Empire of Storms

 

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (2016) 689 pages

Sitting at #5 in the Throne of Glass series, I have to say I was disappointed by it. The previous 4 in the series I devoured. The author seems to have switched up her writing style with this one, and I don't think diving into long drawn-out romantic parts quite fits this series. I call it ACOTAR-fied (lol). It was still okay! Still read it, and will contiue the series but cringed through most of it. One thing I've also noticed is a lot of borrowing from other well-known fantasy series which I suppose isn't new to the genre. 

Aelin may have defeated the evil king, and restored magic to the realm, but the goalposts have been moved once again and she must track down a mysterious stone in order to save the world and destroy the Valg...once and for all. More wyverns involved in this one including....sea wyverns. The merry cast of characters fight with each other and their enemies as they track down this key. There are lots of physical romantic scenes in between all of the action. Aelin discovers that she must die in order to seal off the Valg and destroy Erawan for good. The book ends with Aelin being captured by Queen Maeve, and secured with iron chains and a mask to stifle her powers.