Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)

by Sarah J. Maas

[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.