hforsythe26's reviews
186 reviews

Heir of Fire is an interesting book when you look at it as part of the overall series. It takes place exclusively in Wendlyn, across the sea from the main setting of the series. The events are mostly focused on Caelana and her transformation to Aelin. It seems like it would be isolated from the rest of the story, but I greatly enjoyed this one and it feels right at home at this point in the saga. On my first read a few years ago, I remember having a bit of a struggle with Heir of Fire. It was slow and kind of boring, but I didn't feel any of that this time. I loved the setting, the side characters, and the journey of Aelin coming into her powers was fulfilling. There was a nice little battle that felt like a taste of what we have to look forward to (can't wait!) and I'm intrigued by what we saw of Rowan's companions... I thought they were the good guys, what are they doing with Maeve?! My main critiques here are that the initial dynamic between Rowan and Aelin felt a little icky. I understand that he was trying to push her to access her powers, but why did he have to always go back to telling her how worthless she is? Especially knowing

they're going to be mates

I didn't love that particular type of interaction. I felt that he was degrading her more than challenging her or pushing her to do better. It didn't last long and I enjoyed them together once he moved past that, but still 🤷‍♀️ The second critique is that the pacing felt a smidge off when it comes to Aelin's powers. For most of the book, she can't even light a fire but then after

her showdown with the Valg princess, she can hold all of Maeve's Island hostage with her flames

? Yes, she gained access to the full depth of her power only after

defeating the Valg

but when did she have time to learn the control? Accessing the raw power is different than learning how to control it and use it effectively, and I thought we maybe glossed over that aspect. Maybe I'm splitting hairs with this one, but again 🤷‍♀️

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The whole Throne of Glass series is just so much fun. It's not cotton candy reading, but maybe more like wine. Easy to consume, tastes delicious, but makes you a little heady if you have too much at a time. I'm not sure how to describe that "fever dream" element that makes this feel so different but it's not just epic fantasy and it's also not just fluffy fantasy. What's the magic ingredient? I have no idea, but I love it and I can't wait to keep going with the series. Let's fly, witches! 

Absolutely divine. For some reason, I had it in my head that there was a magical cat in this story and I had no interest in reading about any cats, magical or otherwise, so I never picked it up when it was initially on my radar. Thank goodness it was a book club pick because I was missing out on something truly wonderful. And in case you're wondering, no, there's not a magical cat.

I don't want to say too much about the story because I think it's good to go in blind, or as much as possible. All I'll say is that I felt like every single character in this book was someone that surely must have been a living breathing person at some point in time. They were every one, the good and the bad, such well presented characters that I nearly immediately felt as if I knew them. I hated the bad ones and I loved the good ones. I felt their joy and their sadness in these pages and I was crushed to leave them at the end. My favorite was Six-Thirty and if he's not your favorite too, can we even be friends??

I do have two critiques that knocked this off the five star tier. First, it was a bit too overtly atheist. I'm fine with a book showing its viewpoint on religion but not if it feels like I'm getting hit over the head with it. This was almost there. Maybe a bump on the shoulder, if not over the head, and it was too heavy-handed. Second was the head hopping. I'm not sure I've encountered this before, and certainly not to this extent, but it was jarring to the point of pulling me out of the story every time it happened. Sometimes I had to skip back a paragraph to reorient myself and make sure I knew who I was following. I don't know if this was a stylistic choice or an oversight but I didn't care for it.

In a different book, those could have been much bigger flaws but I was so engrossed in the lives of Elizabeth, Calvin, Mad, Six-Thirty, and the rest of the characters that I was more than willing to overlook them just to spend more time in the story. What a delightful book this is 😊

There's no slump in sight for the second book in this series. A marked improvement over the first installment, I greatly enjoyed Crown of Midnight. This was actually much more enjoyable than I remember it being from the last time I read it. The plot really opens up and expands here and without the distraction of the contest from book #1 we can start to see the scope of the conflict we're heading towards. Caelana is a joy to follow and the exception to most of the "typical" modern fantasy characters in my mind. Yes, she's beautiful and small and brilliant and she thinks she's amazing, but knowing her roots and where she comes from, it feels natural and I like seeing her vulnerabilities as she struggles with her grief and her situation. Watching how she tries to protect herself and the people she loves while grappling with how that might make her a coward or make her less than what she should be is really interesting. I do feel that having read most of the series before, I'm enjoying this reread more than I did the first time. Having an overall idea of the story helps me get past some of the flaws in these early books and see how everything is working towards the larger picture and honestly, I'm not mad about that. 100% loving the reread. Can't wait to keep going! 

P.S. I still hate Chaol. Seriously, why is that man so insufferably WHINY?? Grow up, Chaol. Ugh!

I won this audiobook in a StoryGraph giveaway! Huge thank you to MacMillan for the free copy!

Beautiful: The audio narration. I struggle with audiobooks and often find myself losing focus and not absorbing the content because the narration is flat or monotonous or, conversely, trying too hard, but this narration was absolutely top tier. Both the male and female narrators were excellent. They portrayed the correct emotions without being too over the top, their voices were soothing but not sleep-inducing, and the accents were just fantastic.

Ugly: I didn't care for the plot. 😬 I thought some of the tropes were a little overdone and there were a couple little plot holes that I didn't like. I will say, however, the writing itself was wonderful and there were a few very poignant quotes tucked in the prose that really tickled my fancy. I'm looking forward to trying another of Feeney's books.

I liked this book. It was a fun adventure with a creative setting and interesting magic. The characters felt real and the premise of the plot was something I felt invested in. My two complaints are the pacing and the lack of FEELS... The pacing felt just a little bit off. The big action sequence at 2/3 felt like the end of the story which took some of the drama away from the actual end of the boom. Amd while I did enjoy all the parts of the story, all together they just didn't make me feel any big feelings. I didn't want to cry when things were sad, I didn't want to scream when things were exciting, I didn't want to jump up and down when things were joyful. I did enjoy the story and I did care but not enough to shelve this one as a new favorite. Will I read the next book in the series? Maybe... but maybe not.

This is a reread for me and I see why the general advice for anyone starting the Throne of Glass series is to "just push through". The plot is a good setup and interesting enough, the characters are a bit silly but I didn't hate them, and the little love triangle felt a bit immature for who these people are supposed to be. BUT. It's still a fun story with really good ideas and I enjoyed it. With the complete series ahead, it's easy to see where this is going and I can appreciate the groundwork. Would I like it as much if I was reading it without the rest of the series? Possibly not. It might be too YA for me if I didn't already know that there's something epic up ahead.... but what-ifs are neither here nor there and are certainly no good foe book reviews so this one sits solidly at a fine 3 stars. Can't wait to keep on with the rest of them. Get over here, book #2!

I was a reluctant reader of this book. VERY reluctant. The only reason I picked it up was because I just reread the original series and my inner completionist felt obligated to push through this one. I didn't want to read it because I knew I would hate it. I knew that because I hate Nesta and this is Nesta's story... 750 pages of Nesta?? No, thank you! I knew everyone said this was her redemption arc and that their feelings changed once they understood her and blah blah blah. That meant nothing to me. I would not be swayed, my hate would live on, my loathing would be the rock upon which Nesta's so-called "redemption" would break. But here I am giving this book five stars... so what changed? Well, Nesta changed. Turns out I was not, after all, immune to her redemption. This book is a searing examination of someone who has sunken to the deepest pit of self-hate and despair. Someone who uses meanness to hide how much she hates herself. And as the layers are peeled back, as the hurts are laid bare, we start to see a complex journey from despair, through acceptance, and then to happiness. Festering wounds turn to scabs and then to healing, sometimes leaving permanent scars but nevertheless, healing. Anyone who, like myself, has struggled with self-hatred will find resonance in this book and will feel deep emotion following Nesta on her journey. I haven't felt connected to a character on this level in quite some time. Hats off to Mrs Maas for so accurately depicting such complicated and painful issues in a way that ultimately brings such satisfaction and peace. Well done, Mrs Maas, well done 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻

Touching on a couple of other points, there is actually a solid plot here. I didn't know how there could be much plot at all, considering this book is set after the grand culmination in ACOWAR, but there is an interesting story that held my attention and clearly sets up some big things for future installments. And then there's the spice. Wow! I knew it would be spicy but I was not prepared for this... it is SPICY. The sexy-time dial is cranked up from the previous books so make no mistake, this is not jalapeño hot, this is ghost pepper hot 🥵 

All in all, I know when I've been beat and this is one of those times. I was wrong. I was not the rock that Nesta broke against, Nesta broke me right open. And if you pick this one up, I've no doubt she'll break you too. But don't worry, you'll be picked up and put together again by the end, and your heart will be better because of it. ❤️

The whole way through this book I was thinking, "this book is so stupid, the writing is horrible, the plot is vapid, blah blah, *eye roll*", but I stayed awake far too late and had to finish it on my lunch break because I couldn't wait to see how it ended. So... is it a bad book if I couldn't put it down? No, certainly not. I do still think some of the dialouge was clunky and some plot points were rushed and I didn't love the ending. And there was a general feeling of disjointed-ness throughout (how do you run for your life in a corset so tight you can hardly breathe??), but overall it was fun, it kept my interest, and I did like Blackwell for most of the book. While it wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, it was a fine book. Perfectly fine.

This was such a sweet little book. Just a novella, I read it in a day and greatly enjoyed it. Part Christmas story, part character study, this feels like the bridge between the main arcs of the series. You'll see sweet moments between the characters, pov's not shown in the prior books, and some insight into how the characters are coping with the events of the first three books. Mostly light and fun with just a dash of serious emotion and a sprinkle of important plot points, this story was a delight.