Empire of Storms moves a bit more slowly than the previous two installments of this series, but it is still an incredibly solid addition to the story. 
 On a bummer of a note, I planned to finish this book on November 9th in order to help me get over the terrible mood that I was in that day. I also thought that this was the last book in the series and that it was sure to have a happy ending. (view spoiler)[ NOT TRUE. As I reached the end, I literally texted Kiersten saying "holy fuck this was supposed to distract me and make me happy not make me think I could never hope for anything ever again." Everything felt a bit too reminiscent of the night before. Ugh. (hide spoiler)]. 
 The one thing that really perplexed me in this story was the sudden shift in tone. When things got scandalous in previous installments, it was very much "fade to black," and then in this one, we suddenly have descriptions of "sheathed velvet" and three page incredibly descriptive sexual encounters. I won't lie, they were well-written and steamy, but I also double checked to make sure that this was still in the YA genre.