Book Review: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas

I seriously loved this book. It was exactly what I wanted from the series, and I need the next book right now.

5/5 stars

Amazon Description

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 just to see her again. 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.

My Review

SPOILER ALERT: I don’t think I can do this book justice without spoilers, so this review is spoiler filled. If you haven’t read this book, don’t read this review (SORRY).

(My notes for this review involve a lot of capital letters…)

My favorite part of this book (let’s be honest, this series) is Aelin. She is badass to the extreme, but she still has a personality and complex emotions. In the category of strong female characters, she is definitely at the top, and I freaking love every minute of being inside her head (even if it can be a scary place).

I loved seeing Aelin turn back into Celaena during this book. Until I saw the massive character transformation that occurred when she returned to Arobynn, I didn’t understand how much she had changed in the last few books. Though I liked Celaena the assassin, Aelin is a more raw and loyal character, and I am so glad that she (eventually) rejected her past with Arobynn.

Seeing Arobynn again was definitely disturbing. While I’d never been sure what Arobynn’s intentions toward Celaena were, QoS made everything he did creepier. I hated that I couldn’t tell how much of the plot he had control over–it was some seriously amazing plotting on Sarah J Maas’s part. Finally getting closure (you know what I’m talking about) was one of the most satisfying and relieving moments of the book (and I feel awful for writing that).

QoS pulled off having multiple plot lines better than HoF. First of all, the Aelin/Rowan plot line merged with the Chaol/Dorian plot line, which made the story feel less disjointed. As the main plot of the book, I really enjoyed seeing all of these characters come back together after so much time apart. I loved that Lysandra came back–and joined the ranks of ToG BAMFs–and seeing Aelin and Lysandra befriend each other was one of the sweetest parts of the plot. Aedion and Chaol were annoyingly arrogant at times, but for the most part, it added to the story. I liked seeing Chaol with a new love interest–but I also appreciated that they didn’t share anything close to instalove.

I missed Dorian as a character. I know that he couldn’t be a character in this book, but I don’t like that his character was absent for an entire installment of the series. While everyone else was growing, he was essentially stagnant, and even at the end of the book, I never reconnected with him. Also, I wanted to punch Chaol for being so asinine to Aelin when she said he was gone; even though I knew he was still there, Aelin had a 99% chance of being right.

The witches’ plot line was more gripping in QoS than in HoF. I loved the addition of new characters, and the fact that the plot line wove together with the other ones more clearly this time. Manon is becoming one of my favorite characters, though I wanted to beat humanity into her for most of this book.

And then there’s Rowan. I freakin’ love this guy. I am ecstatic that he is an official love interest, and I will cry if anything separates him and Aelin again–I’m not even joking. The romance between Aelin and Rowan developed at a perfect pace for me, just slow enough that I know they are meant for each other. They are my favorite couple in ToG so far–definitely one of my OTPs.

The ending of QoS set up the next book SO WELL. I need it. Like, yesterday. I need this series to have a happy ending. I need more Aelin. (I need more Rowan.) I cannot wait to see all of the moving parts that Sarah J Maas has created collide.