Assassin Avenged

Book 4 done! This one took me a little longer to finish – not because it was any less interesting. If anything it was the best book so far. I just had a hard time finding the time to read.

If you remember, in book 3, Celaena went off to Wendlyn, which was Chaol’s efforts to save her life. Queen of Shadows tells us of her return to Adarlan.

She definitely does not return to Adarlan the same person she was when she left – in more ways than one. One of the biggest things on her agenda was vengeance against her former master – the King of Assassins, Arobynn Hamel. In the process she uses him to further her own ends – and this is one instance where the student far exceeded the master.

Celaena’s cousin, Aedion, is in the king’s dungeon and set for execution – which was absolutely a trap for Celaena. But she realizes that, and she manages to manipulate Arobynn into helping her, the whole time letting him believe he has the upper hand. He does manage to get a few digs in, but in the end, Celaena comes out on top. Not only does Arobynn end up dead, she managed to change his will so that he left everything to her.

Dorian is also under the influence of a Valg prince, thanks to the Wyrdstone collar around his neck. It’s a serious point of contention between Celaena and Chaol, because she’s convinced the only thing they can do is kill him, but Chaol refuses to believe it. Chaol eventually becomes convinced, but something happens that changes Celaena’s mind.

Remember Manon Blackbeak? The Ironteeth Witch that I said was going to end up being important? When the king finally goes to meet his Wing Leader, she has a conversation with Dorian, who manages to shunt the Valg prince to the side long enough for Manon to realize that Dorian’s still in there. After fighting Celaena, and Celaena saving her life, Manon owes Celaena a life-debt. Her repayment is she goes to Adarlan and posts fliers all over the city – written in Valg blood – letting Celaena know that Dorian is still alive inside his body, giving her hope that possibly he can be saved. Manon Blackbeak is not the cold-hearted monster that Ironteeth Witches are reputed to be.

Rowan also shows up… thank goodness, because I love Rowan, irascible old warrior that he is. It’s a struggle for him, because there’s no magic in Adarlan, so he can’t shift. But it all works out in the end – because just as I suspected from the very beginning, Celaena restored magic. She also finally took care of the king – after releasing Dorian AND magic. And we find out that the king is a puppet, being controlled by someone else, someone who is actually embodying a Valg King. The last Valg King, the one who’s been trapped for thousands of years. In the end, I didn’t enjoy the death of the king as much as I wanted to – I actually felt sorry for him, and wished there could have been some way to not kill him.

Guys, for the most part, this series is keeping me on my toes. Other than me figuring out Celaena’s real identity back in book 1, anyway. It’s so good. Seriously one of the best things I’ve read in several years, it’s on the list with the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor and the Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo. I don’t know why I waited so long to read these – although the plus side to that is I don’t have to wait on the next book to be published because the series is finished. I have no patience.

I honestly can’t say enough about Maas’ characters – there is not a single one that I’ve found to be flat or uninteresting, particularly our main cast of characters. They’ve all got many facets to their personalities, and it makes them feel real. From Fae to Witch to Human, they’re all easy to connect with.

I’ve already started Empire of Storms, which so far is promising to be just as enthralling as the rest of the series has been so far. If you are a fantasy fan, I highly recommend checking these books out.