Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

2 reviews

kera_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.75

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justbooker's review

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

2.75

I believe this is the best book in the Crescent City saga so far. I felt very satisfied with the story in the end and feel like it would be a great stopping point for the series (though I know SJM has already confirmed another is coming). However, I did struggle with the pacing of the story and some character choices. 

The conflicts between Hunt and Bryce felt unnecessary and, frankly, annoying. Bryce also felt a bit wishy-washy in terms of her goals and overall feelings. One moment
she's Queen, the other she wants to burn it all down, and then she's right back to Queen mode
. There's also Ithan, who I could not have cared less about for most of the book. It felt like he only became truly relevant at the end. I understand what his character development was supposed to be throughout the book and why everything happened with him. However, ever chapter from his perspective felt like a slog. 

On the other hand, I believe this book has the best lore building moments of the series. The information dumps were easy to follow and engaging. With the lore building in the first book, it felt very scattered and needlessly confusing. This books had smooth, consistent lore that felt properly woven between character dialogue. 

As far as characters go, Lidia is probably my favorite. I appreciate the depth and growth that she shows with Ruhn. Every development between her and Ruhn kept me on the edge of my seat, desperately rooting for them. I would love to see
her children
be further developed in the next book. 

Overall, the plot felt very satisfying. All loose ends were tied up beautifully. I cheered when Ruhn
got to finally kill his father
, when Lidia
got to kill Pollux
, and just all characters
getting their moment of justice.
The
Asteri conflict
has been perfectly resolved, and while there is the oncoming struggle of
setting up a new government
, it feels like everything is alright. The saying "Through love, all things are possible" is repeated time and time again, and this book really drives that theme home. I will not forget the frustrations I had with the book/series, but in the end I enjoyed my time in the world and am glad to have read it. 
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