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A review by indusnm
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The first half of the book was five stars for me, but the second half was three, so it averages out to a four. This was my favorite of the three and probably one of my favorite of this author. I liked a lot of it.
PROS
I liked a lot of the final pairings. I'm not sure how a few will work out, but I look forward to finding out. I also liked the way the final battle is shown from so many points of view and how everyone had a role. I appreciate the way the universes combine and the smut to plot ratio felt right. No love scenes came out of left field and they seemed to take into account the exhaustion and pain characters felt.
CONS
While everyone had a role, it felt like by the end most of the roles could be distilled to delivery person and distraction. I mean yes, they saved each other, but honestly it felt like Bryce could have done this on her own with her battery dude and then none of them would have been in danger. To use a Harry Potter reference (I know, canceled, but like it or not everyone reading this will get the reference) it's as if Bryce was Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Neville all at once. She's even Ron as comic relief, except his one-liners were mostly funny and she gets a little annoying. All in all, it feels like lazy writing to have one person able to do everything better than everyone else.
She's also terrible and manipulative with a lot of people. Her character arc is in many ways the least traumatic- she grows up with loving parents, her biological father is much more horrible to her sibling, and in a lot of ways she escapes the most horrific moments and leaving people she loves to endure those moments doesn't seem to give her much pause. This might be why she shows no sympathy to those who need time to deal with it. Being called a misogynistic slur isn't akin to being physically tortured day in and day out for years.
So 4 stars, and I very much enjoyed reading it.
PROS
I liked a lot of the final pairings. I'm not sure how a few will work out, but I look forward to finding out. I also liked the way the final battle is shown from so many points of view and how everyone had a role. I appreciate the way the universes combine and the smut to plot ratio felt right. No love scenes came out of left field and they seemed to take into account the exhaustion and pain characters felt.
CONS
While everyone had a role, it felt like by the end most of the roles could be distilled to delivery person and distraction. I mean yes, they saved each other, but honestly it felt like Bryce could have done this on her own with her battery dude and then none of them would have been in danger. To use a Harry Potter reference (I know, canceled, but like it or not everyone reading this will get the reference) it's as if Bryce was Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Neville all at once. She's even Ron as comic relief, except his one-liners were mostly funny and she gets a little annoying. All in all, it feels like lazy writing to have one person able to do everything better than everyone else.
She's also terrible and manipulative with a lot of people. Her character arc is in many ways the least traumatic- she grows up with loving parents, her biological father is much more horrible to her sibling, and in a lot of ways she escapes the most horrific moments and leaving people she loves to endure those moments doesn't seem to give her much pause. This might be why she shows no sympathy to those who need time to deal with it. Being called a misogynistic slur isn't akin to being physically tortured day in and day out for years.
So 4 stars, and I very much enjoyed reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction and Drug use