Empire of Storms: From the # 1 Sunday Times best-selling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses (Throne of Glass Book 5)

Empire of Storms is the fifth book in the magnificent Throne of Glass series and continues following Aelin Galathynius as she begins to rally together and call in old debts to start to build an army to take on Erawens forces.I decided to tandem read this book with the next book in the series, Tower of Dawn, as I had heard it gave the best experience for continuing the story and I will say at this point I totally agree. I’m not quite through Tower of Dawn at this point but I think I would have struggled more had I not tandem read it with this book.As for this book, it was absolutely spectacular. The pacing of the story is extraordinary and just as you think you know what is coming next another twist is thrown at you. I found this book to be very addictive and hard to put down and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It has me already on the edge of my seat wanting to read the next book. The characters were brilliant and I loved that the story was told from multiple perspectives. I feel that having the story told this way gave it more depth and also allowed you to get to know the other characters better and it pulled you further into the story that has been woven.Overall, I would 100% recommend reading this book. The world is vast, the story is intense and the entire series is probably one of the best I’ve ever read.

Initial Thoughts: Gods-damned brilliant. Superb storytelling. So clever. Loved every page. Sarah J. Maas, you are a genius.Full Review:Another EPIC read from an author and a series that continues to go from strength to strength. Put simply - this was perfection on a page. I loved every second of it, and I adore how Sarah writes long, intricate books because it represents such great value for money. It took me a full week to read this because a) it's long and b) I had minimal reading time, but I enjoyed savoring it slowly. Reading Empire of Storms makes me want to read the entire series again because the characters have all evolved and matured so much.I loved all the different POVs we got in this book, and all the couples we had to root for! I was in book heaven! If you follow my reviews, you will know that I love a blend of action with romance and this book ticked all the right boxes. Aelin and Rowan are perfect, and I also really loved the slow-building romance between Aedion and Lysandra. I'm not sold on Lorcan and he has a lot to do to prove things to me and Elide.Aelin was very secretive in this book but it was for a good reason. She is the ultimate smart, fiesty badass female heroine and I loved her in Empire of Storms. She is still the same person underneath but you can see how much she has developed over the course of the series. The romance between her and Rowan is so heartfelt and reminiscent of the soulmates that they are. They don't always work as a united team (she still keeps so much from him) but there will be no one else for either of them. Dorian grated on my nerves a little in this book, even though I still love him, but he needs to start stepping up to the plate. Too much responsibility is left up to Aelin. I had a feeling where the plot was going, and I was hoping I was wrong, but I wasn't. My heart bleeds for Aelin and I'm not sure how Sarah is going to rectify it in the next book, but I have complete faith in her.Plot development was sublime in this book. She pulls a lot of threads together in an expertly skilled fashion. To write in so many differing points of view in order to tell the story, and to involve so much incredible worldbuilding and imaginative storytelling, is the skill of a truly talented author. Sarah is the bomb. I cannot get enough of her work, and I hope she has plenty more series in her head as I will never tire of reading her books. Both her current series are superb.The end few chapters were explosive and I swear I stopped breathing at one point. I want to kill Maeve. I don't know how the hell I'm expected to survive another year to find out what happens next. It's been over a week since I finished this book, and I've read about five others in between (I was on vacation) but I still feel gutted over how this book ended and heartbroken for Aelin and Rowan and so worried about all my favorite characters. Please hurry up and write the next one - I for one will be reading it the minute it releases.Gush fest over. Do yourself a favor and pick up this series, if you haven't already. I promise you won't be sorry.

For me, Empire of Storms is the best instalment yet in the TOG series - and the other novels have been pretty spectacular. If you've got this far through them and are reading this review, you're on a roll now, and are probably going to finish the series - 'To whatever end' and all that! But it's still nice to know, I think, whether the novel you're about to read is going to deliver - and this one delivers in spades.So what made this one so special? I think, up until now, a lot of character and world-building has been going on - but this is where things really start to happen. Characters come into their own, storylines converge, romances flourish and the action picks up; you could say it's begun to reach critical Maas! (excuse the pun). I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it takes a genius to create such a detailed world throughout the span of five books (and the author's not finished yet) and to weave together strands of a plot that began in book one. The foresight, creativity and planning that must have gone on to get from there to here is mind boggling. And the writing itself zips along at a rapid place. The book has everything - edge-of-your-seat set-pieces of action, loyalty, emotion, betrayal and, oh, the romances. This might be YA but Maas doesn't shy away from writing some pretty sizzling (yet very much non-trashy) scenes between her love interests - and I'm glad she did. As a YA author, the temptation might have been there to gloss over things more, but it's pretty awesome that she didn't, as it adds an extra dimension of believability to the characters' relationships with each other. I think, without it, it would have been harder to understand the bonds and sheer devotion of some characters to each other. And the friendships too - the author is so adept at showing how minor friendships (or even associations) develop, due to time and circumstance, into something far deeper and more profound. Even Manon's relationship with Abraxos is beautifully described - the Wyvern being depicted as the sort of huge, clever, loyal beast (like a dog with wings and a sting in the tail!) that we'd all want.I don't want to give away anything about the plot - only to say the end left me breathless (and I'm glad the series is now complete, so I can whizz my way through books six and seven) and that these characters really do have a place in my heart now. This doesn't often happen with novels - but I think the sheer scope of the world Maas has created and the investment required of a reader to go on a journey of 650-odd pages at a time, over so many volumes, means that the world she creates and the people in it really do get under your skin.So, if you're about to read this - I'm jealous!

The amount of world building is incredible but it’s done in a way that is still enjoyable and progresses the story along. The characters are life itself as you fall in love with their strengths, their faults, their courage, their loyalty and development into their own unique but vital players in this mind shattering story. The forethought and foreshadowing is breathtaking and soul crushing yet reviving. I am thoroughly enslaved by this series and eager to read the next book. This has been the best book in this series yet.

Bra bok tyckte dottern

I rarely cry reading a book, but this got me, my head played epic music and I just bawled, it was amazing.Highly recommend tandem reading with tower of dawn.

Aelin just never stops amazing me

Re-Read Update:This book destroyed me. I cheered when my baby, Abraxos, appeared (legitimately out loud cheered) and wanted to cry at those fateful words. If you've read this book, you know which ones I'm referring to and if not, I can't say because there would be spoilers. Despite the issues and shift in the characterization of some of our leads, this book takes you on an incredible emotional journey with highs that make you cheer (see above) and lows that bring you to tears (almost).Despite the length of the book, I didn't feel as though the story lagged or the pacing was poor. Any free minute I had, I immediately turned to the book to continue where I left off. Even knowing what was going to happen, it managed to enthrall me.One of the problems that I have with this book is its portrayal of relationships. There are aspects of it that are so swoon-worthy and make your heart hurt, but there are some that are not healthy. It's nice to see diverse portrayals of love and relationships, but my concern is that a young adult reader might see the territorial Fae nonsense in the book and not realize that it's an extreme. It might seem normalized. As I am not a teenager, I am aware of the intricacies and can roll my eyes at the "nonsense" without putting any weight on the idea. That may not be the same for teen readers.There are aspects of the character development that seems off and others that, although regrettable, are completely valid. For example, Dorian has gone through an incredible amount of turmoil and emotional upheaval in the last two books. It's understandable that his personality would not quite be the same carefree, flirty scholar that we met in the first book who wished to stand up to his father but could never garner the courage to do so.In a similar vein, we watch other characters develop into multi-faceted people and understand them more. Manon and Lysandra have become much more interesting characters as they were expanded upon, and at least for me have become some of my favourites. Despite the huge cast of fairly main characters, each is still given the time to shine and grow.Finally, the world building continues in this book to an immense degree. A combination of the book's size and the various viewpoints has allowed Sarah J Maas to expand the world we have come to know. Erilea has been developed and we are able to see more pieces of Nehemia's homeland, Aelin's kingdom, and so much in between.I still love this series and highly recommend it to young adult/teen readers who enjoy fantasy books.Original Review:These novels are so addicting, emotional and indescribable - but I'm going to try to do them justice. If you've not yet read up to Empire of Storms, please avoid this review as it has spoilers. I try to leave out the major plot points and just focus on the characters/world, but it's not free from them. Please read on only if you've read the series.Our main cast of beloved and some tolerated, main/supporting characters grows throughout the series. Although we lose Nehemia, which I am still so sad about - we are introduced to the Fae. Their inclusion in the series brings the genre into high fantasy and makes it even more enjoyable. Prior to this series, I hadn't read many novels in which the supernatural creatures were the Fae but now I am obsessed. The world of the Fae isn't experienced or explained much, but I would love to see more of it. Their powers or abilities are so intriguing and well written. Just enough information is given that you can understand what is going on, then beautifully populate the world and battles in your mind.Sarah J Maas makes you fall in love with each of the characters, whether you liked them when they were first introduced or not. One of the first perspective shifts we experience is when we are introduced to the bloodthirsty Manon Blackbeak. At first, you wish her scenes weren't there as they take away from time with our main characters but by the fifth novel she's one of the characters you're rooting for. Although she's a witch and over one hundred years old, she is given the ability to develop and change over the course of the novels. It takes time because she's learning that things she believed her entire life aren't true and don't need to affect how she views life.Even characters that we were originally introduced to, like Lysandre are able to evolve and change over the course of the books. She and Celaena start off butting heads and competing, but that doesn't last. They join together and made a formidable pair (especially once magic is restored to the land). Lysandre grows into one of my favourite characters and her wholehearted commitment to the cause is inspiring.Seeking more information about the Wyrdkeys, Celaena seeks knowledge from the Fae Queen Maeve. Unwilling to give her information away for nothing, Queen Maeve makes a deal that Celaena must train with and impress one of her trusted warriors, Rowan. Prince Rowan is able to manipulate ice and wind, whilst also transforming into a hawk. Her inner circle are sworn to her with a blood oath and a group of Fae warriors that include Rowan, Lorcan, Gavriel, Vaughen, Fenrys and Connall. Later on, this group is affectionately titled Rowan's cadre and some join our heroes on their journey.Unsurprisingly, we discover that Celaena is actually the Princess (or Queen) of Terrasen and that revelation brings with it some people from her past. Her cousin, Aedion was forced for years to do the bidding of the King of Adarlan whilst secretly helping his people. He is a general and his legion of warriors called the Bane are loyal to him rather than the King. We also meet another person from Terrasen, the daughter of the woman who sacrificed herself to allow Aelin to escape as a child - Elide. She was mistreated by her Uncle for years, until Manon Blackbeak helped her escape. After only a few days, she crosses paths with Lorcan who is a member of Rowan's cadre and they begin to journey together.Lorcan is not well liked by Rowan or Aelin when we first come across him in Rifthold. He is still bound to Queen Maeve and is seeking to find and destroy the Wyrdkeys. Throughout his journey across Erilea, he discovers that he has a soft spot for Elide and protects her. Some of the other cadre are viewed in a more favourable light by Aelin and her friends, as they attempt to delay their orders from Maeve to help on the quest.Sarah J Maas writes the best pairings that fill your heart with so much feeling then she rips it out and stomps all over it. Rowan loves Aelin with his whole heart, every part, the good, the bad, the broken and beaten, the assassin, the Queen, the Fae and no one else has ever done that for her. Their love is true and enduring. Heartwrenching and pure. Even though they didn't start off on the best footing, after training her for a time and even breaking his blood oath to Maeve - Rowan is completely enamored. Plus, they're mates so there's nothing more important and bonding. Each relationship is authentic and pulls at your heartstrings.Throughout the novels, you are able to experience more of the lands with Erilea from the dark, twisted towers of Morath to the Queen's home of Terrasen. They are welcome additions to our mental maps of the land and wonderfully illustrated through words.This is one of my favourite series by far and is highly recommended to all - also specifically to young adult readers who enjoy well writen novels with developed characters, immersive world-building and fantasy.