“When you shatter the chains of this world and forge the next, remember that art is as vital as food to a kingdom. Without it, a kingdom is nothing, and will be forgotten by time. I have amassed enough money in my miserable life to not need any more—so you will understand me clearly when I say that wherever you set your throne, no matter how long it takes, I will come to you, and I will bring music and dancing.”

Queen of Shadows, the fourth instalment in the Throne of Glass series, is a bit of a whirlwind (final 50% of it, anyway). This sees our main protagonists back in Ardalan, conspiring and orchestrating a rebellion for for a king – literally. New characters are once again introduced, existing ones are tested to the limit (I swear that happens like, every book?!) and there is much more emotional turmoil experience by both readers and protagonists. It ends up being a bit like a big old party in Ardalan of a rag-tag band of mates but it is effective and propels the storyline forward so, I;m not really complaining.

Aelin has officially shed her Celaena namesake, and goes only by Aelin now (keep up!) It’s all a bit confusing. From here on out, the shifting perspectives are back and more mind-boggling than ever. Although I fully respect and appreciate the reasoning behind it, I find it tricky to read. Rowan and Aelin’s relationship develops romantically in this book and it is very cutesy if not slightly slow.

Elide and Manon have moved on somewhat from their Morath days and these storylines were probably my most favourite. Manon is still relatively new to the TOG universe in this book but I do find myself being drawn to her slightly more than Aelin… Anyone else find this? She is the opposite but also epitome of Aelin, dark to light, and this shines in a blend of characterisation; development and female empowerment.

I am always invested for that.

Again, a solid 3 (3 and a half?) stars out of 5. At no point did I feel like putting this book away and not picking it up again, no skim-reading, and definitely devoured it in about 4 days? Seeing as I was working full-time alongside that, I’d say that’s a solid effort really.

On a side note – I highly recommend looking up the artworks of Throne of Glass characters there are online. I’ve found this really helps me have a much more connected experience with a story, and can sometimes struggle to envision what characters look like beneath the flouncy description words.