Empire of Storms

EDIT 30/08/17

full review here: https://thewanderingsofreaders.blogspot.com/2017/08/recensione-empire-of-storms-by-sarah-j.html

We'd better eat before we raise hell.

Empire of Storms starts from where we had left it in

Queen of Shadows. Dorian is the new King of Adarlan, while Chaol, forced into a wheelchair, is heading south to Tower Cesme to find a cure. Aelin, Rowan, Aedion, and Lysandra are heading north to Terrasen, where they do not know that Elide is going too, rescued by Manon, who is instead in Morath with his Ironteeths. However, nothing will go as expected. Dorian has to figure out how to manage his new powers and a reign that is going to fall apart. Aelin and her new court have to be accepted by the people she forgot for too long. Elide tries a desperate escape in the woods north of Adarlan to save her life from Erawan's Inklings and some new dangers. Manon has to find out her legacy and understand who she should be loyal to.

The rhythm is much more intense, all the characters will have to discover more and more about themselves and their fate, while new devotions and devastating revelations will be on the agenda. From the first book -

Throne of Glass, the author's style improvement is evident. By describing us a small and discrete reality like Adarlan and the glass castle, now she can describe and move in different places and on different floors, allowing us to have a full idea of the world of Erilea. The characters’ descriptions and introspections are also highly refined. Behind every story and every personality there are hidden mysteries that will be revealed in part only in the end. I can say that

Empire of Storms is the book of revelations and the final explanations. All the mysteries and questions we had from

Throne of Glass finally get an explanation and an answer. An answer that will break you.

I won’t tell you how many times I cried by reading this book, for joy, relief, sadness and despair.

Empire of Storms is the end of everything but the beginning of something new. Of a new adventure even more exciting and that will touch you deep.

However, we will have to wait another year before we can read the last chapter: September 5, 2017 will be released in the US

Tower of Dawn, the sixth novel that will describe Chaol's parallel adventure and we’ll see what’s gonna happen. Instead, the last chapter of the series will be released next fall.

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Now the

spoiler part begins. So if you are not going to read, do not worry and go read

Empire of Storms right away, because I want to talk to you about what happened in this freaking fucking book.

I would like to divide this part according to my ships, my favorite pairs.

“The Princeling and the Witchling”

I loved them -as I loved all the other characters - but for different reasons.

Dorian has just been released from Prince Valg's domination and has to face a ruined kingdom, a power he can not control and a sense of guilt both toward Sorscha, who has failed to save, and to all those people he tortured while that demon had taken power of his body. He’s no longer the Dorian we remember from

Throne of Glass or

Crown of Midnight, or at least he’s only partially. That shimmer, that we always saw in his eyes, has now been replaced by sadness and darkness. He is now learning how to manage his powers and an inner strength that could allow him to dominate battles and wars.

Manon is changing. She has not understand herself yet, but she is beginning to question all her certainties, such as her loyalty to the Ironteeths, and especially to her grandmother. She recognizes in Erawan a great threat and perhaps in Aelin and in King Dorian a new hope. She and her Thirteens are a compact team and their love for each other will be tested. Asterin’s scene almost blew my heart and in the end I shouted in happiness for about ten minutes. I would like to put in evidence that I abandoned the reading for 10 minutes only to taste that moment. One of the best in the whole book surely.

Dorian and Manon are a winning team. Dorian is the only one who for hundreds of years can look in Manon's eyes and not shake with fear. Manon is the only woman who is not embarrassed by the beauty of the King and who is not content with him, indeed. Dorian is the only one who gives her twisted feelings, and Manon is the only one who can understand Dorian and who does not need his protection everytime.

I hope for an increase in their relationship in the last book because they are beautiful and they have to be togheter.

Her shoulders stiffened slightly “I’m hungry.”He smiled slowly.As if she’d heard that smile, Manon glared. “Food.”

“The Wolf and the Sea Dragon”

I liked Aedion from the beginning. Strong, persistent and always loyal to his queen and to his Land. I can see a similarity to Aelin's sense of humor, naturally less accentuated.

Lysandra was a surprise. From hating her in

The Assassin's Blade, I started to understand her in

Queen of Shadows and to love her in

Empire of Storms. She is also very tenacious and powerful and surely she’s a challenge for Aedion.

Their relationship is something so kind and platonic that I want to read much more about their dialogues and discussions. I look forward to discovering something more in the next book. Which scene do you expect most from this couple? A country picnic with Evangeline and Fleetfoot? Or Lysandra running around a frightened Aedion and biting his ass? This would be like haven ahaha

“Be careful, Aedion. I bite.”

“The Lady and the Death-Warrior”

Well yes, if you've read

Empire of Storms you will surely fall in love with the relationship that slowly builds between Elide and Lorcan, Maeve's Second in command.

Elide is the forgotten cousin of Aelin and Aedion, who, to be able to return to her queen, is ready to do everything. She is not a coward: despite her small body and her indifference, she’s not weak and uses her intelligence to get out of any situation. If Elide can impersonate different personalities with her geniality, but she stays true to herself, this does not happen with Lorcan.

Lorcan is a demi-Fae, who grew up under the influence of Queen Maeve and he’s strongly devoted to her. He has never known love except for what he feels for his queen. Neither love for his family, nor for a friend or for a lover. Elide might be going to make him discover something different and maybe he will be able to finally open his eyes.

I worshiped the way in which the two at the beginning hated each other, and then toward the end of the book they always look for one another. I expected Lorcan's betrayal, but that really bothered me. It will be even better to read in the next installment how he will try to get Elide's trust back.

“I will always find you” he swore to her.Her throat bobbed. Lorcan whispered, “I promise.”

“The Fire-Breathing Bitch-Queen and the Fae Prince”

[Now we get to the breaking point of the whole novel. I warn you, if you have read so far and have not read

Empire of Storms yet, think about it before going on, because here it comes

the spoiler.]

Well, now tell me how much you cried when you read the last scene in the book. How much you cried when Elena told the whole truth about what happened millenniums ago. How much you cried when you understood Aelin's fate. How much you cried when Maeve explained her plans and what she did to Rowan. How much you cried by reading that Aelin and Rowan are "mate" and how much you cried when Aelin was whipped and forced to enter in that iron corfin. Tell me, because for me those last chapters have been terrible. I was like a fountain. I could not stop crying as I was reading that part, especially when all Terrasen's allies arrive and Aelin demonstrates once again that she has been once more a step ahead everyone. Oh Yes!. How much you cried when you found out that Rowan and Aelin got married in secret? But I mean, Sarah!! Even in

Throne of Glass we do not get the satisfaction of attending the wedding of our favorite characters??? Rowan, we all count on you now. You and part of your old cadre need to do everything to get her and bring her back. Because there must not be a tragic end.

So, as you well realised, in

Empire of Storms, Sarah J. Maas completely destroyed me. You may wonder,

“but why then you keep reading her books?” Because they destroy you in the good way: they make you feel incredible emotions, which I particularly have never had with any other fantasy author. Her plot twists are absolutely the best and unpredictable. In addition, she makes great ships, that become an essential part of your heart.

“And tell Rowan… that I’m sorry I lied. But tell him it was all borrowed time anyway. Even before today, I knew it was all borrowed time, but I still wished we’d had more of it. Tell him he has to fight. He must fight for Terrasen, and remember the vows he made to me. And tell him… tell him thank you – for walking that dark path with me back to the light.”

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I CAN HARDLY BREATHE.

I'm just completely

devastated.

I don't even know what to say right now.

My heart is bleeding and I'm drowning in my own tears.

Thanks Sarah

the ending still has me crying

WHY.

PAIN.

SUFFERING.

FANTASTIC.

Ugh. I'm giving it a four-star rating for now, but after I digest and reread, I’ll probably change it to five stars. I love the world Sarah has created, and, though this is not something I normally enjoy, I like that I'm not sure where we're going with the story. I ordinarily hate surprises (and love spoilers for that reason), and I generally try not to start a series until it’s completely finished so I can be done with it. But Sarah has me on the edge of my seat, and although I know good will probably prevail, I’m still incredibly nervous for the characters, and I want more!

Additionally, even if it's cheesy, I love watching the characters pair up, especially the new stuff:

Everyone knew Manon & Dorian and Lysandra & Aedion would get together, but Lorcan and Elide?? Who saw that coming?? I didn't, but I LOVED it!

Plus Rowan and Aelin

married?? Mated? Squee! But it also makes me sad for Sam. Maybe he and Lyria can be together in the otherworld? (Is it weird that I wonder about that, even though I know they're not real people?)

And Chaol and Nesrin?

What the hell? Where are they? Nothing? That made me sad.

Really minor gripe, and I'm not sure if it's just that I've read and reread the series so many times that these things stand out to me, but certain words and phrases are used over and over and over to the point when I read them, they automatically stand out and annoy me. I guess I'm only putting this out there because I'd like Sarah and/or her editors to change this in the future. I'll buy the rest of the series (and ACoTR too) regardless, but fwiw, this drives me crazy! Some examples:

"incarnate" used in EoS 4 times. Okay, that doesn't seem like that many times, but add in the other times it’s used in the series, and it drives me crazy. If it were just one character's favorite word, then fine. But all the characters use it. It's a great word, but it's not a regular word. There are synonyms.

"sides of the same * coin" *insert fair, golden, other adjective here, or use none at all. It's still over used, IMO.

Petty? Maybe, idk. It’s not like I could write anything like this or like Sarah. But something that could be improved perhaps? Bees?

September 2017 is too far away. Sarah--I’ll be happy to beta though, should you need another!! *wink wink wink*

Wow... I didn't think this series could get much better, but I was wrong.

One thing I really like about these books is how seamlessly Maas switches between different character POVs. In most books, when there are multiple character POVs being told, it can become confusing or clumsy. That is not at all the case in this book, and series. I also find that remarkable because there are so many characters in these books! There's Rowan's POV, Aelin's (obviously), Aedion's, Elide's, and Damien's, just to name a few.

As it usually is with all of these books, the plot was fast-paced, incredibly engaging, and action packed. I cannot wait to read the next book!