Phot credits: Joshua Newton Edited by Vaishali Title: ‘Heir of Fire' Author: Sarah J. Maas Series: (Throne of Glass #3) Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Young Adult, Romance Publisher: Bloomsbury Year of Publication: 2014 Version: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4088-3912-6 Themes: Romance, oppression, slavery, faeries, friendship, hope, freedom, redemption, loss, grief, mental health. Warning: If you have not read the previous two books ('Throne of Glass' and 'Crown of Midnight') in this series, I don't suggest reading this review as it will contain SPOILERS! R E V I E W... Rating: 5 fiery, flaming stars! This book shredded me to pieces and ignited my own heart with a wildfire. 'Heir of Fire was full of fire and made be brim to the surface with it. It was daringly beautiful, exquisitely heartfelt and dangerously all consuming. This book took a toll on my soul and is absolutely one of the best books I have EVER read. Sarah J. Maas drained, rinsed, exhausted and bled her heart and soul dry writing this book, and you can feel what went into the making by reading her words alone. She dug into her own deep well of darkness and magic, scraped through every corner of it to give us this masterpiece of a gift. WOW! Absolutely stunning! This was everything. It was extraordinarily painful, despairingly emotive and unequivocally captivating. This book was not just soul deep; it fed my soul thoroughly, every last piece of it. I felt every word as it vibrated through me, until I was swept away by them, until I was nothing but the language of Heir of Fire. Celaena cares very little for her survival in 'Heir of Fire', and although wishing to be simply ordinary, Celaena is anything but. She has spent the past decade hiding behind names, and at the end of this book she finally lays claim to her true name, accepting the responsibility and weight that comes with it. “Yet this was not the end – this was not her end. She had survived loss and pain and torture; she had survived slavery and hatred and despair; she would survive this, too. Because hers was not a story of darkness. So she was not afraid of that crushing black, not with the warrior holding her, not with the courage that having one true friend offered – a friend who made living not so awful after all, not if she were with him.” Celaena is far away, across seas in the perilous land of Wendlyn where the ethereal Fae and magic still exist unmarred by the horrors wrought by the King of Adarlan. Celaena dwells in an abyss of pure darkness where all she knows is grief, anguish and guilt from all she has lost, the death of her best friend and the betrayal of her lover. Still haunted by her friend’s last words, all Celaena has left in the hollows of her own heart is the one useless vow she made at Nehemia’s grave: to free her people. Celaena is also on a quest to gather information on the world-changing phenomena that is the Wyrdkeys and how they can be destroyed. There is one person who is powerful and old enough to provide her with answers: Queen Maeve of the Fae - the darkest and deadliest of the three sisters. On her journey there Celaena comes face to face with a Fae male for the first time in 10 years - one of Maeve’s warrior servants: Prince Rowan Whitethorn. “Afraid to play with fire, Princess?” “Wendlyn. A land of myths and monsters – of legends and nightmares made flesh” - and Celaena certainly learns this first hand on many occasions, but the biggest threat Celaena must contend with is herself and the festering secrets of her past. Celaena is falling and falling and cannot find a bottom in this abyss of unyielding misery. What little remains of Celaena’s light is dimming and her broken mind and soul are little more than shattered fragments of dreary despair. The spirit that could not be broken did indeed break and the light she was told to not let go out sputtered until darkness embraced….and the Heir of Fire was nothing but a pile of ash. “Fireheart – why do you cry? “Because I am lost, she whispered into earth. “And I do not know the way.” Celaena has executed a herculean effort in veiling 10 years of buried skeletons. She has had enough of death and how stained her soul has become in lieu of it. 'Heir of Fire' is about Celaena unearthing and excavating every agonising shred of her fear, coming to terms with its origin and doing the very brave thing of sharing her story of shame and pain for the first time to the Fae warrior at her side. Celaena was always meant for salvation, she was always meant for leadership, and heroes are not perfect least of all Celaena and her sins but she is a hero because of it, because of her endurance and her capacity to be brave enough to modify something in the space of such darkness. Celaena is not a stagnant character, she is ever-changing and evolving. She herself is a symbol that redemptions is never out of reach, people are worth fighting for and demons do not rule, we let them rule. She is elemental and emblematic in understanding that fear is a very real and crippling entity, a tangible mountainous hindrance in itself and for her to release that fear means everything for her survival, it means everything for living and learning to live in defiance of the fear because she is fighting for something much bigger: the peace and hope for a better future. Her fear often extends beyond herself. “See what you want, Aelin, and seize it. Don’t ask for it; don’t wish for it. Take it.” Celaena fears her own magic and was taught to inhibit and suppress it. This book centres mainly on the huge mental challenge of unblocking her own self-imposed conditions for her to be able to grapple and have utter control over her extraordinarily rare wild magic. Rowan is tasked with training Celaena in mastering her powers at Mistward (the proving ground they are currently staying) so she can enter Doranelle (the realm of the Fae) and get her answers from Maeve. But to say their relationship is smooth sailing is a gargantuan understatement. Rowan is pure, unadulterated alpha male, primal and aggressive, an arrogant pure blooded Fae war band leader, and Adarlan’s Assassin finally meets her match, more than her match actually. Bound to Maeve by a blood oath he took, Rowan is one of six warriors that serve the Queen of the Fae. He is cruel, cold, cunning, a predator ready to devour anything (even Celaena) and an unrelenting force of nature. I think Rowan is the first person in a very long time to have challenged Celaena in more ways than one, giving her as good as he got, if not worse. Their interactions are an unbridled explosion of vicious cursing, violence, challenging threats, snarky remarks and brawling. “Wipe that smarmy, lying smile off your face.” His voice was as dead as his eye, but it had a razor-sharp bite behind it. She kept her smarmy, lying smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stepped toward her, the canines coming out this time. “Here’s your first lesson, girl: cut the horseshit. I don’t feel like dealing with it, and I’m probably the only one who doesn’t give a damn about how angry and vicious and awful you are underneath.” “I don’t think you particularly want to see how angry and vicious and awful I am underneath.” “Go ahead and be as nasty as you want, Princess, because I’ve been ten times as nasty, for ten times longer than you’ve been alive.” Rowan's and Celaena's relationship is slow and gradual, making it a real one because they earn their friendship and the respect and regard for each other. We come to learn that Rowan is hurting and just as broken, bitter and resentful as Celaena. They are both masochistic in their own pain; they revel in it, feeling that it is well deserved as are their visible scars. As venomous as their anger is toward each other it is a kind of lifeline for them, an outlet for their suppressions. They are two crumbling people with such darkness devouring their souls but vow to find their way out of it together, even though they may never be fully healed. “How – how did you come back from that kind of loss? “I didn’t. For a long while I couldn’t. I think I’m still…not back. I might never be.” She nodded, lips pressed together, and glanced toward the window. “But maybe,” he said, quietly enough that she looked at him again. He didn’t smile, but his eyes were inquisitive. “Maybe we could find the way back together.” “I think,” she said, barely more than a whisper, “I would like that very much.” He held out a hand. “Together, then.” She studied the scarred, calloused palm, then the tattooed face, full of a grim sort of hope. Someone who might – who did understand what it was like to be crippled at your very core, someone who was still climbing inch by inch out of that abyss. Perhaps they would never get out of it, perhaps they would never be whole again, but… “Together,” she said, and took his outstretched hand. And somewhere far and deep inside her, an ember began to glow.” I detested Rowan for some of the bitter, malicious words he spouted at Celaena but my love for him grew just as their companionship did - in an unhurried measured way, and toward a solid bond. My love for Rowan was absolute after that and I was his. In all honesty I was invested in this book mostly for Rowan and Celaena. Their interactions were abusive yes, but raw and brutally honest and nothing started out on a lie. They were exposed to one another in all their murky, bleak depressions. They saw the awfulness in each other and didn't hide, Celaena did not need to hide from him like she has done with everybody prior. This was about two soulless souls with sinister paths finding each other and healing their fractured souls together. I loved everything about them both in this book, including how their story together was plotted and paced. The only thing I don’t like about Rowan I have to say is that he doesn’t like chocolate, so I think Celaena should make it her life’s mission to make him love it, even if her life’s mission is supposed to be to wage a damning war… because I have my priorities in order of course. Rowan's and Celaena’s powers neutralise each other. Celaena’s fire melts Rowan’s ice and Rowan’s wind soothes Celaena’s flame, and his wind guides her fire. Just as they nullify each other’s temperament in that Celaena gradually melts Rowan’s cold demeanour and Rowan appeases Celaena’s endless passion. Their gifts have the ability to stabilise each other, complementing the other well Chaol is awaiting his own sentence after promising his father he would return to Anielle and reclaim his title (Lord of Anielle) in exchange for Celaena’s safety. Chaol does everything in his power to keep Celaena’s secrets while equally besieged with her shocking secrets and true identity. Chaol still loves Celaena and he cannot accept the irrevocable change and truth that she is his enemy. Chaol and Dorian’s relationship is distant and becomes more so with all the secrets and lies that are unearthed. Despite the unalterable change between them Chaol will always protect Dorian even if that means fraternising with the enemy. Chaol sacrifices his relationships in an attempt to protect the people he cares most for whilst toeing dangerous territory and defying his allegiances. Aedion Ashryver, Lord of the North, General to the King’s armies is in Rifthold and Chaol finds himself entangled in Aedion’s own web of intricately twined lies and the rebel movement in exchange for valuable information to protect his friend’s secret. Chaol’s biggest hurdle in this book is accepting change and acquiescing to the raw and haunting truths that the world is changing, which means his life is changing and he must pick where his fight is and who he is really fighting, who the real enemy is. But that means Chaol must forsake his hard work, face the false narratives ingrained in him about his Kingdom and sovereign, forsaking the one virtue his life’s blood is worth: his honour. Chaol must step over the line he has feared to cross. Dorian is now fighting to conceal his magic from everyone, especially his father as this knowledge could earn him a death sentence and a one way path to the butchering blocks. But Dorian is on the hunt to find out why he is the only person in the Kingdom blessed (or cursed) with this gift when magic has long been extinct. Still reeling over his best friend’s betrayal Dorian is alone until he becomes acquainted with a healer who helps him construct ways to hide his magic despite the danger she is putting herself in. They grow closer and it’s warm to see Dorian finally get some happiness after losing Celaena. Sorscha is the daughter of a conquered nation and her sole purpose is to be invisible, enough so that she is not taken notice of and therefore not deemed a threat – but this veil she wears gives her great power and Sorscha too has secrets of her own. Her silence is power and she knows many secrets because of it, because she relies on her ears and not her mouth. Sorscha uses her invisibility as a tool for survival, and I like how her character shows that you do not have to be outlandish, and brash, and extrovert, and outspoken to be strong and brave. There are different kinds of strength; silent kinds of strength. In this installment of the 'Throne of Glass' series everybody is keeping secrets from each other, and everybody is walking a fine line between loyalty and betrayal, treason and trickery, most of all Aedion Ashryver - the King’s most notorious general and a fearsome warrior, and I love him with all my heart. Aedion is on his own voyage of hope in this book just like every other character. His loyalties are his own as are his secrets. I loved reading his character so much, and his devotion and love towards a certain unnamed person is heart wrenching. Introducing new characters to this series, Manon Blackbeak is coven leader to the Thirteen; notoriously known for their reputation of cruelty. Manon is also Heir to the Blackbeak clan and her malevolent grandmother is patron and High Witch of the Blackbeaks. Manon was raised to be ruthless without limits, to be savage and merciless and to practice brutality. The three Ironteeth clans have allied with the King and Duke Perrington, bound by a bargain: the witches will serve in the King’s aerial cavalry, train to ride the Wyverns he has been secretly breeding and wage war on his enemies and in exchange the witches can keep their mounts and return to claim their long lost homeland, the Witch Kingdom. Though taught to commit evil and serve it in equal measure, Manon’s most important priority is the safety of her evil grandmother, but Manon is under her own form of oppression but hasn't come to realise it. Although Manon’s story was interesting, I wasn’t too keen on her or enthralled in her tale. I can’t say why exactly, maybe it’s partly because I’m not a great fan of witch folklore, or maybe it’s because she wasn’t in the initial books so I didn’t have any sort of bond with her, but I’d find myself burdened to read her passages, and Dorian’s too for that matter. My heart seemed to be less invested in some characters and more focussed on others such as Celaena, Rowan and Aedion. One of the things I loved about the telling of 'Heir of Fire' was Sarah J. Maas's use of music as a form of healing, music itself being a magic to restore and appease the stains of pain in a decaying world. That the arts hold a significant power in the mending of people and cultures, and without regard of who these people are and where lives are being led, the creations of symphonies brings forth the acknowledgment that we are together in our pain. This instalment is packed full of witch wars, monstrous creatures, mystery, suspense, anticipation, death, survival, rebellion, insurgence, friendship, love, revelation after revelation and it took my heart on a rocky ride through colourful canyons. The character development was well done, the plots were executed beautifully and followed on pristinely from the previous book. The tone, setting and descriptions were just as comprehensive, and the characters did not fail me one bit. Sarah J. Maas is a literary veteran and knows how to plunge her hands through the rubble, seize the heart of a story and lay it out evocatively. She writes dreamers, she writes endurers and fighters, she writes survivors and redeemers, and I think she herself encompasses all of these words through her tales of longing and promise and unyielding wishes in even the most desolate of lands and kingdoms. I would say the same thing about her 'ACOTAR' series too. Sarah J. Maas is a dreamer, and she made my dreams come true by offering and crafting these ground-breaking, earth shattering stories that I never saw coming and I never knew I needed. “Together, Fireheart,” he said, pushing back the sleeve of her tunic. “We’ll find a way together.” He looked up from her wrist. “A court that will change the world.” I gave this book 5 stars - I had too many favourite quotes to include them all! _______________________________________________ R E L A T E D P O S T S: ● 'The Assassin's Blade' by Sarah J. Maas Review ● 'Throne of Glass' by Sarah J. Maas Review ● 'Crown of Midnight' by Sarah J. Maas Review ● 'Queen of Shadows' by Sarah J. Maas Review ● 'Empire of Storms' by Sarah J. Maas Review ● 'Tower of Dawn' by Sarah J. Maas Review ● 'Kingdom of Ash' by Sarah J. Maas Review ______________________________________________ --------------------------------------- M Y R A T I N G S Y S T E M: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read --------------------------------------- I love interacting with fellow readers, reviewers, bloggers and writers. Hearing about reader opinion is the fuel to my reader appetite, so get in touch and comment below! SHARE ON FACEBOOK L E A V E A C O M M E N T A N D L E T' S T A L K A B O U T |
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