- Hook Value: 5
- Curious Nipple Quotient: 5
- Plot Rating: 5
- Predictability Rating: 4
- Series Score: 5:4
- Recommendation Value: 4
- Genre Score: 4 fant eros adv
- Emotion Warning: you’re left on a cliffhanger, heartsore and desperate for the next book…
Like all of Maas’ books empire of storms shows a high level of editing and proofreading done by the publisher which serves to make reading Empire of Storms a smooth and almost effortless experience, I open Maas’ books and read the first 3 words, only to have the rest of the book to unfold like a movie in my mind. which means that a) it has better production values than Marvel movies and b) that hours or days slip by without notice c) that this book lands towards the top of my favorite books/series list because of how well I am absorbed into the story
Maas’ is one of my favorite contemporary fantasy authors because she takes traditional fantasy or folklore themes and concepts (re-taking a kingdom, fae courts, etc) and makes them as unpredictable as possible. There is at least 1 surprise in every chapter, whether a surprise in character development, relationships or plot. It is this unpredictability that makes her fantastic. Empire of Storms, however, receives a 4 in predictability mostly because of where it falls in the series arc. The story starts where Queen of Shadows left off, with Aelin and her besties traveling home, and ends with an army rallied in various parts of the continent waiting for the order to march upon the enemy stronghold. Which is pretty much what we expected from the first paragraph of chapter 1.
As book 5 in the series, I have given the book a 4 for its readability as a stand-alone title. It has been several months, if not a year since I read the rest of the Throne of Glass series and I docked a point because there was mention of a main character from previous books, but no explanation of who he was or how he fit the story and I’ve read like a thousand books in the meantime and I had forgotten who he was. As the book ended on a cliffhanger, I am going to be periodically wondering about what the hell will happen next. I may even pick the book up to re-read the last chapter or so just to make sure that what I think happened is actually what happened (I have this bad habit of reading faster when it gets exciting and when I do that I accidentally skip things.) but mostly I will be waiting for the next book with bated breath…
The Throne of Glass series is one of the series I make sure to buy in physical copies because it’s so damn awesome. My copy of Empire of Storms has no genre designation printed on it. So I feel comfortable assigning this to pure fantasy adventure. With erotic and violent (and violent erotic) scenes and overtures, it is better for mid to late teens and older readers.
All erotic scenes are consensual, there’s just a lot of talk of blood and pain and sensuality. And a touch of bloodplay. You leave the book excited because the team is pretty much all together, but sad and scared and heartworn because bad unexpected things have happened and you have no idea how they’re gonna fix it and resolve everything and you think you’re gonna cry. particularly if you identify with Aelin or her besties. I would theorise that the series will finish at the end of book 7 or 8. Unless Maas can pull some super awesome rabbits out of hats. And extend this war by 5 years.
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sarah_J_Maas_Empire_of_Storms?id=9hnDCwAAQBAJ
Booking Awesome Reviews 