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Trigger Warnings: (view spoiler)[Slaves, human trafficking, prostitution (minors), separation of families, violence, physical abuse, rape, sexual assault, minor in relationship with an adult, grooming, agoraphobia, loss of a loved one, genocide (hide spoiler)]

I cannot believe that I finished this in one day, I started this morning and couldn't stop. Continuing on my buddy read with my lovely friend Bookish Opinions, I have finally finished and I cannot believe the craziness. It was intense, insane, addicting, and bloody amazing. I love the characters so so much and hold them dear to my heart, I cannot wait to get to Empire of Storms. This review will contain spoilers for The Assassin's Blade which I highly recommend you read before you start the series if you haven't already (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT). If not, please read it at least before reading this because it is a gem and this book has a lot of references to it. Don't sleep on Sam Courtland guys.


Jumping right into spoilers now...

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So this is apparently my friend's favourite book in the series along with others and this is definitely my favourite book so far in the series. I loved it to bits, I did find the Manon chapters to be a lot better in this book since we learn more about what the King was planning to do. I loved Elide so much, I loved her bond with Abraxos, it was just so cute how this wyvern loved her. Elide has had such a tough life and although she is chained and with a lifelong injury, it does not stop her from finding other ways to fight for her life because of hope for Aelin (I can't wait until they meet). I felt so bad for Dorian in this book, he was so alone because his dad put him under a collar and the stupid valg prince took over his body. He was alone in Crown of Midnight because Chaol and Celaena were together, which wait, she goes by Aelin now lol. It was so weird to suddenly start calling her Aelin but I got used to it by the end of it and I agree, her Celaena side had to die for her to become Aelin. And I liked how people described her as a different person when she did present herself as Celaena which made it interesting. Anyway, when Dorian finally finds Sorscha, she is beheaded in the end and immediately put into a collar, he saved his friends and sacrificed himself. And he felt no anger or remorse towards anyone in this book once he is better unlike some people *cough cough* Chaol. And when he's finally free, everyone is once again, leaving him which is just so sad, I wish someone would stay with Dorian but I get it. I have a feeling he's gonna end up with Manon, and all I want is for Dorian to be happy.


So Celaena was really smart in this book, I loved her to bits and pieces. We never really got to know her plans which made it a lot more interesting since we didn't know when things were going right or wrong which made the book a lot more intense. It pissed me off when she first sees Chaol, I thought she still had feelings for him but nope, she said she felt nothing for him anymore which was surprising. But then again, she spent months away from him while training in Wendlyn. When I originally read their first argument, I understood both of them, he thought she was just having a good time with the other fae when she was really suffering. And she didn't know what had happened. But after talking to my friend and rereading the scene, I realized that Chaol was honestly such a jerk. He even went as far as to call Aelin a monster. I loved when she brought up that Dorian also has powers so how is he not a monster while she is. Chaol made the stupid argument that she killed people. This is the guy that loved her and knew about her past and he acted so stupidly and childish. And it felt so good when Aelin told him off in another argument and told him he didn't even think twice about the slaves while she was also in prison and didn't care when she was manhandled. That shut him up. He took so damn long to pick a side, even in this, he's like I will not turn my back on my kingdom. And I get that he wanted to save Dorian but it felt more of an obsession like "I gotta save the next King," rather than "I gotta save my friend." When he got pissed since Aelin came with no army or plan, I don't know what he expected. She literally told him everything and he still said so many stupid things. He was lashing out at everyone and his hate for magic just pissed me off. Just like Dorian said in the last book, he has to learn to accept the way a person is, whether they have magic, are fae, or anything else, he needs to accept the person. Chaol even lashes out at Nesryn which pissed me off cuz she seemed awesome IMO but they are good together. And I liked that Chaol understands, in the end, is more accepting of magic but he did piss me off for most of the book, he was just looking for things to blame on Aelin. When they gave back the necklace and ring to one another, I just knew this ship is dead, long gone, and will never return and I am good with that. It was sad that he ended up being paralyzed in the end though, I didn't expect that.


When Arobynn was back in the picture, I was so disgusted. I hated that Aelin went to ask for his help but she wasn't stupid. I kept thinking she wasn't smart to go to him but she had a plan and she was smart. I was so surprised that Lysandra and Aelin became friends, I loved it. The fact that she saved Evangeline and put a child before herself was just so sweet. I never expected her to have loved Wesley, I was so surprised by it and I loved how they helped and supported one another. The fact that Wesley died because he avenged Sam's death and attempted to save Aelin is just devastating since we never would've saw that coming in Assassin's Blade. The fact that Lysandra is a shapeshifter had me shook, I loved it, it's bloody amazing. The more people found out that Aelin was Aelin, the tenser I got, I felt like this whole book was so intense, I was sitting at the edge of my seat freaking out.


When Aelin makes the plan to save Aedion and Aedion is trying to get himself killed because he knows they're tryna trap Aelin, I just prayed that their plan would work. And it did and I was just so happy, when they first see each other and she smiles and he's like there's my queen, ugh I was so happy. And when they spent the day bonding and he was just so happy. And when they shared stories about their scars ugh my heart. They both had similar stories and did what they had to do to survive, I loved that they wore their scars with pride and they're just so badass. I loved when Aedion told her he would never be ashamed of her and to never think like that, Aelin really needed to hear that after everyone constantly shitting on her. Like everyone constantly acts like Aelin isn't doing anything when she's constantly working her ass off for others. I loved that Aedion was undeniably loyal but I was so scared about how sad he would be when he found out Aelin already had a blood oath with Rowan. When he got pissed, I understood and even though he lashed out, I am glad Rowan told him not to do it again. And Aelin suggested a smart idea that everyone who wanted to can have a blood oath with her which was nice. I loved his bond with Aelin, they had the cutest relationship even though the previous book had hinted that he was romantically interested in her kinda. I ship him with Lysandra, I hope they get together.


So I loved Elide a lot, I was constantly scared for her. I felt really bad for Kaltain, she saved everyone in the end. Kaltain was literally no longer there, she was so emotionless, it was disgusting when Vernon tried to rape her. He's so damn disgusting I can't even imagine what Perrington did to her. So Perrington is the king of the demons or something, named Erawan I think, and the king was also possessed by a demon prince but I still wanted both of them to die. I was actually so surprised that Arobynn died that easy. When he invited them to dinner and Aelin kept making deals with him I was freaking out. When Rowan and Aelin were flirting across the table I was like come on how do you guys know exactly what the other is saying through facial expressions, I originally thought it was part of the bond but it wasn't. And when Arobynn was sitting there fuming I was freaking out. I didn't even want them to eat the food cuz I was scared it would be poisoned. When he gave the oil and told her to wear it, I gagged but I loved Rowan for saying he used it as well for his dry skin, lol. And when he kissed Celaena and touched her backside, EW EW EW get away you creep and he told her to say she loves him by name ewww. He's so nasty I literally gag. I can't even imagine what it was like for Lysandra I felt so bad for her, she honestly deserved to kill him for all the torture she went through. I didn't believe that Arobynn died and loved how Aelin beheaded him just in case he was alive and to not take chances. Arobynn putting the ring on Aelin's finger and acting like his puppet had me screaming. I literally messaged my friend SCREAMING and freaking out that Aelin was now his puppet and how I had a feeling something would go wrong. But then 1-2 pages late we find out this was part of the plan, this girl was giving me heart attacks oh ma goodness. But the fact that even after he died the king somehow knew that Lysandra was a shapeshifter was a bit weird to me since Aelin burned the old will so like how did they know? I hope Arobynn isn't around bro he's disgusting I hate him.


I actually missed Rowan in the first half of the book which is surprising since I didn't love him in Heir of Fire. And when he shows up and Aelin runs and hugs him and they're so happy to see each other, ugh my heart. And he asked her why she was crying and she said cuz he smelled. And oh my god she shared her lavender soap my heart I miss Sam. And they shared the same bed which I found sweet and she kept tryna seduce him with her nightgowns and he was going insane lol. I wished they had some accidental cuddling but this book was realistic sadly and they were always on their side of the bed. When they were gonna kiss and he stopped her I was like nooo. But then when they makeup and finally talk things out, I just loved it. When he got scared because Lorcan almost killed her and they bonded and admitted their feelings I was so happy. I loved how protective Rowan was and he always knew what to say. When he and Aedion were having an alpha stare competition I was dying. When he met Chaol and Chaol was so intimidated, it was hilarious, Rowan didn't even have to say anything. I loved their little date night in the city and how she taught him how to play the piano. I loved how he says she will always be his queen and how he is happy to serve her uggh. And omg the part where they finally kiss properly and Aedion walks into the room and Rowan slams the door shut on him, I loved that.


When Aelin visited Sam's grave and told him everything she wanted to tell him, I was crying a lot. I love Rowan but I love Sam more honestly. I fell for him in The Assassin's Blade even though I had a feeling he would die. And I missed him since so every time she talked about him, I teared up. It's like she learned from that relationship and tries to take things fast with other lovers by telling them everything and sharing her stuff because she regrets not doing it with Sam. They went through so much together it hurt. Also, I never even thought about the fact that Sam could have been Aelin's mate which is actually crazy, I could totally see that, they were literally meant to be *runs and cries in corner*


Aelin made so many genius plans when she changed the will so that they had money and repaid Lysandra's debt and Evangeline's, I love Aelin so much. She freed Sam, she wrote Chaol in her will, she freed Rowan and even Lysandra. She honestly did so much more, she saved the slaves in the pirate nouvalla. She made sure that once she won and became queen that no one would keep slaves. She saved her friend once she knew that he was still in there, poor Dorian. Her fight with Manon was insane and I was shook she saved her, it was nice. I loved that Manon left a note for Aelin to let her know Dorian was alive. Manon honestly pissed me off a lot in the beginning, her treatment towards Asterin was messed because she was reasonable. I thought Asterin would betray the witches and I honestly wouldn't blame her if she did because she was constantly shit on for being the voice of reasoning. Like Perrington is taking witchlings and making them breed with demons and making demon babies like that's fucked up. And Manon was being a coward and her grandma is disgusting. And Asterin's past was devastating I hate Manon's grandma, her body is permanently gonna be wearing the words UNCLEAN because of her, it's so fucked up.


We didn't get much of Dorian in this book and it was sad because he's one of my favourite characters. And when we finally do and he destroys the glass castle and saves his friends and freaked out because he thought Chaol was dead, my eyes were tearing up. He lost Sorscha and feels so empty and blames himself and it's just so devastating. I wish he had more people around him but everyone has their own responsibilities now and it hurts. It was nice of Aelin to name Lysandra as a Lady of land and name Evangeline as her heir. And she was like a Khaleesi when she told everyone to stop taking slaves and that she will be queen until Dorian is better. I was surprised two big villains are gone and Aelin is going back to Terrasen. But we still got Maeve and Perrington and the witches. So Elide has to meet Celaena and doesn't know that it's Aelin. She has a wyrdkey and doesn't know it and Aelin has the amulet so she needs one more. I am glad Manon saved Elide bro, Manon was annoying throughout the book but at least she saved Elide. And she scared the demon in Dorian which was funny. And Lorcan was annoying but I was surprised he saved Rowan and Aedion because Aedion is Gavriel's son (another thing I didn't see coming). Also, I thought that Aelin would also be immortal because she is demi-fae but apparently not? And that bothers me, I want Rowan and Aelin to either both be immortal or both be mortal because everyone is right, what's he gonna do while she ages and dies? I really hope that's not how this ends, with them tryna be happy for as long as they can. He's like 220 years or something older than her but I still ship it whateva. I can't wait to see my characters continue to slay with their genius plans and am wondering where the story is heading.

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Anyway, that is all, stay safe folks!