Review: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas

Published: September 6, 2016 Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

*Beware of spoilers if you have not read the entire series

The Good

This series is one of my all time favorites, and reading this one just reminded me again why it's so far up my list.

Maas gives the impression that every step has been planned out meticulously from the beginning, as everything minor and major from the past has an impact on the present. It makes me want to go back and read the entire series over again knowing that everything I thought was insignificant before could turn into something much bigger. There are so many things that you can guess are going to happen in a book this large, but you will never be able to come up with all the angles that Maas has up her sleeve. Not to mention that Aelin never shares her plans with ANYONE so the whole thing ends up looking like an Ocean's Eleven movie where you think you know what's going on, but you didn't know near as much as you thought you did.

Aelin is one of my favorite characters of all time. Added to her though is this glorious mix of amazing side characters. I adore them all. I will say that Chaol does not feature in this book, but since he's one of my least favorites, that didn't bother me at all. Lysandra and Manon though had such a wonderful amount of time to shine in Empire of Storms. I enjoyed watching their moments. Seriously, they brought out the emotions big time in completely different ways and for different reasons. Then there's Abraxos and honestly he's way more intuitive than you first imagine! Dorian has gone through a bit of personality shift, and who can blame him with what all has gone down for him. I appreciated seeing him as a more quiet and intelligent observer. I enjoyed watching Elide develop into a much more intense and interesting character. It was also a lot of fun to get to spend more time with the fey and the different personalities they envelope along with some phenomenal powers. There are some seriously powerful characters in this series! I know I'm leaving some out and believe me, they all had a time and a place to show how great they are.

The humor is so well timed. In the midst of all the action and some emotional angst, there were a lot of places that I was still cracking up laughing.

The Bad

Yeah, I've got nothing.

The Romance

Rowan came as a breath of fresh air for me and is really a fit for our girl and who she's developed into. I love everything about him and his relationship with Aelin. There are so many side romances to be seen in Empire of Storms as well. Some just little flirtationships and some a little more serious.

Conclusion

There's nothing I can say to describe how wonderful this book and entire series really is. If you haven't started it, please do. It's for those who enjoy magic, royalty, tons of action, unexpected surprises, and amazingly developed characters. It has a ending that will tear you up, bring out the feels in ways you can't imagine, and leave you wanting more and more from a book that is actually pretty long.