To whatever end.
Heir of Fire
Sarah J. Maas
TOG, book three
Hardcover, 576 pages
Published February 14, 2023
ISBN 9781639730988
Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak-but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth... a truth about her heritage that could change her life-and her future-forever.
Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. Will Celaena find the strength to not only fight her inner demons, but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed?
Nehemiah is dead, Dorian has magic, and Chaol, knowledgable of Celaena's true identity, has sent her away. Okay, we're caught up after skipping book two, Crown of Midnight. Could have gone without the tidbit about Celaena bedding Chaol but at least I avoided the details.
Celaena has reached her fuck-it-all-to-hell point. Depression and apathy have settled in after all she's lost and has failed to achieve. Having all but given up on the task set to her, to kill Prince Galan Ashryver, she spends her time brawling and gambling in the taverns of Wenslyn. Which is where she's been for the last two weeks.
But then a deep male voice chuckled from the shadows behind her.
Sam could never beat her. With Chaol, she imagined all kinds of ways she could overtake him. Dorian was no challenge to her at all. But Rowan... In the moment they met, she feared Rowan.
And to my jaw dropping surprise, Celaena managed to travel in the company of another in actual silence.
Let me be clear: I'm here, in TOG, for Rowan. I am here for that moment that he punches Celaena in the face—and she so fucking deserved that hit—and the love story that comes after. Which I do realize is just sprinkles to this story.
The bite, however, did not go down the way I was led to believe.
Allow me a moment to vent here. The anguish and guilt that so heavily overtook Calaena with Nehemiah's death pisses me off. That pain is what I expected her to endure from Sam's death and, granted, Maas did practically skip that year in the mines, but, urgh... She knew him for a decade. He was her constant. She knew Nehemiah for what, weeks? Months?? Was it even a year???
Liked Chaol in book one. Here, not so much. He's floundering, but at least he's trying.
Dorian... I did not care for him in book one. He's better now. I know I drag Calaena across the coals at times but, in fairness, she did make Dorian a better man. Still has aways to go though. His main focus remains finding a bed partner.
Manon... Where the hell have you been? I needed you on day one! Her, with Abraxos, and the spidersilk... Now, we're cooking with fire. When I was told this was a series about an assassin, it is *this* level of cunning and deathblowing that I was anticipating. Certainly not the jewel collecting, boy-crazy, kiss-hungry chick I met in Throne of Glass.
Gods, he was brilliant. Cunning and wicked and brilliant. Even when he beat the hell out of her. Every. Damn. Day.
Well, at least we made it past sixty percent before she started kissing again. I applaud her for regulating it to his cheek. And applaud Rowan more for wiping it away.
I struggle to rate these TOG books because I'm just so bored for so much of the story. So many words for so little gain. And it doesn't have to be that way.
4 out of 5 stars.
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Previously in the series:
