Reviews with content warning for Murder - Queen of Shadows

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

73 reviews

aksmith92's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

After reading each of the books in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series in June and July 2023, I moved on to Sarah J Maas's Throne of Glass series, where I read books 1-3 and the prequel in July 2023 (I sure was on a roll). I got about 11 chapters into Queen of Shadows and realized I was not in the headspace for any more Sarah J Maas *at the moment*. It was, simply put, too much SJM and too many formulaic words on the page. I should have taken a break before starting this book. So, while I started this book in July 2023, I picked it up again in December 2023.

I am thankful for the break because it also allowed me to review SJM books more critically. SJM is one of the more prominent authors in the social media, where many familiar tropes and themes are checked in pretty little boxes. The fandom is beyond massive. All of which to say: SJM is talked about A LOT. Good and bad. I was interested in starting this reading journey in her series because I was so curious about it. To discuss SJM and her series in general on this review for Queen of Shadows seems silly, as it will likely fade away in Storygraph's abyss, but it has been on the top of my mind. Therefore, I will keep it brief.

Upon reflection and the SJM break, plus reading other novels, particularly in the vast spectrum of fantasy, literary pieces are missing from the books I've read so far. It may be because of plot holes or missing world-building aspects. Or, it may be because the characters are less dimensional than I like. Reading some of her books (I haven't read the Crescent City series yet!) is a bit TOO YA-like for me (the drama!). Regardless, I must admit I've been struggling with some of these books, even though, oddly, they are incredibly straightforward, and the prose is quite readable. It's a conundrum that I can't figure out. I've rated most of her books 3ish stars because while I fly through them, get their premise, and understand the prose, something needs to be added, and it's hard to pinpoint/articulate. It may have to do with the dramatics, something I struggle with A LOT within the Romantasy category. For instance, "Rowan waited, knowing she was gathering the words, hating the pain and sorrow and guilt on every line of her body. He'd sell his soul to the dark god to never have her look like that again." I mean....I roll my eyes at this. Of course, no one wants to see someone they care about in pain, but selling his soul? It's so dramatic. I think this is what I get for reading a more Young Adult book than anything, and I understand to an extent that this is a me thing. But it's so pronounced everywhere in her books that I sometimes roll my eyes. It's not just that, though; there is more to my conundrum that I cannot pinpoint.

BUT here we are, another review for another Throne of Glass series book. For starters, I became immersed in this novel, similar to how I felt in Heir of Fire. It's very readable, albeit cringy, for me at times since I am now 31 years old. I always have questions about the plot, how the characters got to where they were, and overall, just world-building. However, I generally let that go for a little and flow with the story because while the plot may have some holes, I am interested.

Here is what worked for me: Lysandra's character development (excellent!!!!!!) and the new friendship with Aelin. Yay! Hopefully, this one sticks! Thank goodness the plot around Arobynn looks like it came to an end. I liked how it wrapped up. I also still enjoy Chaol and Dorian. Chaol is a ding dong, of course, but I enjoy his character; he's realistic in a realistic, fantastical kind of way, but I get him. Poor Dorian jeeeeeeeeeeeeeez, but I liked the overall Valg plot point in general, and I think it was an interesting magical system. Manon annoys me, but her character will grow more now!

Here is what didn't work for me: Aelin. She's so annoying. The epitome of a "chosen one." I know this was written in 2015 or something, and it was the time for this type of character, but there are only so many times we can hear about how ruthless and extraordinary she is at 19. Also, I wouldn't say I liked Rowan's chapters - I liked him much better without the POV. As a spoiler,

I know that Aelin and Rowan become romantically involved because of how much is shared on social media, so I already knew what's in store. Therefore, I didn't mind their relationship that much, but like the quote above in my review;

Rowan seems possessive, and Maas suddenly decides this is an okay thing to do by calling it fae territorialism or something like that nonsense. Once again, it was so dramatic.

It's fine! This book was interesting at times, but I still have my qualms. It's a solid 3.5 for me.

Content Warnings

ashleynp24's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was easily my favorite so far in the series. The relationships built between characters was so good.

Lysandra is definitely one of my favorite characters, and I loved getting to learn more about her specific history in this book.

Manon and Elide’s relationship was another one of my favorites, and Manon’s character arc was really fun to read.

The ending was so many emotions and I’m so excited to try the tandem read next.

I absolutely screamed when I found out they perrington is the overarching villain this whole time and that manon helped Aelin. I’m so interested to see if Elide finds them and what happens to Chaol and Nesryn. I’m wondering if they will run into the girl that Aelin helped to become a healer back in assassin’s blade!!

Content Warnings

christmas_3va's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

evachristinee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

meredith_williams_'s review

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

10/10. no notes. best book of the series.

Content Warnings

britwalsh16's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I could not put this book down! Omg! It was sooooo good!!!
Watching Aelin become who she was always meant to be & fight for her loved ones & what is right, is inspiring! The growth she has had since book 1 is in incredible!
And the bromance between Chaol & Dorian is like my favorite bromance ever! Coming in second only to my bat boys.
All the characters have incredible growth in this book! & I could go on about how much I love them all, but then this will get really long, so I won’t.
But my favorite character is Rowan! & having him not being in the first third of the book gave me serious withdrawal! My heart just leaped out of my chest when he finally showed up! I was so ecstatic! I can’t wait to read more of him, & more of his relationship with Aelin! My heart! 💜

Content Warnings

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Aelin returns to Adarlan to take back her kingdom and take down the King.

This was definitely the best of the series so far! The characters and world building is getting better and better with each book. I found the plot to be a little slow at first, but picked up really quickly.

Let's talk about the women, because they are so badass:
-Aelin has embraced her identity and is no longer the annoying, bratty girl from the first few books. Finally she has become a fierce, strong Queen who will do anything to protect her people. I am interested to see the directions her relationship with Rowan takes and how her people react to her return.

-Lysandra has on of my favourite arcs in the book series. We start off absolutely hating her due to her rivalry with Celaena, but she has been redeemed! She is such a fascinating character. As a child she discovered that

she is a shape shifter and was cast out of her home because of it. She had to survive on her own until she was trained as a courtesan.

We are lead to believe that she is this prissy, spoiled woman, but she is ferocious, loyal, and cunning.

Arobynn got what was coming to him (finally!).

-I am loving the direction of Manon's storyline and interested to see whether she continues to kneel to her grandmother or strikes against her. The witches developing empathy and compassion is a really interesting angle to the story.

-Even the supporting characters, Nesryn, Kaltain, and Elide, added so much to the story. All strong and tough in their own rights.

The male characters, though interesting, couldn't hold a candle to the female characters. I am intrigued with Lorcan's character and have a feeling he is going to be pretty important in the next few books.

I enjoyed both Aedion and Rowan, but both are quite similar characters. Both are driven by the need to protect Aelin at all costs. I am hoping to get a bit more depth and backstory to both of these characters in the next few books.

Dorian's storyline

of being taken over by a vlag prince was a smart choice for this book. We are able to see the fight in him and hopefully he bring that fight into his role as King.
The fact that Duke Perrington was actually taken taken over by Erawan and was the real puppet master was very unexpected, the King was just another puppet!

Tropes: fantasy, revenge, returned Queen

Content Warnings

wishlissa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

My favorite in the TOG series so far! This feels like the mid-season finale and I'm excited for it to come back with a bang. Every once in a while something happens in an SJM book that's frustrating -- but where other authors draw it out, SJM resolves the characters' stumbles and issues in a way that's timely and satisfying. What more could you want?

Content Warnings

val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

lisavandonselaar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

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