Heir of Fire
Ratings552
Average rating4.3
4.5 ⭐️
All the senseless killing and memories are truly hard to read. Great book that made me not want to put it down!
I am still aiming to work through this series by the end of this year and so although it is not that long since I finished Crown of Midnight I delved immediately straight back in and read Heir of Fire. This may be driven in part by the fact that Tower of Dawn was sitting in my library the other day and I picked it up and so now I need to get through the rest of the series so I can read that before someone else requests it and I need to give it back. No pressure then!
The first thing I noticed about Heir of Fire is that from the outset we are very clearly not in Adarlan anymore, no Celeana has flown over the proverbial rainbow and is now in Wendelyn where she has been tasked with killing the King and his heir so that the evil King of Adarlan can continue his domination of the world. When we find her in Wendelyn though it is clear things are not going according to plan because firstly the Prince seems to be a thoroughly good guy and she really doesn't want to kill him or his father and secondly because she is trying to be incognito and is trying to survive by gambling and is now generally drinking herself into a daily stupor.
From the moment the mysterious Rowan enters the picture though it is clear that this book is going to explore a great deal about Celeana's Fae ancestry, her powers that she must learn to use and what happened to her parents and how she did become the deadly assassin that allowed her to be King's Champion. Rowan is a great new character. Related by blood to Celeana through her Fae mothers side he is sworn to serve her aunt Maeve and is charged with helping Celeana to learn to harness her gifts and to prove she is worthy of her aunt sharing with her the way to destroy the mysterious Wyrdkeys and therefore destroy the central source of the King of Adarlan's powers.
Whilst we have lots of flashback episodes to life in Adarlan and we keep learning about what Chaol and Dorian are up to whilst Celeana is away much of this book takes place in the home of the demi-Fae, Mistborn. There is a whole new cast of wonderful characters to meet and who will help Celeana to learn about her history and to go on that voyage of self-discovery that she needs to in order to learn to use her Fae gifts. In much the way that Throne of Glass was a worldbuilding introduction to the series, I get the feeling that this book is again about building the expansion of the world and placing our players onto the chess board for what is to come in the books ahead.
Therefore much of the book is focused upon Mistborn with Celeana, Adarlan with Chaol and Dorian and finally the view from the Blackwitch, Manon, who tells of how they have been recruited to lead the King of Adarlan's aerial forces and the journey they go on to find their mounts and settle the hierarchy of which clan of witches will lead the charge. Manon is another great addition to the story and she is clearly loyal to her Blackwitch clan but she is independent and good at seeing the wider picture and I am confident she could be a strong player as the story moves forward.
There are so many unanswered questions at the end of this book. We have Rowan and Celeana's relationship, they clearly have a strong bond as Fae but we have had the mating bond mentioned in this story and it could hint that this bond is there but just yet to snap into place. I know many people who really champion this romance and I can understand why but there is still a little bit of me waiting to see how things progress in the next book. The way we left Chaol and Dorian is also really exciting as they are both at a point where there stories are ready to take an entierly new turn in the next book.
When I look back at Book 1 it's clear that we started out with only a glimpse of the eventual story Maas wants to tell. Each and every book expands her world and gives it more texture and more layers that we can delve into. In much the way as the Court of Thorns & Roses series did we are finding new characters to fall in love with and visitng new places and this makes it an ongoing exciting series to read as you never feel you've quite glimpsed the edges of Maas huge imagination, there is always more to see and that's why I find her such an exciting author to read.
Only a 4 out of 5 stars for this one purely because the world building did at times mean plot development could slow for a chapter or so but this was compensated for in part by the historic information we gained about the world before Throne of Glass and Celeana's parents world.
To know the real value of a book you should consider the magical effect it could have on you, as is it so powerful that it's able to make you forget you're actually reading. Based on that, Heir of Fire has a real, so real value. And the fact is even more meaningful that I generally dislike the multiple POVs. Celaena keeps surprising me and everyone and we're only at the middle of the saga. This girl, this wondrous, superbadass-but-also-over endearing character is so goals in every possible way. She is inspiring as much as her environment and I think both are always linked somehow. The scenery of this book is genuinely... magical. And the way Sarah continiously plays with our heart still awe me. I need more but I also need to take some time to print this chapters in my mind, reread them maybe (surely) and appreciate again and again every single bit of it. That's the third one and it's getting bigger and bigger and I might explode soon, but I'm happy with that. Im grateful for this instant of greatness and mainly for such books to exist.
I am loving this series and my new favorite character is Manon with her “savage” steed Abraxos!
Apologies to my husband for weeping audibly for a prolonged period of time after reading this. I am dead inside.
The series is really starting to pick up now and easily one of my favourites. The character development was amazing AND the plot was actually developing too!
I love the bond that's developed between Celaena and Rowan
4,5 stars
This is an amazing book! So much better than the first 2.
Here the romance is really important and sometimes I feel that it is the main plot of this series. Fortunately, the story is pretty good so the romance part is not that annoying.
It is weird how SJM used the same romance idea here and in Crescent City... the main romance is enemies-to-lovers and it is also between a young girl and a really old man (I don't get how a grown man can actually fall in love with a young woman... ).
sarcasm* He is old but still hot as hell, so the age doesn't matter! *sarcasm
It's the only problem for me with this book.
A LOT happens!
This is a book filled with action. A lot of characters develop and as always, it's written incredibly well!
We continue the adventure of Calaena, Chaol, Dorian and a new selection of characters. It progresses well and feels like the book in the series that has progressed the most whilst setting up the next book really well.
I'd highly recommend if you've read the previous two, it's a must in the series!
This series just keeps getting better and better. Celaena was broken for a lot of this book, but Rowan is there to ground her. I loved all the background we got on Celaena's childhood. Plus the training sessions with Rowan were awesome!
I loved the alternating perspectives between Celaena and Rowan's story, Dorian and Chaol, and Manon and the witches. It let us know what was going on beyond what Celaena was experiencing. I'm not really sure what the purpose of Manon's story was/is, but I trust that it will become apparent in the next book.
Overall this book was everything I wanted and now I need the next one.
“Run. And when you come back...when you come back, burn this place to the ground. “
There's a dagger through my heart in the shape of this book.
:) :) :)
Who let me reread this? You're fired.
Best book of the saga so far !
Celeana's adventures take another dimension and I live that the story is now decided in three perspective all over the country. It gives depth to the intrigue and the world.
Still love to read these books!
SPOILERS and lots and lots of GUSHING coming up!!!!!!
Celaena is in Wendlyn, utterly heartbroken after the death of Nehemia and Chaol's unintentional deception but hopes to find out more about the wyrdkeys and how to defeat the King by destroying them. Her only option is to meet Queen Maeve of the Fae. In exchange for answers, she makes a bargain to train her magical powers under Prince Rowan. Dorian is trying very hard to control his magic so as not to expose himself unwittingly to his father and is helped in his attempt by a healer Sorscha. Chaol is trying to work with the rebels and Aedion to free magic so that Dorian could be protected from the wrath of the King and hopefully Celaena too. But all hell breaks loose towards the end, lives are lost, oaths are broken and none of them are ever going to be the same again. We are also introduced to the Ironteeth witches who have aligned with the King to form an aerial legion flying the deadly wyverns.
This book is by far the best in the series in terms of world building because the plot is no more restricted to Rifthold. The witches are getting trained in another part of Erilea and it was good to see most of the places in the map navigated in the plot. We also get to know more about the kingdom of Wendlyn, its royalty, the immortal lands of Doranelle and the fraught relationships between humans, pure blooded Fae and the demi-Fae. All this gives the series a feel of being an epic fantasy which is what I have been waiting for. There is also a lot of display of magic and I really enjoyed it.
Dorian and Sorscha's love track felt a little forced for me and I didn't really feel invested in it much (okay may be I am biased coz I used to love the idea of Celaena and Dorian together). But he is also very lonely at this point in the story, so I could understand his need for a companion. But the ending is so sudden and brutal and Dorian's fate just left me devastated and numb and utterly dreadful for the next installment. It was good to see Chaol finally do something against the King, even if it was just to make sure Dorian is not caught, but his apprehension of Celaena every step of the way just makes me not like him more and more. His loss at the end is probably the most profound and he is left utterly alone with his world shattered but I hope he will be able to come back from it.
Manon Blackbeak is absolutely scary in the beginning as the cruel, bloodthirsty and vicious witch. I couldn't believe we were getting another villain to hate along with those beastly killer wyverns. Until everything changes midway through when Manon and Abraxos choose each other. The sweet flower sniffing wyvern is anything but beastly and the way their bond changes Manon in irrevocable ways was very interesting to read. The scene before she is made Wing Leader is so emotional and made me sobbb (as usual) and I am waiting to see how this pair is going to change the fate of the upcoming war.
Aedion Ashryver is officially one of my new favorite character of the series (there can't just be one favorite now... I love all of them!!!). He is arrogant, strong, brave but what is most striking is his blind loyalty and love for his cousin whom he believed dead for a decade. Any scene where he reminisces about her and their childhood makes me very emotional. The one scene where Celaena dreams about an incident from their younger days brought a big smile on my face but also sadness for their long separation. I am really looking forward to what lengths she will go to after she learns of his fate.
Now coming to our best badass assassin ever. Celaena is no more the sassy arrogant one but a broken shell drowning in her own sorrow and guilt. Rowan doesn't help when on the pretext of training, he beats her up both physically and emotionally. It was really difficult for me to get through the first half of their story because of all his abuse. But the second half totally turned their relationship on its head. Not only do we get to know his painful history, we also see how both of them are essentially punishing themselves. The evolution of their friendship is very organic and well written. I loved the trust they came to have in each other to the point that they were ready to sacrifice their lives for the other. They both help each other to walk the path out of the darkness in their lives and accept their future. The display of her true powers was a delight to read about and she does it in her own flamboyant arrogant way. The choices they make at the end make for very interesting plotlines in the next books. Also special mention to Emrys and Luca who give her friendship and trust and space when she needed it the most and I hope we'll meet them again.
With all the revelations in this book, the excellent plot and the exciting possibilities for the next book, this series is turning into one of my favorites ever. I expect Queen of Shadows to have so much more action and I can't wait for the lives of all these awesome characters to converge.
By far not my favourite of this series :p
I thought it was boring, sorry not sorry.
I am curious for Queen of Shadows though :3
This book took a different turn as the main character was sent to a new continent. It introduced interesting new characters and filled in much more of the story behind the old characters.
One of the new POV character, the witch, was not someone I immediately liked, cared about, or wanted to read about, but by the end I was invested in her story as well.
I started to understand the hype about ToG when I read the second book. But now I TOTALLY get the hype!
Someone told me that this one was one of the weakest books in the series, but in my opinion it's way better than book 1 and 2. It worked for me! I loved it, couldn't read it fast enough, didn't want to put it down. Absolutely obsessed with the new characters and the dynamic!
Can't wait to get my hands on Queen of Shadows.
3.5
fairly slow in the beginning
very dissatisfied with the way things are going
It would be hard to put into words how much I loved this book. The characters have all grown and developed so much since the first one, and I love every twist and turn! It's incredible! One of the most impressive thing about this series to me is that the author continually enters new characters, and makes them so believable and human that I love them instantly as much as I do the characters that were there from the beginning. That is so hard to do, and often series get bogged down by new characters and all you want is to return to the main ones. In this I was actually excited for every plot line (and there were many going on at once).
This book was flawless and the ending left me weeping! I can't wait to see what happens next...