Review of Empire of Storms

If you follow along with my Tik Tok, you know that Empire of Storms took me a while to get through. Even after I finished reading the book, I took an additional few days to post my video review. This was not an accident…

I don’t want to say that I flat-out disliked the work. However, Empire of Storms was probably my least favorite book in the series so far. Let’s get into specifics, starting with “the good” and work our way through.

The Good

The Supporting Characters

I really became invested in the supporting characters in this book and found their character development excellent. When we were first introduced to Manon Blackbeak in Heir of Fire, I didn’t get the hype. I thought she was a mean witch with few redeeming qualities. Now, she is one of my favorite characters to read about and I find her arc very interesting. I also really like Elide and Lorcan’s story, and even the drama between Aedion and his father, Gavriel.

And don’t even get me started on Lysandra! I like her character. Now, I will say: I do have many issues with her decisions. I hated the whole if-Aelin-dies-I’ll-pretend-to-be-her-and-Aedion-and-I-will-make-babies thing because it really takes Aedion’s freedom away. But, I do find her character interesting.

The Writing

I will maintain that the writing of a work can be good even if the content is just alright. That probably sounds insane, but that’s how I felt while reading parts of this book. I love when a work can actually make me feel something and I get a physical reaction from the piece. (This is one of the reasons I enjoy horror so much.) A scene that I thought was super well-written was the end when Rowan was looking for Aelin after she was captured by Maeve.

I actually felt Rowan’s desperation. I felt sad and moved to tears. His hopelessness really jumped out of the pages and I thought it was good writing.

The Bad

Do y’all know I actually dislike leaving bad reviews? It makes me a little sad. However, I value honesty. Let’s get it going…

Aelin’s Character Development… or Lack Thereof

I have no idea how after everything Aelin’s been through, she still doesn’t learn. Her overconfidence, hubris, and stubbornness is what landed her in Maeve’s hands. And look, I know it was technically Lorcan’s fault because he summoned Maeve, but what the hell did you think was going to happen, Aelin? Lorcan, and the rest of the cadre at this point except Rowan, are sworn to Maeve. Duh… And in the immortal word’s of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, there is always a bigger fish.

Aelin’s ? girl boss ? mentality makes it so that she cannot see beyond herself. Aelin barely knows how to control her magic and wanted to “dance” with Maeve?

I also have a huge problem with Aelin’s secrecy. She didn’t even tell her mate/husband, her general, or anyone else about the military forces and favors she called in for backup. You know, maybe the trained warriors could give you some decent advice, girlfriend. And I mentioned this earlier, but that whole Lysandra-posing-as-Aelin-and-making-babies-with-Aedion thing really rubbed me the wrong way. And they never even told Aedion about the scheme! And she never even told Rowan when she realized they were mates! (Boy, that reminds me of a certain High Lord I take issue with…)

I feel like all I am doing is complaining about Aelin’s character and I think the reason I am so caught up on it is because it feels so unnatural. I really enjoyed Celaena and I didn’t even mind Aelin at first, but now? It’s like she is unrecognizable. Honestly, it feels like her character is too complex, if that makes any sense. She needs humility.

Too Much, Too Soon

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but maybe too much happened in this book. Honestly, maybe too much is happening in this series at this point in general. A BookToker I really enjoy (Kaila) made a video recently about how some series might just be too long, and I think the Throne of Glass series is starting to fit the mold there.

I remember reading Throne of Glass (the first book) and loving it. The plot was present, the characters were interesting, the romance was light and fun, etc. It felt very straight-forward. Now? I think the main plot is getting Aelin back on the throne in Terresen, but I could be wrong… There is just so much.

Where are the Copy Editors?

I had this same critique in my Queen of Shadows review. In the second half of Empire of Storms I found multiple grammatical errors, and just like with the previous book, they all had to do with punctuation. There were time when characters were asking direct questions and the lines were not ending with question marks.

To Ponder

Is Aelin a good leader? What makes a good leader? I think these questions are central to the entirety of the Throne of Glass series. We’ve seen other good and bad leaders and I think we are supposed to question where Aelin falls in the line. The old King of Adarlan? Bad! Arrobyn? Bad! The head of the Silent Assassins? I actually think he was a good leader. The Blackbeak Matron? Bad! Aelin? Hmm… I don’t think birth right is a good enough reason to be a leader. This might be my American background coming into play, but I said what I said! I also think we are supposed to question whether or not Elena was a good leader.
What is in an identity? Nameless is my price… Once again, we are met with questions about one’s identity. I think this is another essential line of questions to the series as a whole. At this point, we even have characters like Elide who straight up lie about their identity. At the end of the book, the cadre lose their oaths to Maeve and it’s a tragic moment for them.
Are we products of nature or nurture? I’ve been questioning this since the beginning of the series. Is Aelin inherently bad because she was raised by Arrobyn? What about Manon being raised by the Blackbeak Matron? I mean, even poor Dorian was raised by the King of Adarlan. But all of these characters do at least hope for a better future… I think? At this point in the series I have no idea what Aelin is thinking about at any given time. But I am assuming she wants a “better” future, even if the “better” is her own interpretation of it.

Well, that’s my review! As you can tell, my main issues with the book were Aelin and her character development. I am actually looking forward to Tower of Dawn to get away from her a bit.