Matcha & Motifs’ Rating: 5/5 

Across the ocean in Wendlyn, Celaena finds herself gambling, drinking, and fighting, unable to fulfill her mission of killing the prince. She’s soon discovered by one of Queen Maeve’s members and ends up in the presence of a queen where she strikes a deal: master her fae powers in exchange for answers on the Wyrdmarks. Torn between grief, heartbreak, and losing herself, can Celaena master her powers before it’s too late? 

This series honestly gets better and better. If I could, this book would probably be a 6/5 since the last book was a 5/5. 

***CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!*** 

Friendship or Romance?

Let’s just get this out of the way…

Is it so stupid of me to proudly claim my love for Chaol on the internet only to get an inkling that he might not be the endgame man? 

Because why are we introducing Rowan, a tan, white hair, buff warrior dude who is so insanely strong that it makes Celaena, our Celaena, look like a novice? What the actual— anyways, let the swaying games begin. 

First, we have our “who did this” moment: 

“Curled as she was against her knees, he could see the ­whole expanse of ruined flesh, each scar from the lashings. “Who did that to you?””

Then we have our he doesn’t care about getting burned moment: 

“She’d burned him again. And yet he had held on to her—­had run all the way ­here and not let go once.” 

Wow, a man. 

And there is so much more. It’s making me doubt myself… but simultaneously, with this relationship she’s developing with Rowan, I can’t tell if it’s platonic or romantic. I’m leaning towards friendship, but I might be wrong. In the meantime, I’ve been enjoying the development and interactions of their characters. He’s tough, but he’s also incredibly broken and caring. Their similar paths allowed them to understand each other in a way no one could, and even though they are not mates, their soul connection is evident. The way they’re both willing to fight for one another is so beautiful that I don’t even care if it’s romantic or platonic.  

The more I read this book, the more I’m beginning to enjoy the idea that she doesn’t end up with anyone. Isn’t that crazy, though? I love romance, but I feel content with this current state of the books if she ends up with no one. Not because she doesn’t deserve love but because this feels more than a love story. It feels more than men saving her. It feels like her story. Aelin has a lot on her plate, and trying to decide what she’s gonna do with her three boyfriends feels like the bottom of the list. But then again, now that I’ve proclaimed it to the wind, love will be so intertwined with the plot that I probably will lean back toward romance. 

Aelin Galathynius 

Celaena, or should I call her Aelin now? 

The world-building interwoven with her character growth should not surprise me anymore; it still does. I liked her in the beginning. Her arrogant nature, mixed with a yearning for freedom. Her feminine side, her kindness, and her deadliness. Yet, this book is her unraveling. It’s her breaking, and it’s so human to witness. It’s everything we didn’t know and didn’t see about her. Her wounds ran more profound than I could ever imagine. I didn’t realize how far gone Celaena had fallen into grief after Nehemia’s death until she was a shell of herself. It’s hard to process your feelings when you’re still fighting for your life.

In Heir of Fire, she trains with Rowan to master her fae powers, which is so difficult due to traumas and her rejection of this part of her identity. In the early stages, she struggles even to shift, and it’s an incredible exploration of whether she can’t or won’t. After the traumas she experienced, it’s understandable why she would want freedom more than anything, yet her loved ones, her court, had sacrificed so much for her. In the final battle, when the Valg princes consume her, they feed on her agony, fear, and despair. We go so deep, metaphorically and magically, that we reach the core of her essence, her being. It’s a vulnerable moment of her weakest, saddest, and worst parts, and this internal conflict is written so thoroughly. I see her struggle, her shame, and the acceptance of it all. When faced with the darkest parts of herself, Aelin wins. It was through acceptance of herself and the crown that Aelin was able to defeat them. This book is about her healing and committing to making the world a better place. 

A theme that Maas does well is exploring the breaking and rebuilding of women. This exploration is varied in the characters I’ve seen in Feyre, Nesta, Elain, and now Celaena. They all handle their pain and grief so differently, and they recover all so differently, too. However, a common trait I’ve noticed is the need for help from others. Others sit with them in their pain, train them, make them laugh, and make them cry. It’s through others making them feel understood and sharing their pain that they start to heal. It’s incredible to see their journeys, and it makes me see just how resilient women are. 

Side Characters 

Through an introduction of characters, Maas expands the world-building effortlessly. One can even argue the introduction of Aelin’s character, which uncovered Brannon’s power and lineage. We learn that Aelin is a descendant of Brannon, which explains her fire powers. The introduction of Manon Blackbeak exposes the King’s motives with the wyverns and a general sense of other beings that are displaced, such as the witches. Manon, the witches, in general, are evil incarnate. Or so Manon claims. It’s so cool to see that someone who is meant to kill without remorse, to show no fear, sympathy, or compassion, to have a pure black heart is changing because of a wyvern. It’s such an interesting point to open up her story as someone already questioning and challenging everything she was. Everything she is supposed to be, even if she doesn’t know it yet. I am interested in when Manon and Aelin cross paths; it’s an alliance, hopefully a friendship, waiting to happen. 

On the topic of character arcs, I even enjoy Chaol’s character exploration. He struggles with following his heart. His loyalty to the king slowly unravels as his love for Celaena grows. Yet, he struggles with her identity and is unsure who or what he’s fighting for. I like Dorian’s touch of friendship, who states, “You cannot pick and choose what parts of her to love.” Oh, Dorian, the man that you are. I see it now. Hey, it took me a second, but I see it now. This interaction, as small as it is, is a testimony to their friendship. Being able to say something of this magnitude and for it to mean something to Chaol is only possible because of their history. Similarly, Chaol struggles to accept Dorian’s identity fully. To ignore Dorian’s magic is to ignore an intrinsic part of him. I know that Chaol gets a lot of slander, and maybe the worst is yet to come, but in the meantime, I’ve been enjoying these characters with duality. It’s more realistic. It’s hard to go against what you’ve been raised with. It’s hard to feel sympathy for a far-off land, a land you can’t see, and for people who are hurting but don’t mean anything to you. So when Chaol struggles with this, it makes him so much more interesting. He was the person that Celeana needed after Endovier. Yet, he plays a role in her breaking. It was necessary as a catalyst to push Celeana to accept herself and her throne.

As I’m coming to the end of this review, it feels so much more than a love story. I love my love stories, but it feels like an intentional craft with love. It is plot, storytelling, and fantasy in the best intricate way. I’m unsure how to put it into words, but it feels like a story. I absorbed this book. I’m excited for what’s to come.