Spoilers ahead! Sorry we couldn’t contain ourselves!! And also apologies for the capital letters and thousands of exclamation marks!! We both just loved this book so much!!
Amy’s Review:
Words can’t describe all the emotions I feel for this book; it blew me away. Sarah J Maas is the queen of fantasy and has created a book filled with so much action, emotion and just pure amazingness!!!
Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen returns back to Rifthold for vengeance and to face her past and future. As she tries to save the ones she loves she must also save her kingdom by freeing magic once and for all. With the help of her friends Aelin embarks on a dangerous and dramatic adventure whilst uncovering dangerous and life changing secrets.
The plot was perfect. It was well paced and when I say there was action behind every page, I meant it! So many secrets were also revealed about almost every character which just made me scream with excitement or gasp in horror and shock. It was so dramatic, exciting and such an enjoyable read with so much going on!
Aelin is always a wonderful character to read about and with her you never know what to expect. I loved how she would sneakily do her own thing without telling the reader or the other characters so when it was revealed you felt you were right there with the other characters. She is still the ass-kicking, sassy and strong woman she’s always been and it was nice to see her develop more as a character, friend and Queen. I was so pleased when Aelin and Manon finally met, I had a little fit in my seat when I read it!! And it was so badass because they are such strong and powerful characters!
Sarah J Maas alway does a good job at creating and portraying the beautiful men in her books and Queen of Shadows wasn’t an exception. All of them are just perfect; they’re badass but kind and powerful yet gentle. At the beginning of the book, I was a little disappointed with Chaol at the but as we carried on he began to chill a bit. It was then ending though for Chaol that got me but I won’t give anything away!
But when Rowan rucked up on the scene I nearly lost myself (again). I think I actually screamed. His relationship with Aelin is always a delight to read as one minute they all romantic with each other and the next they’re at each others throats with their humorous banter. I also loved his character development and how he slowly began to open up to Aelin and confess his feelings! Ahhh! Also Aelins relationship with Aedion was just so cute and I was overjoyed when they were finally reunited. The bromance between Aedion and Rowan again is something I really enjoyed and certainly want to see more of.
Throughout this series I have become so emotionally attached to these characters and the last few chapter I was a wreck. My heart was beating so fast and I was sensitive ball of emotion that could have exploded at any minute and that is what I loved about this book is that it made me feel like that.
This book has left me with so many new and exciting ships!!! I wasn’t totally with the whole Rowena ship but after this book I am the captain of that ship and 100% supporting it. Two other ships that were hinted in the book, were between Lysandra and Aedion and between Manon and Dorian! In my eyes these relationships could totally work and I hope they develop in the next book! However it is the relationship with Chaol and Nesryn, I’m a little unsure of and it’s probably because I have a huge fictional crush on Chaol and I think me and him would be a way better ship! But aside from that they are perfect! God, It’s all just so cute and lovely!!
I was so glad that I read the ‘Assassins Blade’ before hand as a lot of characters and references were made from the prequel so if your planning on reading it read the ‘Assassins Blade’ first. I loved that Lysandra came back but as a nicer and more mature character and I enjoyed learning about her past and secrets! If you know what I mean?! My whole opinion of her has changed dramatically and she is now one of my favourite characters who I hope returns in the next book!
Overall, I think it is clear to say I rate this book 100/5 stars it was just pure amazingness and now my favourite in the series. It was filled with action, adventure and a lot of emotions! Please just give me book 5 now! If you haven’t yet read the ‘Throne of Glass Series’ I HIGHLY recommend you do as it is a wonderful YA Fantasy which never leaves a dull moment!
Eleanor’s Review:
HOLY SHIT! IT’S GOING TO BE HARD TO DO THIS ENTIRE REVIEW WITH CONSTANT CAPITALS! However I will refrain myself! I don’t know what Amy has already written, although I know she wrote a lot, so I apologise if our reviews overlap because I am aware (from a very excited phone) that we have very similar opinions!
I’m certain Amy has already explained that this is the fourth book in the throne of glass series and has already written an overview so I’m just going to jump right into my opinion!
AHHHHHHHHAHHHHAHHHHHH!!!!!!! THIS BOOK WAS SO AMAZING! If I wasn’t at school I would have easily read this book within two days even though it is absolutely HUGE! I didn’t read the first three books that long ago so I luckily didn’t have much of a wait for this new book (I waited about a month) so I think it’s fair to say that I’m going to have a very hard time waiting for the fifth book!
Right, this book completely upped the stakes, new characters were added who I LOVED, and characters who we already know were developed and just got more and more amazing! Let’s start with Aelin… she just got so SASSY! Some of the things she did and her little schemes and plans were just beautifully crafted and were just so clever! At first I was confused as we didn’t really know what she was doing because we found out when the other characters found out, but that made the emphasis on the moment when we do find out all the more special and rewarding! She is such a good leader and has grown so much as a character, I think I’m actually quite proud of her!
On to Rowan, WHAT A HUNK! I SHIP AELIN AND ROWAN SO MUCH IT HURTS! He is just so loyal and amazing and I have created literally the perfect torso for him in my mind it’s unreal!!!!
Aedion… I just love the relationship between Aelin and Aedion, there is so much banter and there is an instant brotherly sisterly relationship as soon as their characters meet and it’s just so perfect I can’t describe. I don’t want to go on and on about different characters but I also LOVE Manon she is so BADASS! Also there are new characters like Elide who you just can’t help but love!
Okay, onwards! Sometimes the story was too intricate and complicated that I occasionally lost a thread which I would eventually pick back up but it did leave me a bit baffled sometimes. But that is purely because I was probably being a bit dozy and wasn’t paying full attention as I did read this book whilst falling asleep!
Also I don’t know how Maas did it, but she managed to make me emotional about a character I haven’t even met (because I haven’t yet read Assassin’s Blade). I don’t want to spoil it but there is a moment when Aelin visits a certain grave… I was so close to tears! Her writing is just so beautiful, I truly marvel how she can literally make you laugh and cry on the same page!
I’m so excited I don’t know what to say! I only finished the book about an hour ago so this is my raw reaction! I’m going to award this an easy 5 out of 5 stars if you’ve read the first three books then this book is an absolute MUST! PLEASE READ IT I’M BEGGING YOU!
Apologies for such a long review but we both had a lot to say!
A Fangirl's Opinion 