Empire of Storms Review

Heads up this will be a LONG review! I have lots of thoughts and feelings so I'm sharing it all. This also means that there will be spoilers, sorry!

For those of you who don't know, Empire of Storms is the fifth book in Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series.

Summary taken from Goodreads:
"The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.
As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.
Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?"

Alright so since this isn't the final book we all know that Aelin does not succeed just yet. Instead, we'll be left on a cliffhanger unsure of what will happen next. Sarah succeeded in that and I am eagerly waiting for the next book. However while this was once my favorite series, I have developed a couple of issues with it.

So this book was LONG and filled with many different characters. A lot is happening in it and it's a little much in my opinion. Chaol isn't in this book at all. Dorian will not be referenced for long lengths of time. And then it felt like romance took the stage more in this book. Every character is being set up with another. Dorian's purpose in this book was literally just his awkward chemistry with Manon and then occasionally a little about his magic. Sorry if you disagree with me, but I was not a fan of Dorian and Manon. I really didn't care about it and I felt like it was there to just make them more relevant so they could have their own chapters occasionally.

Also all the people being paired up are all straight couples. Yes there are occasional references to being accepting of same sex couples, but all of the main characters are being placed into straight relationships. It's Rowan and Aelin, Dorian and Manon, Aedion and Lysandra, Lorcan and Elide. It was way too much setting all these up. I was just like, "Okay so everybody magically finds their significant other in this group and they're all straight?"

People say it wasn't enough for J.K. Rowling to just say Dumbledore was gay and I understand that. However, Harry Potter was written at a time where people weren't as aware of when things were problematic. They would just go along with the established social roles and not realize they should be changed. I'll admit I didn't realize when relationships that they were abusive, it took people saying, "No that's not okay to treat a woman like that" where I realized the issues and became more aware. I feel like Sarah is writing at a time where we have acknowledged that we need to do better and include more representation, but I don't think she's taken that extra step. There are no main characters in a queer relationship and I think Sarah could've done better. I saw Manon as being bi and since I don't feel her and Dorian, I originally shipped her with Elide. Hopefully the next book is better?

Also I'm a privileged white woman, if you ever see me being problematic please tell me! I might be completely ignorant and not realize it. If you explain to me what I'm saying or doing wrong and why it's wrong, I will do my best to adjust my behavior.

So I was a fan of Lorcan and Elide I'll admit, but I was still annoyed by everybody being matched up. This book also became VERY mature. A straight up sex scene occurred here. Now I'm a more mature reader and I enjoy books of an older level, but I still have an issue with it. I worked in a library and this series was originally in the Young Adult section, not the Teen. However, this book just ramped up that rating. I would even be hesitant to place it in Teen. Personally I think Sarah should have stayed consistent with the age level because many readers of the first few books are probably still a little young for Empire of Storms. It makes it difficult for libraries and booksellers because now you have to move the entire series up when the first few books were okay. This is just from my library experience though so if it didn't affect you, you can feel differently if you want.

Okay one more slightly negative feeling about this book before I get to the good stuff.

The third book, Heir of Fire, was the best in my opinion. I was so inspired about Celaena reaching rock bottom and being so depressed, but pulling herself back up and growing truly extraordinary to become Aelin. It was a lot about personal growth and managing grief that it was when I truly fell in love with the story. Queen of Shadows and Empire of Storms did not give me this feeling nearly as much. I no longer was overcome with inspiration and motivation to overcome my own struggles. I'll still feel an inkling of it occasionally, but never to that same extent. While still a great series, you can't help feeling disappointed when it's not as good as a previous book.

Despite all of these aspects of the book that I didn't necessarily enjoy, I continue to love this series.

Rowan and Aelin are absolute perfection and their support and love for each other never fails. It's so wonderful and when they're separated your heart wrenches right with them. I also enjoy how if you've read all the books and the prequel, you see everything come together. There's life debts from long ago being paid and interconnecting storylines.

There are so many amazingly strong women in this series too. It's awesome that you see them holding such positions of power and respect. Sarah nails it in having powerful woman and she's not afraid to make the series dark either. There's a lot of traumatic experiences that occur. Aelin's experience as a slave especially is never forgotten and continues to be a burden for her. When she's whipped at the end and headed to Maeve's dungeons, you know it's bringing back those horrible memories.

I think Sarah creates amazing characters, but she creates too many of them. I want to know the stories about all of the characters, but the book is spread too thin where there's too many characters to give them the proper time. I want to know about Darrow, Aelin's uncle's lover. Also for example, where the heck was Chaol during this book?

She actually recently released a statement saying there'll be a book dedicated to Chaol's activities so I'm a little appeased. Empire of Storms was already 700 pages, I understand it would have been insane to add another storyline.

This book was still great and kept me addicted towards the very end. Then I was crying and screaming at how she left it. Despite this, there are still a couple problematic things I saw and I think could've been done better. It's not perfect, but still a fun read to really dive into.