Okay, same old blurb here: If you haven’t read any of the Throne of Glass series, you’ll probably want to skip this post. If you have read TOG, but haven’t had time to finish Empire of Storms yet, read this at your own discretion. I try not to be too spoiler-y, but sometimes a little bit of information you don’t want to know might just leak out.

I’m going to start by saying that the more I read of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass world, the more my relationship with it becomes love-hate. I love the world, I love the fast-pace  action and the surprising characters and the relationships, and how—thanks to Maas’s rather different writing style—there are constant surprises. But there are a few things I’m beginning to hate. Like who Aelin is with… But, I guess not everyone falls in love with the same person. Right?

I don’t think this is the strongest book in the TOG world. My favourite is still Crown of Midnight. What I didn’t like so much about Empire of Storms is that I felt like Aelin is getting away with way too much. I mean, if I knew someone who talked back that much  to almost absolutely everyone around her, I don’t know if I would really want to be her friend. And it makes me wonder if that’s why, as the books go on, there are less and less Aelin scenes.

For a few books now, my favourite character has been Manon, who is more evil by nature, so maybe she can get away with more because she isn’t supposed to be this kind of holier-than-thou character, which I feel Aelin is. The good thing is that Aelin’s attitude is kind of pointed out. Like people know Aelin is a bit… much. But like I said, it’s a love hate. I love how strong Aelin is, I love that she likes to do everything on her own. I think Sarah J. Maas’s world is so engrossing partly because of this. I think few writers can pull heartstrings like she does and keep you coming back for more (instead of slamming the book shut in disgust and refusing to read on).

I also didn’t really like all the extra S-E-X scenes in this book. I also felt it was a bit much, plus it broke with the style of the previous four books. I don’t think it was needed. TOG already has a huge fan base. I don’t think the style change was necessary, and it did not need to be that descriptive, especially for something shelved as Teen. I mean, when will Amazon and the brick-and-mortor stores put together those New Adult categories already?

But, even with all the bits I didn’t like, I will read on. I need to know what happens. I’m just not sure I’m going to agree with it.

4/5 Stars

JEH