Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Year: 2017
Genre: Fantasy
Age: YA16+
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This review will contain spoilers. If you have not read the book, the series, or do not wish to see spoilers do not read this review.
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Let me preface this review by saying that I LOVE this series but...I hate Chaol Westfall...or I did when I started this book. I dislike his character so much that I almost didn't read this book. But now that it's over I'm very glad I did & I have warmed to him a little bit.
Also please be gentle if a name is spelled wrong in this review. I do my best to make sure names & places etc are correct but there are a lot of difficult names in this series.
If you'd like to read the other reviews I've done with this series (that also contain spoilers) I will link them below:
Heir of Fire
The Assassin's Blade
Empire of Storms
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Our story begins on a ship that is sailing to the southern continent with the new Hand of the King, Chaol Westfall, he as promoted from being Captain of the Royal Guard after the events that took place in Queen of Shadows that made Dorian Havillard the new king. Chaol is traveling with the new Captain of the Royal Guard, Nesryn Faliq.
They are going to Antica to seek out help in the upcoming war against the Valg & also to find healing at the Torre Cesme.
The southern continent is ruled by the Khagan & his 6 children. This land was settled hundreds of years ago after civil war tore the country apart. Now the Khagan rules & keeps the peace. He alone can decide who becomes the next ruler, it is not decided by birth order as is tradition. Antica is where Nesryn's family is from & some members still live there. It is a city rich with not only gold but culture, food, & history.
High above the city is the magnificent Torre Cesme. People from all over the world travel there to seek help from it's wise healers.Chaol has come to do just that. After the events that unfolded in Rifthold he has been left paralyzed from the waist down. He's hoping to be healed & leave with the help of the Khagan & his armies, as well as some of the legions his children oversee.
Nesryn & Chaol had a brief romance before the war began & they are in a strange place in their relationship when they arrive. Chaol's attentions are distracted by the young & beautiful Yrene Towers, his healer. Yrene is a face we should remember from The Assassin's Blade, Aelin saved her from the horrors of working in a bar in a rundown, seaport town called Innish. Because of Aelin,Yrene was able to travel to Antica & become the healer she is today. Yrene has the gift of magic bestowed on her by the Goddess of Healing, Silba, she is also set to become the next Healer on High in the Torre. She uses her magic to not only heal Chaol but it may be the key to saving the Valg from the darkness inside them.
Meanwhile Nesryn has her eyes on the handsome Prince Sartaq. He is the leader of the ruk riders, known as the rukhin. While Chaol is being healed Nesryn decides to go on an adventure of her own to learn more about what Sartaq has to offer & look for answers on how to defeat the Valg. She does just that while also bonding with the prince from the back of a ruk as they search abandoned Fae watch towers in the land of the kharankui or stygian spiders. It turns out that the spiders give them information that is vital to their success in the coming war.
Back in Antica there have been attacks at the Torre & even in the palace itself that lead Chaol to believe there is Valg that have followed Nesryn & him there. They seem to be after Yrene because of her tremendous power. Everyone must come together to save Antica before it suffers the same fate as Rifthold. One child of the Khagan has already died at the hands of the person being invaded by the Valg, how many more will die before they discover who it is among them?
They complete their task & secure an army or men, ships, & the rukhin to help Aelin win the war. Some reports have come to them across the sea but they do not have all the information that we learned in Empire of Storms.
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Likes: I almost didn't read this book because I really strongly dislike Chaol. Ever since Heir of Fire when he figured out the truth but didn't tell Aelin. I was hoping his story would end in Rifthold when the glass castle shattered & he was injured. Now after reading this book I am liking him a little bit more because he plays a big part in them winning the war.
In true Maas fashion there is several love stories entwined in the magic of the story. There was also some steamy scenes towards the end but nothing like in Empire of Storms.
We got to learn more about the history of the country as well as stories from the past. There was also more characters introduced & lots of action along the way!
There was a very important piece of info given by the spiders that changes everything.
Dislikes: Chaol is healed about halfway through the book. It was a relief because I wasn't sure it was going to happen. But the twist at the end leaves him injured again which is really crappy. Plus it introduces a whole new level of drama surrounding his new love interest & their fates. I think that the story could have ended similarly & the events played out the same with him just being healed in the first place. So that means the twist at the end must have some significance to the final story.
Rating:
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