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ect625's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-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
There have been storylines of side characters running parallel to Aelin's through the last few books, and they all come together in an incredibly meaningful way in this book. It's quite possibly my favorite book of the series so far.
There is a lot of debate in the fandom about reading Empire of Storms on its own or as a tandem read with Tower of Dawn. I chose to read it as written in the series and loved the uninterrupted unfolding of the story. SJM wrote each book with its specific content and pacing for a reason, and I ultimately decided to trust her expertise of her own work.
There is a lot of debate in the fandom about reading Empire of Storms on its own or as a tandem read with Tower of Dawn. I chose to read it as written in the series and loved the uninterrupted unfolding of the story. SJM wrote each book with its specific content and pacing for a reason, and I ultimately decided to trust her expertise of her own work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
readwithde's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Empire of Storms feels like the start of a sequel series: the stakes are so much higher, and the setting stretches across the continent. The cast of characters grows, and I found myself excited for different POVs.
I felt like Aelin's path was so jarring and chaotic at the beginning of the book, but by the end after seeing her "fetch quest" of speaking with Brannon, securing Skull's Bay, and seeking the Lock and Elena her journey made much more sense.
Lysandra, Elide, and Manon shone brightly in this book; I was happy to see each of them step fully into their potential. Elide and Lorcan had some of the best action and storylines. Every time it cut back to them, I had to keep reading.
As nice as it was to have so many other POVs, I would have loved a bit more Aelin. She controlled many of the plot twists, and I would have loved a bit of extra foreshadowing or even just getting to see her thought process.
I did read this in tandem with Tower of Dawn; I feel like both books benefited from that system, getting extra action in this book to balance the extra lore in Tower of Dawn. I highly recommend reading these together.
I felt like Aelin's path was so jarring and chaotic at the beginning of the book, but by the end
Lysandra, Elide, and Manon shone brightly in this book; I was happy to see each of them step fully into their potential.
As nice as it was to have so many other POVs, I would have loved a bit more Aelin. She controlled many of the plot twists, and I would have loved a bit of extra foreshadowing or even just getting to see her thought process.
I did read this in tandem with Tower of Dawn; I feel like both books benefited from that system, getting extra action in this book to balance the extra lore in Tower of Dawn. I highly recommend reading these together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cursing, Murder, Gore, Blood, and Death
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Slavery, Animal death, Physical abuse, War, and Suicide attempt
nerdkitten's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Torture, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Genocide, Infidelity, and Sexism
samileobooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Manon is one of my favorite characters and I enjoyed her continued Character Development.
Lorcan and Elide was a very enjoyable storyline in this book. I loved how it was written and I really look forward to the completion of their story and how it all plays out. I also enjoyed the other storylines and characters as well.
The ending did not surprise me because there is always a moment like that in these types of stories. It felt less like a cliff hanger and more like a completion of a phase in the full story.
Phase One: Assassins Blade, Throne of Glass, and Crown of Midnight.
Phase Two: Heir of fire is our transition into this phase, Queen of Shadows, and Empire of Storms.
Phase Three: The completion of the series and big Finale Kingdom of Ash.
I am not reaching quickly for The Final Book just like needing to know what’s next and not being able to wait. I’m excited to get back to Tower of Dawn and settle down my rage a bit. I really love this book and it’s such a comfort read. Then after that I can’t wait to jump into the final book.
Tower of Dawn will get its own review on how it fits into this for me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt
elinorn's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
3,5 stars.
I have two words to describe Empire of Storms: Fighting and horniness. I felt like one fight barely had time to end before a new one began. I'm all for some fighting action, but I have to admit that it felt like there was a little too much fighting in this one. I felt tired from all of it. And the horniness... I don't know what happened, but suddenly there was sex, sexual desire and sexual tension everywhere. It was too much for me, I'm not here for that. The book could have been so much shorter (and nothing would have been lost, in my opinion) had the sex/desire/tension scenes been cut out. And what was Sarah J. Maas' obsession with boobs in this book? Did anyone else notice that?
I've noticed a pattern in the romantic relationships throughout the series; they all go from 0 to 100 in such a short amount of time. There is barely any build up to the relationships, and if there is, it goes from realising that they have romantic/sexual feelings to having a romantic/sexual relationship in, what feels like, only a couple of chapters. I have a hard time appreciating the relationships because of this, even though I like the pairings. Also, is there only going to be relationships between the characters who have their own chapters? There can be romantic relationships where one character is outside the main cast, you know.
Overall, I felt like this book was mostly a build up to the next one – which is fair, because it needed to be. It was kind of interesting that there were so many things being revealed that the reader didn't get to see Aelin doing throughout the past couple of books. I haven't decided if I liked it or not.
What annoyed me the most, and has annoyed me throughout the series is that Aelin never has a grand reveal or get any big reactions to her identity. To me, there was so much build up around the world not knowing she survived and she being a big deal, that the way she reveals her identity and they way people react to her identity is anti-climactic every single time. Maybe that's just me loving a dramatic identity reveal.
I have two words to describe Empire of Storms: Fighting and horniness. I felt like one fight barely had time to end before a new one began. I'm all for some fighting action, but I have to admit that it felt like there was a little too much fighting in this one. I felt tired from all of it. And the horniness... I don't know what happened, but suddenly there was sex, sexual desire and sexual tension everywhere. It was too much for me, I'm not here for that. The book could have been so much shorter (and nothing would have been lost, in my opinion) had the sex/desire/tension scenes been cut out. And what was Sarah J. Maas' obsession with boobs in this book? Did anyone else notice that?
I've noticed a pattern in the romantic relationships throughout the series; they all go from 0 to 100 in such a short amount of time. There is barely any build up to the relationships, and if there is, it goes from realising that they have romantic/sexual feelings to having a romantic/sexual relationship in, what feels like, only a couple of chapters. I have a hard time appreciating the relationships because of this, even though I like the pairings. Also, is there only going to be relationships between the characters who have their own chapters? There can be romantic relationships where one character is outside the main cast, you know.
Overall, I felt like this book was mostly a build up to the next one – which is fair, because it needed to be. It was kind of interesting that there were so many things being revealed that the reader didn't get to see Aelin doing throughout the past couple of books. I haven't decided if I liked it or not.
What annoyed me the most, and has annoyed me throughout the series is that Aelin never has a grand reveal or get any big reactions to her identity. To me, there was so much build up around the world not knowing she survived and she being a big deal, that the way she reveals her identity and they way people react to her identity is anti-climactic every single time. Maybe that's just me loving a dramatic identity reveal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Torture
Minor: Suicide attempt
folkofthebook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide attempt
Minor: Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Confinement, and Sexual assault
taymackwar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
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