luvtoread

As Queen of Shadows is the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series, this won’t be a standard review, but rather my thoughts and ramblings about the series and where I think it may go. Since this post is geared towards those who have read the series and are caught up with all four books, SPOILERS ABOUND!!

Again, spoilers for all four books in the Throne of Glass series are ahead!!!

OK, now that that is out of the way, let’s get down to it. I finished Queen of Shadows and am now SO CONFUSED. I need to know who the author is shipping Aelin with (and from here on out I’ll refer to her as Aelin, since that is now how she refers to herself), because I do not get it.   I liked Queen of Shadows as a whole, I really enjoyed parts of it (the last hundred pages or so), but most of it felt like filler to me. And that was really irritating.   So I’ll just break down various characters here, and I’ll start with ladies first!

Aelin – Well, it took me four books to like her, and now I like her – I understand her more, and she is just a wonderfully complex character, but I still feel like Aelin in book one was a different person. I enjoy reading her interactions with other female characters (Nesryn, Manon, and Lysandra), and I appreciate that the author has female characters that have other things to talk about with each other besides men. But my issue with Aelin’s storyline now is that her love interest feels undecided … Are we supposed to ship her with Rowan or with Chaol? She spent the first two books liking Chaol, now the last two liking Rowan, will there be a third man in the next two books? I am very confused. And I actually don’t really know whom I want her to be with, as both men really were frustrating in this book (not that she needs to be with anyone at all). More on that when I get to the men. And I haven’t read the novellas yet, but why am I getting the suspicion that Sam is actually not dead at all and he’ll come back into the picture in a future book?? Am I the only one getting this idea? I hope Aelin ends up as Queen, because she is a ruler through and through. And gosh darn it, something good needs to happen to her.

Manon Blackbeak – I love her. I LOVE her. I love her slow shift towards kindness, I love her iron teeth and her iron claws, she is just SO AWESOME. Sadly I don’t see her living through the series, but I did sense that instant connection between her and Dorian, so now I’m rooting for them! As much as I can root for a murderous witch with the handsome, kind, king. But there is something so romantic in their story line (in this book). I’m excited to see where her story goes! And I really enjoyed her meeting and fighting with Aelin. That was a great scene between two extremely strong women, and I hope they meet again. I also really hope we get a confrontation scene between Manon and her grandmother in future books.

Lysandra – Courtesan. Shape shifter. I loved her. I loved her past with Evangeline. I think her main story is pretty much done, besides perhaps appearing in battles or as a side character. I could see her ending up with Aedion although I felt an instant connection between her and Rowan, and was disappointed the author didn’t head that direction.

Nesryn Faliq – Oh Nesryn. You’re a beautiful warrior, but you feel like a late addition. A random woman added in to add a bit of drama to the Chaol & Aelin story. And I feel bad, because Nesryn deserves so much more than a moody Chaol obsessing over Aelin. Maybe she’ll wise up and leave Chaol in the dust, or perhaps she’ll end up dying to save Aelin because she realizes Chaol truly loves Aelin. Sigh. I see nothing but sorrow ahead for Nesryn.

Elide – Elide instantly grabbed my attention, and I loved her friendship with Manon. Cannot wait for Aelin and Elide to meet, which is sure to happen!! I can totally see Manon sacrificing herself for Elide later on in the books, and you just know that at some point Abraxos is going to save Elide from some horrific death.

Kaltain Rompier – YES. That was AWESOME. So glad that she came back with a vengeance and more depth was added to her character.

Asterin – Oh Asterin you broke my heart. <sniff> And I fear your days are numbered.

And now to the men!!

Dorian – Dorian’s scenes at the end were amazing. I feel like his daddy issues aren’t resolved, and will perhaps play into things in the next books, but I think he’ll be a great king. And how sad was it about his father?? That surprised me about who the big bad really is.

Aedion – Sorry but Aedion totally bores me and I have no interest in him. After two books I still have zero idea of his personality, or anything about him other than that he’s Aelin’s cousin.

Arobynn Hamel – Just as slimy and despicable as I thought. Uggh. And good riddance.

Rowan – Oh Rowan … what happened ??? I loved Rowan in book three, but here he is just obsessed with Aelin, and it didn’t work for me. Yeah, I get it, Aelin and him are both gorgeous Fae warriors, but to have zero heat in book three to all of a sudden go full on blazing furnace in this book was weird. It felt extremely forced, and to have them have a long-running “when will they” throughout the book was odd. Like for some reason the author is putting that scene off. Like I dunno … maybe Rowan will be killed prior to them being together? Or they’ll have a week of happiness and then tragedy? Because I don’t see Rowan surviving this series. My guess is that he’ll have a showdown with Maeve and her crew, and he’ll die to protect Aelin. (And you know Maeve’s involvement isn’t over).

Chaol – Oh dear me. What the heck happened to Chaol??? Because I don’t know who he is anymore. Loved him in books one and two, but then he just existed in book three, and then book four has him toying with Nesryn while still yearning for Aelin, and I do not understand why he and Aelin are fighting. Yeah, ok, the whole Nehemia thing plays into it, but that had to happen. Nehemia realized it and now Aelin realizes it. I still am leaning towards Aelin and Chaol, but I’m not overly convinced. I’m giving Chaol one more book before I give up on him (and wow, I’m really giving him a big break here). I’m extremely disappointed. And I also can’t remember the last time a fictional character irritated me this much!

So there you have it, a long-winded post of my thoughts on Queen of Shadows. My favorites of the series are Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire. I’m looking forward to September and Empire of Storms. 

Do you agree with my thoughts? Disagree? Am I totally wrong in thinking Sam may still be alive? Which book in the series was your favorite?