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This review will contain no spoilers for Empire of Storms, but if you have not read the first 4 books, there will be spoilers for Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, and Queen of Shadows.
So my heart is screaming at me to give this book 5 million galaxies full of stars for overall enjoyment and love for these characters because it was fantastic and it utterly shattered my heart to tiny pieces. But if I'm being honest, based on content alone and bias removed, I would have said it was more 4.75 stars. I am so in love with this series that writing a review for this book is super difficult because I want to be unbiased, but here we go!
Summary:
Empire of Storms is the 5th installment in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. Aelin Galathynius has finally returned to Terrasen, but the challenge of attaining her throne is only just beginning. No one is safe from Erawan and his forces and as kingdoms are attacked and bought across the continent, Aelin has to try and find whatever allies she can to join her side. The Queen of Terrasen and her court travel all over Erilea to do so while trying to fulfill one last quest that could save their kingdom or be the end of it.
I'm just going to have to separate this into what I LOVED, and what I didn't because there's lots to talk about and this post could be a million pages long if I'm left to gush about it. Also have some random spoilery thoughts at the end!
All the feels:
Plot: This book was so amazingly devastating that I'm numb from all the emotions. I thought EoS would break my heart and put it back together multiple times, but it went a little more something like "after every chapter small little cracks fissured around the edges of my heart and then it combusted and crumbled to ash during the last hundred pages." It was one hell of a wild ride!
I really like how Sarah J. Maas unravels her plot lines. Things that have been in the making since the beginning, some elaborate and crazy things, are finally coming together to make a full picture. The reveals were always a surprise to me, too, though that may partially be because I didn't reread the series before hand and have forgotten some details. Nonetheless, this book was riddled with reveals! Even some long-lost questions from all the way in book ONE were being answered. Of course not all of the questions are tied up because that's not how Maas writes and she has created new ones for us to figure out in the next book.
Anyone remember back to that amazing magical battle scene at the end of HoF? Now take that, add in WAY more people/Fae, add in some epic turn of events, and multiply that ten fold. If that made sense to you, you know how EPIC some of the battle scenes were in this book. And there were multiple different battles that were won/lost in this book. My attention was rapt throughout all of them. Even if sometimes I thought Aelin was a little OP (over-powered), that was fixed in the end.
I have two side notes. First, Sarah J. Maas knows how to use a well-placed "bitch" word. Second, I think it's so funny that the Fae white wolf is named Fenrys. Twas a nice hint at some Norse mythology, I like it.
Characters: You already know that I love these characters so so so much that I shed tears at the thought of any of them getting injured, or hurt, or ill! Surprisingly in this book, Lysandra was my favorite character. Though Aelin is of course a super close second. I really enjoyed how much spotlight Lysandra got in this book because she is awesome and even if her abilities aren't as grand as Aelin's wildfire, she is still crazy powerful. Lysandra's ship in this book (I'm sure most know, but I won't say with who) is now my new fave too! I like the slow burn they have going on. Aelin and Rowan are already on a pedestal since they've been together for 3 books now, they don't count, they're perfect already.
This book also has SO MANY POV's. Some short chapters are even split up into maybe 3 or 4 POV's. I love love love this. I have no problems with rereading a scene from another characters perspective because I like the information we get from each mind. I do think that if you read this using and audiobook (like myself) it's helpful to read along while you listen because the changing in POV's can be hard to keep up with sometimes.
Speaking of POV's, I didn’t mind that Chaol and Nesryn weren’t in this book. I understand that people love them and want them here, but the fact that all the POV’s in this book surround a group that’s all together, all the time, it makes sense not to flash over to another continent where Chaol is. Plus, they get their own novella I believe that happens during the same time as EoS. I’m good with that. The more books the better!
Lastly, there are so many new characters that pop up in the group! Yes, most are technically not "new," but we haven't seen these guys in FOREVER and it makes me so happy to see them again! There was one super surprising, very new character that came in the last 10 pages guys. Tell me if you saw that one coming because I sure as hell didn't!
What I wasn't feeling:
There are two main points in this book that I kinda didn’t like, but I’m not super mad about one of them. Let’s start with the one I am mad about: Dorian. Dorian isn’t Dorian. I LOVE MY BABY DORIAN, but his personality is so different in this book it’s like he’s a whole different person. I mean I know he went through a lot losing Sorscha (who I still do not like and find she was unnecessary) and being trapped in the Valg collar, but I didn’t see reason in writing him the way he was. He just acted so completely different than what I was expecting and I find that that contributed to my issues with his next relationship in this book (again you probably already know who, but I won’t say anyways). This is the first time I think I’ve used the word insta-lust. That’s the best way I can put that relationship. I mean, I guess I’m okay with the who. I’m not okay with the speed at which it developed or how it was planned out. I can’t tell if it’s going to be an actual relationship or just… Friends-with-benefits?
The second point I didn’t mind too much, but I feel it’s pretty inconsistent with the other books and that’s the sex scenes. If you’ve read Throne of Glass and then read A Court of Mist and Fury (after ACOTAR obvy), you realize there’s an extreme difference in the “erotic-ness” of the sex scenes. Throne of Glass, the first four books at least, were more along the lines of fade-to-black, but Empire of Storms is definitely more like ACOMAF. Graphic and detailed. I can’t say I didn’t like it. I mean I LOVED ACOMAF so so so much. I just feel it’s inconsistent with the first few book. I was expecting a break from all the sex scenes in this SJMaas book. Not to mention, half of them were probably unnecessary… Yikes, also pains me to say that. Sex just didn’t need to be such an apparent thing in this book when the plot was already dazzling without it.
Overall:
I definitely suggest rereading at least Assassin's Blade, if not the whole series, before reading this book if it's been a while since you've read AB like it was for me. That will help a lot with understanding the plot and new characters that join us in EoS! Other than that, this book lived up to my expectation and surpassed some I didn't even know I had. SUPER EXCITED FOR THE LAST BOOK, but also super scared!
*I read this book using Audible once again! The narrator, Elizabeth Evans, has not disappointed me! She is the reason I started using audiobooks. I've listened to her for all the Throne of Glass books before and I don't mind listening to her narrate the books all over again.*