Initial Impressions 9/25/16: 3.75 - 4 stars 
 I'm actually fairly disappointed with this book which makes me very sad because Queen of Shadows was literally one of my favorite books of 2015. Admittedly I did have a harder time finding time to sit and read this one but I did read 400 pages more or less in a weekend to finish and still wasn't captivated. 
 I didn't feel as engaged with this book at all. We knew all of these characters but so many were secondary characters in the last book and I didn't quite feel that solid push to main character for this book. The stories felt disjointed and not as detailed and ALIVE as in QoS. I loved Elide and Lorcan the most because there was a lot to discover there and their personalities really started to shine. I felt less drawn to Aelin which is so disappointing. She should have grown more and I feel like Sarah J. Maas incorporated some tired tactics to keep this story going and not a lot of new stuff happened here. The things that did carry the story over -- which are the things I've loved from her in the past -- weren't really refreshed enough for me and I had a hard time remembering some of those things from other books, especially references to the novellas. Sorry, I read those a long time ago and I didn't have the time to reread an entire series for this book. 
 I'm mostly disappointed in the elements that were used in both Throne of Glass and ACOTAR. When writing two Fae series at the same time I think it's super important to keep them very different and I don't think these two are. I felt like ACOMAF had too many elements from QoS and now reading this I saw some twists that were already used in ACOMAF and that was really disappointing. 
 I'm still giving it 4 stars (maybe actual 3.75) because it was enjoyable and I am still interested. I'm wondering if I might settle on 3 - 3.5 stars after letting it settle because I'm still really bummed that I feel like this just didn't have as much substance and character as previous books in this series. I LOVED QoS and to feel like this after EoS is a MAJOR let down. Update to come. 
 Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 11/23/16: I'm actually fairly disappointed with this book which makes me very sad because QUEEN OF SHADOWS was literally one of my favorite books of 2015 and I've fallen so in love with Sarah J. Maas' books. Admittedly I did have a harder time finding time to sit and read this one but I did read 400 pages more or less in a weekend to finish and still wasn't captivated. This surprisingly felt like that "second in a series slump" that I so often hit with trilogies, possibly because it's the second book in the second half of the series. 
 I didn't feel as engaged with this book at all. I had met all of these characters in QUEEN OF SHADOWS but so many were secondary characters there and I didn't quite feel that solid transition from supporting to main character. The stories felt disjointed and not as detailed and alive as in QUEEN OF SHADOWS. I did love Elide and Lorcan the most because there was a lot to discover there and their personalities really started to shine. I felt less drawn to Aelin, which was so incredibly disappointing. She should have grown more, as she had been in previous books, and really started to come into her own as the rightful Queen of Terrasen, and I just felt like her character became very tired and less important with all of these other new main characters to follow. I also somehow lost that magic with her and Rowan and I just didn't even feel that connection anymore. 
 I really didn't feel as connected to Manon in this book either, which is a shame because I loved in her QUEEN OF SHADOWS and I was so excited to see where her story was going. I mean, I'm hoping it connects back to the main story line in the last book because otherwise, Manon should have just had her own series, to be honest. I enjoyed what was happening with her and her Thirteen (and others) in EMPIRE OF STORMS but I'm still not 100% sure why it's so relevant to Aelin and her story. I can only assume the pieces all fall into place in the last book but I've been waiting for three books now, really, to see how this ties in and why it's so important to have Manon's whole point of view, so hopefully we'll see that in the last book. 
 I also felt like Chaol was completely thrown away and that was incredibly frustrating, and I wasn't even a Celaena/Chaol shipper. I don't understand why he was such a main character only to switch a romance (which I was fine with, actually) to Rowan and then totally cut him out of ALL of book five. I understood quieting his role down, as he may not be playing as major of a role, but I don't really understand what his purpose was then if he's just getting totally pushed to the side. I guess Sarah J. Maas can write whatever she want, of course, but it just seemed like a big injustice to his character. 
 I feel like Sarah J. Maas incorporated some tired tactics to keep this story going and not a lot of new stuff happened here. The things that did carry the story over, which are the things I've loved from her in the past, weren't really refreshed enough for me and I had a hard time remembering some of those things from other books, especially references to the novellas. I read those a long time ago and I didn't have the time to reread an entire series for this book so it would have been nice to have some more details and updates on the events in the novellas that appeared in EMPIRE OF STORMS. I also think more details would have been very beneficial to those who haven't read the novellas. I spoke to friends who haven't read the novellas and they actually felt less lost than I did since they didn't know it was a reference back to the novellas but I also think the characters, the history, and the plot could have been so much richer with those little updates. 
 I'm mostly disappointed in the elements that were used in both the Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses series. When writing two Fae series at the same time I think it's super important to keep them very different and I don't think these two are, which is especially disappointing because that was something I noted on the positive side after reading A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES. I had actually really liked that Feyre and Celaena/Aelin were so strong and yet two very different personalities. The more I read of both series, the more they really blended in concept and plot direction. I felt like A COURT OF MIST AND FURY had too many elements from QUEEN OF SHADOWS and now reading EMPIRE OF STORMS, I noticed some twists that were already used in ACOMAF, and that was really disappointing. The ending became totally anticlimactic because it borrowed an exact same situation from ACOMAF and I was just so let down that it didn't seem like an original idea. 
 EMPIRE OF STORMS was still enjoyable and I am still interested in the Throne of Glass series, but admittedly, I've lost a lot of faith in Sarah J. Maas at this point. I feel like this just didn't have as much substance and character as previous books in this series. I loved QUEEN OF SHADOWS and to feel like this after EMPIRE OF STORMS is a major let down. I'm just very upset after finishing this book and even more so after reviewing it because I feel like I've really started to fall out of love with this series after EMPIRE OF STORMS and I'm losing faith in Sarah J. Maas.