Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, 4) Paperback – February 14, 2023

I thought that Book Three of this series kept me on the edge of my seat! Man, oh man, is Book Four a great follow up to that series. It is a hefty book, I won’t lie. It has over six hundred and fifty pages, but you won’t regret a single page.I promise.In this book, we see Celaena finally being replaced by Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. Oh, don’t be disappointed, Celaena makes a few surprise appearances as her assassin skills are still needed from time to time. Aelin though… Aelin has to think of Chess moves five in advance to stay ahead of the trials and tribulations coming her way.Aelin will call upon her alter identity, Celaena, whenever she needs to keep the fact that she truly is the rightful Queen of Terrasen. Celaena is her ruthless side that does whatever it takes to get the job done. Aelin is the constant thinker and organizer of the two women. They both are extremely capable women who are unafraid to do what it takes to get things done. Aelin just uses a bit more class and subtlety to accomplish her goals. Aelin has grown a lot over these past four books. She is no longer that child who is afraid of her natural magic. Not that she could use it at the present time since the King has obviously done something to make sure that magic wielders were unable to reach their powers. What did he do? You will have to read on to find out.I love the little tidbits that come out regarding Aelin’s past. They show how much she has grown and just how far she has yet to go. There are so many vital people in this book that you might think it impossible to keep track of them all. All I can say is make sure you pay attention to the smallest of details. They are important in their own way.We get to reflect upon Celaena’s relationship with her old Assassin Master, Arobynn Hamel. If there is a bastard in this book, he could rightfully own that title. He is a character we all love to hate. We learn more about their history as well as get to see how they both interact with one another. Does he love her, or does he only want to own her… or both? Will he betray her yet again, or will he prove himself useful during this leg of her journey?Along with Arobynn, we still have Aelin’s relationship with Chaol to contend with. He is so hardheaded. There were times I genuinely wanted to shake him by his shoulders and tell him to be a man, talk to Celaena, and stop being so stubborn! Did he ever listen to me? No, he didn’t. The author did a fabulous job showing the internal struggles Chaol endures every step of the way. She kept him realistic while still making him enduring to her readers. Some hard decisions will have to be made for not only Chaol, but their relationship status.We see parts where Nehemia, her best friend, comes into play once again. I won’t elaborate too much on this situation because I don’t want to give away any spoilers.Prince Dorian is still very much involved with this book. He has some upcoming trials and tribulations that are going to make his life extremely difficult. Will he be able to remember the friends that stood by him through thick and thin? We shall have to see, won’t we?Aedion, her faithful cousin who has been searching for her for the past ten years. So much was promised to him yet now his future is filled with tons of questions. Which side will he fall on when the dust settles?Rowan Whitethorn, Prince of Faes. He will test Aelin in ways she didn’t think were possible. He will push her to her outer limits all in the name of teaching her how to harness and use her magic efficiently. He gives no quarter while constantly questioning everything Aelin does. Will he break her or eventually get her to see through her stubbornness and pride? He pushes her endlessly to the brink of exhaustion. Will she forgive him for all of his ruthless taunts and comments? Will they ever learn to trust one another in this battle of wills?Manon Blackbeak, apparent heir to the Ironteeth witches. What will her destiny be? How effective will she and her thirteen witches be as Manon fights to become Wing Leader? Will Manon continue to blindly follow her grandmother’s orders, or will she start questioning everything she has ever known? I will tell you that Aelin and Manon have a chance meeting that will leave you breathless. Pay attention to this encounter. It sets the table for more interesting things to come in the future.There are so many other vital characters that you are going to encounter: Lorcan, Elide, Lysandra, Evangeline, Fenrys, Gavriel, the King of the Vlags, and so many more. I could spend all day giving a tidbit of information for each one of these amazing characters, but then my review would be enormously long.I would be lying if I didn’t admit that my heart gets torn out with this installment in the series. Sarah J. Maas is an incredible author who shows no mercy with her characters. I love it when writers do this. I get tired of the predictable standard tropes that so many authors are afraid to venture away from. You won’t find any of that in this series. Sarah keeps you guessing at every turn of this adventure. I cannot recommend this book enough. I am almost done with the next one, and whoo boy, it is yet another work of art.

💓 Read if you like💓:💕 Bad-Ass Women💕 Fanstasy💕 Vengeance💕 Found Family💕 Enemies-to-LoversAELIN you beast, you! How are you only 19!? This girl has lived a thousand lifetimes before she hits 20!I LOVE watching her transition from Celaena to Aelin as she steps into her power as Queen. She returns to Rifthold where she meets with Arobynn who lets her know that her cousin Aedion is due to be executed in a few days. And of course, since Arobynn is, well, Arobynn, you know he’s trying to strike a deal.Though Aelin would rather die than work with Arobynn again, she is dedicated to her dear cousin and begins to formulate her plan.She reunites with Chaol and some other big players are Nesryn, Lysandra, and Rowan.Poor Dorian is still trapped in the castle basically being possessed by some demons.Aelin grapples with the ‘ole theme of “with great power comes great responsibility”. Chaol’s morals battle with his strong sense of justice. Lysandra and Aelin learn to see each other as women- and not the judgey kind- the hey we are cut from the same cloth and we are freakin’ amazing kind.In this series, Sarah J Maas has also been intertwining the storyline of the Blackbeak Witches and Elide Lochan who is basically enslaved by her uncle.I’ll admit, the side storylines were a bit boring to me, but eventually it all came together and then I was glad she had spent so much time building their backstories!Sarah J Maas is so talented at creating these characters who go into battle and kill mercilessly as needed, but then you always see the goodness of their hearts.Things I love with all my heart:The descriptive details- I can picture exactly where they are and what’s happening.SJM’s ability to create such elaborate stories.Bad-ass girls, men who show up and will literally kill to protect the people they love, redemption and growth.I can't wait for the next one!