Reviews with content warning for Racism - Heir of Fire

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

5 reviews

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

1.25

Out of the three Throne of Glass books I read I think this was the one I had the most mixed feelings on. I honestly think I could have rated it mid to high 2 stars if not for the ending. It’s actually that ending that’s made me decide to stop reading the series, if not forever than at least for a while.

To start, I thought the intro was really strong. Celeana’s struggle with her past as a noble and the reality of who she’s become had a lot of potential. I thought it was fascinating to see how the last book ended with all this fear and tension around her reclaiming her place, only for her to get there and be overwhelmed by the past. I think this struggle makes for a great conflict for a main character, even if a bit basic. Not to mention, the exploration of her trauma and everything she’d been through was compelling. I think it really only fell short with the poor treatment of Nehemia as a dead BIPOC woman to motivate the white protagonist and almost everything about her dynamic with Rowen and their training. I felt like a lot of Celeana’s plot and build up was pushed aside to setup a budding romance between her and Rowen, which I couldn’t really get behind. I thought Rowen was an overly aggressive jerk and I just couldn’t find myself enjoying their dynamic.

Back in the castle, I wasn’t overly interested in what Chaol had happening, but was very interested in Dorian. I thought he and Sorscha were super cute and I loved how he and Aedion played off each other. I honestly wish Dorian and Chaol’s plots had played on each other more and wove together DESPITE their interpersonal conflict. Forcing to characters with an already unsteady relationship together would be very compelling!

The only other big plus I can give the book is the build to the climax, or what I assume was the climax. The big battle Celeana and Rowen had to go up against was interesting and actually had me excited. The build up to it was deeply haunting and captured a chilling atmosphere. I really felt the tension leading up to this fight.

Outside of my already noted critiques, I think Manon’s plot was questionable. I didn’t feel like it had a good balance with everything else. Dorian and Chaol’s plot felt overshadowed by her’s. I didn’t think it was a level of detail needed (unless the later books aim to humanise the witches and provide them more moral complexity). I think finding a way to focus Dorian and Chaol’s plots around UNCOVERING these wyvern riders would establish solid tensions for the readers while having someone Celeana isn’t and CAN’T be aware off while allowing the boys more things to do.

There was also an issues with the book seeming to have a weird interest in incest. It felt really weird how it kept narrowing in on Rowen and Celeana being cousins, despite also heavily leaning towards a romance between them. While not first cousins, Celeana referred to Rowen as her cousin more than once. Not to mention them both referring to the same woman as ‘aunt’ over and over and over. If you’re going to do a romance, don’t focus on how these two are related and share an aunt. It just left a weird taste in my mouth.

Finally, the book should have ended two hours sooner. Once they recovered from the fight and Rowen had to struggle with his deal and Chaol and Dorian and Aedion had this hopeful plan to topple the King I think the book should have ended THEN picked up with these events at the start of book four. When I saw I had two hours left in the audiobook I actually almost started crying. I didn’t know what else it could do that would be compelling or interesting in two more hours. While it certainly continued to have a plot, I didn’t feel like it justified having the book carry on. I do think it could have been ended much sooner and would have had a much tighter plot and story.

Overall, I do think this book had a lot of potential. However, it had just enough flaws to put me off from continuing.

Content Warnings

ivegotyourpaperback's review against another edition

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3.75

3.75-4⭐️ (I keep fluctuating)

This was another very enjoyable addition to the series.

I felt there was a bit of a lull at the start of the book where the pacing had slowed back down since the ending of book 2. So I found myself almost starting from scratch in terms of being emotionally invested in the returning characters.

In terms of new characters introduced that I’ve come to love, we’ve got:

Manon Blackbeak (badass bitch extraordinaire)
Abraxos (cutie patootie)
Amaranth—— I mean Adarlan’s Whore, Aedion
Sorscha (under-utilised character IMO)

For me where this book shined was in:

the relationship between Dorian and Sorscha
The rift between Dorian and Chaol
The political intrigue and scheming going on in Rifthold
Aedion’s feelings and motivations
Villainous deeds on page from fucked up rulers (side note: does the King of Adarlan have a name?)

I was less thrilled hearing about Celaena’s training montages and depressive episodes with newbie, Rowan. And I wasn’t completely sold on Rowan until he said one of my favourite things an MC can say to another MC: “who did that to you?”. 🫠 After that I was wholly on board with this broody Fae prince.

The last few chapters of the book had me experiencing a roller coaster of emotions and I can’t wait to pick up where we’ve left off (hopefully there’s not another pace change at the beginning of the next book lie there was with this one).

In terms of recommending reading order of the series, I’ve seen a lot of people say Assassin’s Blade should be read next. I’ll try it, but may end up skipping straight to book 4 if I get antsy.

Content warnings:

⚠️racism towards mixed race beings

⚠️Slurs towards mixed race beings

⚠️implied animal cruelty

⚠️mention of torture

⚠️corporal punishment

⚠️murder

Content Warnings