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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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Death, War, Gun violence, Gore, Cursing, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Slavery, Gaslighting, Classism, Violence, Racism, Murder, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief, Physical abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Torture, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Medical content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Suicide, Drug use, Addiction, Pregnancy, Car accident, Abandonment, and Drug abuse
applejuiceinabox's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
predictable. frustrating in its reductive “feminism” and sloppy world building and inconsistent characters. points for being easy to read and binge-able. really missed the points it couldve made about colonialism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Torture, Genocide, Blood, Sexism, Violence, War, Suicide attempt, and Confinement
tiiiger35's review
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
I really loved this entire trilogy & the final instalment was a perfect conclusion.
I’m not always content with how authors wrap up their characters stories but Sarah J. Mass took her time giving everyone a purposeful conclusion. All 3 books were large, so I was impressed there were no loose ends.
I was so pleased to have a small crossover with ACOTR, it blended perfectly, showing just how amazing Sarah J. Mass is at world building
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, War, Grief, Torture, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Slavery, and Death of parent
lisa_m's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I have waited for this book for so long and it did not disappoint. I saw a lot of people being disappointed by this book but I really enjoyed it. Yes there were a few things that annoyed me but all in all I think it was a super fun read and I loved all the backstory we got for the world and the characters.
This book pretty much finished the arc of this series and since I know that there will be a fourth book I'm curious to see what story she will tell there. I will definitely be reading it but I also did like the ending to this one and I could be satisfied with this just being a trilogy.
Now on to my spoilery thoughts:
1. I enjoyed Bryce being in the ACOTAR universe but I was kind of missing a second POV from over there. I really hope we get to know what happened on their side in the next ACOTAR book. I would be really disappointed if they just ignored this ever happening over there. Also I love the Ember & Nesta bonding!! And Randall bonding with Rhys over being overprotective fathers?? I love them! But I also was annoyed by Bryce. I get that she doesn't trust them and it makes sense, especially after she finds out they have been manipulating her but to just open that coffin??? She knows better than anyone how dangerous the Asteri are and still she just let one free on the off chance that she will answer her questions?? She is so so lucky that Nesta managed to kill her otherwise she would have doomed that whole planet!
2. Bryce treated Hunt quite badly for a while. I really like them both but their fights made me mad at them for not properly communicating. I can ignore it because I understand the pressure they were under but I think especially Bryce was really unnecessarily harsh towards him and didn't even try to understand what it was like for him and what he went through. She was so focused on her own goals and kind of made fun of him for feeling like it was his fault they were in this shitty situation. He was constantly trying not to make her angry and trying to show her support and I feel like she didn't give him the grace he deserved.
3. I LOVE Ruhn and Lidia. They absolutely have my heart. But still they annoyed me a bit especially in the beginning. Lidia gave EVERYTHING for him. She risked everything and he wouldn't even talk to her?? And then once she manages to save them all by almost giving her own life (!!!) She just immidiately shuts him out and tells him he's not worth knowing what happened to her.
They clearly are obsessed with each other though. But I also didn't like that they were so distracted by each other that they literally didn't realise their friends got kidnapped? The whole "you make me feel alive" thing almost makes up for it though.
4. Tharion had a TALENT for making people mad at him and defecting. It's almost comical at this point. He swears to marry the River Queens daughter but decides not to. Defects from the River Queen. Defects from the Viper Queen. Defects from the Ocean Queen. Then MARRIES A TOTAL STRANGER! And then offers to divorce her in order to go back to the River Queens daughter and marry her!!?? I mean this man's journey is absolutely insane. He fucked up so many times and even though it did annoy me a bit it also made him interesting somehow and I'm curious to see if he manages to not fuck up in the next book.
5. All in all we got so may unhinged things happening.
- Ithan and Hypaxia freezing the Under King and then destroying the ice statue? And then Hypaxia becoming Leader of Flame and Shadow?
- Rhys taking literally AGES to get to the House of Wind!? That man can literally winnow and fly! How is it possible that they just stand there having full conversations and big goodbyes all the while saying "oops be careful Rhys will be here soon! You can already see his shadows! They are are coming..." Why is he suddenly so slow it doesn't make sense.
- Lidia having sons? And literally racing to them after being resurrected(!!!) not caring about her own health. Where is that cool and calm Hind?
- Ithan killing Sigrid. Resurrecting her as a Reaper. Watching Sabine kill the Prime and Sigrid eat his Soul. And then killing Sabine and becoming Prime himself??
- Hunt being a Son of Hell??
- The whole Parasite thing?
- Bryce opening a Portal to a Black Hole in order for it to eat another Black Hole that was a Kill Switch for Midgard?
- The Soul of Shahar helping hunt to save Bryce?
- Tharion randomly being forced to marry Sathia?
- The Winged Horses being back?
- Lidias Flame magic?
- I could go on and on truly but also I'm obsessed and I love it
6. I wish we got more Fury and Juniper content. They were some of my favourites and Bryces closest friends and I hate that they kind of just got replaced by all the men. I LOVE all those men, don't get me wrong. But I really wanted to see more of them. I love that we got more from Lidia and Hypaxia whom I both ADORE! And I was happy to see Jesiba again. Still it almost felt like these two got irrelevant and I hate to see that.
7. I also LOVE multiple POVs and I think SJM does them so well! But in this book there were sometimes shifts of the POV within one chapter which confused me sometimes. Especially when we're still with the same group of people just a different person.
8. I still have SO MANY QUESTIONS and I really hope they get answered in the next book. My main one is what is Fury really? Where did she come from? What is her power? Also WHY is no one trying to save Vik? Have they all forgotten about her? She was Hunts friend and pretty powerful too? They do everything to save their friends and somehow they cannot manage one quick trip down the ocean to save her? We KNOW that she's still alive and suffering. If shes truly gone insane just get her and kill her so she's not suffering anymore!! And I'm also really curious about Sigrid. Is she going to be an enemy? Is she going to challenge Ithan? I hope she will become more than a plotdevice to make Ithan realise that he has to step up because no-one else will. Also what will happen to the witches? Will Morganthia fight against the new hierarchies? What will they do to replace the firstlight? Also what is going on with Ariadne? Who was she "bought" by? Why is she with the Viper Queen again? I thought that perhaps the Hind had bought her and she would help them with the escape (which ultimately turned out to be what Irithys did) but we just didn't hear from her again? That was kind of disappointing and I hope we get more about her in the next book. I also hope we get more from Celestina and Hypaxia. What even did Celestina do to make Ephraim not go help the Asteri? Is she mad at Hunt for almost killing her?
There is definitely a lot still to be explored in this universe and I'm excited for the next book.
Other things that I didn't like:
- Why did Danika just know EVERYTHING and not tell anyone? It's starting to feel like a plot convenience that everytime someone knows something without any reason it's just that Danika told them or wrote it down or something like that. Everything always ties back to her somehow.
- The whole parasite thing was strange. At first it was explained like it was just the reason people had to make the drop or die. And then it was something that hindered their full potential? But I thought the Parasite "ate" that magic so how can they just so easily bring it back? Also it was kind of weird how quickly Hypaxia managed to make an antidote.
- I don't like that we didn't get more about the motivations from Hel. They just showed up, helped and then left again saying "bye bye you don't ever have to see us again and you don't owe us anything we just wanted to help"?? I'm glad that they were real allies and didn't betray them but it didn't make sense to me that they didn't have an ulterior motive.
- And also I was kind of hoping to see a big confrontation between Hel and the Asteri. Especially Appolion. The one Asteri who was (presumably) killed by the Princes of Hell just died without us even getting to see it or it being properly mentioned. The time slowed and they went "oh wow guess another Asteri died" but I wish for how much they hyped them up we got to see some conflict between the Asteri and the Princes. Maybe some banter, some "this is for Theia" or something like that. Or at least show me what happens when they fight. The whole fight just went really quickly. Also why on Earth are we literally doing everything in this entire book to find out what the two blades can do and how to kill the Asteri when Bryce in the end just makes a portal? She doesn't even use the blades after the first kill??
Okay now on to what I liked:
It was basically everything else.
And honestly even the things I'm criticising did not bother me that much. I really wanted to keep reading and I think this book even pulled me out of my reading slump. It was so so FUN to read about and I had a great time. But im my opinion it was not only fun but GOOD. The worldbuilding and hierarchies and connections between different worlds and the overlaps etc were done so well! And they were genuinely interesting. Were there some small flaws and plotholes and some things only there for convenience? Sure. It's also quite unrealistic that almost all of our main characters survived this huge war but I don't care. I like happy endings and I think they all deserve to survive and be happy now. I also just really like the humour in this book, especially from Bryce. She might be a clique powerful protagonist now and somehow every single man is into her? but she's also so fun to read about and I love her! I wish we got to see more of her friendship with Nesta. And more of her with the other women in general. But all in all I'm happy with this book. I enjoyed reading it and I can't wait for the fourth book in this series!
This book pretty much finished the arc of this series and since I know that there will be a fourth book I'm curious to see what story she will tell there. I will definitely be reading it but I also did like the ending to this one and I could be satisfied with this just being a trilogy.
Now on to my spoilery thoughts:
1. I enjoyed Bryce being in the ACOTAR universe but I was kind of missing a second POV from over there. I really hope we get to know what happened on their side in the next ACOTAR book. I would be really disappointed if they just ignored this ever happening over there. Also I love the Ember & Nesta bonding!! And Randall bonding with Rhys over being overprotective fathers?? I love them! But I also was annoyed by Bryce. I get that she doesn't trust them and it makes sense, especially after she finds out they have been manipulating her but to just open that coffin??? She knows better than anyone how dangerous the Asteri are and still she just let one free on the off chance that she will answer her questions?? She is so so lucky that Nesta managed to kill her otherwise she would have doomed that whole planet!
2. Bryce treated Hunt quite badly for a while. I really like them both but their fights made me mad at them for not properly communicating. I can ignore it because I understand the pressure they were under but I think especially Bryce was really unnecessarily harsh towards him and didn't even try to understand what it was like for him and what he went through. She was so focused on her own goals and kind of made fun of him for feeling like it was his fault they were in this shitty situation. He was constantly trying not to make her angry and trying to show her support and I feel like she didn't give him the grace he deserved.
3. I LOVE Ruhn and Lidia. They absolutely have my heart. But still they annoyed me a bit especially in the beginning. Lidia gave EVERYTHING for him. She risked everything and he wouldn't even talk to her?? And then once she manages to save them all by almost giving her own life (!!!) She just immidiately shuts him out and tells him he's not worth knowing what happened to her.
They clearly are obsessed with each other though. But I also didn't like that they were so distracted by each other that they literally didn't realise their friends got kidnapped? The whole "you make me feel alive" thing almost makes up for it though.
4. Tharion had a TALENT for making people mad at him and defecting. It's almost comical at this point. He swears to marry the River Queens daughter but decides not to. Defects from the River Queen. Defects from the Viper Queen. Defects from the Ocean Queen. Then MARRIES A TOTAL STRANGER! And then offers to divorce her in order to go back to the River Queens daughter and marry her!!?? I mean this man's journey is absolutely insane. He fucked up so many times and even though it did annoy me a bit it also made him interesting somehow and I'm curious to see if he manages to not fuck up in the next book.
5. All in all we got so may unhinged things happening.
- Ithan and Hypaxia freezing the Under King and then destroying the ice statue? And then Hypaxia becoming Leader of Flame and Shadow?
- Rhys taking literally AGES to get to the House of Wind!? That man can literally winnow and fly! How is it possible that they just stand there having full conversations and big goodbyes all the while saying "oops be careful Rhys will be here soon! You can already see his shadows! They are are coming..." Why is he suddenly so slow it doesn't make sense.
- Lidia having sons? And literally racing to them after being resurrected(!!!) not caring about her own health. Where is that cool and calm Hind?
- Ithan killing Sigrid. Resurrecting her as a Reaper. Watching Sabine kill the Prime and Sigrid eat his Soul. And then killing Sabine and becoming Prime himself??
- Hunt being a Son of Hell??
- The whole Parasite thing?
- Bryce opening a Portal to a Black Hole in order for it to eat another Black Hole that was a Kill Switch for Midgard?
- The Soul of Shahar helping hunt to save Bryce?
- Tharion randomly being forced to marry Sathia?
- The Winged Horses being back?
- Lidias Flame magic?
- I could go on and on truly but also I'm obsessed and I love it
6. I wish we got more Fury and Juniper content. They were some of my favourites and Bryces closest friends and I hate that they kind of just got replaced by all the men. I LOVE all those men, don't get me wrong. But I really wanted to see more of them. I love that we got more from Lidia and Hypaxia whom I both ADORE! And I was happy to see Jesiba again. Still it almost felt like these two got irrelevant and I hate to see that.
7. I also LOVE multiple POVs and I think SJM does them so well! But in this book there were sometimes shifts of the POV within one chapter which confused me sometimes. Especially when we're still with the same group of people just a different person.
8. I still have SO MANY QUESTIONS and I really hope they get answered in the next book. My main one is what is Fury really? Where did she come from? What is her power? Also WHY is no one trying to save Vik? Have they all forgotten about her? She was Hunts friend and pretty powerful too? They do everything to save their friends and somehow they cannot manage one quick trip down the ocean to save her? We KNOW that she's still alive and suffering. If shes truly gone insane just get her and kill her so she's not suffering anymore!! And I'm also really curious about Sigrid. Is she going to be an enemy? Is she going to challenge Ithan? I hope she will become more than a plotdevice to make Ithan realise that he has to step up because no-one else will. Also what will happen to the witches? Will Morganthia fight against the new hierarchies? What will they do to replace the firstlight? Also what is going on with Ariadne? Who was she "bought" by? Why is she with the Viper Queen again? I thought that perhaps the Hind had bought her and she would help them with the escape (which ultimately turned out to be what Irithys did) but we just didn't hear from her again? That was kind of disappointing and I hope we get more about her in the next book. I also hope we get more from Celestina and Hypaxia. What even did Celestina do to make Ephraim not go help the Asteri? Is she mad at Hunt for almost killing her?
There is definitely a lot still to be explored in this universe and I'm excited for the next book.
Other things that I didn't like:
- Why did Danika just know EVERYTHING and not tell anyone? It's starting to feel like a plot convenience that everytime someone knows something without any reason it's just that Danika told them or wrote it down or something like that. Everything always ties back to her somehow.
- The whole parasite thing was strange. At first it was explained like it was just the reason people had to make the drop or die. And then it was something that hindered their full potential? But I thought the Parasite "ate" that magic so how can they just so easily bring it back? Also it was kind of weird how quickly Hypaxia managed to make an antidote.
- I don't like that we didn't get more about the motivations from Hel. They just showed up, helped and then left again saying "bye bye you don't ever have to see us again and you don't owe us anything we just wanted to help"?? I'm glad that they were real allies and didn't betray them but it didn't make sense to me that they didn't have an ulterior motive.
- And also I was kind of hoping to see a big confrontation between Hel and the Asteri. Especially Appolion. The one Asteri who was (presumably) killed by the Princes of Hell just died without us even getting to see it or it being properly mentioned. The time slowed and they went "oh wow guess another Asteri died" but I wish for how much they hyped them up we got to see some conflict between the Asteri and the Princes. Maybe some banter, some "this is for Theia" or something like that. Or at least show me what happens when they fight. The whole fight just went really quickly. Also why on Earth are we literally doing everything in this entire book to find out what the two blades can do and how to kill the Asteri when Bryce in the end just makes a portal? She doesn't even use the blades after the first kill??
Okay now on to what I liked:
It was basically everything else.
And honestly even the things I'm criticising did not bother me that much. I really wanted to keep reading and I think this book even pulled me out of my reading slump. It was so so FUN to read about and I had a great time. But im my opinion it was not only fun but GOOD. The worldbuilding and hierarchies and connections between different worlds and the overlaps etc were done so well! And they were genuinely interesting. Were there some small flaws and plotholes and some things only there for convenience? Sure. It's also quite unrealistic that almost all of our main characters survived this huge war but I don't care. I like happy endings and I think they all deserve to survive and be happy now. I also just really like the humour in this book, especially from Bryce. She might be a clique powerful protagonist now and somehow every single man is into her? but she's also so fun to read about and I love her! I wish we got to see more of her friendship with Nesta. And more of her with the other women in general. But all in all I'm happy with this book. I enjoyed reading it and I can't wait for the fourth book in this series!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Cursing, Classism, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexism, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Violence
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!
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
ofelias's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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
After waiting two years to read HOFAS, I’d like to say I was left somewhat fulfilled. I got to see characters again that I loved, and was once again immersed in the magic of Lunathion.
I found myself, however, in scenes where there was a LOT of description and explaining and talking, without the plot moving forward persay. Some characters, like Ithan and Tharion, also lost their lustre for me this book. There were also quite a lot of plot conveniences, which is a bit of a peeve of mine.
Like a lot of Maas books, the last third of the book was heavily action-packed and fast paced, and I found myself unable to put it down. Overall, it was a good read, with some special heartwarming moments (Lidia’s entire storyline was incredible), but I wouldn’t say it was my favourite of the Crescent City series.
I’m still looking forward to the next one, because this series and its setting is one of my favourites.
I found myself, however, in scenes where there was a LOT of description and explaining and talking, without the plot moving forward persay. Some characters, like Ithan and Tharion, also lost their lustre for me this book. There were also quite a lot of plot conveniences, which is a bit of a peeve of mine.
Like a lot of Maas books, the last third of the book was heavily action-packed and fast paced, and I found myself unable to put it down. Overall, it was a good read, with some special heartwarming moments (Lidia’s entire storyline was incredible), but I wouldn’t say it was my favourite of the Crescent City series.
I’m still looking forward to the next one, because this series and its setting is one of my favourites.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Gun violence, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
bluerskies's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Torture, War, Blood, Death of parent, and Gore
Moderate: Cannibalism
amy_in_the_city's review
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
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
literary_laur's review
adventurous
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Torture, Blood, Sexism, Violence, Murder, and Death