There’s been few characters I’ve read who go through as much change and internal conflict as she does and comes to terms with it. Character arc-wise, hers is so in depth and filled with emotion. Manon’s storyline escalated in a way that had me cheering for her. While I liked them in the previous novels, Empire of Storms made me fall in love with them completely. Rowan and Dorian, Lysandra, Elide, Manon, Aedion…and even characters that we’d previously been told were not necessarily allies got pages. I enjoyed reading how characters functioned and acted when the group separated and Aelin was off doing something else. This time, more of the pages were given to those side characters, and I think it worked really well. In the previous novels, characters had been introduced but we didn’t get a lot of time with them because of the focus on Aelin’s quest.

There’s a lot of perspectives in this novel and they’re all intertwined in a cohesive, entertaining, and emotional way. The book focuses on dealing with the aftermath of what happened in Rifthold when Dorian and Aelin end the King of Adarlan’s reign and the seal on magic. Some of the events were a little more boring than others, but ultimately every moment, no matter how seemingly insignificant, matter. Aelin has to prove that she won’t use her power to force people’s hands like she did in Wendlyn. As always, people who have power fear to lose it. Many fear what her power could mean for them, should she decide that she doesn’t like what they’re doing. However, not everyone is as in love with Aelin and her fire as her Court is. This penultimate novel in the Throne of Glass series showcases Aelin’s power–political, physical, and magical–in a way that really presents her as a Queen for the people. Slight spoilers for the previous four books are below.Įmpire of Storms finally brings together everything that began in Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows.

Throne of glass empire of storms