Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

57 reviews

geminisoul's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is the best book so far in the series. This book just dragged me in and was such a joy to read- even when I was sobbing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mblanke's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

pkreads2024's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

"To Whatever End."

This book was amazing!

Celaena Sardothien aka Aelin Ashryver Galathynius. Embarks on her journey to Wendylnn her distant relatives to kill the king and his son. Minor Spoiler:

That quickly ends up not happeing;)

she is taken by a mysterious Fae individual named Rowan. To which she is to train with him in order to fulfill her part of a bargin with her wicked Fae aunt Meave.
While meanwhile Choal and Dorian, continue on without Celaena after the events of COM. We are introduced to some new characters and some of them have connections to Terrasen. Such as Alein's cousin Aedion, and at least two others.
While Dorian's part in the story is mostly in the castle, and introduces a new side charcter. That has been in the past books.
Also, Choal might be the most indecisive charcter EVER.
Then we are introduced to the witches of Blackbeak and the three other covans. Manon Blackbeak and her thirteen, and how they will impact the story. Minor spoiler:

with thier impact as witches and how they will be the kings aerial army through the weveryns.

Overall, lots of characters/ world building are added into this book, and LOTS of character growth expecilly with Alein. We get a lot of her past, and what happened prior before her ten years as Celaena Sardothien. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Stalking, and Alcohol

coffiend's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Genocide, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and War

Several scenes of animal cruelty in detail towards

wyverns

, which are semi-domesticated and seem to have unique personalities. Related animal deaths, plus other wild animals, but those are mostly from hunting. Nothing bad happens to the dog.

helfire124's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

bookworm2991's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

One additional element worth noting about Heir of Fire is its world-building and expanding mythology. Sarah J. Maas deepens the reader’s understanding of the series' world, introducing new magical systems, lore, and political dynamics. This expansion plays a crucial role in shaping the characters' journeys and challenges, as the stakes grow higher and the world becomes more complex.

The introduction of characters like Manon and the Ironteeth witches adds a fresh perspective to the story, shifting the focus from purely human conflicts to those involving different magical creatures with their own motivations and cultures. This allows the book to explore themes like power, identity, and destiny from multiple angles.

Another noteworthy aspect is the balance between personal growth and action. While much of the book is dedicated to character introspection and emotional depth, Maas skillfully weaves in thrilling action sequences, battles, and plot twists that keep the pace engaging and tension high.

In summary, Heir of Fire strikes a strong balance between emotional depth, action, and world-building, making it a rewarding read for those invested in character-driven fantasy with complex stakes. It may be slower at times, but the growth of its characters and the world they inhabit makes it a pivotal installment in the series.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Grief

Heir of Fire dives deep into the emotional and psychological struggles of its characters, particularly Celaena as she faces her traumatic past and strives to find her true identity.

The book reveals crucial backstory about Celaena's past, including her heritage as Aelin Galathynius, the lost heir to a kingdom, and her struggles with accepting her responsibilities. Her journey of self-acceptance and embracing her role as a leader is a major theme, alongside her growing relationship with Rowan, which evolves from initial antagonism to deep friendship and eventually a romantic bond.

There is also a significant shift in tone as the book explores new characters, like Manon, whose perspective adds complexity to the narrative, with her own struggles for power and identity. The introduction of the Ironteeth witches and their own brutal society offers a contrast to Celaena’s journey, showing a different side of power dynamics and survival. The book explores themes of power, not just physical but emotional, as characters confront their deepest vulnerabilities. The world-building is expanded, introducing new magical systems and political tensions that will have far-reaching consequences in the series. Overall, Heir of Fire is rich in emotional depth, character growth, and complex world-building, making it a pivotal installment in the Throne of Glass series.

babyfacedoldsoul's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

I found this book dragged at times and the inclusion of the Manon subplot didn't help. It's very much a middle of the series, let's drop some lore, book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War

lavendar's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A book I have grown to love more and more with the introduction of favorite characters and hindsight of the story, its portrayal of grief, and the journey back to the light is beautiful. It gives new perspectives to each of the characters we’ve loved the previous two books, while paving the way for new stories! And it’s epic world-changing twists!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Abandonment

The bonus chapter for Heir of Fire (found in the Target exclusive Empire of Storms edition) in between chapter 45! It’s a perfect fit (later referenced in Queen of Shadows) and totally adds a new level of depth to the story! Especially for me, as Rowan was not my favorite for a while; but in hindsight like that

I fall in love with him & Aelin all over again!

micaelamariem's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

 

It was time for my annual dive into the Throne of Glass universe. 

Seriously, I'm averaging a book a year in this series, oops. 

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas, published by Bloomsbury, is the third book in the Throne of Glass series. As such, I won't be able to talk about this with some spoilers for the first two books so be warned! 

In Heir of Fire, Celaena goes to Wendlywn but ends up in the land of faerie, facing her aunt and her magic, Dorian begins to understand his powers, and Chaol struggled to pick a side. 

I had a really good time reading this, much better than the first two books! I don't know if it's because I didn't much like my last two reads so this was better by comparison, or that the writing style got a lot better. Perhaps it was a bit of both.  

What I think made Heir of Fire a good read was that the story could finally progress because we are now acquainted with the world and characters. The first two books were really just a set up. Now, we're getting into the beginning of an epic war. The multiple points of view added a lot of depth to the story, too, and was done in a fantastic way that kept the plotline still straightforward. We also learn a lot about Celaena's past, that connects us to her powers, her birthright, and her trauma, and makes her past actions make sense. 

I was also stoked to meet a couple of characters I heard about in social media but hadn't yet seen in the books. First and foremost, Rowan. I started out hating him, but over the course of the story, loved him. A slow burn for the reader. A lovely sarcastic asshole. And the other character was Manon, terrifying yet also might be the catalyst for change the witch covens need to see. I'm excited to see how her storyline will cross with Celaena (who after this review, I think I can start calling Aelin, if only because the spelling is easier). 

I really enjoyed Celaena's pov chapters--it's mainly her story, after all. I also adored Dorian's. I didn't like him until he got magic, but now I like how his arc is progressing. He really doesn't deserve the tragedies that happen. Chaol, while once being my favorite, had the most boring POV's, but maybe that was because it was very military-like, which befitted his character. 

Despite the slight boredom with him, I still really loved this book. I daydreamed about it driving and missed my turn. Any book that can have me do that has to be five stars right? 

Guess I'll be back next year for Assassin's Blade, because I really need to read that prequel before continuing with the series, much as I want to! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

krosebooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The ending of the book was amazing. It took me a while to get to that point though. I’m sure the other characters are going to show up in the next books but I found myself looking forward to only Celaena’s parts. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail