Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

“Even when this world is a forgotten whisper of dust between the stars, I will always love you.”

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius as war looms on the horizon. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.

With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

In this breathtaking fifth installment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, Aelin will have to choose what—and who—to sacrifice if she's to keep the world of Erilea from breaking apart.

There will be spoilers throughout this review. If you have not read Empire of Storms, please proceed with caution!

I knew that Empire of Storms would be the book where everything goes to hell, but to say that I wasn't prepared for the sheer magnitude of this book is an understatement.

There are no lulls during those 693 pages. We see Adarlan being attacked by the witches very early on, and from there, the action never stops. Whether that be Manon fighting her grandmother and being on the run, Elide trying to find Aelin without being recaptured, or Aelin and her court's quest to find more allies, I was on the edge of my seat. Constantly. And it was fantastic.

While we see quite a bit of action in the previous installments, the tensions are sky high now that the war has officially begun. Sarah J. Maas doesn't hold back, with introductions to even more horrifying creatures of Morath that are pure nightmare fuel and showdowns that quite literally left me fist-pumping the air. I'm admittedly slightly embarrassed by the latter, but it really was that good. These were some of the most immersive action scenes I have ever read. The battle at Skull's Bay comes to mind in particular, where I wanted to scream as Lysandra was racing to shore. The same can be said about when Vernon finds Elide, or when Manon and the Thirteen escape Morath, and countless others. This is masterful writing. There's no other way to describe it.

Meanwhile, the character arcs in Empire of Storms were excellent in their own right. Manon goes through the wringer, we see Dorian coming to terms with his magic, being king, and what he went through in Queen of Shadows, and Aelin doing what Aelin does best: coming up with crazy plans that have no business working, yet somehow still do. The return of the cadre was a fun twist as well, and Gavriel and Fenrys were great additions to the group. However, there is one character in particular who I am dying to discuss, and that is none other than Lorcan Salvaterre.

Out of all of the plotlines of Empire of Storms, I never expected to see angry, I-live-and-breathe-darkness Lorcan join the circus. And not only that, but we also learn that he is a complete gentleman around Elide, one of the only people in existence who is brave enough to talk back to him? I devoured this storyline. There could be a massive, life-or-death fight taking place, and I would still be itching to get to the next Lorcan and Elide section. Don't get me wrong, I love Aelin and Rowan and Dorian and Manon. Those were fantastic scenes, but this was so pure. If their relationship is not repaired in Kingdom of Ash, I don't know if I'll ever recover.

I briefly mentioned it above, but exploring the relationships of the cadre is also worth highlighting. We briefly meet the other members in Heir of Fire when Rowan calls for their aid, but we don't get much time with the individual members. While they don't all appear in the book, the hesitant reunion of Rowan, Gavriel, Fenrys, and Lorcan gives us a lot of time to get to know these characters. Their dynamic and banter (minus Fenrys attacking Lorcan and, accidentally, Elide) was one of my favorite parts of the story. If there were a book or novella about their missions together before the events of Throne of Glass, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Intricate relationships aside, Empire of Storms starts with a bang and ends with one that is brutally devastating. The arrival of the Thirteen, Rowan's family turning on Maeve, and Aelin's surprise allies were all causes for celebration, but the series of events that followed set a much darker tone.

It is abundantly clear from the moment we are introduced to Maeve that she is going to become an antagonist, but I wasn't prepared for that scene. Aelin's message for Rowan brought me to tears, and even though Aelin hasn't been one of my favorite characters throughout this series, there are no words to describe the outrage I felt as a reader when they whipped her. It was a gripping, remarkably well-written scene, but it was borderline nauseating to read. If I hadn't read this at the same time as Tower of Dawn, that cliffhanger would have left me tempted to skip the book altogether.

(Yes, I know, that is the ultimate mortal sin of reading, but can you blame me?)

To sum it up, this is everything I've come to expect from a Sarah J. Maas book and then some. At this point, it is safe to say that this is the most well-executed and well-written fantasy series I have ever read. So far, I have heard nothing but good things about Kingdom of Ash, so I'm expecting a finale that is just as brilliant and gut-wrenching.

My review of Tower of Dawn will be soon to follow!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars