to all the epic YA fantasy readers out there and I hope you'll have as much pleasure reading [b:Queen of Shadows|18006496|Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441230104l/18006496._SY75_.jpg|25272067] as I have.

And if you like my review, check out our website (for fantasy series lovers) and especially this blog post Everything about Queen of Shadows, the heart-pounding 4th book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas: synopsis, review....

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

Queen of Shadows is the fourth book to the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. It’s the book I’ve been waiting to read (or, in my case, re-read). I gave it a high rating the last time I read it, and that rating didn’t change when I read it a second time. 

Storyline/MyThoughts: This book is where Celeana officially makes it known who she really is to everyone. She’s finally accepted who she is and what she needs to do to get her kingdom back. There’s going to be a lot of bloodsheds, though. She makes some tough decisions in this book, and one of them deals with what happened to Dorian while she was in Wendlyn. Many readers will be bothered by what she chooses to do, but she’s only known one thing that happens with someone who the King is using due to what she came across in the last book. It takes another character who was introduced in the previous book to have Aelin change her mind. I loved how the character announced it to Aelin, too.

Two big scenes in this book that made me emotional were when Aelin saves her cousin Aedion and then when Rowan finds Aelin. Both scenes were tear-jerkers and heartwarming moments. Yes, I like Rowan for Aelin. I liked when Aedion and Rowan met, too, because they made it difficult for Aelin. Aedion and Rowan were trying to prove who is tougher. Yup, Aelin was not going to have it.

One character who got on my nerves was Chaol. I understand that he’s adjusting to being a rebel, and he can’t forgive himself for leaving Dorian, but he drove me crazy. I wouldn’t say I liked how he treated Celeana and how he continued to treat her since the second book to this book. He put himself in certain predicaments that almost put everyone at risk. I did like him initially, but he has been complicated ever since what happened to Nehemia. I’m hoping I like him again in Tower of Dawn, which I have not read, yet. 

Other secondary characters I loved were Manon Blackbeak and Lysandra more in this book. I was not too fond of Manon at first, but this book changed my mind. She may act all bad, but she has a soft side. (She won’t admit it, though). She is very protective of who she cares for, and she finds out some truths in this book that makes her question everything. One epic scene was between her and Aelin. Aelin respected Manon and vice versa. I was intrigued too by Manon and Dorian’s interaction, but I won’t go into it in this review.

I loved Lysandra. She has become a favorite secondary character since what happened to her came to light. This girl is a fighter. The truth of Lysandra came out to, all thanks to Rowan. I was in shock after I found out the truth about her. I loved how she continues to scare Aedion in this book, too. 🙂

Here’s the main reasoning why I loved this book. Celeana (Aelin) gets her revenge on a particular person. If you read the novellas, then you’ll know who I’m referring to immediately. The best part is who killed the person in the book. I’m so glad there was some closure there after what happened.

A lot is going on in this book, so I don’t want to give anything away. I will say this, Sarah J. Maas kept me on the edge of my seat. I love all the different POVs because you get all kinds of perspectives in the story.

Overall, this book receives five stars from me, and I can’t wait to re-read the next book in the series.

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Throne of Glass series, and I would recommend reading in order.

Cliffhanger: Yes.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend this to Young Adult Fantasy readers out there. This series helped me so much last month to prevent me from going into a reading slump. Sarah J. Maas is the one author who I can count on to take me on an adventure with her stories.

[Mad Soul Child]

можно уже начинать шипперить железнозубую ведьму с принцем?
если серьезно то как же круто, наконец заслуженная и долгожданная движуха, всю книгу было не оторваться
под конец уже даже раздражение от Шаола отпустило немного
пока не считая первой книги это лучшая часть в серии для меня

[bookswithjelena]

4,5

[pamela]

Had I never read the books that came before Queen of Shadows, I might have enjoyed it more. It was a fun read, action-packed, and I'm enjoying the majority of the world-building. But Queen of Shadows' real downfall for me is the fact that it feels like S J Maas changed her mind about where the story was going.

Overall, the world-building was still excellent, and I loved the development of some of the characters. At first, I still disliked Manon, but she did start to really develop as a character in the last quarter, and I can see her being a character I will learn to like in later installments, despite my original misgivings. Lysandra as well had an excellent character arc, and I really liked seeing the friendship develop between her and Aelin. It was good to see some ladies being excellent to ladies, even if they had rocky beginnings. It was definitely a high point for me.

But what Maas did to her romances in Queen of Shadows almost borders on criminal. Chaol, in the previous books, really developed and grew. He was learning a lot about himself and his loyalties and trying to navigate that. In this book, however, it was like Maas just decided that he was inconvenient to the plot. Instead of the lovely, respectful, and realistic romance Aelin had with Chaol, in this book we've got a toxic affair with Rowan (I mean come on, Aelin practically owns Rowan. For someone so obsessed with slavery, she seems pretty quick to subject her LI to something that might as well just be that) based on nothing other than he's strong and hot. I didn't get any connection between them other than the fact that they're both attractive. And Chaol was basically thrown to the wolves to make that happen. Chaol was largely written out of the narrative, and the parts in which he did appear he was rewritten entirely. He was not the same character that Maas has spent the previous three books exploring, and it made for a disjointed, and really disappointing read.

There are a host of satellite characters in Queen of Shadows who, once again, simply act as plot crutches. Nesryn Faliq exists so that Chaol can have an LI, Lorcan was a non-character except that we needed an active villain, Elide might as well not have existed for all the point she had in the plot. Even Aedion, who I really loved in Heir of Fire, was basically just there so there could be some ridiculous male shows of dominance (they were super cringey). Even Arobynn was done dirty. He existed only to be yet another person who is so in love with Aelin because she's so beautiful.

By the end of the novel, I was thoroughly sick of everyone being obsessed with Aelin. She's the most beautiful, the most talented, and everyone thinks she's just the greatest. In the shorter, more fast-paced, and popcorny novels, it worked, but in a longer, more mature work like Queen of Shadows, it just felt like lazy characterisation. She felt like a stand-in for Maas, rather than a real, fleshed-out character, which is such a shame given that I know she can do better.

Queen of Shadows has taken the shine off the Throne of Glass series for me. I'm still committed to getting to the end, but I'm hoping the characterisation remains more consistent, and we see fewer toxic romances. #teamchaol y'all.

[cornerfolds]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Review to come!

Oh, how I loved this book, even though some parts of it were utter nonsense. What happened to Chaol and Aelin? I already heard about Aelin and Rowan becoming a thing, yet I liked them so much more as friends. They aren't bad together, just not as good as Chaol and Aelin. I missed them.

I did not understand their fight. I understood why Chaol felt the way he did, but why had Aelin changed so much? She wanted to kill Dorian. She was ready for it, and if Chaol hadn't given orders to stop her, he would have been dead. Not like I would mind that, but it didn't feel like Celaena / Aelin.

Despite these things, I really loved this book. It was action-packed, had plot twists, which I really missed in the last books since they always were pretty obvious, and finally, everything came together and made sense. I loved it. I feel as if this book took the series to a whole new level. The previous books were interesting, a nice concept, and a fun read, but this book made it actually a very good series that I will probably always remember.

My only hope is that Aelin and Chaol can become friends again like they should have been this book. Without the nonsense of them fighting over nothing. If that happens, I am okay with Aelin and Rowan being together.

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog: www.thepunktheory.wordpress.com

OMG I just love how the leading ladies in TOG just get more badass with every page. Aelin is so sassy and full of sarcasm, she might be my spirit animal. During so many moments, I ended laughing out loud because of her.
So Rowaelin is finally happening (or getting there) and I am so excited. I am not a romance reader, but I spent the entire book waiting for them to get together.
It also seems, I not the only Rowan fan. Aedion is fangirling so hard, it's almost ridiculous. I love it!
Furthermore, I am rooting for Manon more and more with every chapter. She's just too awesome. I bet everything that she ends up saving the day!
By the way, we also get some rather interesting new addition to the cast. I'm not sure yet what to make of Elide but Lorcan is down for trouble and I can't wait to see where that ends.

[liz089]

Reread 2018.
How wonderful to read this one again. There was so much I did not remember, even though it has only been 2 years ? Really happy to read this again, there are so much great characters in here, and they just keep on getting more interesting and more complex. So awesome... onto the next one !!

[girlinthepages]

“You make me want to live, Rowan. Not survive; not exist. Live.”

It was only a few weeks ago that I was shouting from the rooftop (of my blog) about how much I loved Heir of Fire, and how the Throne of Glass series has come to shatter all of my preconceived notions of it after reading the first book. Now four books in, I have given each book that followed the first novel a solid 5 star rating. I am completely, devastatingly in love with this series, these characters, this universe, and anything Sarah J Maas writes in general. It's such and incredible feeling when you're proven wrong in the best way possible. I finished Queen of Shadows three weeks ago and I still haven't been able to commit to reading another book because of how hungover I am from this one!

First and foremost, this book is long. At over 600 pages, it's heavy and lengthy and I've heard quite a few grumbles that it goes on for far too long. I, however, loved every second of it and never felt that it dragged or that the pacing is off. This book really merges the "core" cast of the first two books with the new Fae world that was revealed in Heir of Fire, as well as characters from The Assassin's Blade, and I think the length was right for how much this book had to tie all of these narratives together cohesively. Aelin is back in Adarlan and has fully embraced her new (or old, I suppose) identity, and this book satisfyingly has her facing her demons from her past in a way that Celaena could not. I particularly enjoyed her ability to go toe to toe with Arobynn now that she has reclaimed herself as Aelin, as well as her ability to look past her own past prejudices (such as with Lysandra) and decide for herself who her allies are and aren't. Alien has a sense of self that isn't present throughout the previous three books, and she truly conducts herself as a queen throughout this installment.

Queen of Shadows brings back many of the older characters and settings from the first two books, which was interesting for me since I never loved any of the pre-Fae characters (I was just never swept away by the Chaol, Dorian, and Celaena friendship triangle). Heir of Fire was the turning point in the series for me because it did something really brave- it introduced major characters, plot elements, and themes that didn't exist at the beginning of the series, and Queen of Shadows carries on with those elements and merges them with the more original characters without bowing to them- I don't feel like Maas is an author who feels an obligation to have Aelin end up with certain people or have certain loyalties just because she started with them. This series really focuses on Aelin's character growth, and she is a very, very different person than she was at the beginning of the series. As a reader, I am completely OK with this change. Sure it's a little risky, and many people will and have taken issue with it (I've actually heard that a lot of people are not fans of Aelin, but I LOVE her. She's fierce and regal and not afraid to want). I think Queen of Shadows will be a very divisive book for many readers.

This book also really showcases how Maas has grown tremendously as an author. While I think she's always been a great character writer, I found some of the plot elements in Throne of Glass to be rather commonly structured and unoriginal. However, at this point in the series Maas has truly hit her stride and solidified herself as a fantasy force to be reckoned with. The plot is layered, she's bringing in other POV characters who have stories that subtly tie in with Aelins, and she's making the world feel as though it has so much depth and history. I particularly found myself enjoying Manon's chapters (to my surprise, because I always think I'm going to be irritated when the story pans away from Aelin), and learning more about the history of witches, and the powerful grappling with morality within the clans and witch hierarchy. After Aelin and Manon's epic battle, I just really, really want them to be best friends (Fae Queen+ Witch Wingleader= The Most Badass Duo Ever).

Speaking of badass characters, Maas writes strong female characters with such vigor, heroines that can coexist along with fantastic male characters and don't feel as though they're competing for the spotlight. Manon and the Blackbeaks obviously come to mind, as their society is matriarchal and while viscous, they put a huge importance of phenomena that are unique to women: childbearing. Lysandra is another character who brings a unique kid of female strength to the series, though her cunning and beauty, and I respect that Maas acknowledges that Lysandra's time as a courtesan is just as traumatic as Celaena's as an assassin, albeit in different ways. Kaltain, however, really blew me away.

If you've read by Heir of Fire review, you won't be surprised by the fact that my review has to include a Rowan appreciation paragraph. I was SO scared that he would be absent throughout most of the book with Aelin returning to Adarlan, but thankfully Maas chose to integrate him heavily into the story despite the location change. Aelin and Rowan's relationship continues to be a slow burn throughout this novel, and although nothing really intimate happens between them, the tension and promise of a *hopefully* lasting bond by the end of the series was somehow even better to behold. My copy of Queen of Shadows is literally peppered with post it notes marking every hear-tearing heart-wrenching moment between the two of them. I binge read most of this book in one weekend, and even Max could sense the out of control fangirling that was happening on my end (and I am not usually an out-loud sort of fangirl).

Overall: This book, this series, has reminded me WHY I love fantasy, why it was my first true love as a genre and why it encompasses 2/3 of my book collection, despite having read so many contemporaries since I started blogging. Queen of Shadows is a novel that shows such incredible growth in its characters, but also its writing as well. As an author, Mass isn't afraid to take risks, whether with her characters, her romances, or within the YA genre. Sarah J Maas' books are officially my favorite thing outside of Harry Potter, an honor that I have not bestowed upon anyone or anything ever. Do yourself a favor and read this book immediately, if you haven't already.
This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages