And here's another love interest for Celaena... Why can't we have someone who's only motivation is not that they love Celaena?

I'm wondering why we learnt about Aelin in the last book and not on the first if Celaena knew THE ENTIRE TIME! Like does she just not care? at all, 'cause that's the vibe I got. Seriously, her story could be solo compelling.

Celaena Sardothein, born Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, princess, watched her parents get assassinated. Now the world's deadliest assassin, she has been brought form her sentence as a slave to the salt mine to fight for the honour to be the king's assassin. The same king who overthrew her kingdom, outlawed magic, and is responsible for the death of parents.

IS THAT NOT A MORE COMPELLING STORY!!??? Why did we just delve into this now? I just feel like this isn't a plot twist reserved for the second story. This is what you start with. It gives Celaena character, and she needs it. Desperately. Nehemia is the heart of this story and she's not even alive. She died in the last book.

But other than that this book is a lot better than the previous one. I really enjoyed reading it and getting immersed in the world. It was very interesting. I liked the new perspectives and how much the world was growing, but I also could not shake wondering why this wasn't in the first book. I feel like the author missed a large opportunity to give some character to Celaena instead of just dumping her with a backstory and calling it a day.

I was a lot more engaged in this though, as it no longer feels like it's trying to be something else and is fulling embracing whatever it is. I'm genuinely excited for the next installment and am quite glad that it's sitting right beside me. This book didn't get boring near the like Crown of Midnight did and I got so lost in the story that I didn't notice the time passing.

Lastly, I'm not sure how I feel about the fairies. I feel like their sorta elves, but not and what I used to find terrifying about them isn't there. Of course, they've just been introduced and this could totally change, but currently, I like Cassandra Clare's treatment of them. I'm not huge on the modern take on fairies though, they don't really feel like fairies.