Book Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Pages: 562

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pub. Date: September 2, 2014

Source: Personal Copy
Other Books By Author: Throne of Glass (#1) and 
Crown of Midnight (#2)

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "Celaena Sardothien has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak—but at an unspeakable cost. Now she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth...a truth about her heritage that could change her life—and her future—forever. Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. To defeat them, Celaena must find the strength to not only fight her inner demons but to battle the evil that is about to be unleashed. The king's assassin takes on an even greater destiny and burns brighter than ever before in this follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Crown of Midnight."

If you read Crown of Midnight, you know that Celaena is in Wendlyn on orders from the King to assassinate the royal family. If she doesn't do it, bad things will happen to Nehemia's family as well as Chaol. So, Celaena finds herself in this foreign land, but readers must remember that she is no longer just Celaena. She is the heir Terrasen, which is a complete game changer.  Ultimately, Celaena wants to take down the King of Adarlan, but she needs to talk to the Fae Queen first.  However, the Fae Queen she won't help her until Celaena proves herself.  She has to train with Rowan, a hardcore Fae warrior, and Celaena is having a hard time embracing her magic.  Heir of Fire had some slow parts and a few things I struggled with; however, I am still a huge fan of this series.

Celaena is very different in Heir of Fire. She lacks some of her confidence and even seems depressed from time to time. Obviously, she is going through the fall out of what happened at the end of Crown of Midnight and it's a lot to process. So readers won't see a kick-butt Celaena the entire time.

The point of view switches from Celaena to Dorian as well as Chaol and a few others. Dorian is also dealing with the fact that he has to control his magic and he meets a healer in Heir of Fire, but not just any healer. She happens to be someone who has feelings for.  Chaol is still very present in this novel, although I didn't feel my usual swooning when I was reading his parts. He is also dealing with court life as well as his own personal issues and to make matters worse, Celaena's very mysterious cousin arrives at court and shakes things up. There's also a new point of view added into the mix. There's a witch, Manon, who at first I was unsure as to why she was included, but as time went on, I could see her importance, as she is heir to the Blackbeak Clan.

This series has been so absolutely stellar, but Heir of Fire had a few issues for me. For starters, there are TOO many points of view. For me, it was just too much and it made the story a bit choppy.  I found myself gravitating more towards Celaena's story as well as Dorian's, but not the others.  This didn't help the slow start of the novel either.  

One thing is for sure, Maas always brings it towards the end of the novel. I was completely entertained and dying to know what happens next. Thankfully book four, Queen of Shadows, comes out September 1st. 

If you enjoy fantasy, this series is not to be missed.