Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Queen of Shadows

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Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

113 reviews

yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Oh I loved this book. There was so much emotion, so much growth and so much heart.

So many characters developed. I love all of them. They all have loveable qualities and witty banter. (Chaol is eh. He was pissing me off in the beginning). The women in this story are absolutely amazing. Aelin is so smart and cunning. Kaltain’s story was so sad and beautiful. Lysandra really surprised me and I love her. Manon is an absolute icon. Asterin made me want to cry.

I can’t wait to see these characters win this war.

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infjkiki's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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haleigh_els's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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neko_reads's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING IN EVERY SINGLE SENSE. when I say that I loved every moment of this book, I mean that I am obsessed with every moment of this book and it now has its own place in my brain where it will live rent free, forever

so many characters that I didn't expect to like I now LOVE with all of my heart

idek what to say other than this book is everything to me, amazing, spectacular, stunning, gorgeous, showstopping, and I cant wait to read the next book

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aksmith92's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

After reading each of the books in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series in June and July 2023, I moved on to Sarah J Maas's Throne of Glass series, where I read books 1-3 and the prequel in July 2023 (I sure was on a roll). I got about 11 chapters into Queen of Shadows and realized I was not in the headspace for any more Sarah J Maas *at the moment*. It was, simply put, too much SJM and too many formulaic words on the page. I should have taken a break before starting this book. So, while I started this book in July 2023, I picked it up again in December 2023.

I am thankful for the break because it also allowed me to review SJM books more critically. SJM is one of the more prominent authors in the social media, where many familiar tropes and themes are checked in pretty little boxes. The fandom is beyond massive. All of which to say: SJM is talked about A LOT. Good and bad. I was interested in starting this reading journey in her series because I was so curious about it. To discuss SJM and her series in general on this review for Queen of Shadows seems silly, as it will likely fade away in Storygraph's abyss, but it has been on the top of my mind. Therefore, I will keep it brief.

Upon reflection and the SJM break, plus reading other novels, particularly in the vast spectrum of fantasy, literary pieces are missing from the books I've read so far. It may be because of plot holes or missing world-building aspects. Or, it may be because the characters are less dimensional than I like. Reading some of her books (I haven't read the Crescent City series yet!) is a bit TOO YA-like for me (the drama!). Regardless, I must admit I've been struggling with some of these books, even though, oddly, they are incredibly straightforward, and the prose is quite readable. It's a conundrum that I can't figure out. I've rated most of her books 3ish stars because while I fly through them, get their premise, and understand the prose, something needs to be added, and it's hard to pinpoint/articulate. It may have to do with the dramatics, something I struggle with A LOT within the Romantasy category. For instance, "Rowan waited, knowing she was gathering the words, hating the pain and sorrow and guilt on every line of her body. He'd sell his soul to the dark god to never have her look like that again." I mean....I roll my eyes at this. Of course, no one wants to see someone they care about in pain, but selling his soul? It's so dramatic. I think this is what I get for reading a more Young Adult book than anything, and I understand to an extent that this is a me thing. But it's so pronounced everywhere in her books that I sometimes roll my eyes. It's not just that, though; there is more to my conundrum that I cannot pinpoint.

BUT here we are, another review for another Throne of Glass series book. For starters, I became immersed in this novel, similar to how I felt in Heir of Fire. It's very readable, albeit cringy, for me at times since I am now 31 years old. I always have questions about the plot, how the characters got to where they were, and overall, just world-building. However, I generally let that go for a little and flow with the story because while the plot may have some holes, I am interested.

Here is what worked for me: Lysandra's character development (excellent!!!!!!) and the new friendship with Aelin. Yay! Hopefully, this one sticks! I also still enjoy Chaol and Dorian. Chaol is a ding dong, of course, but I enjoy his character; he's realistic in a realistic, fantastical kind of way, but I get him. Poor Dorian jeeeeeeeeeeeeeez, but I liked the overall Valg plot point in general, and I think it was an interesting magical system.

Here is what didn't work for me: Aelin. She's so annoying. The epitome of a "chosen one." I know this was written in 2015 or something, and it was the time for this type of character, but there are only so many times we can hear about how ruthless and extraordinary she is at 19. Also, I wouldn't say I liked Rowan's chapters - I liked him much better without the POV. As a spoiler,

I know that Aelin and Rowan become romantically involved because of how much is shared on social media, so I already knew what's in store. Therefore, I didn't mind their relationship that much, but like the quote above in my review;

Rowan seems possessive, and Maas suddenly decides this is an okay thing to do by calling it fae territorialism or something like that nonsense. Once again, it was so dramatic.

It's fine! This book was interesting at times, but I still have my qualms. It's a solid 3.5 for me.

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I wanted to read this book as I've never read any of Sarah J. Maas's work and I was interested to see what the hype was all about. I was kindly gifted this series and A Court of Thorns and Roses by my parents. So, I thought I would start at the beginning. I really enjoyed the first couple of books. These books start to stress me out from page one, and I'm now scared for the tandem read.

This book still follows nineteen-year-old Celaena Sardothien. She is cloaked in her assassin’s hood once more. She is back in Rifthold, the town that took everything away from her, but this time she is no one’s slave. She must delve into her most painful memories and she needs to fight for her survival, while resisting a smouldering passion that might very well consume her heart. And she will face her former master, the King of Assassins, again – to dish revenge for a decade worth of pain. Celaena has accepted her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, there are dark truths to learn and debts to be paid. She must defeat the King of Adarlan so then she can fight for her people.

I still love Aelin, I love how strong and badass she was in this book and I love her journey during this book. I really want her to be happy and be a rightful and amazing queen. I loved reading this book from the multiple point of views which were Aelin, Dorian, Moran and Rowan – it made the storyline so much more interesting. I really want a whole book just from Rowan’s point of view, I love how protective he is and yet he’s like but she’s my queen, I can’t go against her. I am loving this tension between Rowan and Aelin especially reading from Rowan’s POV where he is like I want to take my time with her and be so slow yet the walls and thin and Aelin like I've got to save the world and thinking of saving everyone but then she can feel the tension between them. I loved Dorian getting rescued, this book was stressing me out - I was worried about Dorian. Now I'm worried about Chaol, I just want everyone to be happy and alive. I loved the re-appearance of Fleetfoot, I was missing him in the last book so I'm so glad he’s back with Aelin and that they are both home.

It took so long for the gang to get back together, that I was so scared that someone wasn’t going to survive especially after what happened in the last book! I am so scared for Chaol and Manon and Elide. I wanted more of Elide and was hoping she would kick ass. This book dropped a bit with all the planning and I wanted more action, but once all the planning had been done, the plot twists and the actions were so jaw-dropping.

The book left you with enough drama and I still wanted more that it kept you hooked. I am terrified for the tandem read, but I cannot wait for the next book in the series. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes kick-ass girls, fantasy novels and dystopian novels.

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ashleynp24's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was easily my favorite so far in the series. The relationships built between characters was so good.

Lysandra is definitely one of my favorite characters, and I loved getting to learn more about her specific history in this book.

Manon and Elide’s relationship was another one of my favorites, and Manon’s character arc was really fun to read.

The ending was so many emotions and I’m so excited to try the tandem read next.

I absolutely screamed when I found out they perrington is the overarching villain this whole time and that manon helped Aelin. I’m so interested to see if Elide finds them and what happens to Chaol and Nesryn. I’m wondering if they will run into the girl that Aelin helped to become a healer back in assassin’s blade!!

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