Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

23 reviews

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, War, Colonisation, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Classism, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Medical content, Torture, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Genocide

barbarianmissy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-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

5.0

Finally finished this series! 

WOWEEE! Ok, this series was rockin’. 

The ending was stellar, it was tied with a pretty little bow and left us a few snippets of what’s possibly to come and I’m QUITE HOPEFUL even though it’ll probably be a long while until we get the next book! 

As for my final thoughts on the characters:

Fire sprites are just my favs, idk why but in the last 100 pages just the mere mention of them made me cry twice. 

I love the endings we got for our main characters, Bryce and Hunts ending, so great, HORSES?!?! Iconic. Ruhn’s ending, I’m so happy for him, he’s such a sweet lil guy!! I hope these characters can find peace in the new world. They’ve dealt with enough. DOWN WITH THE MONARCHY! 

BUT AS FOR THE FUTURE BOOKS I’m kind of hoping the next ones are centered around the side characters because their set ups for their storylines are super intriguing! Like Ithan and his new role and POSSIBLE ROMANCE???? And Tharion, Mr. unrelenting-need-to-defy-very-powerful-women-who-could-destroy-him-very-easily, dealing with marriage??? Won’t that be a treat! Also what’s gonna happen with Baxian, Isaiah, or Hypaxia and their new roles in the new world? Exciting stuff, man! 

Anywho, I loved this series and these characters. They were absolutely delightful, I’m gonna miss them till the next book, same as ACOTAR. 

NOW….. *drumroll*

I can’t believe it, folks, but I’m finally ready to start my THRONE OF GLASS journey! 🫡 WISH ME LUCK! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Sexual content, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, and War

amy_in_the_city's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.0

This book was just OK. It did have some major issues and was definitely my least favorite of the three books in this series. I'm just glad to have a conclusion to the Asteri plotline, even if the final battle was underwhelming.

The book suffered from pacing problems. The first third of the book dragged on and on, with Bryce spending way too much time wandering through tunnels looking at art. Maybe it would have been a bit more interesting if we at least got some angst from Bryce, but it felt like she wasn't all that concerned about her mate and brother being in grave danger. There was no sense of urgency on her part to rescue them from being tortured and maybe eventually executed. Then, later in the book, we get to follow along as Bryce wanders through tunnels again. Not exactly riveting stuff. 

There were also too many POVs happening to allow enough time with the main characters. I really didn't care about Ithan's and Tharion's storylines and dreaded every time it switched back to their POVs. They were mostly just those two characters making stupid mistakes followed by a lot of self loathing. I hope they make Tharion much more interesting and likeable if he's going to feature prominently in the next book. I did like his marriage of convenience subplot and think there is interesting potential there.

Bryce and Hunt's relationship was a mess in this book, and I really didn't like Bryce much. She never communicates her plans with Hunt. Then even though Hunt is blindly following her into danger, she picks fights with him because he isn't enthusiastic about being there. How can he be 100% on board with her plans when he doesn't know what they are? She doesn't seem to care that this is only a couple days after he got back from spending several days being brutally tortured for allowing her to drag him into this mess. Or that the situation is reminiscent of how things went with Shahar and to say that ended tragically would be an understatement. Bryce was being so disrespectful towards Hunt and his trauma because she wanted to look like a badass with gotcha moments and zingers. Really, it feels like most of her plans were half-baked at best, and they only work out in her favor because of plot armor. It didn't feel like an equal partnership between the main couple. Bryce just does whatever she wants, doesn't tell Hunt, and leaves him to deal with the consequences. At least she does apologize to Hunt for being a dick at one point, but I'd prefer if she didn't spend most of the book acting like a dick to begin with.

Ruhn and Lidia were this book's saving grace. I kept wishing they were the main couple because they were great, and I wanted the story to spend more time with them. Lidia was such a badass, so clever and sneaky. I love sneaky characters who know how to play along with the game in order to achieve their goals and there aren't nearly enough leading women out there like this. I don't know that we got enough justification for why she joined the evil side to begin with though, and I feel like the explanation for why she changed sides was kind of flimsy. Ruhn is almost perfect in every way, with a major exception for

when he shot Lidia to try to save her. That was kind of a patriarchal bullshit move.

. I still love him so much. 

Other characters I really liked spending time with in this book were Nesta, Azriel, Hypaxia, and Aidas.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Confinement, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Gore, Slavery, Torture, War, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual assault, Classism, Drug use, and Sexual violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Vomit, Child death, Medical content, and Pregnancy

shellind75's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexism, Confinement, Murder, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Slavery, Gore, Grief, Gaslighting, War, Gun violence, and Sexual content

princessrory's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Blood, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Sexual assault, Excrement, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Grief, Death, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Addiction, Drug use, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit

sierrabowers's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.5

This was the best in the Crescent City series! I highly recommend to those who have already read ACOTAR. This book truly made everything come together and so much makes more sense. It ties up loose ends but also makes room for some new storylines. Was different than I thought it would be but also somehow better? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Vomit, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Torture, Body horror, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, War, Abandonment, Animal death, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

jessicarenz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

All of the cut scenes and POV switches were annoying (seriously, going from an action-packed scene with one character to a dull by comparison single paragraph of another scene about a different character, then to yet another character’s completely different scene was not fun). But the third Crescent City book wasn’t bad like I’ve heard some people say; it was a pretty good ending for the characters and overall story while leaving room for spinoffs or additional books down the line. And of course I loved the ACOTAR tie ins. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, War, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Classism, Domestic abuse, Grief, Excrement, and Confinement

mary_catherine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Confinement, Torture, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Slavery, Classism, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Genocide, and Sexual assault

sneha_sarcar's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Genocide, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Addiction, Classism, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, War, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Violence, Domestic abuse, Torture, and Slavery

nesta98's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was pretty much exactly what I thought it was going to be. There were a few surprises and plenty of good bit buried in a lot of detail like the previous two books.

Sarah did tease us with the crossover and I was hoping for so much more content but I understand why she wrote what she wrote.

Best bit had to be all of Lidia’s plot.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Violence, Domestic abuse, Torture, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, War, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization