Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (UK edition)

Title: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, 5)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury (6th September 2016)
Blurb:

BLOOD WILL RUN.
DREAMS WILL SHATTER.
AN ARMY MUST RISE.

The assassin-queen has sworn not to turn her back on her kingdom again. Especially when she might be the only one who can raise an army to keep the Dark King from unleashing his beasts upon them all.

But Erawan will wield Aelin’s past, her allies, and her enemies against her.

With a powerful court trusting Aelin to lead them, and her heart devoted to the warrior-prince at her side, what – or who – is she willing to sacrifice to spar her world from being torn apart?

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)
Review:

EMPIRE OF STORMS is the fifth book in Sarah J. Maas’s brilliant Throne of Glass saga. Maas continues the story of the assassin-queen Aelin Ashryver Galathynius as she seeks to reclaim her kingdom and defeat her enemies. Regaining her kingdom is not an easy feat when she has to raise an army to keep the Dark King from unleashing his beasts upon the world. Aelin does have some aces up her sleeve though, in the form of her powerful court. But gaining an army isn’t an easy feat, not with Erawan hunting her and her companions, and old enemies lurking in the shadows.

I was really excited to pick up my copy of EMPIRE OF STORMS, as I have enjoyed the previous books in the series. Maas did not disappoint. Overall what she does with this book blew me away. It was a good read, although not a page-turner. I found the plot engaging, and it kept me guessing. If you’ve read and enjoyed the other books and novellas in this series then I think you will almost certainly enjoy this one too. This is a good solid read, and it has left me really excited for the sixth (and final?) book.

The plot of the book is pretty much what it says in the blurb – Aelin is trying to build an army to not only reclaim her kingdom, but to go to war with Erawan. Having said that, Maas does provide some interesting twists and turns that I was not expecting. I also enjoyed the fact that Maas continues to split the narrative, which allows us as readers to get a broader picture of events. There is a very definite feel in this book that things are starting to come together. I did feel that some of the reveals could have done with a bit more foreshadowing in previous books – as they came as a complete surprise – but having said that, I did enjoy them.

Aelin was just as kick-ass as I remembered, and it was nice to see the return of some familiar faces. I was a bit sad that one character didn’t make an appearance in this book (if you’ve read it you’ll know who I’m talking about), and I can kind of understand why but I still missed them. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is that we finally get to know a bit more about some characters that until this point have been around but we’ve not really got to know them. I really enjoyed following the stories of Aelin, Manon and Elide.