We’re back between realms, and this time we’re diving into Heir of Fire, the fourth instalment in our Throne of Glass reading journey.

This episode covers the first 35 chapters — just over half of the book — as we recap the story so far and unpack the major shifts taking place across the series.

With Celaena far from Adarlan, Chaol and Dorian navigating the fallout of everything that came before, and new characters like Aedion, Rowan and Sorscha entering the story, Heir of Fire already feels like a turning point.

Alongside the recap, we discuss key themes, character development, changing relationships, and the growing tension between duty, loyalty, identity and power. We also dig into Chaol and Dorian’s relationship, how both characters are handling the truth, and whether their bond can survive the secrets, politics and pressure building around them.

Plus, we squeeze in some lore deep-dives, share our favourite lines from this section of the book, and attempt to make sense of the much bigger world Sarah J. Maas is starting to reveal.

Expect new lands, new characters, old wounds, emotional repression, magical discoveries, complicated loyalties, and plenty of theories as we begin our journey through Heir of Fire.

So grab your favourite drink, settle into your reading nook, and join us as the Throne of Glass series starts to feel much bigger, darker and more dangerous.

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This episode contains spoilers for chapters 1–35 of Heir of Fire, as well as previous books in our reading journey: Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight and The Assassin’s Blade. No spoilers beyond this point in the series.

We’re back between realms for Part 2 of The Assassin’s Blade, continuing our journey through the third instalment in our Throne of Glass reading order.

After covering the first three novellas in Episode 3, this episode dives into the second half of the book:

The Assassin and the Underworld
The Assassin and the Empire

We recap the final two stories in Celaena’s prequel collection, unpacking the schemes, betrayals, relationships, and devastating choices that shape her before the events of Throne of Glass.

This episode gets into some of the biggest character and relationship developments so far, including Celaena’s complicated and deeply troubling relationship with Arobynn, Sam’s behaviour and emotional impact, the power dynamics at play, and the moments that completely change how we understand Celaena’s past.

Alongside the recap, we discuss key themes from the second half of the book, squeeze in some lore deep-dives, and bring back our Favourite Lines from the Book segment to share the quotes that hurt us, stayed with us, or made us immediately need to pause and recover.

Expect betrayal, heartbreak, questionable decisions, emotional spirals, character analysis, and plenty of strong opinions as we close out The Assassin’s Blade.

So grab your favourite drink, settle into your reading nook, and join us as we revisit the stories that reveal exactly what Celaena lost before she ever stepped foot in Endovier.

Spoiler Warning: This episode contains spoilers for The Assassin’s Blade, including The Assassin and the Underworld and The Assassin and the Empire. We may also reference events from Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight, but no spoilers beyond this point in our reading journey.

In this episode of Court Between Realms, we’re diving into the first half of The Assassin’s Blade, the third stop in our Throne of Glass reading journey and Sarah J. Maas’s collection of prequel novellas.

As we're now following our podcast reading schedule, we’re only recapping the first three stories:

⚔️ The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
🌿 The Assassin and the Healer
🏜️ The Assassin and the Desert

We’ll be breaking down Celaena’s earlier adventures, from pirate lords and moral dilemmas to desert training, dangerous friendships, and the moments that start to show us who she really is beneath the assassin reputation.

This episode is a slightly different format from our previous full-book recaps. Alongside the plot recap, we’re digging deeper into the themes, relationship dynamics, character development, and the wider lore that starts to build around the Throne of Glass world.

Expect assassins, arrogance, growth, questionable decisions, unexpected emotional depth, and plenty of discussion about how these stories change the way we understand Celaena going into the rest of the series.

So grab your favourite drink, settle into your reading nook, and join us as we step back into Celaena Sardothien’s past—because apparently even assassins have character development.

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This episode contains spoilers for the first three novellas in The Assassin’s Blade: The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, The Assassin and the Healer, and The Assassin and the Desert. We may also reference events from Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight, but no spoilers beyond this point in our reading journey.