“Empire of Storms”
Throne of Glass #5
by Sarah J. Maas
Nikki’s Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
Non-Spoiler Book Summary
The 5th book in the Throne of Glass series continues the story of Aelin Ashryver Galanthynius and her friends as they try to save Erilea from Erawan, the last Valg King.
Aelin makes her way to Terrasen to take back her kingdom but realizes that becoming queen may not be so easy, especially given her history. Regardless, she must find a way to defeat Erawan and journeys to Eyllwe in search of an item that will help her stop him once and for all. Aelin learns what the cost would be to save those she loves and must come to terms with the sacrifices she must make. Preparing for the inevitable, Aelin calls in favors and debts still owed to Celaena Sardothien to aid in her fight against the Valg forces. “An army not just to challenge Morath… but to rattle the stars.”
Aelin is accompanied by her cousin, Aedion Ashryver, the Wolf of the North, her friend Lysandra, the shifter, Dorian Havilliard, King of Adarlan wielder of raw magic, and her consort Rowan Whitethorn, a Fae who wields ice and wind magic. Together they fight hordes of Erawin’s monsters and protect their queen. With one Wyrdkey in their possession, they must find the other two before Erawan does and becomes too powerful to stop.
As they all prepare to go against Erawan and his dark forces, Maeve, queen of Doranelle uses this distraction to make her move; bringing her fleet of ships, all manned by Fae, to the coasts of Eyllwe. Maeve’s treachery is revealed and there is no line she would not cross to achieve her goals of bearing “the keys in one hand, and Aelin Fire-Bringer in the other.”
Meanwhile, Manon Blackbeak learns hard truths about her life and who she is. As Wing Leader of Erawan’s aerial legion of wyverns and Ironteeth witches, Manon must decide where her loyalties lie, with Erawan and her grandmother or with the queen who spared her life.
Elide Lochan, freed from the clutches of Morath by Manon, wants to make her way to Terrasen to her queen but must first deliver an important package to Celaena Sardothien to repay the life debt she owed. Upon being attacked by Erawan’s ilken, demi-Fae Lorcan Salvaterre comes to her rescue and promises to protect her as long as they travel together. However, Lorcan is bloodsworn to Maeve, queen of Doranelle; will he stay true to Elide or will his blood oath overrule his heart?
My Overall Thoughts… MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
I rated “Empire of Storms” by Sarah J. Maas as 4 out of 5 stars. Absolutely love this series, actually second time I’m reading books 1 thru 5, just started book 6 so that book review will be coming soon. I mean, what is there not to like?! All powerful fire-wielding sassy queen, ridiculous pirate captain, territorial Fae bastards, awesome & sexy AF shifter, bad-ass witch, adorable wyverns, omg the list goes on…
So I totally love Aelin, her powers are AWESOME! Please take in consideration that Jean Grey aka Phoenix has been my favorite superhero since I was a child. Fire magic = awesomeness AF! Even without her magic though, I would love her. I feel deeply connected to characters that are torn, torn between wanting to care and caring deeply while also wishing you didn’t care. Wishing you could just tell the world to go to hell and that any pain is deserved as punishment for the suffering they have caused. All the while, caring and loving those people who touch you, seeing others change and grow, and realizing that there is beauty in everyone and everything and therefore, worth saving.
Dorian is another favorite character of mine because he is haunted by his recent past when he was possessed by a Valg prince. Dorian is constantly struggling to accept that he wasn’t in his right mind during this time and the things he did wasn’t really “him”. As someone who suffers from a mental illness and works in the mental health field this really hit home. I’ve done things during both manic and depressive episodes that if I was thinking clearly, would have never done. Talking with other individuals who suffer from mental illness, this is a pretty common theme. And no, I’m not saying we are not responsible for our actions, I saying that our thinking process may be flawed and therefore we may not be acting as our true selves. This can lead to a lot of shame, guilt, and regret, which is what Dorian displays. Also Dorian having raw magic is fantastic and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do with it in Book 7.
You know, I just love all the main females in this series! Maas does a very good job of portraying strong females who are bad-ass, powerful in magic and physical strength, take no bullshit, and are their own heroines. Lysandra shifting into a sea dragon was cool AF but of course the whole time I was like, “don’t die, don’t die! Omg, swim Lysandra, swim!!!” I’m really ready for Lysandra and Aedion to kiss, was really hoping that would happen in this book… perhaps the next one.
And as wonderful as Rowan and Aelin are, I’m really digging Lorcan and Elide. Lorcan be like, “I don’t know why I’m protecting this girl. Hmmm… she is pretty, I guess. I like talking to her but that means nothing, I hate everyone but Maeve.” Lorcan is falling for Elide and it is adorable! Typical big, scary, threatening, alpha-male character who is really just misunderstood and shy, doesn’t want to get hurt, etc. I am such a sucker for those characters!!!
Also why I like Manon, she doesn’t want to care but she does. Especially her flower loving wyvern, Abraxos.
All in all, loved the book, I would say it is my favorite in the Throne of Glass series thus far. Dynamics between characters were good and realistic, loved that characters were shown with flaws, and further backstory on characters was much appreciated and shocking (Maeve is a manipulative bitch and I don’t really like Elena either)! All the battle scenes were intense and kept me anxious, praying no one I liked was gonna die. The ending was rutting hell though, I need the final book, I need to know everyone is okay!!! *sob*
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