Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas: FAQ [2024 Edition]

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Queen of Shadows is the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. The book was first published in 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing.

In this article, you will find some frequently asked questions about this book. I have tried to answer them as best and honestly as possible.

Please note that this article contains spoilers. In other words, if you haven’t read this series yet proceed with caution.

I hope you enjoy reading these, and I hope this post answers some of the questions you may have about this book!

What is Queen of Shadows about?

Everyone Celaena loves has been taken from her. But she’s returned at last to the empire for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past…

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return. But above all, She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison.

What’s after Queen of Shadows?

Queen of Shadows is the fourth book of the Throne of Glass series. After this, there are three more books in the series you can read. To sum up, they are Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn, and Kingdom of Ash.

Does Chaol die in Queen of Shadows?

[SPOILER]

No Chaol does not die in Queen of Shadows.

However, Chaol does get badly injured at the end of the book and ends up paralyzed.

How does Queen of Shadows end?

[SPOILER]

The plan is to set the towers on fire using hellfire, and Chaol and Aelin will take down Dorian and the King. Manon has left messages for Aelin all over the city so that she’ll hopefully realize that Dorian is still alive. Chaol’s men have been killed and their bodies are hanging from the fence outside the castle.

Aelin pretends to still be loyal to the King and pretends to bring Chaol to him. She gives the King two fake rings and says they’re from the King and Prince of Wendlyn. The King tells Aelin that he knows that she’s Aelin. It turns out Lorcan lied about killing the Wyrdhounds, and he actually gave them Rowan’s scent. Rowan and Aedion fight off the Wyrdhounds, but this delays the hellfire plan.

Aelin flees the throne room and Dorian pursues her. Chaol stops the King and distracts him so he can’t go after Aelin. Aelin and Dorian have an epic fight. He stabs her.

Meanwhile, Lorcan helps Rowan for some reason. Rowan finally lights the fuse and the tower falls, which frees magic. In the end, Lysandra shows up to help and they kill the Valg soldiers.

The King announces to Dorian and Aelin that Chaol is dead. Because Dorian loves Chaol, this snaps him out of it, and he takes back control of his mind. He takes the collar off. Dorian and Aelin then fight the King together. However, the King starts using a creepy voice. He tells them that he and the horrible Duke went to Morath years ago and freed Erawan. In other words, Erawan has taken over Duke Perrington’s body, and something else has taken over the King’s. However, the King took control back long enough to have the towers built and banish magic. So really Aelin and the gang have helped the Valg.

Dorian shatters the castle and kills the King. As a result, Aelin takes control of the city and frees all the slaves.

Vernon visits Elide. He wants her to breed with the Valg. Manon rescues Elide, and meanwhile, with Kaltain’s help, they escape. Kaltain takes a stone out of her arm and tells Elide to give it to Aelin. It’s a key that will unlock any door. Kaltain uses her shadow fire to destroy Morath and herself. Manon, Elide, and the thirteen escape.

Lorcan stole Aelin’s ring when she was unconscious. Dorian and Chaol have a chat. Chaol is now paralyzed. Thus, he needs to go to the Southern Continent for healing. Chaol is now the King’s Hand and Nesryn is Captain of the Guard. Manon sends Elide to Terrasen to find Aelin. Ultimately, Aelin gives land to Lysandra and is appointed Lady. Dorian frees all the kingdoms that the King conquered. However, Perrington and Vernon somehow survived Morath. And Aelin wants Chaol to strike an alliance in the Southern Continent. Finally, Aelin, Aedion, and Rowan arrive back in Terrasen.

Is Queen of Shadows appropriate?

Queen of Shadows should be appropriate for teenagers and up.

Is Queen of Shadows spicy?

Queen of Shadows doesn’t contain any sex. However, there is some kissing and some lewd thoughts. So, no I would not say that Queen of Shadows is very spicy.

Queen of Shadows Gold Nightgown

Below is a small excerpt of the Nightgown scene. If you want to read the full scene head over to Chapter 65 page 524.

Aelin leaned against the closet doorway, clad in a nightgown of gold.

Metallic gold—as he’d requested.

It could have been painted on her for how closely it hugged every curve and dip, for all that it concealed.

A living flame, that’s what she looked like. He didn’t know where to look, where he wanted to touch first.

“If I recall correctly,” she drawled, “someone said to remind him to prove me wrong about my hesitations. I think I had two options: words, or tongue and teeth.”

A low growl rumbled in his chest. “Did I now.”

She took a step, and the full scent of her desire hit him like a brick to the face.

He was going to rip that nightgown to shreds.

Rowan didn’t care how spectacular it looked; he wanted bare skin.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said, taking another step, as fluid as molten metal. “Lysandra lent it to me.”

Queen of Shadows Map

Queen of Shadows contains a map like all the other books in the series. However, all the maps in the books are the same.

Queen of Shadows Plot Summary

Aelin is back in Rifthold, Dorian is possessed, and Chaol has joined the rebellion.

Aelin and Lysandra become friends, they work together to kill Arobynn, and they succeed.

Meanwhile, Manon’s witch friends have been selected to breed with the Valg demons.

However, this isn’t going so well. Manon’s old witch of a grandmother is also building a weapon for the king. 

Also, Manon and Aelin meet and get into an epic fight, during which Aelin actually saves Manon.

And Rowan and Aelin actually kiss! At the end of the book, there’s an epic battle at the glass castle, and the King is killed.

Also, it turns out that he was possessed by a demon the entire time!

What chapter do Rowan and Aelin kiss?

In chapter 44 Aelin tries to kiss Rowan.

However, he pushes her away and tells her not to touch him like that.

Rowan and Aelin actually kiss for the first time in chapter 65.

Rowan and Aelin kiss again in chapter 83.

In what chapter do Rowan and Aelin reunite?

Rowan and Aelin reunite in chapter 28. In short, Rowan stowed away on a ship against Aelin’s order to get back to her.

Series in Order

There are many ways to read this series. You can either go from book 1 to 7 and then read the 0.5 novella.

However, you can also read the novella first and then start with the original series.

You can also tandem read book five and six.

In other words, this means you read multiple books at the same time.

In this case, I’d recommend reading Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn at the same time since they both run at nearly the exact same timeline.

For example, you could read the first five chapters from EoS and then chapter one from ToD and back to Eos again.

You can find a schedule online on how to tandem read these two books together.

  • The Assassin’s Blade
  • Throne of Glass
  • Crown of Midnight
  • Heir of Fire
  • Queen of Shadows
  • Empire of Storms
  • Tower of Dawn
  • Kingdom of Ash

Queen of Shadows quotes

“You make me want to live, Rowan. Not survive; not exist. Live.”

“She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing, save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph.”

“They joined hands.
So the world ended.
And the next one began.”

“To whatever end.”

“She was a whirling cloud of death, a queen of shadows, and these men were already carrion.”

“But perhaps the monsters needed to look out for each other every now and then.”

Books like Queen of Shadows

Below you can find a couple of books that you can read if you enjoyed Queen of Shadows.

  • From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout – This is the first book in a series of six with a lot of magical creatures, political intrigue, and epic battles.
  • Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – This is the first book of a trilogy filled with action and magic.
  • The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – This is the first book of a trilogy about fae politics and jam-packed with action.
  • Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco – This is the first book in a trilogy about the 7 deadly sins. It is packed with intrigue and action.

Characters

Lorcan
Lord Lorcan Salvaterre is the most powerful demi-Fae in existence and a former member of the cadre that served Queen Maeve of Doranelle.

Elide
When Elide was eight or nine years old, the King of Adarlan assassinated the ruling house of Terrasen, and her mother sacrificed her life to help the young princess Aelin Galathynius escape. Elide’s father, Cal, rebelled against Adarlan’s rule and was executed shortly afterward leaving Elide with her uncle Vernon who was assigned to be her caretaker.

Manon
Manon Crochan-Blackbeak is a half Ironteeth, half Crochan witch and one of the main protagonists of the series. She is the former heir of the Blackbeak Witch-Clan and the last surviving Crochan Queen making her the Queen of Witches.

Lysandra
Lysandra Ennar Ashryver is the Lady of Caraverre, a former courtesan, and a shifter.
She was kicked out of her home as a child after accidentally shifting into a hissing tabby in front of her mother.

Conclusion

I hope this article has answered some of your questions about this book.

And I hope that, if you have a question I didn’t answer in this post, you will let me know in the comments below!

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