Queen of Shadows
4.8 | 146,099 ratings
Price: 28.83
Last update: 02-02-2026
Top reviews from the United States
- Tonya"She was fire, and light and ash, and embers"All hail the Queen! It's probably my favorite book in the series so far. I’ll admit, the names (especially the ones that change or sound alike) can be a little hard to keep up with, but once I settled in, I couldn’t put it down.
The world-building that’s been slowly layered through the earlier books really paid off here, and it all finally started to click into place. Fantasy isn’t usually my strongest genre, but this one challenged me in the best way and kept me hooked. I loved how the characters were brought together and how the storylines connected.
Now I seriously can’t wait to see how the rest of the series unfolds! - Canadian eReaderNames are taken and asses are kicked - go Team AelinOK confession time; I couldn’t wait to start reading Queen of Shadows before writing my Heir of Fire review, so this is going to be a joint review of both books.
For those of you unaware, Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows are the third and fourth books respectively in Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series. It is YA fantasy series with a kickass heroine and great worldbuilding. If you’ve not yet started it, I highly recommend checking it out.
I listened to both books within a fairly short space of time and loved both of them. Because Queen of Shadows builds upon and develops characters and plot points raised in Heir of Fire, they are excellent to read together. Many of the cliffhangers in Heir of Fire are also resolved, which is very satisfying.
What I liked
Character development. We see lots of wonderful character development in our main character, Celaena. When we rejoin Celaena at the beginning of Heir of Fire, she is in a pretty dark place emotionally, reeling from the events of previous book Crown of Midnight. Throughout Heir she along with new character Rowan works to get her mojo back. This is a significant chunk of the book. Such a wonderful character arc.
Her success is expressed in the change of name from Celaena to Aelin in Queen – she has accepted her identity, her past and her powers and is going to use them to kick ass. Incidentally, I had no issue whatsoever with the name change – Maas has written the character consistently and her “voice” remains the same whether she is “Celaena” or “Aelin.”
Given how much she has progressed in Heir, Aelin’s character development does stall a lot in Queen – the focus is more on kickassedness and achieving the goals she set for herself at the end of Heir. Personally, I was actually far less engaged in Aelin’s story in Queen because of this.
In Queen, the character development is expressed far more through the character of Manon, and I absolutely LOVED her chapters. Given the choice between reading about Manon or Aelin in Queen I was far more involved in Manon’s struggles. I loved how her relationship with her wyvern, Abraxos and with her Thirteen and Elide, caused her to rethink the values and attitudes with which she has been raised. The Manon we leave at the end of Queen is not the Manon we meet at the beginning of Heir and it was beautiful. I fully expect to see Manon work to bring down the Matron in the next book.
Strong female friendships. There are some pretty cool female characters in the Throne of Glass world; Aelin, Manon, Lysandra, Elide, Asterin to name a few. Each of these are strong women in their own right, but when they get together thrones will fall, names will be taken and asses will be kicked. Our characters are stronger and are changed for the better (cue Wicked medley) because they knew each other. Things would have turned out very differently if it weren’t for the bonds between these women and Maas writes these friendships beautifully.
Promises delivered. In Heir, Maas set out some very clear expectations about what was going to happen in Queen and she delivered. What we expected to happen did happen, which adds up to a very satisfying book. It didn’t always happen the way we expected, and often there were many unexpected obstacles in our protagonists’ path, but the expected confrontations took place, goals were achieved and people were saved.
Intriguing minor characters. We met some new and interesting minor characters. I was particularly touched by Asterin’s story and I’m really interested to see where Elide’s path takes her. I have very strong suspicions about young Evangeline and her “citrine” eyes. It appears yellow eyes have some power over the Valg, so I’m curious to see what part she plays.
What I didn’t like
Promises delivered. Yes, I know I had this in my what I liked list. In some ways though, I felt too many loose ends were tied up. Our characters, other than Dorian, are in pretty good shape. I was almost left with the feeling that, if the series were to end here, I’d be quite content. Certainly there are a few open plots for the next book, but nothing that had me thinking I have to have book five NOW. I’m not certain that that’s altogether a good thing given there are two more books to go.
The Aelin/Manon confrontation. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that Aelin and Manon finally met, and I loved the developments that came out of their confrontation, but I just didn’t buy how it ended. Aelin’s thought processes just didn’t ring true. Sorry.
Despite these slight misgivings, I loved both Heir and Queen. I gave them both 4.5 stars out of five. - DawnYou won’t want to miss Book Four of this amazing series, Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas.I thought that Book Three of this series kept me on the edge of my seat! Man, oh man, is Book Four a great follow up to that series. It is a hefty book, I won’t lie. It has over six hundred and fifty pages, but you won’t regret a single page.
I promise.
In this book, we see Celaena finally being replaced by Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. Oh, don’t be disappointed, Celaena makes a few surprise appearances as her assassin skills are still needed from time to time. Aelin though… Aelin has to think of Chess moves five in advance to stay ahead of the trials and tribulations coming her way.
Aelin will call upon her alter identity, Celaena, whenever she needs to keep the fact that she truly is the rightful Queen of Terrasen. Celaena is her ruthless side that does whatever it takes to get the job done. Aelin is the constant thinker and organizer of the two women. They both are extremely capable women who are unafraid to do what it takes to get things done. Aelin just uses a bit more class and subtlety to accomplish her goals. Aelin has grown a lot over these past four books. She is no longer that child who is afraid of her natural magic. Not that she could use it at the present time since the King has obviously done something to make sure that magic wielders were unable to reach their powers. What did he do? You will have to read on to find out.
I love the little tidbits that come out regarding Aelin’s past. They show how much she has grown and just how far she has yet to go. There are so many vital people in this book that you might think it impossible to keep track of them all. All I can say is make sure you pay attention to the smallest of details. They are important in their own way.
We get to reflect upon Celaena’s relationship with her old Assassin Master, Arobynn Hamel. If there is a bastard in this book, he could rightfully own that title. He is a character we all love to hate. We learn more about their history as well as get to see how they both interact with one another. Does he love her, or does he only want to own her… or both? Will he betray her yet again, or will he prove himself useful during this leg of her journey?
Along with Arobynn, we still have Aelin’s relationship with Chaol to contend with. He is so hardheaded. There were times I genuinely wanted to shake him by his shoulders and tell him to be a man, talk to Celaena, and stop being so stubborn! Did he ever listen to me? No, he didn’t. The author did a fabulous job showing the internal struggles Chaol endures every step of the way. She kept him realistic while still making him enduring to her readers. Some hard decisions will have to be made for not only Chaol, but their relationship status.
We see parts where Nehemia, her best friend, comes into play once again. I won’t elaborate too much on this situation because I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
Prince Dorian is still very much involved with this book. He has some upcoming trials and tribulations that are going to make his life extremely difficult. Will he be able to remember the friends that stood by him through thick and thin? We shall have to see, won’t we?
Aedion, her faithful cousin who has been searching for her for the past ten years. So much was promised to him yet now his future is filled with tons of questions. Which side will he fall on when the dust settles?
Rowan Whitethorn, Prince of Faes. He will test Aelin in ways she didn’t think were possible. He will push her to her outer limits all in the name of teaching her how to harness and use her magic efficiently. He gives no quarter while constantly questioning everything Aelin does. Will he break her or eventually get her to see through her stubbornness and pride? He pushes her endlessly to the brink of exhaustion. Will she forgive him for all of his ruthless taunts and comments? Will they ever learn to trust one another in this battle of wills?
Manon Blackbeak, apparent heir to the Ironteeth witches. What will her destiny be? How effective will she and her thirteen witches be as Manon fights to become Wing Leader? Will Manon continue to blindly follow her grandmother’s orders, or will she start questioning everything she has ever known? I will tell you that Aelin and Manon have a chance meeting that will leave you breathless. Pay attention to this encounter. It sets the table for more interesting things to come in the future.
There are so many other vital characters that you are going to encounter: Lorcan, Elide, Lysandra, Evangeline, Fenrys, Gavriel, the King of the Vlags, and so many more. I could spend all day giving a tidbit of information for each one of these amazing characters, but then my review would be enormously long.
I would be lying if I didn’t admit that my heart gets torn out with this installment in the series. Sarah J. Maas is an incredible author who shows no mercy with her characters. I love it when writers do this. I get tired of the predictable standard tropes that so many authors are afraid to venture away from. You won’t find any of that in this series. Sarah keeps you guessing at every turn of this adventure. I cannot recommend this book enough. I am almost done with the next one, and whoo boy, it is yet another work of art. - Amazon CustomerGreat epic fantasy with romanceThis series is a lot more focused on the plot and the politics compared to the other two series from SJM. It is a great series, but for me it is the least good one. Mainly because I think that SJM was very young when she wrote this, and sometimes you can tell. It is still good, and the world building and its politics is very good. There is a lot of romance, and some spice, but the plot is definitely the focus. Can't wait to see where this all ends up.