Heir of Fire review

must love pain because I decided to jump into Aelin's world. There will be spoilers for this series so if you haven't read it please walk away. I don't want to be the one to deprive you of the world that is Sarah

“It would not take a monster to destroy a monster - but light, light to drive out darkness.”

I have read ACOTAR and Crescent City, but Sarah J Maas's Throne of Glass series just didn't call to me. Maybe it's because it was a YA Fantasy and I'ma 30-something woman, or maybe I just didn't want my heart ripped out again.

But I must love pain because I decided to jump into Aelin's world. There will be spoilers for this series so if you haven't read it please walk away. I don't want to be the one to deprive you of the world that is Sarah J Maas.

So here is my review for the third book in the series, Heir of Fire. I know you are probably wondering where the review for books one and two are. The answer is there are none. I read those books earlier in the year long before I decided to put my thoughts to paper.

Off the bat, my rating for Heir of Fire is three fire-balls or stars if you prefer. I love the previous book, Crown of Midnight, so much I couldn't put it down. But this one, it felt like a chore to read. Not that it was bad, but it had to go through the whole world-building process again because the series central conflict has finally been established. With that comes new characters and a new magic system that needs to be explained.

At the end of Crown of Midnight we see Celaena unleash her fae magic and reveal she is the lost Terrasen heir Aelin. She sets out to a new world to find a way to stop the evil Adarlan king and eventually come to terms with her magic and past. She must come to accept her true name Aelin.

This hero's journey and Aelin's healing from her trauma are the best parts of the novel. We get to meet fae prince Rowan who is grumpy and deadly. He trains her without giving her any quarter. We see their friendship blossom and chip away the walls Aelin has put up because she can't deal with her own pain.

In true SJM style, you connect instantly with the pain Aelin's trauma is causing her. You want to reach into the pages to hug her and tell her it will be alright. You can't help but root for Aelin. She is only 19 but has seen so much blood and lost everyone she has loved. When Rowan starts letting his own guard down and starts to befriend her and her him you smile because you know, you just know this is the IT couple. It's what drove me forward reading this story because it's SJM character relationships that drive her stories and it is no different here.

Rowan and Aelin push each other, stand by each other, laugh and console. While they only become friends in this book, you know some serious mated vibes are coming in the next books.

As for the other parts of the story, we're introduced to Manon and iron teeth witch who kills you before even getting your name. She's the beautiful, but stabs you in the eye type. her story spends most of the time getting to train her smaller but still lethal dragon-type character and learning the politics of her world. I found most of it really boring and one-dimensional. But since I love TikTok I know her story will get better and it does closer to the end.

The other part of the POV's are:

- Aedion, Aelins cousin/double agent in Adaralan, who can't wait to see his cousin again. He was the best addition to the story.

- Dorian is struggling to keep his magic tamed and falling in love with the first girl who is nice to him.

- Chaol is heartbroken over his split from Aelin but just whines through the book making poor decisions. I really don't like his character.

These POV's are just lacklustre and only help to introduce the battle lines in the end.

I will continue to read this series just for more Rowan and Aelin.