Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, 3) Paperback – February 14, 2023

What I would give for the rest of the series to be out already. I cannot get enough of this enthralling tale created by Sarah J Maas. I loved the first book. I had wondered if the second would be as good or fall prey to the second book slump that so many do. It did not. I got better. Then I wondered if it really could get better each time or if the third would be slump. Folks, I am here to tell you this book is not a slump. It is the mighty vault into a whole new arena of splendid storytelling.Maas really is getting better with each book in this series. This one in particular was nuanced and could have been the crash to the bottom that Celaena's soul took. Somehow, in the midst of a very sorrowful point in this multi-book story, it was captivating.***Spoilers from here on out***Celaena, our favorite assassin, is at her lowest as she contemplates all she has unwillingly lost and willingly let slip through her fingers. I honestly wondered numerous times if Maas had dealt with depression before because the way she wrote Celaena's depression was disturbingly accurate. The depth of her character growth is unparalleled. There are obviously better writers out there and far more complex fantasy narratives but the character of Celaena is one of my all-time favorites. Maas proves why Calaena deserves that spot in this third novel. I love a redemption story, a phoenix rising from the ashes if you will, anyy day of the week. Heir of Fire was that with so much depth and heart. It was just so good.The novel's pacing is slow in the first third and starts to pick up until it's the fast paced, revelation-dropping action we came to know in the first two novels. I don't think it's less of a good read for it though. If anything, it made it richer as we went through the tough places the characters where going through.Sorcha was alright as a character. I liked her and Dorian together though and wished that ending had been different. Chaol was right when he said the kingdom could use a healer as a Queen. Aedion is a very interesting character. His loyalty to Aelin is endearing. His ability to play the submissive king's general is impressive. I really can't wait to see if he survives past the next book and joins Rowan in Aelin's court. Can you imagine those two in her court protecting her and fighting alongside her?Some surprises for me where how much I loved Manon's story and Abraxos. She was intriguing right of the bat and I really started rooting for her when she chose Abraxos. I fell in love with her as she started realizing she cared for Abraxos and even started to gain things like honor and compassion. Who know I would root for a Blackbeak witch. I'm really interested to see where her story goes. Another surprise was my complete boredom with Chaol. I remember loving him in the first two books and really rooting for him over Dorian. I like Dorian better as Calaena's friend/equal (as they are both heirs to their kingdoms) than as a lover. However, in this book, Chaol really lost if for me. I still appreciated him. I liked that he was becoming unlikely friends with Aedion. I really loved how he was helping Calaena and Dorian from afar and chose them even when he didn't know where his alliances lied in terms of king and country. But man, I just got bored with him. It took him long enough to finally stand up for what was right and go against the king.*********Major plot spoilers**********Another surprise was my near crying. I found myself tearing up towards the end. It was mostly the huge revelation of Calaena's past, what really happened, and how heartbroken she was. I think what really got me was seeing how dearly loved she was by hear parents only for her to lose them and her own sense of self in one fell swoop. I also teared up when little Aelin said "Get up" and all those who had loved her echoed the same phrase. Calaena/Aelin had been through so much. She had so much self-loathing and thought they hated her for all her dark deeds. That scene was just beautiful as she saw the truth and started fighting again. I got so much joy from seeing Calaena claim who she is. When she stood up against Maeve, whoa buddy! I wanted her to kick Maeve's butt for what she did to Rowan and how she tried to control Calaena. But when she made that power play against Maeve, Aelin was just the queen we'd been waiting for, a queen who would not bow even to one of the fiercest queens around."It would not take a monster to destroy a monster-but light, light to drive out darkness.""She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one."I have noticed numerous reviews on here noting, mostly disliking, the lack of romance and more sorrowful plot points. Maybe they should go back to reading lesser quality series like Twilight if they just want a juicy love triangle because this series is about so much more. Do I appreciate the romance in the first two novels? Of course! Would I love to see Calaena dive back into the romance pool in the upcoming books? Heck yes! However, this series is not just a romance series. It is a daring epic tale of this assassin who turns out to be so much more and must claw her way back to being who she was born to be. It is a tale of coming together to fight for the good left in the world even when you've been to its darkest depths. I'm glad this novel didn't have the romance of the first two. It wouldn't have fit where Calaena was in her story. Her connection with Rowan, while at times I did wish for more, was healing and challenging all at once. I liked that even if something does become more romantic between the two of them later, it didn't happen in this book."I claim you Aelin, to whatever end."Let's not forget Chaol. I loved him in the first two but where he was in this book was just annoying. Again, this was great for making a character three dimensional instead of just the rugged hero archetype. At this point though I would say I don't want him to be with Calaena, not with who she is becoming as Aelin. This is random, and I don't know if anyone else felt this way, because most people seem to love Rowan and I'm right there with them. However, for some reason I kept wondering if a triangle/square would happen with Aedion at some point in the future. It was just those throw away remarks from both Aedion and Calaena/Aelin about how close they were and how in the past people thought they would be a great couple politically. Things that happened in this book started as throw away comments in the first and second so I really wonder about that. I wouldn't be opposed. I felt a shift in my heart from the Dorian/Chaol love triangle to a potential Rowan/Aedion love triangle. This seems to have come from our main character's shift from Calaena to Aelin.I really am going to hate this waiting. Some part of me wishes I hadn't read these novels till the whole series was out. That would have been the sane choice. Then again, I wouldn't have wanted to miss this series for anything.

You know those books where after you're done reading, you just need to take a few moments, or days to process what happened because the book is just so amazing that you can't fathom that it's over? Well, Heir of Fire is that book. The story picks up several weeks after Celaena left Adarlan. Ms. Maas's writing flows effortlessly, and you will never want to stop reading. The pacing is fantastic, and there is never a dull moment. This novel is one non-stop thrill ride that will instantly sweep the reader off his/her feet, and they will never want to stop the ride.This story is much different than the previous two novels in this series. This tells the story of a broken girl, who while strong on the outside, is utterly broken apart on the inside. This novel tells the story of a girl who is braving through her life, but has absolutely no direction of where she wants to go, what she wants to do, or who she can trust. Living with the biggest secret that she has been pushing down for 10 years is no easy feat, and that secret is finally rearing its ugly head. There are consequences to every action, and Celaena must deal with her actions. One of my favorite parts of this entire book was watching the development of Celaena's character over the course of the book. She begins the story as a broken person, someone who isn't the brave, tough assassin we have come to know in the previous books. Don't worry, she is still that way around others, but her internal thoughts are anything but. She is living with the guilt of actions, but also carrying with her the death of several relationships, those of her best friend and lover. Celaena is forced to confront her powers and hone them if she wants any answers, and for her this is one of the most difficult challenges she has ever faced. After all, how do you give into powers that you are afraid of? As we watch Celaena develop and come into her powers, the results are that of awe and wonder. She truly comes into her own, and it all ends in a fiery conclusion that leaves a new Celaena standing tall and proud. However, she also learns to let others in, and perhaps this is the most important lesson she learns in the entire book. This is only the beginning for her character, and I suspect she will be even stronger, braver, and more badass in the next book.Because Caelena is away from Adarlan for the entire book, we see the story from Dorian, Chaol, and several other new characters' POV. While balancing so many perspectives might overwhelm many authors, Ms. Maas handles it with such a grace and excellence, it truly shows her extreme talent as an author. Chaol has separated himself from Dorian, and he too undergoes a great growth during the story. I loved seeing his side of things, and how he handled everything that was thrown at him. He truly becomes a different person by the end of the story, and I am still rooting that he and Caeleana will come out alright in the end. Dorian finds love in an unexpected place, and I loved watching the romance bloom. It was so sweet and gave a nice light feeling to those scenes in the midst of the heavier nature of the book. It was also nice to see him "moving on" from Caelena. Dorian finds someone he can trust in Chaol's absence, and Dorian changes immensely as well because of this. He truly shows signs of a king in this novel.As I said, there are several new characters in this story, one being Rowan. And I absolutely ADORE his character. I loved every single sarcastic, brooding moment, and boy do I want more of him. In the beginning, he is infuriatingly stubborn and relentless with Caelena, but there's a point where he opens up, and dear Lord, it made me love him even more. He is such a badass character, and the perfect fit for Caelena. While at first I thought he was a potential love interest, I will spoil this for you and tell you flat out that there is nothing but strong friendship between the two. Personally, I thought everything about their relationship was handled perfectly, and Ms. Maas wrote about true friendship; one where the two people would do anything for each other, and see each other through till the very end.Even though this book is written in third person, you honestly can't tell. A lot of times, people say that in third person, you aren't able to connect to the characters as easily as a first person novel would read. However, this is not the case in anyway here. You feel every single emotion, every single heartbreak, and every single struggle these characters are going through, and all you want to do is take all the characters and place them in a nice situation so that they would be away from all of the tragedy that they are facing. You want to make everything better for them, even though you know it's impossible. Nevertheless, by the end of this book, you will feel so much more connected to the story and the characters that you will want to see them through to the end (not like you didn't want to before though).Now let's talk about this ending. The ending is so explosive, so full of twists, and so utterly devastating that your mouth will be left hanging open and you will have tears in your eyes. Every single character has their own separate ending in a way, and it proves that Ms. Maas is just getting started with torturing us and the characters. Trust me, you will NEED and WANT the next book right away after you finish this story, because even though this novel is a whopping 565 pages, it's not enough. It will never be enough.I highly recommend this book to all fans of the Throne of Glass series. This is yet another exciting installment, and is not to be missed. You will be taken on a ride full of twists and turns; one filled with suspense, intrigue, action, adventure, and love. You will be left with a longing for the fourth book, and will want to go back and reread this book as soon as you're finished. And you'll want to after the huge cliffhanger that ends this book. This is fantasy at its finest, and doesn't disappoint! Happy reading :)10+++++ stars