Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)

by Sarah J. Maas

The third instalment to the global #1 bestselling series.

As the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, Celaena Sardothien is bound to serve the tyrant who slaughtered her dear friend. But she has vowed to make him pay. The answers Celaena needs to destroy the king lie across the sea Wendlyn. And Chaol, Captain of the King's Guard, has put his future in jeopardy to send her there.

Yet as Celaena seeks her destiny in Wendlyn, a new threat 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?

This third novel in the THRONE OF GLASS sequence, from global #1 bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, is packed with more heart-stopping action, devastating drama and swoonsome romance, and introduces some fierce new heroines to love and hate.

• ISBN10: 1408839121
• ISBN13: 9781408839126
• Publish Date: 11 September 2014 (first published 2 September 2014)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 7 September 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Imprint: Bloomsbury YA
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 576
• Language: English

Reviews

[neurospicybookworm]

These books are soooo goood

[herseriallife]

Review of this amazing third book in the Throne of Glass series coming soon...

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

Heir of Fire is the third novel in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. This book picks up where Crown of Midnight left off at, so if you haven’t read up to that book in the series, then I would recommend not reading this review. I try not to spoil, but I always warn just in case. 

Storyline/My Thoughts: Celaena has survived a brutal contest that the King put on in the first book. She has survived a betrayal that broke her heart in the second book. She is now on a mission to Wendlyn to find out the truth about herself and find out more about the Wyrdkeys. In the meantime, though, the place she just left is having its own troubles. Chaol has found out the truth about Celaena and who she really is and will team up with some people he never thought he would help. Dorian has to find a way to hide his abilities and ends up getting help from one of the healers. There are a few new POVs also in this book that readers will find fascinating. There’s a witch named Manon Blackbeak, who is not someone you want to mess with at all. She and her team of witches have a mission to tame flying beasts that the King has created for them. There’s also a Fae Prince who has a blood oath to Celaena’s Aunt Maeve, and his name is Rowan Whitethorn. Maeve has tasked him to train Celaena in her Fae powers before Maeve gives out any truths about Celaena and the Wyrdkeys. Another POV Aedion is a General to the King, but he’s also Celaena’s cousin. He is one character I was hesitant of liking at first because he’s working for the King, but then things fall in place why he is where he is, and he finds out that his true Queen is alive and well.

This book will make Celaena realize that she can’t hide from her past once and for all that she needs to embrace her future. She needs to win against the evil forces that are brewing that the King has on his side, and she also has to battle her Aunt Maeve. She first has to get through Rowan, who is not nice at all to Celaena. He’s a complicated character to like at first. I know it took me a while to like his character. He was harsh, but the truth of what happened to him in his past came out, and now I knew why he acted the way he did, and it is heartbreaking. Celaena is starting to grow more in this book because she’s finding out the truth about her past and what is happening. At the end of this book is what kept me on the edge of my seat. Sarah J. Maas will have everything crumble back in Rifthold with Chaol, Dorian, Aedion, etc. Celaena will not be happy, but she’s ready for anything now that she knows the truth.

I love Celaena’s character because she has grown so much since the novellas and the first book. She’s been a fighter, and now she’s becoming a Queen. She wants to fight for her people and her country.

This series from Sarah J. Maas is one I can’t get enough of because of the world-building and the character development. Each character is growing, and some are realizing they are on the wrong side. I’m a little wary of Manon’s character, but I know she will grow on me, too. I remember when I read this book the first time, I didn’t like her at much.

Overall, this book receives 4.5 stars from me, and I can’t wait to re-read the next book.

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

Cliffhanger: Yes.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of Young Adult Fantasy with the Chosen One trope, you may enjoy this book. There is no romance in this book, but a lot of action-packed scenes and truths being revealed.

[Mad Soul Child]

КРЕТИНЫ, как вы могли так поступить с Дорином

[pamela]

I couldn't decide if Heir of Fire was a 3-star book, or a 4-star one. I settled on 4-star just because I still really enjoyed reading it. It was a vastly different book to the ones that came before and felt very much like it was setting up for the series to go in a much more mature direction. Maas' writing is still absolutely excellent, but there were a lot more plot crutches, and a lot more filler in this book than in the previous ones, and I have to admit, it felt a little repetitive in places.

One of the things I want to mention as excellent, however, is the natural addition of close, loving, platonic friendships. I thought that Heir of Fire was going to move into toxic love territory, one of my most hated YA tropes, but thankfully it didn't do that which was a pleasant surprise. I also really liked Chaol's character development in this book as he came to terms with what it meant to be a true friend to someone and the fact that two of the main male protagonists can openly express their feelings.

There was a lot about Heir of Fire that was excellent. Gorgeous prose, fantastic world-building, real character growth and development (in most cases), and a more mature plot that was about the characters' personal growth. But it was let down by a lot of repetition, a host of poorly developed new characters that I just didn't really care about, and some obvious plot additions that served only to create a source of conflict for the ending.

I found that some of the world-building was inconsistent. The way Aelin/Celaena's back story was revealed was excellently done. It felt natural, made sense, and developed her character. But when we hear her aunt, Maeve's back story, it's literally an info-dump. Celaena just gives a speech, and we just have to trust that she worked it out, without it having happened naturally in the plot. I also wasn't entirely convinced by anyone's motivation for anything. I hope the remaining books in the series help to clear up the why's of the plot, because at the moment, it feels very much like things are just happening "because tension."

Manon Blackbeak was an exciting new addition to the story. I'm interested to see where her story leads, but I found her sections a bit of a challenge. Because of the POV shifts in Heir of Fire, it was sometimes difficult to engage with her story as there would be vast stretches of the novel in which she wasn't present. The coven tensions between the Ironteeth witches were a neat addition, but I found the animal cruelty and servitude a bit difficult to swallow, especially from a character that I think I'm meant to grow to like. Manon had better start treating her flower-loving, badass, abuse-surviving Wyvern with respect, is all I'm saying.

Ultimately, Heir of Fire was my least favourite in the series to read, but also the one with the most potential as far as series development is concerned. The end quarter more than made up for the slow, repetitive beginning, and I can absolutely see how things are going to start hotting up in Queen of Shadows.

[cornerfolds]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

This was obviously a book to set up the world and characters that will become more important in the rest of the series. The beginning was very slow. I understand why a lot of people hate this book, and others love it. If you do not care about the characters, this book is not for you. There is not much of story, we just see Celaena training again, and again, like in previous books, and until the end, nothing really happens.

This is the first book in which we have multiple character perspectives that are not just two characters who just talked to each other. A couple of new characters are introduced, which did not really feel that interesting to me yet, but who knows what the next book will bring? I did not have any feelings, positive or negative, towards Manon and Rowan. They were just there, not enough to care for, missing a story arc.
I read a lot of reviews mentioning that Chaol was behaving differently in this book. I did not really feel that way, not that it bothered me at least. I saw Chaol being completely blown away by his beliefs and in doubt. He had no clue what he should do if he did the right thing, and how to do the right thing in the future. It felt real, because even people who seemed so sure about their actions before, will have a point in which they start doubting themselves. It's only natural.
Dorian seemed to change the most in this book, as far as I could tell. He became more confident, less afraid of his magic, and started trusting people faster as he had done when Celaena was in the castle. Talking about Celaena, at the beginning of the book it frustrated me that there was no explanation why she would not change in her Fae form, other than not being able to control it properly. Rowan was trying to train her, and she just kept refusing until I'm sure every single reader was done with her. I would have liked to see that explanation earlier, even if it was just in her thoughts, or anything, such that I would at least understand her. Besides that, the training was very repetitive, but I did enjoy the new world in which she was situated.
I do think that there had to be more repercussions since she did not complete the king's task. Even when the time limit was over, no one really cared about it. The king did not, Calaena did not. Unless I am mistaken and the time limit was not over yet, it felt as if that storyline was just forgotten about?

Don't get me wrong. I did really enjoy this book, however, I did not think it was anything special. Just a set up for future books. It did what it was supposed to do, it made me excited to read the rest of the series. Do I think it's a great novel on its own? No. Do I think it was necessary and done well? Yes.

[thepunktheory]

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

I can't even tell you how excited I am after finishing Heir of Fire. The story is picking up speed and a huge plot twist is dropped. Admitted, I had seen it coming and had hoped it would happen. Maybe not quite this way but I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it.
First of all, we get to explore a bit of Wendlyn and Doranelle. Magic is still free in the east so you can prepare yourself for some cool stuff. However, not only new places but also new characters are introduced. If Prince Rowan and Celaena don't end up together, I will be so mad. I'm already shipping them so hard.
Well, Rowan isn' the only interesting new character. We first meet Manon Blackbeak, who is on the road to becoming my new favorite character in the entire series. She's a super bad-ass witch and she's awesome. No more words needed.
In Aderlan, the rebellion is brewing and I can't wait to see when shit will finally hit the fan. The King is annoying me to no end. Could somebody please send him to hell?

[bgsbooks18]

I honestly really enjoyed this book and I for sure plan on reading the rest of this series. I really do Sarah J Maas and the way she writes.

[girlinthepages]

I never thought I'd be a Sarah J Maas fangirl. I read Throne of Glass and was underwhelmed. I read Crown of Midnight, and it was shockingly good, but I was suspicious that it was more due to certain plot elements rather than an overall love for the series itself. However after I discovered my love affair with A Court of Thorns and Roses, I decided it was time to give the Throne of Glass series another chance to wow me. And wow me it did. Heir of Fire was long and angsty, sure, but it was also the installment that broke down the characters to their very core and allowed me to fully empathize with them. It was, in one word, epic.

Heir of Fire is very much a bridge book, in the sense that it is much more about exploring the depths of Celaena's personality, peeling back the layers of her self-hatred and guilt, than it is about plot momentum. Embarking on a literal hero's journey, Celaena spends this book away from Dorian and Chaol, off in Wendlyn, facing the truth of her heritage, confronting her inadequacies and fears, and dealing with the memories of her past that she's repressed for the past decade. I adored this change of setting. I loved learning more about the Fae world that runs like a dangerous, mournful current under the evil King of Adarlan's reign. I love learning about the systems of oppression that exists between the Fae and demi-Fae, and how the political nuances exist in their world even in the face of extermination by the King. Until I discovered Sarah J Maas I thought it was impossible for me to like a book about Fae, but she entices the reader with the ancient, mysterious, and yet vulnerable qualities of the Fair Folk, and its impossible not to be drawn to their lore and hidden worlds.

There's no denying that Heir of Fire is a long read at over 500 pages, and much of that can be attributed to the introduction of several new POV characters (always a dicey occurrence in the middle of a series). Personally, I felt that Maas accomplished the task of weaving in the new characters to the narrative, and making them integral and integral to the plot. Aedion proved to be an important part of the story, as the only POV character who knows Celaena before she was Adarlan's most feared assassin, and brings a fresh perspective to Aelin. His devotion and commitment to her is really honorable and is probably what kept me reading whenever the narrative switched back to Chaol (who I'm sorry, is really just sort of boring in this book). Then there was Manon, whose chapters I expected to hate (because it deviated so much from the other things going on in the book) but whom I grew to love because her relationship with Abraxos was just SO heartwarming (and also those ironteeth witches are pretty badass). The only new character who didn't work for me as a reader was Sorscha, as she really rubbed off on me the wrong way (I found her to read sort of holier-than-thou and sanctimonious) and I felt like her relationship with Dorian was for plot convenience more than anything else. And then there's Rowan...

ROWAN. The only character who eclipses my love for him at the moment is TAMLIN from Maas' ACOTAR series. I love him. He is the one true bae. I didn't think it was possible that he'd grow on me, because he was so wicked and nasty at the beginning of the book and I thought to myself "I know what you're trying to do Maas, you're going to try to make me think he's a jerk and then slowly fall in love with him but it WON'T WORK." Well, I must eat my words because not only did it SO TOTALLY WORK but it runs deeper than him and Celaena being my one true Throne of Glass ship (bye, Chaol). I loved how Rowan was so layered, so ancient and tormented by what it means to be immortal and the multiple lifetimes worth of tragedies that one accumulates after living so long. Rowan and Celaena really were mirror images to one another, one young and one very, very old, and there bond grows into something so much deeper than a potential romantic pairing by the end of the book. Rowan and Celaena, in my opinion, epitomize the idea of a soul mate, wherein you are inescapable tethered to a person through a deep, unyielding understanding of that person's self regardless of if you're lovers or even friends. I love that Maas was able to show such a strong connection outside of a standard romance story line although I WILL THROW EVERY PART OF MY BEING HOPING THIS SHIP SAILS.

While this book brings about so many new character and elements to the series, it also circles back to plot points from much earlier on and ties their significance into Celaena's-Aelin's- existence even more strongly. What really resonated for me as a reader was the reflection on Celaena's time at Endovier, how it haunts her not by reliving her own pain, but by forcing her to ruminate on the torture and slaughter of so many others that she witnessed. How those stuck in the salt mines drive her more than anything else, and the shame and pride she carries in her ruined back as a sign that if anything ever motivates her to ascend to her throne, it will be the helpless soles in Endovier, rather than a sense of duty or pride or birthright or even her people. It's powerful and painful and beautiful all at once.

"...I also think you like to suffer. You collect scars because you want proof that you are paying for whatever sins you have committed. And I know this because I've been doing the same damn thing for two hundred years. Tell me, do you think you will go to some blessed Afterworld, or do you expect some burning hell? You're hoping for hell- because how could you face them in the Afterworld? Better to suffer, to be damned for eternity..."-375

Overall: Heir of Fire is a long read that focuses on character development and the introduction of new players to the plot, but what it lacks in quick paced action in more than makes up for in gut-wrenching feels and insight into Aelin's past. Even with this being a more insightful installment of the series, there's still momentum, such as watching Aelin develop her affinity for fire and an epic battle at the conclusion of the novel. Heir of Fire is the kind of book I needed to fully become invested in this series, and I'm so glad it's taking its time in developing across multiple books so I can soak in the nuances of this fantasy world, as new elements are introduced at every turn in Heir of Fire. It's immediately onto Queen of Shadows for me!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages