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A review by dani_reis
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
HEAVY SPOILERS IN REVIEW
I wholeheartedly disagree with Bloomsbury giving out ARCs. The amount of people spoiling the story pre-release is unacceptable.
The ending was too focused on being a HEA and tried making a neat little packaged ending. Instead of cliffhanger POVs, I just felt like they were useless. Tharian headed back to Ariadne, and his wife going after another love. Then Ithan not telling literally anyone "don't drink the water after" because wtf are they supposed to drink? Sigrid just being a loose end. I think it's Perry, Amelie's sister, who isn't explained at all, and I'm not sure I care.
The crossover. Was it even necessary?? They spent the whole time in the caves. She leaves them wanting to kill her or slice off her back, and she's like "hey, you're all cool, take my fragile, human parents who I'd split worlds to save." But she never stepped out of the caves to experience fae culture to change her mind about fae.
Hel. Hel was not even needed because she could have just had a conversation with Aidas. They didn't even explore Hel, and sounds like they never will go back.
Hunt was pretty toxic in this book. I am anticipating that Hunt and Bryce have issues in future books (please be only one more).
As a whole, I really enjoyed it. It had lots of action. But let's just admit: Lydia carried this book, until the "I have secret children plot."
Bonus chapter from Walmart: liked it. Gave us insight to why she maybe gave up her parents to them.
Bonus from B&N: meh. I wanted to skim it. Near the end it was cute, but kind of mad I own the copy.
Bonus from indie: loved it. Thank fucking god. Approve of this one.
Still need to read the other bonus chapters.
I wholeheartedly disagree with Bloomsbury giving out ARCs. The amount of people spoiling the story pre-release is unacceptable.
The ending was too focused on being a HEA and tried making a neat little packaged ending. Instead of cliffhanger POVs, I just felt like they were useless. Tharian headed back to Ariadne, and his wife going after another love. Then Ithan not telling literally anyone "don't drink the water after" because wtf are they supposed to drink? Sigrid just being a loose end. I think it's Perry, Amelie's sister, who isn't explained at all, and I'm not sure I care.
The crossover. Was it even necessary?? They spent the whole time in the caves. She leaves them wanting to kill her or slice off her back, and she's like "hey, you're all cool, take my fragile, human parents who I'd split worlds to save." But she never stepped out of the caves to experience fae culture to change her mind about fae.
Hel. Hel was not even needed because she could have just had a conversation with Aidas. They didn't even explore Hel, and sounds like they never will go back.
Hunt was pretty toxic in this book. I am anticipating that Hunt and Bryce have issues in future books (please be only one more).
As a whole, I really enjoyed it. It had lots of action. But let's just admit: Lydia carried this book, until the "I have secret children plot."
Bonus chapter from Walmart: liked it. Gave us insight to why she maybe gave up her parents to them.
Bonus from B&N: meh. I wanted to skim it. Near the end it was cute, but kind of mad I own the copy.
Bonus from indie: loved it. Thank fucking god. Approve of this one.
Still need to read the other bonus chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Sexual content, Classism, Cursing, Slavery, Torture, Death, War, Genocide, Mental illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Medical content
Minor: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping