Book Review: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

**This review contains major spoilers. To skip the spoilers, see my Goodreads review here!**

What it's about:

           The fifth instalment of the Throne of Glass series, this book continues the story of Aelin Galathynius and her court on their journey to take back the Kingdom of Terrasen and ultimately save the world from the evil Valg King Erawan.

What I thought:

          I loved this book. It was a rollercoaster of feelings and hopes and dreams and wishes and tears and sadness and love. I had ALL THE FEELS at ALL OF THE TIMES.

          We got to see so much in this book. We learned more about Erilea and the kingdoms we haven't seen before, including but not limited to a mysteriously familiar-seeming swamp land (*coughDeadMarshescough*). It's great, and and I adored the presumed homage to some of the classics.  I am so sad we didn't get to see more of Ellwye, and that Maeve pretty much ruined it for everyone, because she's evil incarnate.

          We got to meet new characters and learn more about our old favorites. I adored getting to know the cadre, Elide, and Lorcan better, as well as Manon and pretty much everyone. GUYS. THE SILENT ASSASSINS. (*quiet sobbing*) And Ansel, and FREAKING KASIDA THE ASTERION. (I'm so glad I just happened to finish Assassin's Blade RIGHT before I read this.) That ending scene with all of the forces coming together after Maeve carted our beloved Aelin of the Wildfire off--I just actually cannot think about it without tears coming to my eyes. Like...fantastic and so heartwarming and hope-inducing yet just *after* perfect timing. Abraxos and Lysandra are my new two fave characters. Lysandra is amazing and badass and so brave. Abraxos is the most majestic and loyal flower-scented wyvern ever and I love him forever.

          The action scenes were so stressful yet exhilarating. I think my favorite was the epic sea wyvern/sea dragon!Lyandra battle. It invoked so many emotions in me because all the stuff from all of the characters' perspectives were just so poignant and like real feelings. THESE GUYS LOVE EACH OTHER and it both warms and breaks my heart because I don't want any of them to be hurt but I know it will be inevitable because drama.  The battle with the Ilken at the Stone Swamps was so freaky but showed that the cadre amazingly is so willing to work with the Court and they can be a fantastic unit. God, Maeve ruins EVERYTHING! She's like the Dolores Umbridge of Erilea--we know Erawan is the big evil baddie, but then someone on the inside who we would expect to be good turns out to be a total selfish bitch. (Show us how you REALLY feel, Emma!)

YEAH. GO TO HELL, MAEVE!

          The romances were adorable. I know people don't like that fact that the majority of the characters are paired up neatly, but...it's fiction, and I enjoy good romances, and these are good romances. I was kind of iffy about the whole Elide/Lorcan thing happening, but seeing how she changed his character for the good and softened his Maeve-induced hardness (no pun intended, yikes) made me change my mind about that.  I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop, and somehow that made me feel not as mad when Lorcan decided to be a dumb-ass and accidentally-on-purpose call for Maeve.
         Lyandra and Aedion is so tragic yet realistic. I love that they obviously have strong feelings for each other, yet still respect boundaries and are the closest of friends. 
         Manon and Dorian is like...whoa. I like it, because I've been shipping them for a while, but to see it finally come to fruition, and the way it came to fruition was sexy as all hell and fitting for their relationship.
          Last but not least, WAY TO ABSOLUTELY DAMAGE YOUR READERS WITH THE AELIN/ROWAN STUFF, SARAH.  It was so great and romantic and freaking hot but also adorable and my heart just cracked when it was confirmed that they were mates and that they got SECRETLY MARRIED AND WHAT AELIN HAD PLANNED BECAUSE SHE'S A SNEAKY GENIUS.  OTP status gained, OTP BROKEN UP AGAINST THEIR OWN WILL.

DAMN YOU, MAEVE! (She needs to DIE a HORRIBLE FIERY DEATH)

           I read the Target exclusive edition and the little "deleted scene" from Heir of Fire was really interesting. We haven't really met any other Doranelle Fae other than the cadre and now Rowan's cousins, so it was a good perspective into what Fae royalty is like.  And believe you me, I'm about 99% positive the three characters from the excerpt are going to show up in the sixth book.  Essar especially, seeing how she seemed kind, against Maeve's tyranny, and is A FREAKING FIRE MAGIC WIELDER. Oh yeah. It's going DOWN.
          All in all, this book was fantastic. It dragged me in and had me both grinning with happiness and crying tears of hopelessness on public transportation (yeah, it was as awkward as it sounds). 

With that ending, I CANNOT WAIT to see what happens. I know they'll get Aelin away from Maeve, because Rowan and the cadre (ex cadre now, AND THEY'RE COMING FOR YOU, MAEVE) are sure to succeed in getting her back.  HOWEVER, I think the end game, at this point, could be up in the air.  It feels hopeless, and that Aelin is sure to die, but I think there are still options out there and I think that with all the twists and unexpected events/Aelin's sneaky plots that we've come to expect, I just have a feeling.  Right now I feel heartbroken, but I remain hopeful that things will turn out acceptable, if not the exact way I want them to.

Rating: ALL THE STARS. (Ok, ok. 5 really big stars)

Favorite EoS Fan Theories!!

**This post most DEFINITELY contains spoilers for Books 1-4 of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. If you aren't caught up, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.**  <3

Ok, people.  It's almost here. In honor of the fandom losing its mind over the release of Empire of Storms, I've compiled a list of my favorite fan theories (found on tumblr and instagram) to both give us some hope...and maybe also dash some of our dreams away. I'm excited and worried to see if any of these theories become canon!

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THE LIST:  (broken into categories by type)

Deaths:

A photo posted by Name? Why Do You Want My Name? (@pretty.little.fanwoman) on Aug 25, 2016 at 12:30am PDT

• Aedion will die?! (Nuuuuuu)
• Tumblr user rrhys theorizes that our favorite snarky but loyal royal cousin is going to bite the dust. (Though possibly in ToG #6) 
• Reasons: 
• He's Aelin's only remaining family, and we all know (dread) that someone in the Terrasen inner Court circle is going to most likely be killed off (because why else would the sane fans "hate" SJM?)
• He has use still, having connections to the remaining loyal Terrasen dwellers/rebels and clearly there's some Lysandraedion stuff bubbling
• HOWEVER, in the long run, she thinks Lysandra is and independent woman who don't need no man, and that since killing him off will really hurt us, as readers, it's a possibility.
• Full theory/explanation here.

A photo posted by @heir.of.fire on Aug 26, 2016 at 5:24pm PDT

• Rowan will die?! (double nuuuuu)
• In my previous post, I mentioned that Brittney from Her Bookish Things and I had been talking about the potential death of hawk shape-shifting, silver haired Fae uber babe Rowan Whitethorn (Can you tell I love him?)
• Clues:
• Aelin's wearing feathers on the cover. What has feathers? Hawks. Who can turn into a hawk? (I wonder....)
• Killing Rowan off would be one of the worst things to happen to Aelin. They're carranam, possibly bonded mates, and warrior bffs. It would destroy both her and us (#TeamRowan), which would definitely give the baddies a leg up, however temporary (I can so imagine the nuclear-style blast that Aelin would create to smite her enemies if this happened.)
• However, I think he might "die"--as in, go MIA, presumed dead. Because can SJM *really* do that to Aelin? :'(
• Full theory here.
• AELIN WILL DIE!? (WHAAAAAAAT?)
• Whilst fueling my neverending hunger for ToG trash, I stumbled across this instagram post, and am now obsessed with this theory:

A photo posted by ꓄ꃅꋪꂦꈤꍟ ꂦꎇ ꁅ꒒ꍏꌗꌗ (@court.of.terrasen) on Aug 17, 2016 at 11:18am PDT

• It just makes sense to me, and I love the idea that everyone will be thinking that all is lost, but then Rowan will totally go and scoot her on out of there, but she'll see Nehemia again and make peace with that aspect of the story's events.
• Also immortality, which will totally just demolish the problem of Rowaelin not being 2gethr 4ever (because nobody will die of old age way before the other one).
• It will still be a happy ending, and that's all I really want. xD

Misc: (because if nobody dies, I won't have a reason to be sad, right?)

• Aelin/Aedion are siblings, not cousins (Wait..what?)
• Tumblr user throneofships gives us a theory that questions the parentage of Aedion, suggesting a torrid love affair between Evalin (Aelin's mom) and Gavriel (Aedion's birth father), as well as a couple "old switcheroos" to keep it on the DL.
• Full post found here.
• Aelin inherited Blackbeak abilities when she killed Baba Yellowlegs?
• kaltainrompier on Tumblr suggests that Manon mentioned someone killing a Matron and surviving gives said killer some of the Matron's powers...which could lead to Aelin being iron-immune, among other things.
• This, while not super important as of yet, could come in handy both in fighting the non-Thirteen witches ('cause I still think they'll join #TeamTerrasen), as well as finally delivering Maeve the bitch-slap she deserves.
• Original post here.

The one that might blow your mind:

• The worlds of ToG and ACOTAR are related--and more closely than we may realize?
• feyreashriver on Tumblr has evidence--both in-story and from real-life mythology--that Maeve and her sister may be descendants of Feyrhys--trapped in Erilea due to the Wyrdkeys. I KNOW, RIGHT?! I'M SQUEEING.
http://feyreashriver.tumblr.com/post/146221682864/just-reading-up-on-celtic-mythology-when
• Full post here.

There, my friends, are my favorite fan theories.  I can't wait to read Empire of Storms to find out what Queen Maas has in store for us. I'll just make sure to have some tissues handy, as I've heard it's a doozy.

A photo posted by 7 Days Until Eos!!!!!!!!! (@a.court.of.glass.and.hallows) on Aug 24, 2016 at 11:09am PDT

Book Theory: Rowan Dies in Empire of Storms?!? NOOOOOOOOOOOO

**This post contains spoilers for the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas**



Say it isn't so!

So recently, Brittney over at Her Bookish Things and I were discussing one of our favorite topics: the great works of Sarah J. Maas. Specifically, Brittney had read some things and put some clues together to suggest that in the next installment of the Throne of Glass series, Rowan--the silver-haired Fae super-hunk love interest of Aelin Galathynius that we've all come to know and love (and obsess over, AMIRITE?)--is going to....BE KILLED OFF?!!?

That's right, folks. Through announcements made by Queen Maas herself (that we're all going to hate her after this book) and cover clues (Aelin's wearing feathers (seemingly in memoriam), and as we all know, Hawk is the new black in the world of Fae heartthrobs), it really seems like something dire might occur to our beloved Fae prince and Aelin's carranam (and perhaps...mate?!?!?!?).

 But wait--here's MY theory:

Alright, so *really* don't quote me on this, guys (it's a theory--I have no insider info or psychic mind-reading abilities, I swear! *pleasedon'thatemeifI'mwrong*)

Rowan is going to "die".

Rowan will "die" in his hawk form (maybe get "eaten" by a wyvern or "burned" so there's no evidence/body), leaving only a few feathers behind, which Aelin picks up and wears, in memory/mourning/to fuel her hatefire. She's sad, we're sad (and PISSED at SJM), but then BAM! He'll be back when we're least expecting him/most missing him. It'll be great. I SAID GREAT, OK!? *HEADCANON ACCEPTED* 

So, here's the thing. Rowan's been around for a long time. He's *literally* a silver fox (LOL). He's a badass warrior and he's survived countless battles and kicked all the asses and takes none of the crap from any of the people. He's a fighter and a survivor. I'd want him on my team, no hesitations.

PLUS, he and Aelin are carranam, and her specialty is fire, so he's gotta be at least a little fireproof (fire resistant?), which obviously they won't know about until after he shows back up, duuuh.

(At this point, not only am I thinking up crazy theories, but I'm also in hard denial.)

SJM CAN'T kill Rowan off! Aelin has been through SO. MUCH. CRAP. She needs a break from her loved ones dying. To be awesome and to kick all the asses. 

Chaol is a no-go anymore, since he's currently...actually not going anywhere himself (ba-dum, tsss. Too soon?), and Aelin gave him the two-thumbs-up, you-go-guy to be with Nesryn (which I think is a totally adorable pairing that fits well with all the personalities involved--YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT).

And honestly I'd just kind of be mad if ANOTHER love interest was brought in now. Aelin needs her people by her side and needs to be focused on the task at hand--defeating the Valg and rebuilding Terrasen and going to Lysandraland for 4 o'clock tea (the important things, right?).

And I know a little tragedy is always good for drama and feels, but I've seen how that has turned out before, and let's just say...I didn't like it *coughDowntonAbbeycough*.

Plus, we saw in Queen of Shadows how great SJM is at a twist (that whole thing with Arrobyn and the controlling Valg ring that turn out to be fake? I was *totally* fooled and *totally* stressed out about it haha), so I think it will really *seem* like he's gone, but I think (hope/pray/burn offerings at the altar of Zeus) he'll be back.


So now that I've gotten all of your hopes up, what do you think?  Will Rowan die? Be saved? Or do you think SJM was talking about something else altogether?  Let me know!!