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A review by hanlkg
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
*spoilers*
Whew. That book was relentless from start to finish. Haven’t had so much fun reading in a minute. That said, it’s not a five to me:
Things I liked:
1. Ruhn and Lidia - this pair might be SJMs best yet. Every time I turned the page I was looking for their names.
2. Lidia- deserves her own note becuase her story is just that good and the final nod to Brannon is stunning.
3. The way the 3 worlds we know were tied together. I still have plenty of questions but I’m left feeling really satisfied which surprises me. I think endings of this magnitude can read as lackluster after so much build up and leave the audience disappointed. It was a blast to read all the pieces click into place. The crossover was well done too. although I was disappointed to not see more of nesta, Azriel, and the rest, With more ACOTAR books coming, I’m glad the story focused primarily on Midgard.
Things I didn’t like:
1. Like I said, this book is FAST. Like staring into the sun. The first part could have been extended into a standalone and been sufficient. Because of that, I don’t think time was given to the character development and relationship building that Maas is adored for, and certain plot points are so abrupt that they feel glossed over (see the deaths of the autumn king and morven). Nothing wrong with a few more pages if we really get to feel the intensity of certain moments in a deeper way.
2. Bryce is at her worst as a cringey millennial in this installment. She’s so quippy and immature at times that I just couldn’t fully get behind her as a leader.
3. The POV switching. Good lord. I think that contributes to the feeling of whiplash throughout reading. Switching to multiple POVs within a single chapter of characters on different continents was just too much and detracted from the story.
All in all I’m rating this one fairly high because I do think it accomplished its most important goal of fleshing out a history and magic system that make sense to tie 3 separate worlds together. That is no small feat. Despite my grievances, I had a blast reading and would still recommend this series and author widely.
Whew. That book was relentless from start to finish. Haven’t had so much fun reading in a minute. That said, it’s not a five to me:
Things I liked:
1. Ruhn and Lidia - this pair might be SJMs best yet. Every time I turned the page I was looking for their names.
2. Lidia- deserves her own note becuase her story is just that good and the final nod to Brannon is stunning.
3. The way the 3 worlds we know were tied together. I still have plenty of questions but I’m left feeling really satisfied which surprises me. I think endings of this magnitude can read as lackluster after so much build up and leave the audience disappointed. It was a blast to read all the pieces click into place. The crossover was well done too. although I was disappointed to not see more of nesta, Azriel, and the rest, With more ACOTAR books coming, I’m glad the story focused primarily on Midgard.
Things I didn’t like:
1. Like I said, this book is FAST. Like staring into the sun. The first part could have been extended into a standalone and been sufficient. Because of that, I don’t think time was given to the character development and relationship building that Maas is adored for, and certain plot points are so abrupt that they feel glossed over (see the deaths of the autumn king and morven). Nothing wrong with a few more pages if we really get to feel the intensity of certain moments in a deeper way.
2. Bryce is at her worst as a cringey millennial in this installment. She’s so quippy and immature at times that I just couldn’t fully get behind her as a leader.
3. The POV switching. Good lord. I think that contributes to the feeling of whiplash throughout reading. Switching to multiple POVs within a single chapter of characters on different continents was just too much and detracted from the story.
All in all I’m rating this one fairly high because I do think it accomplished its most important goal of fleshing out a history and magic system that make sense to tie 3 separate worlds together. That is no small feat. Despite my grievances, I had a blast reading and would still recommend this series and author widely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Torture, and Sexual violence