Review: Heir of Fire, by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: September 2, 2014
Genre: High fantasy

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love? -Goodreads

3 Stars

Thank you Bloomsbury for sending me this copy, which did not affect my review in any way!

Slight spoilers for Throne of Glass.

Oh, hey, there. Were you reading this review to decide whether or not you should read Heir of Fire? Well, let me warn you from here: I myself am horribly conflicted and this uncertainty will reflect throughout the entire review. If you enjoy reading a review with a teen girl sputtering on and on, then you are welcome to be entertained at my expense.

Based on complicated thought processes and hours of analyzing (not really) I've come to the conclusion that Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas will receive my normally default rating of 3 stars. We shall begin.

(I hope you read the above paragraphs in a facetious tone because I certainly did.)

Stacking the Shelves (5)

I feel like I've gotten some pretty great books this week. (Don't I always feel like that?) So, here's what I got:

From the library:

1. Crown of Midnight, by Sarah J. Maas

2. Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey

3. Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta

Loaned: 

1. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman (review)

2. The Lord of the Rings, Parts 1,2, and 3, by J.R.R. Tolkien (I have only read The Hobbit, don't judge)

From Netgalley:

 

1. The Iron Traitor, by Julie Kagawa

2. Witchstruck, by Victoria Lamb

3. Indelible, by Dawn Metcalf

4. Berlin Wolf, by Mark Florida-James

What's on your STS? Make sure to link in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday #5: Top Ten Book Covers I Wish I Could Redesign

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

1. Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas
What a girly assassin she is.

2. Half-Blood, by Jennifer L. Armentrout

3. Neverfall, by Brodi Ashton 

This cover is pretty and all, but it's exactly the same as the second one, only a silhouette.

4. The Iron Legends 

That is NOT how Puck looks. And why are they in such awkward positions?

5. Finale, by Becca Fitzpatrick

The cliche-ness of this cover is unbearable that I literally just burst out laughing when I saw it. What, is he going to push her of the cliff??

6. ALL of the Vampire Academy books

7. Holes. by Louis Sachar 

Is that supposed to be Stanley at the bottom...

8. Blue Bloods, by Melissa de la Cruz 

One word: Gross.

9. Paper Towns, by John Green

Wow. A picture of a girl. How utterly fascinating.

10. The Iron Traitor, by Julie Kagawa

I simply refuse to believe that that is Keirran. 

This week we could choose ANY of the past topics. Which topic did you choose, and what's on your list? Make sure to leave your link below so I could check it out! 

Review: The Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas

"After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom... Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined." -Goodreads

I read this book back in October (or November?) but I didn't have a blog at the time, so I'm posting it now.

When I first read the summary of this book, I was so enthusiastic and had very high hopes for it. If the main character is an assassin, who wouldn't want to read it?

So, I started reading it, and I was interested from start to finish. I loved the part about the Wyrdmarks. Personally, for me Nehemia was the best character in this novel. The secondary characters - Chaol, Dorian- were very likable. It was obvious that a love triangle was forming between Celaena, Dorian, and Chaol, which I am not that excited about.

A downside of this book was Celaena's character. She's supposed to be an assassin, right? Well, she certainly didn't act like one.

I get that the author tried to make her easier to relate to, and make her seem "ordinary", but I think that she tried way too hard. At times, I actually FORGOT that Celaena was an actual assassin. She felt like a normal teenage girl who just happened to end up in a castle. It's not that she wasn't tough or strong, but for a girl that was taught to be an assassin for most of her life, you'd expect a badass warrior who defied the king every chance she got. I would expect her to be more like Nehemia, not a girl who gets giddy over candy, or can't handle period cramps (okay, maybe I'm going too hard on her). Nonetheless, I admired Celaena for her determination, and she was a pretty good female heroine. 

My disappointment with Celaena's character didn't greatly affect how I viewed the rest of the book. Overall, this book kept me turning the pages and was a very enjoyable read. The characters were well-developed and I understood them perfectly. The writing did get a bit too descriptive and repetitive at times, but it wasn't overly annoying. This series has great potential, and I look forward to reading more of Sarah J. Maas's books in the future.

Publication date: August 7th, 2012
Page Count: 404 pages
My Rating: 4/5 stars