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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 forwhen 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.
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
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
erinlynneee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, and Violence
Minor: Child death and Kidnapping
cheyannejeanette's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, and War
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, and Blood
Minor: Drug use and Kidnapping
marinway's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, War, and Death
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Rape
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
slwyatt01's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
- 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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child death and Addiction
dulcyj's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gore, Death of parent, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Slavery, Vomit, and Blood
Minor: Grief, Sexual content, and Child death
ronnieex's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Classism, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Slavery, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Colonisation, Child death, Physical abuse, and Genocide
Minor: Sexual content
carolinemerlinevans's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Torture, Slavery, Child death, Excrement, War, Drug use, Blood, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Mass/school shootings, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts
frantically's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
guys i thought this was about fairy sex u lied to me ππ
Fully convinced that Sarah keeps making these books >800pgs so that by the time we get to the end, we've all forgotten the messy things in the first half. Not with me, Sarah, not with me!! π€π€
But still, be aware that it took me 20 days to read this (because i was sick and fantasy is hard) and I have probably forgotten all of it.
The beginning had suuuch weird pacing. Bryce spends a solid 200pgs...going through caves?? While her friends are trying to save her and themselves and oh, also the world and she's just acting like me when I go to a museum being like "omg look at that carving!!" "if i were to analyse this..." "well, as an ancient fae historian..." which was extremely relatable to me (as the annoying history student in museums) but I'm not sure if we really needed all of that.
While loads of storylines were satisfyingly ended in this final part, especially in the beginning, there were so many started storylines that just seemed so unnecessary and had no consequences whatsoever for the story.
I'll be the first person to say it β this shit too sci-fi for me. There. The urban fantasy thingy was cute in the first and second book but girl why are we talking about black holes ππ literally read like they were NASA agents at the end iykyk
ACOTAR my love <3 sorry sarah u can't expect to open the multiverse and bring me back to the messy beautiful high fantasy of my heart and then go back to Crescent City. I'd take Azriel's ass over phones any day
wait i forgot about the exposition omg
yall remember that scene in city of bones where clary asks luke what happened with valentine and it just turns into this whole chapter where nothing happens for 20 pages except for luke telling clary what's up?? yeah clary and bryce can bond over that now!
thank god we always have trusty fae ancestors to tell us what went on 15000 years ago ππ»ππ» now available in holographic form!
Now, onto Bryce herself...Bryce, baby, I'm so sorry but you will never be Aelin Galathynius, no matter how hard you try!! Let's just say it like this β Bryce is a great main character, she knows what she wants and how to get it but that also makes her unlikeable at times especially in how she dealt with Hunt and his trauma. He's so understandably scared of going against the Asteri again, he's especially scared of losing her just like he lost Shahar and she basically just tells him to "get through it" π I wish we could've had more sweet scenes of them, I miss my babies!
Plot-wise (aside from weird physics at the end lol), I really enjoyed this! We've got most of the main cast working together and we get loads of Lydia and Ruhn kinda stepping in and leading everyone when Hunt and Bryce are gone. Goddd, that relationship!! Kill me!!! I love them so much π Lydia has some secrets revealed and she becomes an even more fascinating character and her story has suchhh a good conclusion.
As was already teased at the ending of the last book, the Maasverse has been opened! π Things...have happened and while this isn't ACOTAR 6 (sorry to disappoint), there are loads of new things we learn about Prythian! Can't say I was the biggest fan of that, idk I'm kinda an ACOTAR purist lmao, don't touch my OG trilogy!! but it was still so sweet to return to Prythian <3
There were also some TOG easter eggs and while I already knew, we were gonna have some ACOTAR stuff, I really didn't expect that haha, so that was what had me really screaming.
While I find there are loads of similarities between CC and TOG (esp when looking at Aelin/Rowan/Aedion and Bryce/Hunt/Ruhn, PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one), I feel that Sarah still managed to make this a series that stands apart from her other books. Her writing style, the world building and her plots have just gotten better and better and while I'm still not the biggest fan of urban fantasy, I can still appreciate that!
As I said above, I felt that some new storylines here were unnecessary but at least all old ones were finished. I found myself thinking "hmm haven't heard about [character] in some time, maybe they'll show up again, too?" and it seems like Sarah was listening because EVERYONE appears again β good job, Sarah. I promise, there are still several surprises to be had!
So in conclusion: this was long (too long, some people would say (it's me, I'm people)) but it was a solid ending to the trilogy. We met Bryce as this traumatised young woman and ended with her as someone determined enough to stand against the Asteri and everything that would entail. Without giving anything away about Hunt and Bryce's ending, we also got a relationship arc spanning a whole series!! Woop woop. Sarah truly showed us all that she's capable of writing, pulling together all the fantasy creatures she could think of and I'm so excited to see where she leads us to next π«Άπ»
Fully convinced that Sarah keeps making these books >800pgs so that by the time we get to the end, we've all forgotten the messy things in the first half. Not with me, Sarah, not with me!! π€π€
But still, be aware that it took me 20 days to read this (because i was sick and fantasy is hard) and I have probably forgotten all of it.
The beginning had suuuch weird pacing. Bryce spends a solid 200pgs...going through caves?? While her friends are trying to save her and themselves and oh, also the world and she's just acting like me when I go to a museum being like "omg look at that carving!!" "if i were to analyse this..." "well, as an ancient fae historian..." which was extremely relatable to me (as the annoying history student in museums) but I'm not sure if we really needed all of that.
While loads of storylines were satisfyingly ended in this final part, especially in the beginning, there were so many started storylines that just seemed so unnecessary and had no consequences whatsoever for the story.
I'll be the first person to say it β this shit too sci-fi for me. There. The urban fantasy thingy was cute in the first and second book but girl why are we talking about black holes ππ literally read like they were NASA agents at the end iykyk
ACOTAR my love <3 sorry sarah u can't expect to open the multiverse and bring me back to the messy beautiful high fantasy of my heart and then go back to Crescent City. I'd take Azriel's ass over phones any day
wait i forgot about the exposition omg
yall remember that scene in city of bones where clary asks luke what happened with valentine and it just turns into this whole chapter where nothing happens for 20 pages except for luke telling clary what's up?? yeah clary and bryce can bond over that now!
thank god we always have trusty fae ancestors to tell us what went on 15000 years ago ππ»ππ» now available in holographic form!
Now, onto Bryce herself...Bryce, baby, I'm so sorry but you will never be Aelin Galathynius, no matter how hard you try!! Let's just say it like this β Bryce is a great main character, she knows what she wants and how to get it but that also makes her unlikeable at times especially in how she dealt with Hunt and his trauma. He's so understandably scared of going against the Asteri again, he's especially scared of losing her just like he lost Shahar and she basically just tells him to "get through it" π I wish we could've had more sweet scenes of them, I miss my babies!
Plot-wise (aside from weird physics at the end lol), I really enjoyed this! We've got most of the main cast working together and we get loads of Lydia and Ruhn kinda stepping in and leading everyone when Hunt and Bryce are gone. Goddd, that relationship!! Kill me!!! I love them so much π Lydia has some secrets revealed and she becomes an even more fascinating character and her story has suchhh a good conclusion.
As was already teased at the ending of the last book, the Maasverse has been opened! π Things...have happened and while this isn't ACOTAR 6 (sorry to disappoint), there are loads of new things we learn about Prythian! Can't say I was the biggest fan of that, idk I'm kinda an ACOTAR purist lmao, don't touch my OG trilogy!! but it was still so sweet to return to Prythian <3
There were also some TOG easter eggs and while I already knew, we were gonna have some ACOTAR stuff, I really didn't expect that haha, so that was what had me really screaming.
While I find there are loads of similarities between CC and TOG (esp when looking at Aelin/Rowan/Aedion and Bryce/Hunt/Ruhn, PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one), I feel that Sarah still managed to make this a series that stands apart from her other books. Her writing style, the world building and her plots have just gotten better and better and while I'm still not the biggest fan of urban fantasy, I can still appreciate that!
As I said above, I felt that some new storylines here were unnecessary but at least all old ones were finished. I found myself thinking "hmm haven't heard about [character] in some time, maybe they'll show up again, too?" and it seems like Sarah was listening because EVERYONE appears again β good job, Sarah. I promise, there are still several surprises to be had!
So in conclusion: this was long (too long, some people would say (it's me, I'm people)) but it was a solid ending to the trilogy. We met Bryce as this traumatised young woman and ended with her as someone determined enough to stand against the Asteri and everything that would entail. Without giving anything away about Hunt and Bryce's ending, we also got a relationship arc spanning a whole series!! Woop woop. Sarah truly showed us all that she's capable of writing, pulling together all the fantasy creatures she could think of and I'm so excited to see where she leads us to next π«Άπ»
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Blood, War, Sexual content, Violence, Confinement, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Medical content, Child death, and Sexual harassment