I rated this 5 stars the first time I read it, but I can only assume I was carried away with the excitement of the latest installment in my (then) favourite series. The more I think about it, the more problems I think it has. I have to downgrade the rating to 3.5 stars. 
 Please note this review is NOT spoiler-free. 
 My biggest gripe with the book is character consistency with the preceeding books, followed closely by the fact Aelin becomes pretty unlikeable as a protagonist. She's always been arrogant, but it's been tempered by her other characteristics and didn't stop me loving her. In this book, the arrogance takes over. She doesn't need anyone, she'll happily order everyone around and expect them to obey without question, she can't take criticism or doubt or anyone having a different opinion to hers, and heaven forbid she tell any of her supposed friends and allies what she's planning or thinking. 
 And then there's the ships. In Heir of Fire it was absolutely clear - explicitly stated, even - that Aelin and Rowan were platonic, with NO interest in anything else. I loved it. It worked. It had the makings of an amazing partnership. Only now we're supposed to believe Rowan's been obsessed with her all this time and she's in love with him. It undermines everything Sarah herself said at the time about wanting to highlight the power of friendship. And if this goes where I suspect and they're "mates" - a concept I am not comfortable with anyway, as, y'know, there's such a thing as free will - the isn't that overkill? Carranam, blood oath AND mates? And don't get me started on the stinking elitism of it. There's this whole undertone of the Fae being somehow better, that because Aelin's a Fae Queen now, OF COURSE she has to have a Fae Prince lover/mate, not any lowly human. But it's alright, because look, Chaol has a token lowly human love interest thrown in to make up for it, who's obviously a much better match so we can all go home happy. Ugh. 
 The plot. Well. It was good, but there was too much of Aelin making & carrying out plans off camera. Maybe it was supposed to be shocking and keep us gripped. That can work if done well - Six of Crows is a prime example - but here I felt the clues weren't planted well enough. After the reveal - and even on the reread - it still didn't join up in a satisfying way. And after four books and five novellas of build up with how terrifying and devious Arobynn is, the way he was dealt with felt like a huge anti-climax. Add in the final showdown with the King and suddenly the last two books are going to have a completely different villain. It could work, but again, I'm not convinced it was built up enough. 
 Don't get me wrong, there's still a lot to like about this book. It was a fast-paced exciting read. Dorian's point of view was horrifyingly creepy and heartbreaking. Manon has developed into a really interesting character, with some solid development, a lot of intriguing conflict both in this book and set up for the next, and a whole load of badassery and couldn't give a f***. I even liked Elide, a new POV, for offering some variety from tne badass warrior women - there's more than one way to be a Strong Female Character. 
 And there's Chaol, who's still my favourite character. After everything he's been through in books 1-3, his struggles in this book were believable and he was so often the voice of reason, which pitted him against Aelin on many occasions and of course she wasn't going to listen. He's a lot more human and relatable than most of the cast. He suffered from the consistency issues, and sometimes his story and development felt like an afterthought, which is disappointing, considering he was one of the original three main characters who hooked me into the series. 
 Finally, there's a lot of talk about how overwhelmingly white and heterosexual these books are. Chaol's new love interest is your token POC and could have been an intriguing character if she'd been given a proper storyline. The lack of diversity is certainly noticeable, and there's plenty of reviewers from marginalised groups who can give a far better run down of those issues than me, if you want to read the books from an informed standpoint.