A review by juliapatt2007
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

 We get to meet new characters (my head is still spinning trying to keep track of them all) but overall they fit into the story alright.

Lorcans betrayal (while somewhat surprising) didn't bother me. Elide is pissed when she finds out what he did and I understand but ultimately he did it so she could be safe. Was it the best choice to potentially sacrifice a kingdom to save her? Probably not but still sweet and shows a rarely seen caring side of Lorcan. I really think that Lorcan and Elide will recover as Elide

sees that Lorcan betrayed them out of love for her. Maeve has already implied that they may be mates so I'm excited to see where that goes. I loved the triumphant ending of all of Aelin’s old contacts rallying around her even as she was locked in the coffin.

I'm interested to see where Lyssandra's impersonation takes the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Aelin and Rowan have clear sexual tension from the get go. Eventually they find out that they are mates and have fairly descriptive sex on the beach. Their sexual adventures don't stop there with several other implied moments and several sensual conversations. Elide and Lorcan have a moment as well before joining the rest of the group in the marsh. While their moment leads to nothing fully physical it's clear their relationship is heading there. Dorian and Manon have some tension as well and this has carried over from previous books. Their sex scene while not as descriptive as Rowan and Aelins left a very clear mental image. I can see their sexual adventures heading toward anything but vanilla and time will only tell if Maas gives us more if this pair. Aedion and Lyssandra continue to flirt throughout the book with Aedion confession that he is bisexual.

As far as language there were a few new works but nothing that doesn't come with the sexual territory (Bitch, Shit, Horse shit, Tits, Cock, Asshole).