Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #4)
Published by Bloomsbury on September 1st 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Pages: 648
Format: Hardcover

LINKS: Good Reads | Amazon | Indigo | Book Depository

The queen has returned.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she’s at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past…

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return.

The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series continues Celaena’s epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Stars

*** CHECK OUT THE REVIEW FOR BOOK THREE: HEIR OF FIRE ***

** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: READ AT OWN RISK!!!**

First Line:

There was a thing waiting in the darkness.

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Review

COVER 🌟🌟🌟🌟           PLOT 🌟🌟🌟

CHARACTERS 🌟🌟🌟    ROMANCE 🌟🌟🌟🌟

WRITING 🌟🌟🌟        WORLD 🌟🌟🌟

She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing, save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph.

Queen of Shadows – Sarah J. Maas

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Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas is the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series. It continues from where the third book left off as Celaena, now going by her real name Aelin is traveling back to Rithfold to stop the King from accomplishing his plans. We see new love, old enemies, broken friendships, and new plot twists as Aelin’s story continues to unfold right before our eyes.

So let’s dive in shall we?

The Good

Queen of Shadows takes us in a new direction then what the first and second book have set up. I see how some people were angered by it, but I couldn’t be happier with how things are turning out. This book was like a new beginning for the series, a breath of fresh air. Not only do we get some new plot twists and characters to fangirl over, but we also get closure on the story lines from the first three books.

With everything that happened in Queen of Shadows, I can’t wait to see what Maas is going to throw at us next!

The Throne of Glass series is no rookie when it comes to having strong female characters. I mean we have seen characters like Celaena/Aelin, Nehemia, Kaltain and Manon from the first three books. Now that the series has reached the half way mark Maas decides to throw some more badass female characters at us like Lysandra and Nesryn. Not only do we get to see these females kick ass, but we also get to see the strengths of a female bond and friendship.

When Aelin is at her lowest, Lysandra is there to pick her up. The importance of a female bond is so imperative to show a different side of the male driven world where females are expendable. I’m hoping for more bonding between Aelin, Lysandra, and Nesryn, as well as Manon and Asterin.

If you guys know me then you know I cannot go through a review of this book without talking about Rowan. The perfect fae prince that ever lived, at least in my opinion. The romance between Aelin and Rowan seemed to have blossomed and developed a lot more in this book. Their moments together we sweet, funny, and real. They are not perfect which is awesome! They still fight like regular couples which makes them very relatable on that level.

Can I say that I completely ship all the new budding romances we get to see in this book as well? The answer to that is yes, yes I can. Dorian/Manon, Chaol/Nesryn, and Aedion/Lysandra could all potentially be a thing in the next book. Give me a moment to fanboy over here. Yes, yes, and yes. I want them all!

If you’re a monster, I’m a monster.

Queen of Shadows – Sarah J. Maas

The Bad

So there really wasn’t much to dislike about this book and I even contemplated putting this in my review. So I just want to say that this did not effect my rating what so ever as I do believe this was more of a personal irritation then anything else. And it’s none other then the way the book was written. In terms of fragmented sentences and the use of the dash (ie. —).

“He shifted his arm so he could brush her hair back. His fingers lingered along her jaw. “You make me want to live, too, Aelin Galathynius,” he said. “Not exist—but live.” He cupped her cheek, and took a steadying breath—as if he’d thought about every word these past three days, over and over again. “I spent centuries wandering the world, from empires to kingdoms to wastelands, never settling, never stopping—not for one moment. I was always looking toward the horizon, always wondering what waited across the next ocean, over the next mountain. But I think … I think that whole time, all those centuries, I was just looking for you.”

Really? In one paragraph we have three uses of the dash. Did that bother anyone else, or was it just me? Trust me when I say this was just a tiny example. If I were to go back and count how many times they were used I think I would surprise myself!

Sometimes there won’t be a right choice, just the best of several bad options.

Queen of Shadows – Sarah J. Maas

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I highly recommend this one if you are a fan of high fantasy and badass female characters. Let me know what you guys thought of Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas! I would love to hear your opinions as well!

Until next time,

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