A review by readwithde
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional funny 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

Empire of Storms feels like the start of a sequel series: the stakes are so much higher, and the setting stretches across the continent. The cast of characters grows, and I found myself excited for different POVs.

I felt like Aelin's path was so jarring and chaotic at the beginning of the book, but by the end
after seeing her "fetch quest" of speaking with Brannon, securing Skull's Bay, and seeking the Lock and Elena
her journey made much more sense.

Lysandra, Elide, and Manon shone brightly in this book; I was happy to see each of them step fully into their potential.
Elide and Lorcan had some of the best action and storylines. Every time it cut back to them, I had to keep reading.


As nice as it was to have so many other POVs, I would have loved a bit more Aelin. She controlled many of the plot twists, and I would have loved a bit of extra foreshadowing or even just getting to see her thought process. 

I did read this in tandem with Tower of Dawn; I feel like both books benefited from that system, getting extra action in this book to balance the extra lore in Tower of Dawn. I highly recommend reading these together. 
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