Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas (Throne of Glass #3)

6/10

After a really strong beginning to this series, Heir of Fire disappointed me as it didn't quite have the same good pacing and consistent storyline as the previous two books. Heir of Fire sees Celaena running away to her mother's homeland seeks out her Aunt in the land of Wendlyn to find safety and help to fight the King of Adarlan.

While Celaena initially doesn't find the help she needs from Wendlyn she soon finds herself training in the mountains with her fellow Fae to earn the right to see her Aunt Maeve in the Fae capital of Doranelle.

Meanwhile back in Adarlan, Dorian tries to figure out what his new found magic is and how to control it with the help of a healer who risks her life to help Dorian keep his secrets. As this is all happens Chaol finds himself unable to come to terms with Celaena's half-Fae nature, which leads him into an underground movement to overthrown the King of Adarlan led by Celaena's cousin.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of the Fae and their exotic rituals and magic. The gradual build-up of fantasy elements in the previous books to the full on magic at the end of this book has felt like more of a journey where the reader discovers the incredible magic in the world alongside Celaena. I am a huge fan of full on fantasy novels so the magic and powers of the Fae had me smiling the whole time that I read Heir of Fire.

This book disappointed me on so many levels as Celaena goes from a strong and independent woman to a lost girl who spends most of her time whining and sulking everywhere. Even her passion from the first book has disappeared and it's up to her supporting characters to drag her out of her funk and bring her back to the strong woman she was in book two. While I understand that characters go through hard times and I have read many books where characters feel sorry for themselves, I struggled to accept it in this book as Celaena's whining and abuse of those around her really started to get to me.

When I first started reading the series I thought that Dorian would be the pig headed and stubborn character but while reading Heir of Fire he really blew all my expectations away and started taking a more pro-active role in a cause I never thought he would take up. I found myself waiting more for Dorian's sections of the book instead of Celaena's as my interest in her waned until the end where her storyline picked up again.

I read Heir of Fire expecting it to be the final book in the series but, much to my chagrin, I have to wait another year or so before the next book comes out. Even though I found that this book dragged a lot I ended the book hungry for the next in the series.