#0.1-#0.5 The Assassin’s Blade ★★★★★
#1 Throne of Glass ★★★★☆
#2 Crown of Midnight ★★★★★
#3 Heir of Fire ★★★★★
#4 Queen of Shadows ★★★★★
#5 Empire of Storms ★★★★★
#6 Tower of Dawn ★★★★★

Every time I think this series can’t get any better, I read the next installment and it blows me away all over again. This was easily my favorite book in the series thus far, and I feel like it was so much more well-written and intricate than the first two—comparing Throne of Glass in particular to this is like comparing night and day, with how much Sarah’s writing developed over that time span.

It would not take a monster to destroy a monster—but light, light to drive out darkness.

We finally get to see Celaena/Aelin come into her own a bit more in this book, but we also get some insight into her psyche that can be tough to swallow at times. Gone is much of the snarky humor and arrogant wit we saw in the palace; as her walls start to come down, it becomes evident just how much self-loathing she carries with her everywhere she goes. I know I sound like a broken record by now, but I just don’t understand why people love to hate her character so much. Maybe it’s the side of me that is drawn to broken things, but she endeared herself to me so much in this installment.

A cry went up from the witches, save for the Thirteen—who stayed cool and quiet. They did not need to cheer, for they were immortal and infinite and gloriously, wonderfully deadly.

On the flip side, I was so happy to finally meet Manon, a character who I’ve heard so many people rave about that I felt like I loved her before she was even introduced. I loved the characteristics of the clans, the Thirteen (squad goals), and Manon herself, but more than anything, Abraxos. He broke my heart, but damn, if I don’t love him so much and want a little bitty version of him for myself. I’m such a sucker for person-animal bonds in stories—or in this case, witch-wyvern bonds—and I literally cried over how precious they were when she first claimed her (and he, her).

Their hands clasped between them, he whispered into her ear, “I claim you, too, Aelin Galathynius.”

I can’t write this review without talking about Rowan and how obsessed I am with his stupid, grouchy self. If you know me, you already know that my number one favorite character type is the grouchy warrior/soldier/leader, etc., who secretly has a heart of gold but takes forever to show it and hides behind a lot of snark and general rudeness. We all have our vices, okay? Anyways, Rowan fits that mood one hundred percent, which means I absolute adore him. Yes, I recognize that he has trope-y alpha male issues. Yes, I like him despite those issues. I’m not going to parade him around as real life significant other goals, but that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to enjoy him as a fictional character. (Sorry for the miniature rant there…)

“Because I am lost,” she whispered onto the earth. “And I do not know the way.”

There’s so much else I could say about this book, but most of it would be spoiler-y and/or not entirely beneficial to the review, so I’ll cut this one short. I will say that my only problem with the book was the fact that the Chaol/Dorian chapters are so boring in comparison to all of these way cooler, more action-packed perspectives, and I can understand why a lot of people feel that Chaol’s character was actually rewritten at this point in the series, because he definitely didn’t feel entirely like the same guy that I enjoyed in the first two books. That said, I’m not losing sleep over it, because, well… I’m a magpie at heart, and fancy warrior Fae (and brutal witches and iron-toothed wyverns) are my shiny things.