Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

62 reviews

rhiannon_burden's review against another edition

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

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

4.0

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

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Content Warnings

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

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

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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

neliadiedenise's review against another edition

adventurous informative tense 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Sexism, Torture, Animal death, Blood, Sexual assault, Classism, Vomit, Body horror, Confinement, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Death, Excrement, Gore, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

tinkerbelle's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

i dont like that people are mad about this book, i think it wraps up the trilogy perfectly and i was glad to find that it wasnt all about bryce this time.

really excited to see what else sjm has to offer!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gore, Torture, War, and Genocide

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, Death of parent, and Death

i literally started crying when when bryce was "dead" but like purely bc it broke my heart to think of hunt going through that pain 😭😭

readingisfun14's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I’m always give Sarah 5 stars. I will say, part 2 was a little bit slow. I enjoyed this a lot but I thought hosab pulled me in more. Bryce and hunt fell a little flat for me in this book. Also Bryce in general was pissing me off. But Lydia and Ruhn…give me a whole book on them. Ithans little quests were so rogue and there are still a lot of questions left unanswered. But I loved how theories I had from previous books and worlds showed up in hosaf! Definitely a book for the fantasy girlies. If you are looking for steam, this one isn’t it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault

livist's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.25

Overall I liked this book. At this point, I will generally enjoy anything this woman writes haha. There are definitely some issues and even potentially plot holes.

I liked the idea of Ruhn & Lidia having some back and forth. But I didn’t understand her gripe regarding him being caring after finding out she had kids. He stayed by her side night and day even before she woke up and ran to them. Why he didn’t mention that to her I have no clue. It was clear that it was only upon the idea that he was going to lose her and that she risked everything for him that he accepted her love. The kid thing was kind of ancillary. Also, she says having the kids was what changed her own motivations/outlook. So, she mad that the kids humanized her to Ruhn but also they humanized her to herself. It’s wild.

I feel like Pollux should have been the dad. It would mean so much more for Ruhn to accept them and care for them. And make Pollux that much crueler if he was willing to sacrifice them to get to her.

Up until the last part I was pretty on board with things. But the ending felt so hastily written. Regarding the smut, there was so much tension and back and forth with Ruhn and Lidia that when they finally physically get down and dirty, it ends up being a short 2 page thing. Like what??? 

The beginning of the book I enjoyed even though it was like 3 different television shows for a while. Always down for a trials and tribulations journey. Nesta & Az willing to be cruel to Bryce at the end that journey, specifically after beating the Asteri together made 0 sense to me. Like…while they had been bamboozled by her, she was clearly telling the truth as evidenced the little video thing. So I don’t get why they went back into over defensive bad guy mode there. 

Also Hypaxia said they would get reinfected if they drank the water again, or maybe it was just a high likelihood? Either way, how was Tharion not immediately affected when he jumped into the Istros???

Lidia also got OP’d which seemed random/came from nowhere. Her powers seem to mimic Nesta’s which was confusing since Nesta was, “made,” and that’s why her powers were special.

Also, while I can appreciate a good ending, it felt a little weird for Danika, Connor & Pack of Devils to basically be revived in the afterlife. It sort of belittles their sacrifice. I guess taking solace in that they didn’t know this could become their eventual fate (which like wouldn’t that already have been the case for Danika?) is how we’re supposed to appreciate their sacrifice but again it just feels a bit hollow.

I was able to ignore most of these gripes and keep it moving. There were lots of things I liked, Jesiba being sacrificed and her whole back story (although at the end her confrontation with Apollion seemed lackluster after 15,000 years of being cursed but it is what it is).

Not sure if SJM felt like it was getting too long and had to make cuts or if she was pressed against a deadline. Either way, in comparison to the other ones if felt a bit rushed and a bit all over the place.

Since CC4 has been confirmed, I’m interested to see where it goes and if it will land on the seemingly standard if ~800 pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Sexual content

Moderate: War and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

cdolbz's review

adventurous emotional funny medium-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

3.0

I am only giving this book a 3 due to the scene where Bryce see's everyone while she's dead. Lidia truly carried the entire weight of this book. While I was shook Lidia has kids, I didn't find it to be of any importance of this book. Truly, nothing in this book made sense and it was highly disappointing. This was another big let down for me. I can't imagine if/what the next book will consist of. Ethan being prime?? Tharion?? 0 clue. I also felt the cross over was a bit bleh. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was let down. How tf does BRYCE steal from AZ? Also, for Nesta to just give the mask to Bryce? Truly, I wish I never read this book. I know have such a strong distaste for Bryce and I don't think I can bounce back from it. I have so much to SAY, but can't find the words to compose my thoughts. Will update this review when I come down from the anger of disappointment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Confinement, Blood, War, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

_meganrose's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This teetered between 3 and 5 stars for me throughout the book. Settling on 4 stars. This was by far my favorite book in the Crescent City series. The series is my least favorite in the 16 book SJM universe, but I loved how many dots were connected in this one. Had me on my toes! The varying POV/storylines within a chapter drove me crazy though - please, for goodness sake, just start a new chapter if you’re changing POV/storylines! Or consolidate them! It annoyed me so much. Bryce also annoyed me a lot, but I feel like that’s just how her character is. We learned so much in this book! Ahh! Excited to see which book she releases next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Murder, Gore, Grief, and Death

kayceeisbookish's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Torture, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Child death, Colonisation, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Child abuse, War, Death, Gaslighting, and Sexual violence

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. 

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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