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Heir of Fire is the third installment of the Throne of Glass series if you don’t count the prequel short story collection Assassin’s Blade which I was told to read after Heir of Fire. Heir of Fire continues the story of Celaena Sardothien who is a trained assassin who was captured, made a slave, and then became the King of Adarlan’s Champion. In Heir of Fire, she has left the glass castle of Rifthold on a mission to Wendlyn with the King’s order to assassinate the Ashryver royal family. Little does the king know that Celaena’s true identity is that of the heir to the Kingdom of Terrasen, of which Wendlyn would be her biggest ally, were she to take up her birthright and fight against the King of Adarlan. A lot is going on at this point in the series so I will do my best to summarize.

Celaena starts her time in Wendlyn scraping by as a homeless drunken ruffian who hates herself for the events that led her to this point in life. Nehemia is dead, her friend Prince Dorian is stuck with the mad king, and she has already ruined her relationship with her beloved Chaol. She is depressed and barely hanging onto the promise she made to Nehemia to fight the King and protect Elywe, Nehemia’s homeland.

Soon enough Celaena is taken to meet her Aunt Maeve, an extremely powerful Fae queen who resides in Doranelle. She hopes that Maeve has the answers to her questions regarding the wyrdkeys, which are the source of the King of Adarlan’s power. But, Maeve is a dangerous and selfish queen who is as likely to sabotage Celaena as she is to help her. Maeve puts Celaena to the test before she is allowed to see her and enlists her blood-sworn knight Rowan to train and test Celaena. This means teaching her how to use her magic and to switch into her Fae form, which she couldn’t do in Adarlan because magic has been quelled there but not in Wendlyn.

Celaena spends most of the book learning to use her power and getting her mojo back for the fight to come. Rowan pushes her to the edge of her fragile psyche and all the while they are tracking a series of mysterious supernatural murders in the area. We find out that Rowan has a dark past as well and over time they become more and more bonded by their experiences.

While Celaena is in Wendlyn Prince Dorian is attempting to suppress his magical abilities with the help of a healer and they become quickly infatuated with each other. Chaol is working to find out more about the rebel movement in Rifthold while making preparations to leave the King’s guard and move back to his home in Anielle. Chaol meets Aedion Ashryver who is the King’s most notorious general even though his family was also killed by the King of Adarlan. Aedion and Chaol have a contentious relationship at first but find that their goals align enough to work together to help Celaena.

There’s another character named Manon, who is a Blackbeak witch, who learns how to ride wyverns. This is a side story that I assume meets up with the main story in the next installments. Her story is exceptional and I can’t wait to find out what crazy shit she gets up to in the future. She is fierce but has a rebellious nature that upends the culture she was born into and makes for a complicated foil to the constantly conflicted Celaena. I can’t wait to see them fight or become friends or something sexier maybe?

This book was by far the most emotion-inducing of the series so far and was a delight to read through. I had a hard time putting it down and it left me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There is so much tension and action that there is never a dull moment. Getting to watch Celaena’s power and resolve grow as she is pushed to become more than a downtrodden slave to the will of others was extremely satisfying and exciting. Her character goes through so much inner and outer turmoil but she just keeps fighting and working toward becoming who she wants to be, which happens to be the hero the world needs in the face of such horrific tyranny.

These books are extremely popular and I can see why. The author is top notch and I am very glad that I have started to read these books. If you are already into the series keep going and read Heir of Fire. If you haven’t started the series you should and as soon as possible. I highly recommend this book!