On Rereads: Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

As the month is winding to a close (it's almost September. This year is almost 2/3rds over. I'm not freaking out, YOU'RE freaking out!) I was looking at my TBR pile and realizing that I am quite behind in this month's reading. I was hoping to have the two books I am currently reading finished by now and I only just started them both. But I'm trying not to stress out about that. I mean it's not the end of the world if I don't read all the books I wanted to, right? *hyperventilates*

But then I realized why I'm behind. Rereads. Before this month I really didn't do many rereads. I wanted to read new books and not spend my reading time focused on a book I had already experienced. But with so many series enders and series continuations happening this fall and winter I decided I needed some refreshers. For the foreseeable future I will be doing one reread a week so I thought I would do a new feature I'm calling On Rereads. They will be mini reviews where I talk about the books I reread and any different impressions I may have had after reading them a second time. Up first..

Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas

The Assassin's Blade -  (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible / My Review)

I was strongly urged to read The Assassin's Blade when starting this series and I still think that is was the right call. It just really develops Celaena's character in a way that makes her incredibly sympathetic. I'm just such a fan of her as a character. She's tough and badass but she's also vulnerable and with this moral compass you wouldn't expect in an assassin.

But what really struck me during my reread is how much stuff from the novellas comes into play during the rest of the series. I'm not sure when the novellas were originally published but they show a lot of foresight on the part of the author. It gives a lot of context to many things in the series. Plus people and situations come up throughout the rest of the books that were mentioned in sometimes a small way in this one. If you haven't read the novellas, get on that! I'm not a huge fan of novellas but with these ones they really do add a lot to the series and the five of them together reads like a novel.

Throne of Glass - (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible / My Review)

So the biggest change for me while reading Throne of Glass is that this time I listened to the audiobook. I had listened to the audio for The Assassin's Blade so I knew the general tone of the narrator but I was interesting to see how she would do the rest of the series. I had heard from a few people that they didn't really like some of her choices but for me it worked. She makes the characters a little cocky and conceited but I felt like it made sense for their characterization.

What I also really liked about the audio in this case is that it didn't make the multiple perspectives so frustrating. I still didn't love the narrative style and found there still to be a lot going on in terms of the plot development but it was all really good. I was kind of surprised by how much of the plot I did remember in Throne of Glass. And maybe it's because now I'm really invested in the series or maybe because the audio format just suited the book better to me, but I liked it more the second time around.

Crown of Midnight - (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible / My Review)

With Crown of Midnight I was surprised by how much of the plot I had forgotten. I of course remembered all the major plot points but that was about it. I remembered the big reveal at the end and the big sad thing that happens around the middle but other than that it was mostly like I was reading it for the first time. Which actually is kind of cool. With favorite series there is often this desire to want to experience it for the first time all over again and I feel a little bit like I got to do that. And of course things came flooding back to me as I kept reading but I had forgotten so much.

But the other great thing about Crown of Midnight, and this series in general, is the amount of foreshadowing there is. Knowing where the larger story is going, I can pick up the subtle little clues that I may have missed the first time. It really made for a deeper reading experience which is one of the reasons that I like doing rereads. I am the kind of person who prides themselves on being able to solve twists and after this reread I was kind of kicking myself for not solving this one.

Heir of Fire - (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible / My Review)

Heir of Fire was and still is my favorite book in the series so far. I love it because the world is mostly developed so we can spend time developing the characters a lot more. Celaena's arc in this book is amazing. But then there are all the new characters. Manon Blackbeak is one of my all-time favorite secondary characters and Aedion is so interesting as well. I know a lot of people are huge fans of Rowan but he just doesn't do much for me. Although this time around I can understand more why people like him.

I also really loved the audio for this book despite some of the names being pronounced in ways very different to how I originally pronounced them (like Manon). I liked it because there is also so much going on plot wise in this book and for me the audio translates better to that kind of storytelling. And it was also just as memorable and emotional story. I try to compartmentalize my feels for what happens in this book (DORIAAAAAN!) and when I reread all of them came flooding back and I was left feeling just as emotionally drained.

But now I am so ready for Queen of Shadows! It comes out next Tuesday so I just have to get through the next five days and then my e-book will magically get delivered to my kindle so I can start reading. And because I liked the audiobooks so much I think I'm going to grab the one for Queen of Shadows as well.

Have you done any rereads lately? What books? Do you like doing rereads or not? Tell me why. I hope you like this new feature. I'm hoping to do it once a month or when I finish a reread of a series. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Heir of Fire Series: Throne of Glass #3 Author: Sarah J. Maas Published: September 2, 2014 by Bloomsbury (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: 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?

*** Special thanks to Brittany at Please Feed the Bookworm for trading ARCs with me so I could read this one! ***

*** This is the third book in a series so it may contain spoilers for the first two books. Drop everything and read them (the novellas too)****

I have become the latest victim of the dreaded "post-Heir of Fire book hangover." This series which continues to get more complex as it goes on, is also getting better and better. This third book in the fantastic Throne of Glass series has complex and interesting characters, a creative world that we get to further explore, and an engaging plot with even more mystery.

Once again, my favorite thing about this series is the the characters. We of course have our wonderful MC, Cealena Sardothian. At the end of Crown of Midnight, we learned a little bit more about Cealena and her past and this book continues to teach us so much about Cealena in Heir of Fire. What I have always been struck by her is that she's this kickass assassin and heroine but she is also vulnerable and kind. She often puts others' needs before her own and tends to find herself in situations where the two are at odds. In Heir of Fire we continue to learn more about how the Cealena that we know and love got to be that way, as we learn more about her past. But we also see this incredible development and character arc for her. In this book she becomes even more badass as more secrets about her are revealed. (Seriously I am desperately trying to be vague, but trust me when I say it is amazing!)

This is how I imagine Manon responding to anything.

But what I am realizing about this series is that it is not just Cealena's story. It is also the story of characters we know and love like Dorian and Chaol. Dorian, in particular, continues to develop in this book. He's still the ideal prince and there were more Dorian shipping feels that I missed in Crown of Midnight, but the big revelation in Crown of Midnight came to a head in Heir of Fire and I am so curious to see where things will go for Dorian, things do not look good. Things also do not look good for Chaol. In Heir of Fire he gets involved in some things that will eventually be creating a lot of conflict for him and others. In this book I was struck by how he is so fixated on loyalty and honor, but he has a bit of a crisis because he has to decide where that loyalty lies. And then there are the new characters. I am head-over-heels in love with Manon Blackbeak, one of the Iron-Teeth Witches. She is this incredibly tough and ruthless killer but like Cealena she is surprisingly full of heart and she's also sullen and disaffected about it all. She is my favorite type of well-rounded and dubious character and her introduction is one of the best I have ever seen! Then we have Rowan Whitethorn, a tough but surprisingly supportive Fae warrior, and Aedion, a general in the King's army who is ruthlessly killing his own people but harbors a secret that creates a lot of conflict throughout the book. Then of course there is the kind who is even more diabolical in this one. Every character is so interesting and well-rounded that it makes this the most engaging book in the series.

And it may be because I am so invested in the characters but in this book I wasn't as annoyed by the changing perspectives. Or maybe it was because many of the characters were in different places or doing different things. When they were all together it felt odd to have it change to someone different, but when they are more disconnected it was fine. There are however always issues for me when it comes to that format. Some characters have more chapters than others. Perhaps because their plot lines are slower or because they are just more important, but I found myself wishing there were more development of certain things and less development of others (seriously, I would read a whole book about Manon). And even though I wasn't as annoyed, I still didn't really enjoy the changing character perspectives.

But what I did enjoy was the world-building. In Heir of Fire the world of this series continues to expand as we travel out of Adarlan and Rifthold. We travel with Cealena to Wendlyn, the Eastern Continent, an area controlled by the Fae. It was so interesting to learn about Fae culture and of course their magic. In Heir of Fire, we continue to learn more magic than we previously got and that's not just from the Fae. There are the more sinister magical forces at play here in the world, like the King and his "creatures" who we were first introduced to in Crown of Midnight and get to learn more about in this book. We even get to explore how the King could have made magic disappear in Erilea. Then there is the more dubious ones like the Iron-Teeth witches and their wyverns, and even some Fae. I love how magic continues to grow in this world and how it's role in the plot continues to grow with it. But that is only one part of what makes this world so interesting and engaging. The book is also full of political intrigue. We continue to spend time with rebels who are working to overthrow the king and things take on a whole new dimension after the revelation in Crown of Midnight. The scheming and plotting in this book is amazing!

This creative and engaging world with it's growing magic and political intrigue makes the plot all the more interesting. As usual there were sporadic action scenes to keep things interesting and exciting, but the majority of the book was focused on the mystery and the story line begun in the previous books.The larger plot lines of the series continues to take shape as we learn more about Wordkeys and their history. However with this series being composed of six books, Heir of Fire definitely feels like the middle transitional book (think Goblet of Fire or A Storm of Swords). It doesn't really have much of it's own plot, it mostly just continues to move the story forward while slowly answering a few questions but asking way more than it answers. Things kind of get a little muddle and complicated at times. But Heir of Fire is full of so much mystery, twists, and cliffhangers. The ending of the book took me through the entire spectrum of emotion and desperately has me wanting the next book! That's the problem with only marathoning half a series, now I have to play the waiting game!

I give Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas a 9.5 out of 10 stars

With it's well-rounded and interesting characters, a creative world full of magic and political intrigue, and it's mysterious and action-packed plot this YA Fantasy series is a must read for fans of the genre. I can't wait to continue reading but I really wish I didn't have to wait a whole year!

Have you read Heir of Fire? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!