Looking for the Panacea: Flailage: Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

Title: Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3)
Author: Sarah J Maas
Genre: Young Adult, High Fantasy
Release Date: 2 September, 2014
Source: Bloomsbury Sydney
Goodreads

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

Review by Nara

No spoilers for previous books in the series

Disclaimer: PREPARE FOR FANGIRLING.

Okay, I'm going to put this out there.
I am no longer Team Chaolena.
I can hear the gasps already. (Please put down those pitchforks.)
There'll be more about the romance later. First, let's get onto other aspects of the book.

She had damned them all, and then left the world to burn into ash and dust.

Man, am I glad that I was sent a finished copy of Heir of Fire rather than just an eARC, because I am going to quote the crap out of this beautiful, beautiful book.

It really surprises me how each installation of Throne of Glass seems to up the scale of the world by such a large degree. More character development, more points of view, more exploration of the world- and frankly, a ridiculous amount of pure awesome.

She'd been running for so long that she didn't know what it was to stand and fight.

There is a very nice balance between the points of view. Maas very deftly manipulates the POVs so that I was never bored in one section compared to another, although I must admit, Celaena's did have the most pull. Despite there being a mass of new POV characters, Maas manages to give each one a distinct voice, and the transitions between them are smooth.

Okay, I'm going to break this next bit up into sections because I'm having difficulty trying to contain the flailing and gushing.

The Romance

Maybe she had been a fool for letting him in, for dreaming of a world where she could ignore the fact that he was captain to the man who had shattered her life again and again.

I just feel ridiculously fickle because I keep changing my mind about who I ship with Celaena. In The Assassin's Blade, it was Sam. In the first half of Throne of Glass it was Dorian (because oh my god he gives her a puppy how can you resist the puppy). In the second half of Throne of Glass and in Crown of Midnight, it as Chaol- strong, loyal Chaol. And now in Heir of Fire, the other three love interests have been completely swept away by one of the new characters. I'll let you guess who.

One thing I do like about the romance, though, is that it's very open at this point. Quite honestly, I think she could end up with any of the love interests (um, except Sam. Unless he returns as a ghost. I would ship that lol). And I would be fine with her ending up with any of them. They're just all that amazing.

Manon

"Once all that is done," she said, smiling faintly at her wyvern, "you and I are going to learn how to fly. And then we'll stain this kingdom red."

We're introduced to this badass Ironteeth witch in Heir of Fire, and damn, her storyline is epic. I won't say much more about her part in the story, except that I am very much looking forward to Manon and Celaena's storylines merging- it'll either end in blood or in an alliance. I think it might even be both.

Dorian
HOLY SHIT. THE ENDING OF THE ARDALAN STORYLINE. OMFG DORIAN. OMFG.
That is all.

You know how I feel when I think about how long we have to wait for the next book in this series?