lavendar's reviews
160 reviews

The Assassin and the Empire by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A book I have grown to love more and more with the introduction of favorite characters and hindsight of the story, its portrayal of grief, and the journey back to the light is beautiful. It gives new perspectives to each of the characters we’ve loved the previous two books, while paving the way for new stories! And it’s epic world-changing twists!

Content Warnings

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A perfect culmination of character crossovers, arcs, and plots.

Content Warnings

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A whirlwind of action, romance, characters crossing paths, plot-twists, powers, and phenomenal writing! Another highlight of the series! And an absolutely gutting cliffhanger that changed everything…

Content Warnings

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A must-read for me!
I think this book gets severely underrated for how well-written it and the characters are.
— An entire book of Yrene Towers? SIGN ME UP! —
It has crucial plot points and unexpected twists, giving the finishing touch to the set-up of the grand finale in Kingdom of Ash’s storyline!

Content Warnings

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is an emotional marathon but one that is absolutely worth it, especially for the

happy

ending.
It manages to connect every thread (including the seemingly tiny ones you might not have even noticed) going all the way from the shorts in the Assassin’s Blade prequels and continuing through each book in the series; closing every loose end & answering every question, giving every crossover, cameo, interaction, character, joke, fan favorite, and wish, its moment in the sun. Weaving together into a beautiful tapestry with branches you can see going out into their futures.
It will keep you on your toes, breaking your heart, and then remake it with your day. Be ready to cry, and scream, and have your jaw drop with its twists. And be ready to smile, laugh, and have new inspirational phrases.
It is a finale worthy of the entire series.
And definitely worth the read as one of the best (and most emotional rollercoasters) of the books!

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Blood, and Pregnancy

Generally speaking, be prepared for this book to give you all of the feelings! Maas does not hold back, for better or for worse. If you want to know in advance, whether it be reassurance or warning (or further information for content warnings & context, here is the information I wanted below). However, some of these have MAJOR SPOILERS so, do NOT read any further if you do not want them & read at your own risk & guidelines! So last chance: SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! Quick questions: —Does it have a happy ending?

Yes.

—Do Evangeline & Fleetfoot stay safe?

Yes.

—Does anyone get severely injured? If so, who?

SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! Yes. Nearly every character has a nearly fatal injury, primarily: Lorcan, Fenrys, Abraxos, Lysandra, Aedion, Dorian, and Aelin. Falkan & Borte also have an unexplained moment. SPOILERS ABOVE DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

—Do any good characters die? If so, who?

SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! The Thirteen & their Wyverns (except for Manon & Abraxos), Gavriel the lion, Murtaugh Allsbrook (Ren’s grandfather), Connall (Fenrys’s brother), Elena (disappears for good), The King has one last visit, Mala leaves for good, and Aelin (but she comes back). SPOILERS ABOVE DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

—Do any bad characters die? If so, who?

SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! Cairn, Maeve, Erawan, The Blackbeak Matron, The Yellowlegs Matron, Iskra Yellowlegs & her Wyvern, and Uncle Vernon (presumed dead). SPOILERS ABOVE DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

—Pregnancy tag:

There is a pregnancy warning as a main character is pregnant. Neither baby nor mother are harmed, though it is a concern brought up a few times.

—Suicidal thoughts tag context:

Characters have to self-sacrifice to save lives. There are debates over who this should be. There is also a continuing feeling of “doomed fate” that characters are “tired of fighting” and moments of “giving up”. This is furthered by trauma, PTSD, and suffering leading characters to “want to die” or more so not “want to live” with it. And reckless behaviors that unintentionally lead them close to death. — There are also minor self-harming behaviors such as digging fingers into palms, or unintentional habits of anxiety, or loss of power control.

—Sexual content tag:

This book does contain sex scenes, they are not as fade to black as that in Crown of Midnight, but remain less explicit and more eluded/short in comparison to Empire of Storms.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced