Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

"You do not apologize," he said, "for defending the people you care about."

Synopsis: Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak-but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth . . . a truth about her heritage that could change her life-and her future-forever. Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. Will Celaena find the strength to not only fight her inner demons, but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed?

Prior to reading Heir of Fire, I had several issues with the Throne of Glass series. For one, I could not stand Celaena. She was arrogant, selfish, convinced that she was better than everyone, and horrifically unlikable. I also was not a fan of the instalove that we see between Celaena and Chaol, a relationship that I thought was incredibly out-of-character for the latter, and Dorian Havilliard's POV chapters were the only ones I looked forward to reading. The fight scenes and plot were impressive, but I was not convinced that they were enough to make up for the flaws that had grated on my nerves so persistently. However, the many people insisting on how much better the series got persuaded me, and I am so glad that they did.

Heir of Fire, while initially having a bit of a slow start, quickly proved itself to have moved on from the mistakes of its predecessors, the most notable being Celaena's character. We see Celaena completely stripped of her ego when she arrives in Mistward with Rowan, where she is forced to face her past and the power that frightens her. Truthfully, this was the first time I found myself genuinely being invested in her storyline. She felt truly human (ironically, considering that she's not human), and her growth throughout the book was phenomenal. Between the gripping scenes where we learn more about her past and getting to watch her unlock her magic while training with Rowan, I was hooked.

Speaking of Rowan, we have some fantastic new characters introduced in Heir of Fire. Rowan was such an interesting character, and the way his relationship with Celaena gradually shifted from hostile to caring was really well done. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of him going forward and eventually interacting with the other main characters. I also appreciated some of the demi-Fae that we met at Mistward, namely Luca, Emrys, and Malakai. They didn't have a significant amount of page time, but all of their scenes always warmed my heart. Aedion I was a bit unsure of, but he might grow on me as the series progresses. Manon, however, I absolutely adored, and I don't doubt that her future storyline will be anything short of superb.

As for our existing characters, my favorite still has to be Dorian. I find his character and storyline so captivating, especially now that we get to see him grapple with his magic. I still wouldn't mind if we got more chapters from his POV, but that's hardly a surprise. I would read an entire book from his POV if I could. I originally was not sure how I felt about Chaol, but I found his chapters to be much more interesting this time. Sarah J. Maas stepped it up regarding her characters in this book, and it really showed.

As much as I loved the characters, the plot in this book was also so well crafted. Both the storyline in Adarlan, with Dorian fighting to control his magic and Chaol working with Aedion, and the storyline at Mistward, with Rowan training Celaena, were immersive and impossible to put down. I was especially fond of Rowan and Celanea's chapters, both for their training and banter and for their shared grief and quest for healing. The latter especially was incredibly moving, and it displayed excellent examples of character growth for both of them. As for Manon, at first, her chapters were a little hard to get into, but as the book progressed I couldn't get enough of her and Abraxos. I had hoped that we would see more rebellion out of her in the end, but I am eager to see how her story continues in Queen of Shadows.

I also have to take a moment to acknowledge how effortlessly Sarah J. Maas writes action scenes. As a fantasy writer, I can confidently say that these are some of the hardest scenes to write. It can take me weeks to create a fight scene that I am satisfied with, and even then there's a chance that I'll end up completely redoing it later. Meanwhile, Heir of Fire is full of some of the best action scenes I have ever read, each leaving me on the edge of my seat and frantically turning the pages while my heart pounds in my chest. The night with the skinwalkers? The incident in the cave? The final showdown? All masterpieces, and I hope that I can learn a thing or two from her.

In conclusion, Heir of Fire has completely changed my feelings toward the Throne of Glass series and Sarah J. Maas as a writer. I am completely captivated by this world and these characters, and I am so excited to see what comes next.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars