Shipped off to Wendlyn, a kingdom that still reverberates with magic, Celaena is compelled to tap into her Fae strengths to appease Maeve (one of the Fae Sister-Queens) and find the answers that can put a stop to the King of Adarlan’s plans. But dredging up her magic means facing the horrors of her past and it’ll take Celaena more than she bargained for to come to terms with the grief she has kept hidden all these years.
What I love the most about this book is that the main plot branches off into multiple storylines. While we follow Celaena and Rowan Whitethorn (a Fae warrior tasked with training Celaena) in Wendlyn, the narrative also shifts to the developments occurring in the other continent.
Dorian grows into his own and finds solace in the company of a healer. Chaol begins working alongside the rebel group to ensure his loved ones are safe. And Manon Blackbeak, the heir of the Blackbeak clan perseveres to maintain her position amongst the Ironteeth witches. All these storylines have been executed well, and it made the novel so much more fulfilling.
As is customary in Sarah J. Maas’ writing, a lot of the chapters end on a note that builds the reader’s anticipation. So I couldn’t help but gobble up pages at the speed of lightning.
You’d think that with a cliched plot structure like that of this one, a lot of the elements in the story would be stereotypical. But I was pleasantly surprised that many a time, the story veers off in a different direction as compared to what I’d been imagining.
I didn’t like Celaena’s “I don’t care” attitude at the beginning of the book, as it felt a bit over the top. But the more she trained with Rowan, the more attuned she became to all her repressed emotions & fears.
At this point, any male character, pitted against Celaena and in whom she shows the slightest bit of interest, becomes tinted with a possible love interest angle. So I no longer know how that’s going to pan out.
I see a lot of potential in Dorian’s character and am eager to find out how he journeys through the rest of the series.
The climax, the resolution, and the ending were all impressive. Needless to say, I haven’t had enough of this series yet.
The Life Stories 