"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?"Heir of Fire is book 3 in The Throne of Glass series and is undoubtedly one of the best books I've ever read. (I could say that about each book in the series to be honest.) It is gloriously long and kept me occupied for an entire 2 days making me crave to find out more, but also stop reading so that the book won't end just yet.
You think you know Celaena from reading the first two books, right? Oh, but you're so so wrong. In this book we see her more than broken, relentlessly blaming herself for the fates and deaths of her loved ones. She takes down her every shield, leaving nothing behind but her emptiness. I believe this was her turning point, making her see, accept and embrace all that pain, regret and self-loathing she carefully kept hidden inside her soul, etched into her dire and gruesome memories.
By facing all that sorrow and darkness, she's making a stand. She's slowly becoming a queen, one more powerful and deadlier than you could ever imagine.
Her character development is phenomenal, because through her new experiences she is stronger, wiser and more determined. Her fierceness was awe-inspiring and I loved that she's still the same stubborn, snarky and brave young woman, maybe with her ego a little bruised. She's not proud of who she's become, abandoning her kingdom and not fighting or rebuilding it for the past ten years, but she's ready to throw herself into battle to win back her land.
Celaena makes the transition from assassin to queen with the help of Rowan, a Fae Prince and my favourite new addition to the series. Not that he is eager to help, in the beginning, he's infuriatingly patient and stubborn, brooding and secretive. But when he opens up...
He's an alpha-male with the kickass moves that would give Celaena a
a run for her money. He's scary and intense, protective and caring, but lethal when it comes to his enemies. Rowan is the no-nonsense type and I was glad there is finally someone who doesn't put up with Celaena's lip. She throws a verbal punch? He throws one that will leave her with a black eye for the entire week. However they slowly develop a friendship and something more(were not talking about romance)It will warm your heart to realize that our girl finally has someone to fully rely on. No secrets, no barriers, no judging left between them. They would die for each other, kill for each other, fight for each other; and when they work together, as a pair, as a team, they're astounding and terrifying.
Dorian Havilliard is the same caring, sentimental, humble, slightly arrogant young prince. He is becoming more mature, weary of everyone and everything and you can see him becoming a true worthy king right before your eyes. A lot of heartbreak and despair was in store for him and I guarantee it will all leave you in a pile of overwhelming pain.
Dedicated, loyal, selfless Chaol was so unable to make up his damn mind about his friendships and which side to be on that I was unconsciously pulling my hair. I was very much irritated with him until the very end when he came to his senses!
We meet awesome warrior Aedion Ashryver or "Wolf of the North", Celaena's cousin and childhood best friend. He's all deadly smiles, muscles and wild behaviour. Aedion is daring, clever and doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone but himself. Or so they say. He's dead set on taking down the King of Adarlan from the inside. When he finds out Aelin/Caleana is alive, he makes it clear that he would move mountains in order to see his true queen back in Terrasen. He's loyal, determined, skilled and I hope he reunites with Celaena sooner rather than later, because he is in a pretty bad place at the end of the book.
Another addition to the newbie characters is Manon Blackbeak, heir of the Blackbeak coven of the Ironteeth witches and leader of the Thirteen. She wants to prove herself and although she is a bloodthirsty, wicked creature with iron teeth and nails who enjoys eating people, I completely loved her. She's by no means a villain, just a different kind of heroine, firm and unyielding, with great ambition. Her encounters and silent dialogues with Abraxos, her wyvern, cracked me up, because in that moments you could glimpse (besides the wyvern's total awesomeness) how Manon starts believing there's a chance she has a heart and soul and that her grandmother's rules might not be the best to follow.
The King of Adarlan is still the biggest knave I've had the (dis)pleasure of reading. I loathe the guy. He is wicked, manipulative and selfish to no end. No, not just selfish, but greedy. Greedy for everything and anything.
There isn't much romance in the air,because it's the last thing on our character's mind. Honestly, I don't really know who Celaena is going to end up with. Chaol still has issues with her and Dorian is currently viewing her as his friend, but things could still drastically change since there are 3 more books. It seems that even Aedion, her cousin, might have a shot since he wouldn't deny anything his queen would ask of him. Then there's Rowan who I'm not sure will have a romantic involvement with Aelin/Celena, but it's worth hoping for. They would be unstoppable.
The atmosphere is darker and the pace is thrilling, allowing you to breath for a bit before another near-death encounter or epic battle starts. The world-building was another winner, as we were able to see Wendlyn, Doranelle, the Ferien Gap for the first time and visit Adarlan again. We learn about the past, we meet Queen Maeve, we run from terrifying creatures and we accompany Celaena as she masters her powers.
Overall it is an amazing book, fast - paced but mostly revolved around Aelin's healing and coming to terms with herself. I cant wait to read the next book.
Age Rating I would say 14+. A few suggestions, if you know what I mean, and bit more swearing then the previous books.
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