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"Hello, Aelin Galathynius."

Finally made it to the light at the end of the tunnel! It was touch and go for two books, but this... this didn't even feel like belonging to the same series anymore. Maas has fixed almost everything I didn't care for in the first two books, starting with Celaena's character, which is literally gone, to be replaced by new and improved, and more believable Aelin Galathynius. The assassin who never assassinates, or even behaves as an assassin is no more.

While we still get to enjoy the three key POVs, there are some great new characters being improved in this third book, each sharing their own perspectives. The way Maas tying two or three of them at a time (may be except for Manon) for each chapter made for a little unusual, but quite an interesting reading experience. It broke the monotony of the flow of story very well in my opinion. And Manon... A fascinating new character with her own immersive thread. I was a little confused at start, but quickly came to love that particular plotline: It was new, had a lot of mystery, and continuously eventful. And then Aedion and Rowan, who were equally interesting additions to the story, and there was never a dull moment with this trio.

"It was madness and joy and terror and despair and eternity."

Now that I have finished three books, I did start to see certain similarities as well. In each book, Maas took her time in the first half, maintaining a slower pace, heavily focused on character relationships while sprinkling a little bit of magic and mystery here and there. But the second halves were always much faster, eventful, and a lot more thrilling. I was too annoyed with Celaena's character before to clearly notice this before, but I'm hoping it would be consistent throughout the series.

Though it didn't make much sense, I had still found the plot of this of series intriguing from the very first book. Heir of Fire finally explains many of those mysteries we had come across before, and appeared to be setting the direction of the series. More than once, I felt this could've been a better starting point to this series. Compared to where we started, the plot was also a lot more complex with in-depth world building. With 4 more books remaining, I know it's too early to form an overall opinion, but, it feels like things could only get better after this. This is one of the best comebacks I've came across lately.

"Loyalty is earned, not given."