The Skinny: 
 Not Maas' best work. 
 The Fat: 
 I was nervous to start Queen of Shadows (QOS). The last book was kind of slow, so I was afraid that a book that was about 100 more pages would be unbearable to read. Plus, I heard numerous people with ARCs talking about how bad this book is. About how Maas abandoned the plot for a romance. Other's said that the characters regressed. Or that Maas ignored all character development from Heir of Fire. But I have to say these people are wrong. 
 Yes, characters make the same mistakes that they have been making since book one (case in point: all of the keeping of secrets which has literally killed people in the past). Yes, some of the characters begin QOS by ignoring what they discovered in the previous book (*cough* *cough* Manon). Yes, there is a romance in the book (but there has been romance in every TOG book). The mistakes the characters repeatedly make can at times be infuriating, but in the end it makes them all the more human. Do I have critiques about the characters and parts of the plot? Yes. Do my critiques mean that the story was poorly written? No. My critiques are mostly personal preferences of how I wish the story had played out (pertaining to the romance, whiny characters, character development issues, etc.). Besides pacing issues, for the most part Maas wrote an intense book. The action wasn't consistent and most of the book felt like people were arguing about how to pull off the events. However, the arguments tend to be melodramatic. By this point I understand that they are all hotheaded, but Aelin needs to take a cue from Manon and include people in her court how aren't just like her. 
 HOF left off with Aelin finally coming to terms with her heritage. Maas does an excellent job of weave Aelin and Celaena's storyline together. Readers are also introduced to a few new characters, among them are Lysandra, Nesryn Faliq, and Elide. I just wish readers learned more about Lysandra and Nesryn. They are two characters I want to know more about. 
 QOS felt like two books mashed into one. The first half was all about finding Arobynn (who turns out to be an even worse person than Celeana made him seem in all of the other TOG books) and the second half is about (view spoiler)[ Aelin trying to free magic and kill Dorian (hide spoiler)]. A part of me is glad that it was one book so I don't have to wait as long for the series to be over, but the other part of me wished that it had been two books because the tone of the two parts felt so different. The characters felt different, the pacing was different, and the two parts were just, well, for lack of a better word, different. Not in a bad way, or enough to truly be distracting, but the two halves had different vibes to them. The characters all grew towards the end of the book, but for the first half they all kind of stayed the same. 
 I really liked how Aelin grew in QOS compared to TOG. Aelin even comments to herself at one point that maybe she was too quick to judge Kaltain in TOG. There is more character development that I liked (and some I didn't), but I'm afraid that I may accidentally spoil it by discussing the characters further. 
 One thing I'm confused about is Aelin and Rowan's silent conversations. They made sense in HoF (those were usually quick conversations that I could totally visualize people having), but their silent conversations were actually conversations in QOS. Like at a particular dinner party, they communicated things that I have no idea could be said with a simple look. So do they actually talk in each other's heads or is there a look for I'm-going-commando in everyday life that I must have missed? 
 For the most part I liked QOS (key word: liked not loved). A lot happens in this book. But the pacing is totally off. It would pick up and then simmer down for a while and then pick up again. The ending was a bit slow, but at least it doesn't end on the world's biggest cliffhanger. All in all, don't let the ARC readers scare you away from reading QOS. Personally, I don't think I will continue reading this series. It's not bad, but it's not great either. The series follows a lot of annoying tropes. It isn't technically badly written, but the series is no longer my cup of tea. 
 My favorite quote: 
 (view spoiler)["Please don't ever do that again." 
 It was her turn to puff out a laugh. "Next time, I'll just ask Dorian not to stab me." (hide spoiler)] 
 ***TRIGGER WARNINGS: slavery, murder, death, mentions of R/SA, mind control, torture, abuse, domestic violence