Reviews with content warning for Grief - House of Flame and Shadow

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

65 reviews

embelle's review

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

Going to need several days to process all that is House of Flame and Shadow. With the sheer amount of content that’s covered, it honestly felt like reading 3 books in one. Was it my favorite Sarah J Maas book ever? No. But were there parts that I really enjoyed and did I still speed through this book at the edge of my seat while losing my cool!? Undoubtedly yes! Sarah J Maas’s world building abilities are next level, and this now has me sooooo excited for ALL her future books (if you know, you know!)

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naomi_'s review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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_readobituaries's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.0

I originally rated this 4 stars... but on second thought, I've changed my mind. 3 stars is the best I can give it... Which is sad considering I am someone who LOVES the ACOTAR/CC/TOG universes....

1st we will address the cross over.... It was nothing but fan service.

90% of it was either storytelling (tell- not show) and Bryce being "all powerful" and Bryce being a selfish cunt toward the ACOTAR characters. I wish we had seen more of these characters because I truly feel this was the bare minimum... I was expecting far more.

2nd.... Bryce was a cunt during this.

She hates the fae for how they treat humans- but she was willing to treat all fae like crap (including the fae of the acotar world) because shes got daddy issues? The way she freed the dagglan- just for Nesta to have to clean up her mess and then Bryce has the ADAUCITY to get upset she wasn't able to do more? GIRL- GET FUCKING REAL. Then she straight up STOLE from the ACOTAR characters. Just to come back and gaslight her "mate" and try to manipulate him out of his valid feelings. Her "I didn't know if I'd ever get to come back home, or if I'd ever see my family and friends again, I didn't know if I'd get to see my mate again!" pissed me off so bad. He didn't know if he was ever going to get to go back home. He didn't know if he'd ever see his family or friends again. He didnt know if he'd ever see his mate again. He also had already been through this once, lost everyone important to him, was enslaved for a fuckton of time, finally got his freedom and is being dragged back into the same thing- in which he was then tortured and had to watch his friends be tortured! HER OBJECTIVELY HAD IT WORSE THAN YOU DID IN THE ACOTAR WORLD!!!! SO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE HIM ALONE. "its like you dont wanna be here"- NONE OF THEM DO!!!!!! none of them WANT to be there, fighting people, risking their lives and loved ones. ---Then you have her taking over 2 royal courts and disbanding everyone else. Like, they can't have power to dictate- but you can? She also wasn't any better than the fae. She was prepared to treat the fae like shit and righteous in it. Bryce lost me in this..

The way she seemed to be oh so special over everyone? Yea, no. She gave "pick me".

Lidia was AMAZING in this. Honestly, carried the entire story. I

never seen her having kids coming- which is both good and bad. Her having them in a magical ceremony kinda came out of nowhere and her having children/a past life wasn't really hinted to that I remember... So while it was an awesome reveal- I feel like she could have hinted at it to add a bit more impact and make us think back and go "HOW DID I NOT KNOW?!" but truthfully, I'd bet this was something she came up with on the spot while writing& that would explain why it wasn't foreshadowed at all.

Ruhn was weird tho... Like a wet sock... There but not useful for much.

Ithan and Therion were..... there... Therion made every stupid decision he could and Ithan swiftly followed in his footsteps.

I was PISSED when Therion jumped onto the pod. Like you selfish fucker. Have you not caused enough problems and burned enough bridges for one day?! Then for Ithan to constantly be on about that fucking Fendyr heir- who's purpose I still don't understand other than being cannon fodder. Also, Don't get me started on the antidote. SO MUCH time was spent on that freaking antidote and all the vials FOR NOTHING. Also, the Perry thing?

Overall, I loved the book and the characters. Just.... disappointed. This book had SO MUCH potential. and honestly, I don't see why she'd write a fourth book.. She's defeated the big bad- why create so many lose, mediocre plot lines to leave unraveled for a 4th book when she could have easily just tied everything up nicely and finished book 3. It's like she's milking it because there really is no reason to keep the story going....

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yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was so good. So much is happening but there’s a good mix between lore and action. Some of the characters make questionable decisions that have me screaming but it was a beautiful emotional rollercoaster. Occasionally the POV jumps were happening a bit too quickly and it felt like whiplash but it was nice to see what was happening in the different places all at once. I absolutely love Bryce and Hunt but Lidia stole the show for me. Her character development is absolutely amazing. This was a great read and still left more to be said.

It was nice to see that after the Asteri were defeated. It wasn’t just going back to normal and everything is okay. They are still facing challenges.

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katharina90's review

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Enjoyable read overall but Bryce was really unlikeable in this book (too much like Aelin), the relationship between Bryce and Hunt felt off, and the ending was too easy/neat and anticlimactic.

I liked the multiple POVs but switching them up in the middle of the chapter disrupted my flow.

The ACOTAR crossover and little tie-ins to TOG were fun but didn't add a whole lot to the story.

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