Review: Heir of Fire

By Rachel

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas, published by Bloomsbury Childrens.

Read: January 2015
Genre: Young Adult/Romance/Fantasy/Adventure
Source: Purchased
#Pages: 562
Get It Now: Wordery

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Goodreads Synopsis: Consumed by guilt and rage, Celaena can’t bring herself to spill blood for the King of Adarlan. She must fight back…

The Immortal Queen will help her destroy the king – for a price. But as Celaena battles with her darkest memories and her heart breaks for a love that could never last, can she fulfil the bargain and head the almighty court of Terrasen? And who will stand with her? Crowned by Evil. Bound by Duty. Divided by Love.

The Review

Where do I start with this book??! First of all, it’s chunky, and I don’t just mean physically – there’s so much going on in this read – multiple story-lines are being followed, new characters are being introduced, there’s a whole heap of character development, at times I felt my brain was going to explode, but never in a bad way!

This book is different to the first two, in the sense that many of the relationships we’ve grown accustomed to reading about take a back seat so that the action and plot development can crank up a gear. Admittedly, this took me a little while to get used to – there are so many story-lines to follow in alternate chapters, and Maas takes a step back to provide the reader with more of an overview of what else is going on in the world and not just in our protagonists’ lives. In this installment, shit gets real.

Throne of Glass introduced me to Fantasy I could fall in love with, Heir of Fire introduced me to full-on High Fantasy I could fall in love with. I can’t even begin to explain how much I’m loving Maas and this series. I’ve seen a couple of bloggers say that they didn’t enjoy Manon’s chapters (she’s a witch), and while it took some time for me to settle into them, I have to say by the end of the book I enjoyed seeing what was going on with her, and I’m intrigued as to what part she’ll have to play in later books. I can feel it brewing.

This book feels more plot driven than previous installments – that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because of the amount going on it had to happen at some point – but I do miss the “feeling” of the previous books. I can’t pinpoint it, but something has shifted.

As for this Rowan I’d heard so much about, and was petrified of finally meeting, I have to say I fell for him. Maas is fantastic at writing male characters – so much so that while I’m shipping a couple, I can fall for other male leads (Sam, anyone?). However, let me make it perfectly clear that I still ‘ship Chaol and Celaena so hard and will not find it acceptable if Maas suddenly ruins my ‘ship by making Rowena happen. No.

It's Not Going To Happen Gif

Quotables:

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

“I claim you, Rowan Whitethorn. I don’t care what you say and how much you protest. I claim you as my friend.”

The Rating

4.5/5

I’m so excited for the next books in this series, and part of me is so happy that I’m part of the nervous anticipation before their release, I’ve missed this feeling! On the flip-side of that though, the wait is going to be incredibly frustrating!! What has Maas got up her sleeve? There are so many things that could happen in the next three installments! Argh!

Have you read Heir of Fire? Are you loving this series? Let me know in the comments! 

About Rachel

Avid reader & #bookblogger. Lover of all things business. A fan of drinks & dancing. Ever optimistic. Feminist.

18 Responses

  1. joyousreads

    I’m glad this series continue to be outstanding for you, Rachel. It really sucks when I can’t seem to find the beauty of a certain book/series, while everybody adores them to pieces!

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    1. Rachel

      Oh, I’m loving it so, so much. I struggle to believe the series won’t be finished until 2017!!!! It’s good that some people don’t enjoy all the series’ though, good for a bit of diversity and whatnot, but I’d love it if you loved this! Lol R x

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    1. Rachel

      I’m the same. I LOVE those guys!! Manon intrigued me because obviously she has a part to play in the looming war, and I’m thinking she might switch sides, she seems to be finding her humanity somehow along the way. Dorian will turn on his dad, Manon will turn on her grandmother I think. It’s going to get real, real good and my levels of coping are non-existent! R x

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  3. Carol

    I love Rowena is terms of friendship but if they ever become romantically involved and Chaol gets pushed aside I may cry; real, big fangirl tears.

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    1. Rachel

      Yes, yes, definitely agree, I’m loving that friendship – but I feel Maas ended Heir of Fire as though Rowan, Chaol and Aedion could all be potential suitors, and I’m hoping it’s just to add mystery and that Chaol will shine through. But she has three books to torture us with yet, so God knows where this will end up. I don’t know what I’ll do – there’s so many plot-twists she could throw in yet – there’s a build to a big war coming and people might even die… I can’t cope just thinking about it… R x

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      1. Carol

        I’m a little bit worried about Aedion I must admit because he always thought he’d take the blood oath but now Rowan has done that and then at the end he was thinking about maybe the possibility of becoming King if he married Celaena so I’m very curious to see where that storyline goes! If Chaol dies I riot.

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      2. Rachel

        I think multiples can take the blood oath, it was just when Ren was banging on to Aedion about whether he wanted to marry Aelin or see her again, and there was hints towards how all the different matches would impact the fight – if Aelin and Aedion pair they’re both family-related to throne, if Dorian and Aelin pair it’s two kingdoms coming together, if Aelin and Rowan pair it’s a powerful fae match, but not much was said about if Chaol and Aelin pair… 😦 Haha I’ll join you!! R x

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  4. journeythroughfiction

    Ooh gosh YES! I’m so anxious about the next three books. With the way things are set up, there are so many different angles that it can go – and in honesty, they all kinda scare me! I felt the same with Manon actually – she took a bit of getting used to, but I ended up being so curious about her, she grew on me! And, I think you’re spot on with the ‘shift’ in this book – it kind of feels like the build up for some MAJOR battles and heartache in the future. What’s got me scared though, look at all that’s happened up to now… and we are only at the HALF-WAY mark!! (I’m bloomin’ terrified! I want everything and everyone to make it out alive… but I’ve got this horrid feeling that’s not going to happen…) And, lol, the wait times for each book are just plain cruel! I’m SERIOUSLY hoping that none of them get pushed back even further, eep!!

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    1. Rachel

      Sames! I’d love to know where Maas is planning to take this, especially as now it has such a loyal following – no pressure! I ended up liking Manon and enjoyed her chapters, she didn’t distract from the story for me, because I’m guessing she’s going to have an important role to play. Maas wouldn’t do that would she?! Oh God, she’s going to kill people. Don’t even say such a thing!! Pushed back?! If it gets pushed back much more I’ll be pushing 30 by the time they’re all out! Boke. R x

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