A review by beckyyreadss
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

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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