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A review by samellecooke
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
4.75
Alright, hear me out, this book is by all accounts utterly beautiful and so well written, however...I now hold Queen SJM to the highest standard possible. There were some parts of this book, especially towards the end that just didn't land for me like they normally would.
Hunt being "made" by two princes of Hel? Also, not being the first "tool" they made? I know that Hunt needed that extra special leg lift to be an equal counterpart to Bryce, who is second in my mind only to Queen of Terrasen Aelin Ashryver Galathynius. This, to me, just felt a little too heavy handed. I love a good plot twist and generally leave room for a lot of artistic license, especially in fantasy worlds, but this was a head scratcher for me.
Being used to the trauma that SJM serves, I was a bit surprised at how many characters seem to get peace and closure. Their new roles are by no means easy ones, but they do receive high honors and some just felt too easily earned. Hypaxia, dethroned, becomes first in command of HOFAS after swiftly offing the Under King. his death happened so freaking fast I almost missed it. For the part he played in managing the Bone Quarter and cultivating Secondlight, he didn't deserve such a quick death. Then we have Ithan. He bumbles along through both HOSAB and HOFAS, poor thing, making bad decision after bad decision. After all this Sabine AND Sigrid die. Before Sabine's grandfather dies, he forgoes the Fendyr line completely proclaiming Ithan as his heir and therefore Prime. Bryce rises as Queen of the Fae, as she should! But then renounces the monarchy altogether. Ruhn and Lidia ride off into the sunset working for the Aux. This one was the least offensive to me and made the most sense. They'd both been through it, fought the good fight, their enemies were all vanquished. I felt as though they both earned the peace they received.
Last, but not least, the destruction of the Asteri and Bryce dragging Rigelus off into the void, felt way too reminiscent of Harry talking to Dumbledore at the train station when he dies. Hunt takes a mech suit from Sahara's soul who helps him as he flies into the void to save Bryce, all while Jesiba is trading her life for Bryce's and then meets Bryce in the void to have their final pep talk and farewell. If not for the HP reference, I don't think it would have rankled me as much.
All this sounds hypercritical, because it is, only because my expectations for SJM are so, so high. All this to say, HOFAS was incredible. I love the world she built for us. I will absolutely return after I've had some more time to process everything. I love how she's set up the next ACOTAR book and cannot wait to find out what awaits there. My fingers are crossed that we also haven't seen the last of Aelin and the TOG world.
Being used to the trauma that SJM serves, I was a bit surprised at how many characters seem to get peace and closure. Their new roles are by no means easy ones, but they do receive high honors and some just felt too easily earned. Hypaxia, dethroned, becomes first in command of HOFAS after swiftly offing the Under King. his death happened so freaking fast I almost missed it. For the part he played in managing the Bone Quarter and cultivating Secondlight, he didn't deserve such a quick death. Then we have Ithan. He bumbles along through both HOSAB and HOFAS, poor thing, making bad decision after bad decision. After all this Sabine AND Sigrid die. Before Sabine's grandfather dies, he forgoes the Fendyr line completely proclaiming Ithan as his heir and therefore Prime. Bryce rises as Queen of the Fae, as she should! But then renounces the monarchy altogether. Ruhn and Lidia ride off into the sunset working for the Aux. This one was the least offensive to me and made the most sense. They'd both been through it, fought the good fight, their enemies were all vanquished. I felt as though they both earned the peace they received.
Last, but not least, the destruction of the Asteri and Bryce dragging Rigelus off into the void, felt way too reminiscent of Harry talking to Dumbledore at the train station when he dies. Hunt takes a mech suit from Sahara's soul who helps him as he flies into the void to save Bryce, all while Jesiba is trading her life for Bryce's and then meets Bryce in the void to have their final pep talk and farewell. If not for the HP reference, I don't think it would have rankled me as much.
All this sounds hypercritical, because it is, only because my expectations for SJM are so, so high. All this to say, HOFAS was incredible. I love the world she built for us. I will absolutely return after I've had some more time to process everything. I love how she's set up the next ACOTAR book and cannot wait to find out what awaits there. My fingers are crossed that we also haven't seen the last of Aelin and the TOG world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, and War