Heir of Fire Review

Chapters 15-22

A lot has happened in these past few chapters. Sorscha found out about Dorian's magic, Manon and the Blackbeaks kicked ass at flying the wyverns, Chaol told Aedion about Celaena being Aelin and shit went down in the gateway to Doranelle.

Celaena finally shifted in chapter 17! Mind you it was because Rowan was provoking her then bit her neck, which from all the werewolf fanfictions that I used to read, tends to be something that symbolizes possession. The only reason I can think of for Rowan biting her on the neck instead of somewhere like her arm is that he knew that she would know that biting someone's neck is seen as a possessive gesture and really wanted to piss her off to provoke the change. I mean it worked, I just still don't understand why he needed to bite her there? I keep seeing flashes of Tamlin from when he bit Feyre on Calanmai. I actually kind of like Rowan so I really, really hope he doesn't turn out like Tamlin. That aside, at least she shifted!

One thing that really interested me in chapter 17 was when Celaena went to the kitchens and heard Emrys sharing stories and legends about the area and the Fae lands. Sadly Sarah didn't include what he actually said so we really don't know what Emrys actually said but I wish we did. The legends would help give so much background into the Fae world and it's histories and I hope that we will get to hear some of them later in the story. After that Celaena and Rowan get into yet another argument where Rowan is really harsh but brings up valid points. The only difference is that this time, Celaena gets so fed up that she just walks away and leaves the whole place. She tells herself that she is going to find another way to honor her vow to Nehemia and just walks away. Then she does the stupidest thing ever and makes a fire IN THE MIDDLE OF A FOREST WITH FAE CREATURES! Ahhh Celaena how could you be so stupid! When the skinwalkers showed up I was practically screaming at my book telling Celaena to shift as she told herself that she'd just outrun them. *Facepalm* Celaena what don't you understand about the fact that humans have no shot against a faerie? The Fae, on the other hand, do stand a chance and you, conveniently, can turn into one! Thank god Rowan shows up and tells her to shift and she actually listens. The conversation they had while on the bank of the river after Celaena incinerated the skinwalkers broke my heart a tiny bit. Over the past few chapters that we were with them Celaena keeps mentioning that Rowan's eyes are blank much the same as hers were right after she killed Archer; soulless. This has intrigued me ever since and we finally got to see an inkling of what contributed to that soullessness. Rowan tells her how he was taken captive and tortured for two weeks. What has happened in his long existence to break him as thoroughly as Celaena? When will we find out more? I hope that when Celaena starts to open up he will as well. It will probably take forever seeing as they want to gut each other, but someday I hope that they can confide in one another and be allies.

Rowan wasn't the only one to share that night. Celaena admitted that she wouldn't have shifted to save herself against the skinwalkers. When she admitted that it hit me again how broken she truly is. I think it's necessary for her to have to go through the process of pulling herself back together I just really hope she can, possibly with help from Rowan if they ever do open up to one another. I am truly interested to see how their relationship will change and grow throughout the book.

The thing that excited me the most after what happened in the gateway to Doranelle, was when Chaol ended up telling Aedion that Celaena was Aelin. We also got to see most of the exchange from Aedion's POV which was a bonus! Like I said last time I have really wanted a chapter from him and during this portion we got to see just how undyingly loyal he is to his people. *cough* *cough* Rhys much? Chaol ended up telling Aedion everything he knew about Celaena, her whole backstory, what happened in the castle, why she was working for the king, etc. My only concern is that Celaena is going to get really pissed at Chaol for telling Aedion, but that is a little while out. One thing that I thought that was really interesting is the fact that the black ring Aedion is wearing is a fake. He thought the real one smelt funny so he made a copy and chucked the real one in the ocean. Thank god he had the foresight to do that. The fact that the king gave Aedion the ring is pretty much another piece of proof that the king can use them to control or at least influence people. Why else would he give one to a man that he know hates his guts?

At the very end of Aedion's part Chaol asks to know more about the rings and says that he'll make a bargain with Aedion. YES! Chaol had been talking for a while about wanting to release the hold the king has on magic and now that hope is tangible! I really hope that Chaol and Aedion can work together without killing each other and find out more about the king and how he is smothering the magic. Then when Celaena comes back with the ability to control her power and hopefully with some info about the wyrdkeys, they can team up and defeat the king!

Another part that made my heart happy was when Manon and the Blackbeaks flew the wyverns across the crossing. The exhilaration they were feeling was practically jumping off the pages. I can't wait for Manon to beat out all those Yellowlegs and claim the alpha bull. Wouldn't the look on Iskra's face be priceless? Oh, it would be too good! Then at the end of the chapter Manon was talking to her Grandmother who told her that when they got their lands back there would be a fight to see who took the throne and controlled the armies, and the Matron told her that she expected to see her crowned the victor. I honestly can't wait to see Manon kick some witch ass. Preferably Iskra's, she gets on my nerves. I started off this book not really wanting to hear from Manon's POV but they are quickly becoming my favorite chapters, not to mention right now I am finding myself liking Manon a little better then Celaena. I still love Celaena and I'm excited to watch her journey throughout this book but there's just something about Manon that I love.

Finally, I want to briefly discuss the Dorian Sorscha parts. Ok before I start I must say that Sorscha's name is so difficult for me to pronounce. I don't know why it just is. Anyways, Dorian loses his grip on his power and it explodes with Sorscha in the room. Surprisingly, she is extremely calm and collected about the whole thing and is now looking into a tonic to help subdue his powers. I'm curious if she'll find anything to help. In each of these parts, I find myself like Sorscha. She is really helping Dorian to see what his father has done and I'm hoping it will help push him to do something or at least stand against him when Celaena comes back. As much as I like her, I don't really expect Sorscha to stick around and become a major character. She is a good addition to the story but I would love to see her find a new home away from the king who took everything from her. She and Dorian may strike up a little relationship seeing as she's going to be working on a tonic for him and they'll probably see a lot of each other, but I would be really surprised if it lasted.

I am so happy to be back to reading HOF and doing these reviews. I have been really busy and tired over the past few days and didn't really get a chance to read and write reviews as much as I wanted to. I should be back to more frequent updates at least for the remainder of Heir of Fire. School for me starts up next week so the updates for Queen of Shadows might take me a bit longer to read and write about, but I'll worry about that later. Who else is excited for Empire of Storms to come out? I know I am!