Queen of Shadows

Title: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Number of Pages: 648

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Date Read: 9.12.15

Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

“Let’s go rattle the stars.”- Aelin

      The queen has returned.

      Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she’s at last returned to the empire – for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past…

      She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

      She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return. - Goodreads

“Sometimes there won’t be a right choice, just the best of several bad options.” - Rowan

      I have been waiting patiently (well, maybe not patiently) for this book to come out and I was NOT disappointed. The wait was truly worth it. I LOVED this book. I know I keep saying that about all of Sarah’s books, but I do. I think I love one and then the next one comes out and I have even more love for it.

“She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers.” - Rowan

      With that being said, I going to start with a gripe. Aelin was so … frustrating in this book! I had a hard time “liking” her as a person, I guess. She started having double standards: what she expected of others and what she could do. While she was telling people they had to be honest with her and have no secrets (her court included), she went sneaking around with her own agenda(s) without saying a peep. It was aggravating and she seemed less trustworthy for it. Did that make me enjoy the book any less? Uh, no – because it’s a character flaw. People have those. It just shows that Aelin is not perfect.

      Also, Choal seemed to be a bit more reckless in this installment. I’m not sure how I feel about that. After having 3 books where he was the level-headed, clear-thinking captain; it was a bit baffling to see him running headlong toward a band of witches in an ill-planned attempt to save the Prince. No matter how much their friendship meant to him, I never would have pictured Choal throwing caution to the wind and endangering the others. That was always Aelin’s thing.

      I LOVED Lysandra and Asterin is this book. They are the epitome of a girl’s BFF. They have their leaders’ best interests at heart and basically couldn’t care less about themselves, so long as their friends were okay. Lysandra was so sassy and such a quick wit that it was fun watching her interact with the rest of the cast. Not to mention when she turned into the ghost leopard and tore through the town like nobody’s business. BEST. PART. EVER. That, and when she finally gives Arobynn what he has coming to him. (I yessed so loud, my neighbors heard.) And Asterin screaming when she thought Manon was dead/dying – I have no words. *goosebumps*

“To whatever end.” - Rowan

      Moving on. The official sinking of the ChoalxCelaena ship. I had hope; small, but hope nonetheless that they would maybe patch things up and be together. But it was not to be. L They were so angry with one another and it hurt to hear them say and do all those awful things to each other. It made my heart hurt. I was, however, very pleased with how things became better with them as the book progressed. They parted as friends and allies; Choal even told Aelin that her magic was beautiful. It was a step in the right direction (especially after that whole “monster” mess).

      I am happy to see the two of them are moving on to other relationships. I will not lie, Rowan is … there are not enough words to describe Rowan … but I’m glad he’s in the books and that Aelin is with him. They seem to have a deeper understanding of one another; a deeper connection. And seriously, the chemistry between the two is STEAMY! (sexytimes had better be on the horizon soon!) Also, I like Choal and Nesryn. They appear to have similar dispositions. I’d like to see more of their interactions in the coming books. I think they will be a promising pair.

      Speaking of pairs: I have some predictions for others.

1.  Lysandra and Aedion – maybe not romantically, but those two have something, the way they egg each other on. I also feel it’s more on Aedion’s side at this time. I say this because EVERYTIME Lysandra made an appearance and didn’t “notice” him, he always mentioned it and then “acted” like it didn’t bother him. Kinda like the elementary equivalent of a boy tugging on a girl’s pigtails.

2. Dorian and Manon – also, maybe not romantically, but it just struck something in me that he remembered Manon while he was imprisoned by the Valg Prince. Not his friends that he had precious memories with, or (eventually) not even Sorcha (the woman he loved) – Manon. Now, it may be because of the eyes (the Valg Prince seemed to be petrified of them), but I don’t think so. Not to mention, Manon comes to “check on him” once all is said and done.

Lastly, I want to talk about the King and Perrington. Did you guys see that twist coming?! I sure didn’t. I think my brain actually exploded a little bit. The weasel Perrington is actually the mastermind behind the whole scheme? *boom – brain explosion* And his disgusting henchman, Vernon … can’t wait for those two to die a horribly slow death.

“She was fury, she was wrath, she was vengeance.” – des. Lysandra

As you can tell, I really enjoyed this book and was sad to see it end. But it ended well, with her new court gazing upon Terrasan. I can’t wait for the next book. Hopefully it won’t be a WHOLE year. (And hopefully ACOTAR2 will be out to hold me over.) J