Empire of Storms

3.23.21 Edit: What was 18 year old me thinking when I wrote this review??? It's awful. I don't want to delete it so I can fix it later, but please don't ever read what I wrote below. This book is 5/5 stars. I love it. Thank you. I owe you one. 9.22.16 Edit: After weeks of consideration, I have decided to change my rating to 4 stars to 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Mainly because any book with Manon doesn't deserve anything less than a 5 star Goodreads rating...I'm too lazy to change my review so just yeah..... 4.5/5 stars. “The world will be saved and remade by the dreamers.” Warning: This review contains unmarked spoilers.This is the toughest book I have ever had to review, so I think I'm going to review it a little differently than I usually do. I so desperately wanted to rate it five stars, like all the other ToG books before it. It deserves five stars, because damn did [a:Sarah J. Maas 3433047 Sarah J. Maas https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1582137198p2/3433047.jpg] deliver. In typical SJM fashion, everything that happened was unpredictable. Yet, no matter how much I wanted to give it 5 stars, it had one too many faults. Especially since I had a lot of deja vu reading this, I mean if you have read another Sarah J. Maas work that came out earlier this year you should definately understand. The Storyline Empire of Storms picks up where we left off in [b:Queen of Shadows 18006496 Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4) Sarah J. Maas https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441230104l/18006496.SY75.jpg 25272067]. Aelin travels home to Terrasen to reclaim her throne. Yet, nothing seems to go as planned when high ranking douchebags don't recognize her right to the throne. So Aelin leaves Terrasen and travels across the continent in order to gain allies. And that, at least in my opinion, is the boring plot. Manon returns home to her squad of witches and decides to challenge the authorities when they sentence her best friend to death. Finally we get to see my badass queen realize that hey, love does exist, and wow, it's okay to feel love. Manon challenges the authorities (cough her grandmother cough) and she learns more about her past and who she is. And spoilers! My badass queen is actually a queen. Manon slays this entire book, as per usual. Then we have Elide, who teams up with bad-boy fay Lorcan, in order to fullfil promises she made in QoS to find Celaena then Aelin. I had forgotten about Elide, and since the book opens with her POV, I was beyond confused. Slowly, though, things about her and Kaltain started coming back to me. And the more it came back, the more attached I got. I loved Elide and Lorcan, and their POV quickly became my favorite to read. One of my favorite aspects of these books is the friendship between Dorian and Chaol, and though Chaol wasn't even in this book we still get that pinch of friendship with Dorian constantly wishing Chaol was there. Just same Dorian. Part of me kind of wishes that they run off together in the end... The Ending Spoiler Alert! So, was it just me, or did I just read an ending about a girl who secretly gets married to her “mate” and willingly goes with the enemy to save ~people~. I mean, I feel like I have...maybe in another Sarah J Maas book...that came out earlier this year???? Was that just me? It probably was...whatever... I mean I feel like there are many similarities to that book though. Characters Aelin. I like Aelin. I really do. She's tough. She's badass. She could probably kill you in her sleep. Watching her command is breathtaking, she's doing exactly what she's meant to do. Yet, no matter how hard I try, I can't bring myself to love Aelin. She's not Celaena Sardothien. I miss Celaena Sardothien. Rowan. As hard as I try to like him. I can't. I don't find him attractive. Or cunning. Or anything. I especially don't like him with Aelin. He's just a knock-off Rhys. Manon. Manon is better than you. Just accept it. Manon is better than anyone. I can't believe I couldn't stand her in Heir of Fire, she's one of the best character in this entire story. And also exactly the kind of kickass character we need after the death of Celaena Sardothien. Dorian. I'm just a slut for Dorian. Let's be honest here. Elide. and Lorcan I know that Lorcan did some stuff in the end that was kind of uncool, but let's just pretend that didn't happen. I loved these two together. I want them to get married and live happily ever after. Aedion. I don't really have much to say about him. He was cool as always. Super loyal and kick butt. I like him a lot. I'm 99% sure Aedion and I are bffs for life. Lysandra. Before going in, all I could remember about Lysandra was that she was the mistress that killed Arobynn. I had totally forgotten that she could shape shift. So when she started going all snow leopard I was like WTF?????????? She surprised me so much. There was a serious lack of strong, independent women in the first few books, and I love how stuffed this book is of them. Chaol. He wasn't in this book, besides a few mentions. Which left a hole in my heart. A giant, black hole. About the size of the grave Sarah J. Maas dug for Celaena Sardothien. Final Thoughts Honestly this book is amazing, even with the lack of Chaol. This entire series is intense, and if you are that one person who hasn't read it, then stop what you are doing and pick up the first book. You aren't going to be disappointed. I need the next book. My heart might not last the next year, so the sooner the better. I have a giant list of things I want in the next book, ranging from Chaol to Sam being alive and Aelin Celaena running off with him. I know most of my predictions are just wild fantasies, but Sarah has caused me so much pain that I deserve at least Chaol.