Queen of Shadows - Sarah J Maas

There's just something about a truly immersive fantasy that soothes my soul. I read Throne of Glass maybe ten years ago, but never the rest. In fact, I didn't read another SJM book until last year when I discovered ACOTAR. Since then, I've been devouring everything she writes, and not regretting it one bit.
Unlike Heir of Fire, which I felt was a little slow and kind of boring until the last quarter, this one kept my attention from start to finish. Heists, revenge, love, loss and triumph all woven together. You fall in love with new characters and say goodbye to others (good riddance to some) and love every minute of it.
Aelin is losing the hesitance of her youth and coming in to her fate as a queen. Chaol, thankfully, makes right his wrongs (or at least tries to), and while I feel like he was turned into such a pain in the butt for most of the book to bring Rowan to the forefront (a la Rhys in ACOTAR) I was thankful for his arc overall. I wasn't a big fan of Manon to start, but she's growing on me. I like strong willed female leads, but they still need to have a heart and depth, which she is finally starting to develop. 
As always, the world building, fight scenes and character development are lovely, and I can't wait to read the next one.

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