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