Thursday 12 February 2015

Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Publication Date: September 11th 2014
My rating: 4 stars 



Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy. While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

Once again Maas was able to sweep me away with gorgeously written story in Heir of Fire. Being the reader that I am I didn’t have time to re-read Crown of Midnight so that things could be fresh in my head, but Maas was clever in bringing hints of what had gone on previously that quickly enough I was left with that aching in my chest all over again. I really didn’t know what to think Celaena had been through it all, to the brink and back, could she finally learn and get what she was seeking for?

Maas excelled in creating characters who were quick to find a solid place in my heart; Chaol Dorian, and Celaena were characters who I adored, but with the introduction of Rowan I was quick to ask the questions Chaol who? This warrior was quick to take over my full attention that I couldn’t care less about the other perspectives which were given to us in the story. Very early on he isn’t the nicest guy at all, constantly pushing Celaena, just being a thug overall, but deep down I knew it was what Celaena needed, yes Rowan could be harsh at times but Celaena needed that extra push to keep her firstly occupied and forget all the things she had suffered, but also to become a better person. Celaena was a first class assassin and lethal in every way, and although it took both Rowan and Celaena at first pushing the wrong buttons, I couldn’t wait until they finally got one another as I knew that would result would be a formidable team.

The world in Wendlyn was a stark contrast to what we were used to. But I enjoyed about this whole reality we got to experience and learning more about Celaena’s back story. Like I mentioned before I loved the perspective from Rowan’s and Celaena’s side of things, it was new, thrilling away from all the heartache and of course I got to be with Rowan, what more could I have asked for? But when we were given different perspectives I did also enjoy reading from a new character that Maas introduced into the mix; Aedion. Like Rowan Aedion and I didn’t get off to the best start, but slowly his character grew on me and I adored getting glimpses of his real character; how much love, courage and loyalty he had to offer.

Once again a lot was on steak for so many individuals in Heir of Fire, but the way things had ended in Crown of Midnight, it was horrible to see that relationships had shifted dramatically for some of our favourite characters, the time that Celaena spent with Rowan did help us to bury the heartache we had been put through. His constant growling was really some of my highlights. But of course Maas wouldn’t let us have all the fun, slowly but surely she chipped away at the defence I had built up, and then of course was able to very quickly turn everything on its head. Maas was able to flip my emotions in the flick of a switch I could go from feeling fierce to disgusted and from being scared to horrified really quickly. However I’m not one to say that all was left in despair, yes I was shocked by some of the events which unravelled, but I’m grateful that we still have a small flickering of hope that won’t be going out anytime soon.




15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really struggled with the multiple story lines in this one. It didn't really flow well for me so I ended up DNFing. I do think I'll end up picking it up after the whole series has come out after I make sure that my OTP is together. I would be devastated if they weren't, so I don't want to spend my time with 4 more books. I'm glad you enjoyed this though, Jasprit. I like the sound of Rowan's growth.
Lovely review!

Carina Olsen said...

Yay :D Awesome review Jasprit. <3 I'm so glad you ended up loving this book. I haven't read book one yet :p but ONE DAY. I think. Most likely :D I'm just a bit upset about the romance :p but I know so many love these books. And you too. And I'm curious, lol. Soon, maybe :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts sweetie. <3

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I still have't gotten to this one, I need to make some time for it. I keep reading such solid reviews for it Thanks for the reminder.

Keertana said...

I haven't even read the second book in this series, which I have heard is excellent, and I'm glad to see you enjoyed this third installment which I know many readers were unimpressed by. I think I'll have to keep continuing this series and give it a try myself. Fantastic review, Jasprit! :)

Shooting Stars Mag said...

That's great you enjoyed this one so much, and it's nice when authors can remind you of what happened in the previous novel in an good way. :)

Lily @ Lilysbookblog said...

This one was a tricky one for me. I loved it but I also struggled. For the majority of the book my OTP was on my mind. I fell hard for them in CoM so I kept waiting for something between them to happen. That being said, I loved the character growth in this and fell so hard for their actions and emotions. So many terrific, new characters were introduced in this one that just added to the amazing reading experience.
My one struggle was the addition of Mavon (is that her name? I can't remember) I've forgotten quite a bit about her and I didn't love her as hard as I wanted too. oh well.... i'll be picking up book four for sure!

The Cover Contessa said...

I really loved this book. There was a lot of information to absorb, and so many new characters. SO much world building. It was very long, though. I am looking forward to the next one for sure.

Lauren @ Love is not a triangle said...

I need to read this series! I'm AFRAID. But seeing everyone so worked up about it, makes me feel left out. I'm going to take the plunge soon. Sounds like Maas is a master at drawing out strong emotions!

Jaz said...

Heir of Fire currently stands as my favourite book in the series. I loved it so much! Her writing is just fabulous and yes Rowan <3 but I still think it's platonic. I'm Chaol forever.
Aedion <333 love him so much. And how cool is Manon? The various perspectives were just fantastic!
I can't wait to see what Queen of Shadows brings us :D

Jenny said...

YEAH JASPRIT!!! I just love this series so much. I'm with you on Rowan, I absolutely loved him (even when I wanted to punch him in the beginning for being a bit of a bastard to Celaena, but like you said, she needed to be pushed). What I loved even more though, was that there didn't seem to be any romance there - it was just this amazing friendship that didn't need to be anything more. I hope that continues, but we'll see:)

Rachel said...

YAY!! I'm so glad you liked this one, hun!! SJM really amped up the fantasy in this one, and I adored HoF so much. The world-building, the plot development, the character growth, it's all so good. Lovely review <33 I NEED QUEEN OF SHADOWS NOW.

Anonymous said...

I felt that this book was really a turning point in the series, in terms of Celaena putting herself back together and getting ready to reclaim her throne and rightful inheritance at the end. So much to look forward to in the next book!

Tanja - Tanychy said...

I'm still to read this one and I plan on reading it soon! I'm so happy you enjoyed it and I cannot wait to meet Rowan. Great review, Jasprit :)

Unknown said...

I just don't know about this series! Too many romantic possibilities for this girl, lol! But I'm glad you enjoyed it; I hope the series ends well for everyone. >.<
Great review, J!

Mary @ BookSwarm said...

I read the first one, thought it was okay. Read the second, felt the same. Read the prequels, loved them. Now, I need to start over!

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