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May 10, 2019susan_findlay rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The introduction was a bit jarring with the sudden use of harsh language (i.e. mild curse words) that was never present in any of the earlier books. In retrospect, I think this was done to set a tone (since it didn't really persist) and communicate that this book would be more mature than its predecessors. I'm not sure that was necessary; the series has been maturing and getting darker, more complex and more interesting all along. Queen of Shadows continues Aelin's (Celaena's) story as she returns to Adarlan to try to overthrow the evil king. She has to share focus with a few other characters, though. In particular, Manon - a witch who is training in the king's army but has her own agenda. Normally, this is the part where I complain about multiple narrators ruining the flow of a story; however, Maas handled this aspect of the book unusually well. Manon's story is both well integrated and integral to the plot. You spend a few chapters in one part of the world with one character then migrate to another part of the world with another. But it always happens at a natural break (which, yes, is sometimes a cliff-hanger). Other characters get occasional turns at narration, but it is always in service of world building or atmosphere creation. (The very short chapters narrated by Dorian are always about building tension.) I should also give credit to Maas for the pacing. This is a very long book but it feels epic rather than long. The tension builds continuously as new wrinkles are revealed, with mini climaxes leading up to the big one. I have to wonder if there was a point at which this was expected to be the last book in the series because it's the only one so far in which the resolution of the main climax felt like it could have been a relatively satisfactory "end". Of course, the author has left just enough loose ends that it won't be because I know there are three more books to come.