Reviews tagging 'Racism'

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

8 reviews

kbowles24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

rhiannon_burden's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I enjoyed this book at the root of it but Bryce was absolutely insufferable for the most part, she spent half the book complaining about the fae being selfish and callous and then proceeded to do exactly the same. She is essentially a hypocrite and I have no idea how Hunt puts up with her considering how horrible she was to him throughout. But despite what appears to be the popular opinion I enjoyed Ithan and Tharions stories as they had intricacies that others were lacking. There are some clear set ups for the next book namely the return of Ariadne at the end but otherwise the story felt finished as most ends were tied up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

savshanae's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I have never been so disappointed by an SJM book and it’s RUINING me. If it was any other author, I probably would have DNF’d this book. So many words for so little to happen, the end left me shaking my head, and don’t even get me started on the lack of character consistency! 
As one of my friends put it, “it feels like she flew too close to the sun” and I wouldn’t be sad to see this book dropped into the ocean forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Alcohol

_readobituaries's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I originally rated this 4 stars... but on second thought, I've changed my mind. 3 stars is the best I can give it... Which is sad considering I am someone who LOVES the ACOTAR/CC/TOG universes.... 

1st we will address the cross over.... It was nothing but fan service.

90% of it was either storytelling (tell- not show) and Bryce being "all powerful" and Bryce being a selfish cunt toward the ACOTAR characters. I wish we had seen more of these characters because I truly feel this was the bare minimum... I was expecting far more.

2nd.... Bryce was a cunt during this.

She hates the fae for how they treat humans- but she was willing to treat all fae like crap (including the fae of the acotar world) because shes got daddy issues? The way she freed the dagglan- just for Nesta to have to clean up her mess and then Bryce has the ADAUCITY to get upset she wasn't able to do more? GIRL- GET FUCKING REAL. Then she straight up STOLE from the ACOTAR characters. Just to come back and gaslight her "mate" and try to manipulate him out of his valid feelings. Her "I didn't know if I'd ever get to come back home, or if I'd ever see my family and friends again, I didn't know if I'd get to see my mate again!" pissed me off so bad. He didn't know if he was ever going to get to go back home. He didn't know if he'd ever see his family or friends again. He didnt know if he'd ever see his mate again. He also had already been through this once, lost everyone important to him,  was enslaved for a fuckton of time, finally got his freedom and is being dragged back into the same thing- in which he was then tortured and had to watch his friends be tortured! HER OBJECTIVELY HAD IT WORSE THAN YOU DID IN THE ACOTAR WORLD!!!! SO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE HIM ALONE. "its like you dont wanna be here"- NONE OF THEM DO!!!!!! none of them WANT to be there, fighting people, risking their lives and loved ones. ---Then you have her taking over 2 royal courts and disbanding everyone else. Like, they can't have power to dictate- but you can? She also wasn't any better than the fae. She was prepared to treat the fae like shit and righteous in it. Bryce lost me in this..

The way she seemed to be oh so special over everyone? Yea, no. She gave "pick me".

Lidia was AMAZING in this. Honestly, carried the entire story. I

never seen her having kids coming- which is both good and bad. Her having them in a magical ceremony kinda came out of nowhere and her having children/a past life wasn't really hinted to that I remember... So while it was an awesome reveal- I feel like she could have hinted at it to add a bit more impact and make us think back and go "HOW DID I NOT KNOW?!" but truthfully, I'd bet this was something she came up with on the spot while writing& that would explain why it wasn't foreshadowed at all.

Ruhn was weird tho... Like a wet sock... There but not useful for much.

Ithan and Therion were..... there... Therion made every stupid decision he could and Ithan swiftly followed in his footsteps.

I was PISSED when Therion jumped onto the pod. Like you selfish fucker. Have you not caused enough problems and burned enough bridges for one day?! Then for Ithan to constantly be on about that fucking Fendyr heir- who's purpose I still don't understand other than being cannon fodder. Also, Don't get me started on the antidote. SO MUCH time was spent on that freaking antidote and all the vials FOR NOTHING. Also, the Perry thing?

Overall, I loved the book and the characters. Just.... disappointed. This book had SO MUCH potential. and honestly, I don't see why she'd write a fourth book.. She's defeated the big bad- why create so many lose, mediocre plot lines to leave unraveled for a 4th book when she could have easily just tied everything up nicely and finished book 3. It's like she's milking it because there really is no reason to keep the story going....

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Grief

booksofautumn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

First off I am so grateful for StoryGraph, because it is literally the only app that I was able to truly realistically rate this book I adored this book, and the only reason it isn’t five stars is because the conflict sometimes dragged on a little too much for my liking. I was surprised by every plot twist, and every new development. Seeing the character development was honestly so heartwarming and made me so happy. I am truly so happy with the outcome of this novel

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

readwithde's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Action. Adventure. Romance. Mystery. Lore. Sacrifice. Character Growth. Secrets. Meaningful Choices. This book had it all. 

This book read like the end of a trilogy, despite the fact that there are four houses (and supposedly a fourth book coming). Most of the main characters had their story arcs conclude, and there are only a few loose ends.

Along with the obvious: How will Midgard be ruled now? Will technology survive? But these seem like simple worldbuilding questions, not future books or series of content.

Bryce and Hunt became less vital and important to me; the background characters became much more important. I love that the story focused on so many different paths and choices, all culminating in the final conflict of the book.

All that to say, it was good. I liked it. But I wanted more, and I'm not sure when or if that will happen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

sarahtaymo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

justbooker's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The conflicts between Hunt and Bryce felt unnecessary and, frankly, annoying. Bryce also felt a bit wishy-washy in terms of her goals and overall feelings. One moment

she's Queen, the other she wants to burn it all down, and then she's right back to Queen mode

. There's also Ithan, who I could not have cared less about for most of the book. It felt like he only became truly relevant at the end. I understand what his character development was supposed to be throughout the book and why everything happened with him. However, ever chapter from his perspective felt like a slog. 

On the other hand, I believe this book has the best lore building moments of the series. The information dumps were easy to follow and engaging. With the lore building in the first book, it felt very scattered and needlessly confusing. This books had smooth, consistent lore that felt properly woven between character dialogue. 

As far as characters go, Lidia is probably my favorite. I appreciate the depth and growth that she shows with Ruhn. Every development between her and Ruhn kept me on the edge of my seat, desperately rooting for them. I would love to see

her children

be further developed in the next book. 

Overall, the plot felt alright. I appreciated the loose ends that were tied up. I cheered when Ruhn

got to finally kill his father

, when Lidia

got to kill Pollux

, and just all characters

getting their moment of justice.

The

Asteri conflict

has been resolved, and while there is the oncoming struggle of

setting up a new government

, it feels like everything is alright. The saying "Through love, all things are possible" is repeated time and time again, and this book really drives that theme home. I will not forget the frustrations I had with the book/series, but in the end I enjoyed my time in the world and am glad to have read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Classism