Sarah J. Maas' Empire of Storms (2016) is the fifth installment in her Throne of Glass series. As with previous novels, Empire of Storms tells the story of Aelin Galathynius, who lives in a complicated world filled with people who have conflicting loyalties. Nevertheless, Aelin has tremendous power and clear loyalties; she wants nothing more than to protect the people around her. That's why, when monsters reappear from her past, she jumps at the chance to fight against them. But that fight is not easy. The monsters' violence could mean the end of the world as she knows it—and potentially Erilea itself. Nevertheless, she perseveres and ultimately comes out victorious.
Maas is one of the most prolific authors working today. Since publishing her first novel in 2012, she has almost always published two novels per year. And without fail, those novels received exceptionally positive reviews. That is true of Empire of Storms, which received positive reviews upon release. TIME commended the novel and called the series "one of" the best novels "of the past decade."
