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.