Quite Literary: Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place.

If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

The Review

"She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one."

I think I'm still in a state of shock at what this book turned out to be. It's quite different from the previous books in the series, but the change was rather interesting. First of all, I have a confession to make.

I no longer ship Celaena with Chaol.

I know, I know! What a disgrace I am to the terrific ship. May I exit the ship before I explain further? It's on the verge of sinking.

Also, can you pretty please consider putting the tomatoes in a burger before throwing it?

They're rotten? Never mind.

*shields face*

I shall discuss the matters about the romance later on. There were much more epic things going on.

This book. It's different. While the previous books mostly focused on action and romance, this book plunged much deeper than that. Feelings and emotions would probably be the main factor. The theme is darker too, and Sarah J. Maas's writing helped it be even more so. I was absolutely delighted, and flied through everything. My slow little brain couldn't even keep up with my speed most of the time. I think this is the least amount of time I've taken with a book in the series so far. Brilliant, terrific, fantastic and any other synonyms you can think of.

Celaena's character growth was brilliant. Celaena, the arrogant girl. Celaena, the badass assassin. She who doesn't fear anything. She, who is unbeatable. Isn't that so? Wrong. So very wrong. This novel will show you a whole new side of Celaena - more vulnerable, more real - the broken side of her she has kept hidden. Usually, character growth works the other way, from a broken character to a strong one but this? It was much more than just a growth in her character. I was drenched in feels, rather literally if you consider how I was sweating like the sun was sitting right next to me reading the book too. (Please don't bring science OR general knowledge into this).

The new characters were..AMAZEBALLS. Due to the not-so lack of any other words. We have Rowan, a fae warrior who doesn't bear any nonsense, Aedion, Celaena's cousin and one of the King's generals. Manon, an Ironteeth witch who is the heir to the Blackbeak clan and Sorscha, the healer.

Manon's chapters were quite different from the flow of the original plot, so I see how it some might not have cared much about her or disliked her, but I loved her. I see potential in her character. It was also interesting to see her with her wyvern, Abraxos and how they interacted.

Aedion is supposedly the arrogant, clever and self-obsessed guy. But there's much to depth to his character. As for Sorscha, she was mostly a side-character more than anything. I didn't connect with her much since her POV wasn't presented as often as the others. Still, she was pretty sweet and is the main reason Dorian exits the stupid love triangle. YES! There is no more Dorian-Celaena-Chaol love triangle! (Hopefully). But then again, this feeling of triumph soon turns into dread. You'll see why.

And lastly, Rowan. He was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Do I even need to say more?

I admit that I can see Celaena and Rowan being absolutely PERFECT together, no questions involved. Much, much, more chemistry than Celaena and Chaol ever had. To all you Chaol lovers though, fear not. Sarah J. Maas is kind enough not to add romance to Celaena and Rowan's relationship. They're more like Chaol and Dorian, for now at least. It's a relationship that goes much deeper than romance.

Or maybe you should fear, since there's less Chaol in the book. For me, however, it wasn't that bad.

The thing is that if you place any decent guy in front of me, I'd ship him with Celaena. First, it was Dorian. Then Chaol. Then Sam. And now, Rowan.

I think Sarah J. Maas can make me ship anyone with anyone. I mean..can I let it out?

I think I ship Chaol with Aedion.

PUT THOSE PITCHFORKS AWAY.

But they would make a sexy couple, and you've GOT to admit it. So, for now. I will not jump on any bandwagon

All in all, this was an extremely enjoyable, thrilling read and probably the best one in the series so far. It focused more on deep topics with more darker means, and that was mostly what gave me higher hopes for the upcoming books. Highly recommended.

Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Friday, September 26, 2014