Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)

by Sarah J. Maas

[Kait ✨]

oh my god. i knew this was going to be amazing and still i wasn’t prepared for this book. so many feelings, so much left unanswered before the final book. but, a few thoughts:

every book in this series just gets better than the last. this was just BRILLIANT and Maas’ plotting was top-notch. the best part of these books is Aelin’s insane machinations & plotting and it just keeps getting more and more ridiculous but i’m with them 100%. i did not see any of Maas’ twists (and trust me, there are several and they are pretty huge)—it’s why i stayed up until 3:30 am finishing this sucker.

i thought for sure this book would take place entirely in Terrasen, but it doesn’t and i like that there was still a lot of build-up required before the big battle we all know is coming.

the ending was completely devastating, though it felt kinda Harry Potter- / Game of Thrones-esque to me at the end there when Aelin gets put in the box. totally sobbed through that part and if Rowan does not find her i will never forgive Sarah J. Maas.

while i loved the developments with Lysandra and Aedion, Lorcan and Elide, and Manon and Dorian, i also kind of don’t like how everyone is pairing off?? it just feels so neat and tidy and i feel like that could have been handled a little more subtly perhaps. speaking of ships though, i am 100% Team Rowan and have been since the beginnings of [b:Heir of Fire|20613470|Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)|Sarah J. Maas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460846511s/20613470.jpg|25128502] so the outcry about this book baffles me a little. i never saw Celaena and Chaol as endgame and that other people are still so hung up on that relationship is kinda confusing to me. i liked that they had some distance in this instalment. the echoes of [b:A Court of Mist and Fury|17927395|A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)|Sarah J. Maas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485259138s/17927395.jpg|25126749] in this book were maybe a little too parallel for my taste, but it’s a formula Maas does really, really well, and for now i like it okay???.

to me, this is an absolute triumph. part of me wants to be more critical but at the same time Maas’ plotting is so insane that i literally can’t stop to think about anything else at all when reading her books. she never takes a misstep with her books and after Empire of Storms, it’s clear the last book is going to be an insane little ball of explosive fire that will wreck us all.

anyway, my heart is in tatters and waiting till next September is going to be excruciating. BUT IT’S WORTH IT. over & out.