There have been storylines of side characters running parallel to Aelin's through the last few books, and they all come together in an incredibly meaningful way in this book. It's quite possibly my favorite book of the series so far.

There is a lot of debate in the fandom about reading Empire of Storms on its own or as a tandem read with Tower of Dawn. I chose to read it as written in the series and loved the uninterrupted unfolding of the story. SJM wrote each book with its specific content and pacing for a reason, and I ultimately decided to trust her expertise of her own work.