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nickymcmo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, Torture, and War
Minor: Excrement and Kidnapping
mads_reads_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
3.5
I loved a lot of pieces of this book, but as a whole it’s got to be one of my least favorite SJM books. It’s messy and chaotic and there’s just a lot of things that didn’t add anything to the story. I was disappointed by it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Body horror, Gore, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Colonisation, Classism, Grief, Murder, Drug use, Misogyny, and Kidnapping
evierysik's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
This was E X C E L L E N T ! Fast-paced, action-packed, high stakes, tinged with a little spice sprinkled throughout. I am convinced that Sarah J. Maas is a genius. As an aspiring writer, I can only hope to be half as good as she is. As exhausting as I often find her world building, I must admit that SJM knew what she was doing. She created an immersive world that was easy to dive into by the third book, and that's no small thing. I found the characters and situations to be exasperating and stressful, but it was worth every second. Hats off to the author for this masterpiece. Five out of five stars without a doubt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Kidnapping
allisonamber's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Be prepared to be frustrated by a lot of the characters’ choices throughout the entire book. The middle of the book also felt a bit sluggish.
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD:
1. Bryce and Hunt’s reunion felt extremely lacklustre and anticlimactic
2. Tharion and Ithan’s POVs are infuriating and I have no idea why SJM made these two make so many dumb decisions repeatedly
3. Bryce didn’t feel nearly as loveable and she was oddly hard on Hunt which didn’t seem to align with the past two books
4. The ending felt a little rushed and unbelievable as to how the world would change from it
5. Ithan’s so called character development felt very inauthentic
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD:
1. Bryce and Hunt’s reunion felt extremely lacklustre and anticlimactic
2. Tharion and Ithan’s POVs are infuriating and I have no idea why SJM made these two make so many dumb decisions repeatedly
3. Bryce didn’t feel nearly as loveable and she was oddly hard on Hunt which didn’t seem to align with the past two books
4. The ending felt a little rushed and unbelievable as to how the world would change from it
5. Ithan’s so called character development felt very inauthentic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Gun violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Death, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Colonisation, and Kidnapping
overflowingshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Spoiler-Free Review
CW: Torture; war; violence; death; slavery; confinement; murder; colonization; classism; body horror; gore; physical abuse; misogyny; fire/fire injury; kidnapping
CW: Torture; war; violence; death; slavery; confinement; murder; colonization; classism; body horror; gore; physical abuse; misogyny; fire/fire injury; kidnapping
After being incredibly disappointed by House of Sky and Breath, I went into House of Flame and Shadow with low expectations. On the plus side, I enjoyed this more than House of Sky and Breath, but it fails to live up to House of Earth and Blood, one of my favorite Sarah J. Maas books. It’s just missing the magic of the first book of the series.
If you’re a hard-core Sarah J. Maas fan and have enjoyed the previous books in the Crescent City series, I think you’ll love this. But if you’ve struggled with some of the books in this series, I think you’ll also struggle with this one.
One of the biggest issues for me was the length. There is no need for this book to be nearly 850 pages. Reading this was a slog, as there are so many characters and storylines to keep track of. And somehow, we got even more new characters introduced as well!
I still am not sure why Tharion gets his own point of view – Maas hasn’t done enough to make me care about this character, nor has he contributed to the overarching plot in any of the books. Every time the narrative shifted to focus on him, I asked, “Why are you here?” Maas introduced Ithan as a character in House of Sky and Breath, and I am still on the fence about why his POV is included as well. I do like him more as a character, and he at least contributed to the plot, but whenever the action shifted over to him, it dramatically disrupted the flow of the rest of the story.
The other big issue for me was the need for more emotional development of the characters. What made House of Earth and Blood so amazing was Bryce, Hunt, and Ruhn’s journey. I had such an emotional connection to the characters and their struggles that I felt like I went on that journey with them. I cried when they cried, I laughed when they laughed, and I grieved when they grieved. However, the emotional development of these characters has fallen by the wayside in the last two books in favor of pushing a highly complex plot forward.
And, I have to be honest, I’m not loving any of these characters anymore. I adored Bryce in House of Earth and Blood, but I did not like her in this. I felt like she was very dismissive of what Hunt and others went through, prioritizing her own feelings and goals over everything else. Her sarcasm and sass also kept coming out at weird times, which made her seem callous and cruel. I don’t know, but something just rubbed me the wrong way with her in parts of this book. And then we have Hunt, who I feel has lost much of his emotional depth and personality. There is so much potential to explore Hunt’s emotional state in this book, but instead, he feels relegated to sidekick, and his character’s complexity seems to have disappeared. Ruhn also suffered a bit of the same fate, which was such a disappointment.
I think the lack of emotional development of the characters also played into my losing interest in the romances in this series. I seriously didn’t care about any of the romance between any of the characters in this anymore. With Hunt and Bryce, it felt like Maas was introducing fake conflict to cause tension in their relationship, but it made no sense and didn’t create any tension. With Ruhn, I wanted a lot more than we got, as it felt like there was no actual development or conversations related to the romantic relationship. To top it off, none of these characters felt like they had any chemistry anymore. The romantic scenes felt very cringe, and I tried to get through them as fast as possible.
This book was incredibly plot-heavy, which is why I think the character development fell by the wayside. I was shocked at how much information dumping was in this book, considering we’re three books into the series. Granted, there are many things the characters and the readers need to know for Maas to advance the plot where it needs to go. But while I enjoyed seeing all the pieces come together, some of the information dumping ended up being very repetitive, adding to the book’s length.
I also expected more from the implications of the ending of House of Sky and Breath. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the scenes tied to the ending, as I was not a fan of how House of Sky and Breath ended. While I enjoyed the scenes that tied to the ending, I was shocked at just how few scenes we got, especially given how hyped up it was.
Where this book excels is in the action scenes. Maas knows how to write epic battles and big conflicts. While I had some issues with how she resolved some things, I still really enjoyed the story’s last act and felt that it was the strongest part of the entire novel. I was flying through those pages as they were non-stop action. It was also fun to see all the pieces come together, as I will say, Maas plotted the key points and reveals incredibly well.
Despite really enjoying the last act of the novel, I was still left a bit unsatisfied at the end of the book. After reading nearly 850 pages, the book didn’t deliver the emotional impact I hoped for. Some things ended up a bit too predictable for me, or felt like they came out of left field. Other things felt anti-climatic or were never resolved. By the end, I honestly was left feeling like this could have been half its length and been just as good, if not better.
After not loving two books in a row in the Crescent City series, I’m unsure if I even want to continue with the series. And that’s wild to me as House of Earth and Blood is one of my favorite Maas books and the one I’ve reread the most! But I’ve been so disappointed in the last two books that I do not know if I want to invest my time and energy into future books in the Crescent City series anymore.
I hope we get a little break from this series before the next book, as I know I definitely need it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Colonisation, Death, War, Murder, Confinement, and Slavery
Moderate: Misogyny, Classism, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Body horror, and Physical abuse
britwalsh16's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
5.0
Omg!!! Soooo many thoughts!!! This book blew my mind!!! It was soooo good!!! I love every single one of the characters!!! I can’t wait to hopefully dive more into certain characters in future books & see how everything is after the war!
I love all the parallels & Easter eggs to Sarah’s other worlds, & ofcourse Nesta, Azriel, & everyone from Acotar who had small parts in the story line!
The twists & turns this book took! This series takes! It’s unbelievable, there is so much I didn’t see coming, & I love books that shock me!!
I’m just so sad that it’s over, & for the moment I don’t have anymore new Sarah J Maas books to read!!
Cauldron blessed us all with Sarah & her amazing writing! I can’t wait for more of her books! If she writes it, I will read it. No questions asked.
“Wanna hear a joke?.. Two Angels and a Fae Prince walk into a dungeon..” 🤣🤣🤣
I love all the parallels & Easter eggs to Sarah’s other worlds, & ofcourse Nesta, Azriel, & everyone from Acotar who had small parts in the story line!
The twists & turns this book took! This series takes! It’s unbelievable, there is so much I didn’t see coming, & I love books that shock me!!
I’m just so sad that it’s over, & for the moment I don’t have anymore new Sarah J Maas books to read!!
Cauldron blessed us all with Sarah & her amazing writing! I can’t wait for more of her books! If she writes it, I will read it. No questions asked.
“Wanna hear a joke?.. Two Angels and a Fae Prince walk into a dungeon..” 🤣🤣🤣
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexism, Genocide, Blood, Classism, Death, Gore, Grief, Slavery, War, Child death, Sexual harassment, Torture, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual content, Confinement, Gun violence, and Hate crime
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Cursing, and Drug use
Minor: Animal death, Colonisation, Addiction, Child abuse, Pregnancy, and Rape
clazzymac's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Such a thrilling read! A really good sequel to A house of sky and breath. I felt the characters continued to develop well and it really took me on a roller coaster of emotions. I like the complexity of the different groups of beings in the world and their interactions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Kidnapping
infjkiki's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Suicide, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Gore, Cursing, Excrement, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Confinement, Torture, Blood, and Body horror
Minor: Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders
angelofthetardis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
So I didn't want to buy this in hardback as it won't fit on my bookshelf, and I have no idea when I'd be able to get it from the library (the reserve queue is huge), so I made use of my Audible subscription and bought the audiobook instead. Cheaper than the physical copy, and means I save more money to spend next year!
Thus far I haven't been as drawn into the world of Crescent City as I have with Sarah J Maas' other realms, but I was nevertheless very excited to read this one as soon as it came out as it starts to draw the worlds closer together. With Hunt, Ruhn and Baxian stuck in the dungeons of the Asteri and facing torture, and Bryce no-where to be found on Midgard or in Hel, everything is set up for this to be a gripping, bloody, thrilling ride toward the ultimate showdown.
I was hoping for an epic crossover event, a really impactful tale that would serve as an episode in both of her incomplete series and a temporary yet meaningful blending of the Night Court and Lunathion... but I was left feeling a bit cheated. I will be fair, although the ending of CC2 had been spoiled for me some time ago, I only read the book a few weeks ago so I haven't had the same length of time to have this building in my head. But if I had, I suspect I would have hurled the book across the room. Ultimately, there's a lot of wandering through tunnels, a little bit of friendly interrogation and a bitch-off between Nesta and Bryce and... that's about it. I did like the fact that little hints from both CC and ACOTAR were pulled into the narrative here, but overall the crossover element felt more like it was there to please the fans than to actually move the plot along. There is one moment which is gorgeous and brilliant and sort of illustrates Nesta's character development in a nutshell though...
This series is probably the most complex of the three in terms of worldbuilding, and generally speaking you can see that a LOT of thought has gone into it, but it almost feels like too much. There are just so many elements to keep track of, so many character threads to follow and so much lore to remember that a lot of bits and pieces get lost in the noise. And this book only adds to the worldbuilding, expanding on the origins of the people of Midgard, the history of the Asteri and so on. Unfortunately, while I can imagine the scenes where this is set out playing well on a TV or movie screen, when listening or reading it does feel like a never-ending info dump during these moments. And there are more than one of them, which really deadens the pace and had me zoning out a little. Similarly, I'd say that a lot of snippets could have been edited out so that the focus remained on the main story.
I'm ashamed to say that I can't ever really tell you who my favourite character is. I just can't connect with anyone in here. Their relationships with each other are well drawn and every one of the main characters and supporting cast is really well fleshed out, but there's just nothing binding my soul to one of them. If I had to choose, I'd probably go with Hunt, but even that doesn't sit quite right. And in terms of their character arcs throughout this book, I wouldn't day there are any major surprises - everyone basically acts exactly as you'd expect them to.
Likewise, most of the major plot points are fairly predictable; however, there are a couple of moments that make you sit up and take notice, and those are worth tuning in for. There are a couple ofmloose threads that I guess could be picked up in another book or two, but I suspect any future instalments might suffer from too thin a plot and too much magical politics.
The whole series has a bit more of a sci-fi edge to it, but that's definitely expanded in this book - why am I imagining Stargates dotted a over Crescent City and at the Northern Rift? I do like it because it's not what I was expecting, but equally I think I'm more of a straight fantasy type of girl.
I'm not disappointed with the book, but nor am I particularly worried about picking it up again. A shame for such an anticipated release!
Thus far I haven't been as drawn into the world of Crescent City as I have with Sarah J Maas' other realms, but I was nevertheless very excited to read this one as soon as it came out as it starts to draw the worlds closer together. With Hunt, Ruhn and Baxian stuck in the dungeons of the Asteri and facing torture, and Bryce no-where to be found on Midgard or in Hel, everything is set up for this to be a gripping, bloody, thrilling ride toward the ultimate showdown.
I was hoping for an epic crossover event, a really impactful tale that would serve as an episode in both of her incomplete series and a temporary yet meaningful blending of the Night Court and Lunathion... but I was left feeling a bit cheated. I will be fair, although the ending of CC2 had been spoiled for me some time ago, I only read the book a few weeks ago so I haven't had the same length of time to have this building in my head. But if I had, I suspect I would have hurled the book across the room. Ultimately, there's a lot of wandering through tunnels, a little bit of friendly interrogation and a bitch-off between Nesta and Bryce and... that's about it. I did like the fact that little hints from both CC and ACOTAR were pulled into the narrative here, but overall the crossover element felt more like it was there to please the fans than to actually move the plot along. There is one moment which is gorgeous and brilliant and sort of illustrates Nesta's character development in a nutshell though...
This series is probably the most complex of the three in terms of worldbuilding, and generally speaking you can see that a LOT of thought has gone into it, but it almost feels like too much. There are just so many elements to keep track of, so many character threads to follow and so much lore to remember that a lot of bits and pieces get lost in the noise. And this book only adds to the worldbuilding, expanding on the origins of the people of Midgard, the history of the Asteri and so on. Unfortunately, while I can imagine the scenes where this is set out playing well on a TV or movie screen, when listening or reading it does feel like a never-ending info dump during these moments. And there are more than one of them, which really deadens the pace and had me zoning out a little. Similarly, I'd say that a lot of snippets could have been edited out so that the focus remained on the main story.
I'm ashamed to say that I can't ever really tell you who my favourite character is. I just can't connect with anyone in here. Their relationships with each other are well drawn and every one of the main characters and supporting cast is really well fleshed out, but there's just nothing binding my soul to one of them. If I had to choose, I'd probably go with Hunt, but even that doesn't sit quite right. And in terms of their character arcs throughout this book, I wouldn't day there are any major surprises - everyone basically acts exactly as you'd expect them to.
Likewise, most of the major plot points are fairly predictable; however, there are a couple of moments that make you sit up and take notice, and those are worth tuning in for. There are a couple ofmloose threads that I guess could be picked up in another book or two, but I suspect any future instalments might suffer from too thin a plot and too much magical politics.
The whole series has a bit more of a sci-fi edge to it, but that's definitely expanded in this book - why am I imagining Stargates dotted a over Crescent City and at the Northern Rift? I do like it because it's not what I was expecting, but equally I think I'm more of a straight fantasy type of girl.
I'm not disappointed with the book, but nor am I particularly worried about picking it up again. A shame for such an anticipated release!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Cursing, Death of parent, War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual content, Murder, Gore, Body horror, and Torture
Moderate: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Slavery, and Grief
Minor: Sexual violence, Car accident, Vomit, Alcohol, and Cannibalism
katvou's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Gore, War, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Kidnapping
Minor: Cannibalism, Excrement, Vomit, and Alcohol