Empire of Storms

Ugh. I'm giving it a four-star rating for now, but after I digest and reread, I'll probably change it to five stars. I love the world Sarah has created, and, though this is not something I normally enjoy, I like that I'm not sure where we're going with the story. I ordinarily hate surprises (and love spoilers for that reason), and I generally try not to start a series until it's completely finished so I can be done with it. But Sarah has me on the edge of my seat, and although I know good will probably prevail, I'm still incredibly nervous for the characters, and I want more!

Additionally, even if it's cheesy, I love watching the characters pair up, especially the new stuff:
Everyone knew Manon & Dorian and Lysandra & Aedion would get together, but Lorcan and Elide?? Who saw that coming?? I didn't, but I LOVED it! Plus Rowan and Aelin married?? Mated? Squee! But it also makes me sad for Sam. Maybe he and Lyria can be together in the otherworld? (Is it weird that I wonder about that, even though I know they're not real people?) And Chaol and Nesrin? What the hell? Where are they? Nothing? That made me sad.

Really minor gripe, and I'm not sure if it's just that I've read and reread the series so many times that these things stand out to me, but certain words and phrases are used over and over and over to the point when I read them, they automatically stand out and annoy me. I guess I'm only putting this out there because I'd like Sarah and/or her editors to change this in the future. I'll buy the rest of the series (and ACoTR too) regardless, but fwiw, this drives me crazy! Some examples: "incarnate" used in EoS 4 times. Okay, that doesn't seem like that many times, but add in the other times it's used in the series, and it drives me crazy. If it were just one character's favorite word, then fine. But all the characters use it. It's a great word, but it's not a regular word. There are synonyms."sides of the same * coin" *insert fair, golden, other adjective here, or use none at all. It's still over used, IMO.Petty? Maybe, idk. It's not like I could write anything like this or like Sarah. But something that could be improved perhaps? Bees?

September 2017 is too far away. Sarah–I'll be happy to beta though, should you need another!! wink wink wink