Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas
- Jun 27
- 3 min read
We are chugging our way through the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, the fifth of seven novels and that's not including the collection of accompanying novellas. Empire of Storms can be read in tandem with the sixth novel of the series Tower of Dawn, but since I've never read the series before, I elected not to make things more difficult that absolutely necessary and read them separately. I will be reading Tower of Dawn next, so stay tuned for that review. This is a review of Empire of Storms, but if you're looking for a summary of the book, take a look at our Throne of Glass series page, which includes summaries for all the books I've read in the series thus far as well as book specific spoiler free study guides. This book deals with death, physical abuse, torture, toxic relationships, violence and blood, vomit, kidnapping, murder, fire, gaslighting, confinement, war, and injury, though not necessarily in that order.
Aelin has been working her way back to Terrasen, her core group of people she trusts with her, but she knows that she cannot win this war without many, many more allies. It's time to start laying the groundwork and making plans, but of course, things are never as easy as they could be. On the way back to her home, she and her friends get rerouted and are forced to change tactics - Aelin puts all of her focus into finding allies that will fight with her to save Erilea. But as she does, monsters they could never have dreamed up start coming out of the woodwork, all focused on killing her and the people she loves. Even worse, Aelin learns more about what happened in the past which has led them to this point and she realizes that the monsters were there all along. And they expect her to make an unbelievable sacrifice to save everyone else.
Wow, this series is getting so good! All of the little pieces that Sarah J Maas has been laying out for us in the first several books are starting to come together, some in ways that you don't see coming. The fun part is, I'm just excited about the leads that I do see coming - I sit like a kid on Christmas Eve just waiting for the anticipation to be over! Aelin has really become a wonderful character and she has gathered a group around her that is unbelievably well developed - the author manages to make me care about and be personally invested in so many people even when I know they're marching into war and my heart will get broken at some point. This book was long, but it didn't feel like it. It was packed full of tender moments and action that were so well balanced, I never felt bored but I also did not feel so stressed that I may have a heart attack. We don't get many new characters in this one, although we do see some people that we haven't seen in ages and we get to delve deeper into the characters we already know. Relationships are formed, tenuous alliances made, favors are called in, and every bit of it was delightful. And the action scenes are exciting! At least one lengthy scene had me sitting breathless and worried, which almost never happens during battle scenes.
I'm giving Empire of Storms 4.75 out of 5. My favorite of all the books so far, I am very excited to be moving to the next book soon, and cannot wait to get to the last book after that. Spice level was a 1.25, there's not much going on there, but a little spicier than the previous books. Don't forget to take a look at our Throne of Glass series page.
For more from Sarah J Maas, check out her website at https://sarahjmaas.com/
Pairs well with blackberry tartlets and calling in your favors when you need to.
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