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ofelias's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
amy_in_the_city's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Medical content, and Pregnancy
jla's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
It's like SJM made an apology, Nesta, that was a totally different likable character. This Nesta can stay with Cassian while I pretend the other one doesn't exist.
I really want more for Azriel. Where is his book!? What about Elaine!?
Graphic: Misogyny, Torture, and War
josxphinchen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
rhiannon_burden's review
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
robin_roronoa's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Sexual content and Torture
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Misogyny
princessrory's review
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Classism
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
cha_len_novels's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
― Sarah J. Maas, House of Flame and Shadow
Through power ups, and parasites, info dumping and plot twists, dead and undead, mech suits and demons, love and possibilities; we have come to the end. Lets be honest, Sarah. J Maas owns my soul at this point. I wouldn't say this book checked all the boxes but I enjoyed it nonetheless. You had to have a certain understanding of how the MC characters were being portrayed ( without comparing them to other Maas MCs) to really enjoy this book. A few plots did feel unnecessary. Going off ACOTARs style the fourth book may be following our secondary characters and answer some unfinished business/debts/plot holes .
P.S Day+ Night are carried this book for me 💕.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War
thorns_and_thunder's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, and War
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Sexual violence
savshanae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
As one of my friends put it, “it feels like she flew too close to the sun” and I wouldn’t be sad to see this book dropped into the ocean forever.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Alcohol