Book Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Queen of Shadows
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: First published in 2015
ISBN: 9781639731015

Synopsis:
Celaena Sardothien has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight. She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return. Everyone Aelin loves has been taken from her. Everything she holds dear is in danger. But she has the heart of a queen-and that heart beats for vengeance.

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This series just keeps getting better and better. In this next book of the Throne of Glass series, Maas ratchets the action up into an epic slew of battles big and small as Aelin returns to Rifthold and begins to make her alliances where she can. Back in Rifthold, magic is still suppressed, so Aelin can only rely on her wits and physical training to assist her as she works towards bringing down the King and his evil soldiers with their blackened blood.

There’s so much that happens in this novel, I don’t even think I can begin to unpack it. Aelin really starts to come into her own, having tackled her personal details and begun the journey to truly confront her own demons and understand who she is becoming. Her journey is rife with struggles and though there are great triumphs, her road is not filled with successes. I think that’s what’s really great about this novel is that there are as many failures and betrayals as there are wins, creating a much more realistic storyline (as far as fantasy can be realistic), with characters who face challenges head on, and continue to pick themselves back up again.

There is no hiding that this war is a difficult one, and as a reader, I can’t yet see how this is all going to come together. Maas’ writing is masterful as she builds this complex and ever-expanding world. There are new and critical characters introduced in each and every book, all of them essential to driving this plot forward, and all with their own dark and difficult stories to tell. These characters, even the main cast, are deeply flawed. There is so much blood on their hands, on both sides of this war. These characters, even the “good guys” so to speak, are morally grey and it makes for SUCH a good story. We know who we want to triumph, but I do regularly question that choice as the characters actions unfold in less than chivalrous ways.

I’ve already picked up the next book in the series and I’m diving in. Honestly, the last time I read such a series that builds in in its intensity and stakes, and the characters grow and expand in such intricate ways, was with the Harry Potter books. I’m just glad I’m reading these so far after publication that I’m not waiting for the next in the series to be published.

If you’re not reading these and you’re a fantasy lover (or have been in the past), join me in reading these. I’m completely obsessed.

Happy reading!