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Crescent City #3
House of Flame and Shadow
The stunning third book in the sexy, action-packed Crescent City series, following the global bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath.
Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she's going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that's no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.
Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he's in the Asteri's dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce's fate. He's desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri's leash, his hands are quite literally tied.
In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt's world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.
Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she's going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that's no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.
Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he's in the Asteri's dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce's fate. He's desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri's leash, his hands are quite literally tied.
In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt's world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.
835 pages, ebook
First published January 30, 2024
About the author
Sarah J. Maas
114 books471k followersSarah J. Maas is the #1 bestselling author of the Throne of Glass, Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City series. Her books have sold millions of copies and are published in thirty-eight languages. She lives in New York City with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53,180 reviews
September 22, 2024
3.5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
It feels surreal to have finally read a book I've been anticipating for two years and I am a sobbing mess after finishing the HOFAS. I'm already missing these characters so much.
The following review will contain major spoilers from House of Flame and Shadow so if you haven't finished reading I advise you not to read this review until then.
Also, Sarah recently confirmed Crescent City book 4 is happening (probably in a few years). This one is a conclusion for Bryce's story.
[MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW]
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This book was one hell of an emotional ride and it might come as a surprise that I haven't rated it 5-star, but the more I thought about the book the more issues I found in it so I decided to deduct it from my 4-star rating to 3.5-star which is how I feel.
I got some theories right which I'm very excited about, I also got some theories wrong which was expected because I knew Sarah would throw a curveball at me in this book. It's fun to explore the possibilities as a reader but also I love it when the author surprises me and Sarah did, especially in part 1!!!
Let's begin with the ACOTAR segment:
Keep in mind that SJM changed the timeline gap she originally intended between ACOSF and HOFAS (which was around 6-9 months in her first draft)
The gap between ACOSF's ending and HOFAS events is approximately 3 months (Nesta said she killed Lanthys 7 months ago, which happened a month before Winter Solstice in ACOSF). So it's June/beginning of Summer in the ACOTAR world.
The Middengard Worm making a cameo was not on my bingo card.
- Nesta deserves a 5⭐️ for being the badass that she was in all the scenes. I loved seeing her in action and to see glimpses of the warm person behind an ice cold mask she mastered wearing. We see more of her sentimental side when Bryce plays music (in the bonus chapter) and when Nesta bids Ember and co. farewell. Nesta is set up to be an important player in ACOTAR5 now that she was left with Gwydion/Starsword and to find out why she got the eight-pointed star tattoo.
- Azriel, my beloved, also deserves a 5⭐️. Seeing the spymaster and the Shadowsinger in action alongside Nesta was fun but also the crumbs SJM littered in the ACOTAR segment for him makes me even more thrilled for his arc in ACOTAR5, now that is a protagonist that is being well-prepped for his own book. We touch upon his mother and fondness of music in the bonus chapter, we still don't know how he got Truth-teller and the fact that his precious knife was originally owned by Enalius (the first of the Illyrians) and that is another tie to Illyria, we don't know how his shadows and magic work, he finds out through the Asteri under the Prison that the Illyrians were made by them, and honestly SJM gave more than what I expected when it comes to him. His personality is even more fleshed out and to my delight many of my friends and readers are warming up to him (he always had a personality you just needed to look closer).
"[...] that wasn't there as Azriel landed from
above them. His wings were spread so wide they nearly touched either side of the cavern."
Thank you Janet for confirming who has the largest wingspan yet again.
- Now, Nesta and Azriel as a duo are incredible!!! I love their bond and friendship and seeing how much they look out and care about each other. They understand one another and that has been obvious to us since ACOSF, they both master putting on an icy mask to hide their emotions.
Rhysand alongside Amren made a brief appearance at the beginning of the book and he seems apprehensive about the Asteri and the fact that anyone can walk into their world (I think we will see implications of that in ACOTAR5 being that Rhys saw two alien females fall into his world only months apart). He'll grapple with the question of who else can enter their world and how do they put a stop to it.
I loved the ACOTAR segment so much because it was lore galore and I was craving all that info dump since ACOSF.
The whole history of High King Fionn, Queen Theia, and Pelias was darker than I expected and I'm glad Fionn did not turn out to be evil. I still feel enraged and devastated with what happened with Helena and Silene (Theia's daughters). It's almost impossible to excuse their actions but it is still sad that Theia damned her own family and people because she thirsty for more power.
I can't wait to see what more will be revealed in ACOTAR5!
The ACOTAR-related bonus chapters include: Walmart edition (Bryce, Nesta, Azriel) + BAM/Indigo (Ember and Randall).
My current theory is some of the events in ACOTAR5 will happen in parallel with HOFAS (at least the first 30% of the book).
To conclude this part, I'm glad the crossover did not take over a big chunk of the book because it IS a Crescent City book.
I wasn't rooting for a major crossover either with Throne of Glass (as much as it pains me to say it because I miss them), it would've tangled up all 3 series and we would end up with a messy storyline. Major crossovers work for movies, not for books.
The crossover was important for ACOTAR and CC because they are tied by history and we got answers that are important for both. We got resolution for it in this book, but not yet for ACOTAR. I didn't clarify earlier, we did get some TOG crumbs but it doesn't have the same level of implications as ACOTAR and it does leave the door open for a future crossover, but as of now we know most of TOG storylines had their resolution but Sarah did leave the door open for more stories.
Now... moving on to Crescent City
I was rooting for Bryce but I did find her reckless and insufferable in many moments. It makes me miss HOEAB Bryce but in this book she's coming off too much self-absorbed.
It's hard for me to buy the suprise schemes Bryce pre-planned, I mean it works for a character like Aelin but not Bryce. Certain scenes are convincing and some came out of the blue or were too convenient.
Hunt is my darling and it was obvious throughout the book he is hesitant and triggered by his trauma since Shahar's rebellion so he will question every step they take, and Bryce seems pretty dismissive to him during those moments which... is not doing her any favors. She's not helping him through it and it makes my heart break even more for Hunt because he is so wary of upsetting her about it. Like, Bryce darling... he went through very gruesome torture sessions recently so cut him so slack.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Quinlar and I'm always rooting for them but... I hoped we would be past their trust issues and disagreements over minor things. I still want them to argue and fight, I don't want them to be a perfect couple but all this still rubbed me the wrong way.
I also expected a soul-shattering, emotional reunion after the whole "our love spans across time and universes" quote but I felt underwhelmed with what I got given one of them was in another universe and the other was being tortured.
Still, I got many other moments that I loved and cried and gushed over. Especially their bonus chapter!
On the other hand, I devoured all of Ruhn and Lidia's chapters. Lidia's chapters especially are just *chef's kiss*.
This book made me fall in love with them more and I was eating up all the angst, all the longing, and the intense sexual tension between them.
I wish they got their own book though I need more of them.
There were a few surprises about Lidia that I did not expect but I also love that for her and it helped to better understand her motivations.
The chapters I struggled with the most are Ithan's and Tharion's. I'm sorry but they were a snoozefest except for a few scenes.
I'm happy with what Ithan became and the resolution he got towards the end of the book, but the whole Fendyr/Reaper storyline wasn't all that interesting. At least I got more of Jesiba who also has her own very interesting backstory.
Also, totally rooting for him and Perry.
Tharion's chapters didn't get interesting to me until Sathia came into the picture. It's painful to see him make one miserable decision after another. It's like Sarah testing how much can one character fuck up.
Sathia was a delightful surprise, I didn't expect Flynn's sister who made her seem to be nothing but trouble come off as a compelling character. I hope we get her POV in CC4. I want to explore a Fae female's POV who lived among the Fae and how their views and treatment of females turned her into who she is and how she can move on from it.
I'm a big fan of marriage of convenience trope so I'll consume all of it (if SJM manages to make Tharion more likable).
Flynn (and his sprites), Declan, Baxian played important roles and I still adore them. I just can't help but think of how Baxian will live on without his mate Danika, it hurts.
I was totally bamboozled by who Hunt's father is, let's just say he was conceived through team effort. He has three dads.
Moving on to the villains:
I'll start with the character that had the most satisfying death and it's Pollux. Lidia the female that you are. It was perfection.
I didn't like how the Autumn King and King Morven of Avallen were off'ed. It felt too convenient and I wanted a more satisfying resolution between Bryce/Ruhn and the Autumn King. He can get killed all over again for all I care, I just hoped it would be under a different scenario.
Good riddance Sabine is dead.
I expected something more in the final confrontation with the Asteri but it wasn't as epic as I expected it to be. I mean I'm glad they're gone but I don't know... it was too easy. I don't think it even took 50 pages to off them.
I felt like every villain was eliminated way too easily and way too conveniently. I think it would've been better to spread out their deaths between HOSAB and HOFAS.
I'm glad that we saw Aidas, Apollion, and Thanatos but I was hoping for an epic battle between them and the Asteri. That one was too quick.
There is one trope Sarah likes to pull in the climax but I'm getting bored of it because she did it too many times to the point it no longer is impactful as it intends to be.
Another thing that threw me off was shift between different character POVs mid chapter which felt like a whiplash and needed better formatting. To me I don't think Sarah is weak when it comes to writing multiple POVs (look at Throne of Glass), but for some reason it didn't have a smooth flow in this book.
Overall, I did enjoy parts of book but Sarah took a big risk with the crossover.
Though will say I'm left with questions like:
• What happened to the comms Crystal Ruhn gave Bryce before she escaped to Prythian?
• What about all the Thurr connections and comparisons to Hunt?
• What's the point of Ariadne and her dragon flame being able to burn even Princes of Hel?
• Did we just forget about Viktoria?
• Octartis (the Asteri) was a female in HOSAB, but in HOFAS it's a male?
There are obvious continuity errors, typos and inconsistencies this book suffered from.
Don't let my review impact your experience with this book or your rating, I love these characters and this world and I will miss them dearly but I always planned to keep my review transparent when it comes to this book. Sarah is one of my all-time favorite authors and half of her books are 5-stars to me so you'll know it will take a lot to sway me from that rating.
I will definitely revisit these books in the future, I have attachment issues with Sarah's books.
I will end this review with my favorite quote in HOFAS that made me sob even harder the moment I read it because of what it meant to these characters and to me.
The friends they’d made were what mattered in the end. Not the enemies.
Through love, all is possible.
Thank you Sarah for another emotional journey I'm forever grateful for the stories and the characters you always gift us ❤️
It feels surreal to have finally read a book I've been anticipating for two years and I am a sobbing mess after finishing the HOFAS. I'm already missing these characters so much.
The following review will contain major spoilers from House of Flame and Shadow so if you haven't finished reading I advise you not to read this review until then.
Also, Sarah recently confirmed Crescent City book 4 is happening (probably in a few years). This one is a conclusion for Bryce's story.
[MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW]
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This book was one hell of an emotional ride and it might come as a surprise that I haven't rated it 5-star, but the more I thought about the book the more issues I found in it so I decided to deduct it from my 4-star rating to 3.5-star which is how I feel.
I got some theories right which I'm very excited about, I also got some theories wrong which was expected because I knew Sarah would throw a curveball at me in this book. It's fun to explore the possibilities as a reader but also I love it when the author surprises me and Sarah did, especially in part 1!!!
Let's begin with the ACOTAR segment:
Keep in mind that SJM changed the timeline gap she originally intended between ACOSF and HOFAS (which was around 6-9 months in her first draft)
The gap between ACOSF's ending and HOFAS events is approximately 3 months (Nesta said she killed Lanthys 7 months ago, which happened a month before Winter Solstice in ACOSF). So it's June/beginning of Summer in the ACOTAR world.
The Middengard Worm making a cameo was not on my bingo card.
- Nesta deserves a 5⭐️ for being the badass that she was in all the scenes. I loved seeing her in action and to see glimpses of the warm person behind an ice cold mask she mastered wearing. We see more of her sentimental side when Bryce plays music (in the bonus chapter) and when Nesta bids Ember and co. farewell. Nesta is set up to be an important player in ACOTAR5 now that she was left with Gwydion/Starsword and to find out why she got the eight-pointed star tattoo.
- Azriel, my beloved, also deserves a 5⭐️. Seeing the spymaster and the Shadowsinger in action alongside Nesta was fun but also the crumbs SJM littered in the ACOTAR segment for him makes me even more thrilled for his arc in ACOTAR5, now that is a protagonist that is being well-prepped for his own book. We touch upon his mother and fondness of music in the bonus chapter, we still don't know how he got Truth-teller and the fact that his precious knife was originally owned by Enalius (the first of the Illyrians) and that is another tie to Illyria, we don't know how his shadows and magic work, he finds out through the Asteri under the Prison that the Illyrians were made by them, and honestly SJM gave more than what I expected when it comes to him. His personality is even more fleshed out and to my delight many of my friends and readers are warming up to him (he always had a personality you just needed to look closer).
"[...] that wasn't there as Azriel landed from
above them. His wings were spread so wide they nearly touched either side of the cavern."
Thank you Janet for confirming who has the largest wingspan yet again.
- Now, Nesta and Azriel as a duo are incredible!!! I love their bond and friendship and seeing how much they look out and care about each other. They understand one another and that has been obvious to us since ACOSF, they both master putting on an icy mask to hide their emotions.
Rhysand alongside Amren made a brief appearance at the beginning of the book and he seems apprehensive about the Asteri and the fact that anyone can walk into their world (I think we will see implications of that in ACOTAR5 being that Rhys saw two alien females fall into his world only months apart). He'll grapple with the question of who else can enter their world and how do they put a stop to it.
I loved the ACOTAR segment so much because it was lore galore and I was craving all that info dump since ACOSF.
The whole history of High King Fionn, Queen Theia, and Pelias was darker than I expected and I'm glad Fionn did not turn out to be evil. I still feel enraged and devastated with what happened with Helena and Silene (Theia's daughters). It's almost impossible to excuse their actions but it is still sad that Theia damned her own family and people because she thirsty for more power.
I can't wait to see what more will be revealed in ACOTAR5!
The ACOTAR-related bonus chapters include: Walmart edition (Bryce, Nesta, Azriel) + BAM/Indigo (Ember and Randall).
My current theory is some of the events in ACOTAR5 will happen in parallel with HOFAS (at least the first 30% of the book).
To conclude this part, I'm glad the crossover did not take over a big chunk of the book because it IS a Crescent City book.
I wasn't rooting for a major crossover either with Throne of Glass (as much as it pains me to say it because I miss them), it would've tangled up all 3 series and we would end up with a messy storyline. Major crossovers work for movies, not for books.
The crossover was important for ACOTAR and CC because they are tied by history and we got answers that are important for both. We got resolution for it in this book, but not yet for ACOTAR. I didn't clarify earlier, we did get some TOG crumbs but it doesn't have the same level of implications as ACOTAR and it does leave the door open for a future crossover, but as of now we know most of TOG storylines had their resolution but Sarah did leave the door open for more stories.
Now... moving on to Crescent City
I was rooting for Bryce but I did find her reckless and insufferable in many moments. It makes me miss HOEAB Bryce but in this book she's coming off too much self-absorbed.
It's hard for me to buy the suprise schemes Bryce pre-planned, I mean it works for a character like Aelin but not Bryce. Certain scenes are convincing and some came out of the blue or were too convenient.
Hunt is my darling and it was obvious throughout the book he is hesitant and triggered by his trauma since Shahar's rebellion so he will question every step they take, and Bryce seems pretty dismissive to him during those moments which... is not doing her any favors. She's not helping him through it and it makes my heart break even more for Hunt because he is so wary of upsetting her about it. Like, Bryce darling... he went through very gruesome torture sessions recently so cut him so slack.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Quinlar and I'm always rooting for them but... I hoped we would be past their trust issues and disagreements over minor things. I still want them to argue and fight, I don't want them to be a perfect couple but all this still rubbed me the wrong way.
I also expected a soul-shattering, emotional reunion after the whole "our love spans across time and universes" quote but I felt underwhelmed with what I got given one of them was in another universe and the other was being tortured.
Still, I got many other moments that I loved and cried and gushed over. Especially their bonus chapter!
On the other hand, I devoured all of Ruhn and Lidia's chapters. Lidia's chapters especially are just *chef's kiss*.
This book made me fall in love with them more and I was eating up all the angst, all the longing, and the intense sexual tension between them.
I wish they got their own book though I need more of them.
There were a few surprises about Lidia that I did not expect but I also love that for her and it helped to better understand her motivations.
The chapters I struggled with the most are Ithan's and Tharion's. I'm sorry but they were a snoozefest except for a few scenes.
I'm happy with what Ithan became and the resolution he got towards the end of the book, but the whole Fendyr/Reaper storyline wasn't all that interesting. At least I got more of Jesiba who also has her own very interesting backstory.
Also, totally rooting for him and Perry.
Tharion's chapters didn't get interesting to me until Sathia came into the picture. It's painful to see him make one miserable decision after another. It's like Sarah testing how much can one character fuck up.
Sathia was a delightful surprise, I didn't expect Flynn's sister who made her seem to be nothing but trouble come off as a compelling character. I hope we get her POV in CC4. I want to explore a Fae female's POV who lived among the Fae and how their views and treatment of females turned her into who she is and how she can move on from it.
I'm a big fan of marriage of convenience trope so I'll consume all of it (if SJM manages to make Tharion more likable).
Flynn (and his sprites), Declan, Baxian played important roles and I still adore them. I just can't help but think of how Baxian will live on without his mate Danika, it hurts.
I was totally bamboozled by who Hunt's father is, let's just say he was conceived through team effort. He has three dads.
Moving on to the villains:
I'll start with the character that had the most satisfying death and it's Pollux. Lidia the female that you are. It was perfection.
I didn't like how the Autumn King and King Morven of Avallen were off'ed. It felt too convenient and I wanted a more satisfying resolution between Bryce/Ruhn and the Autumn King. He can get killed all over again for all I care, I just hoped it would be under a different scenario.
Good riddance Sabine is dead.
I expected something more in the final confrontation with the Asteri but it wasn't as epic as I expected it to be. I mean I'm glad they're gone but I don't know... it was too easy. I don't think it even took 50 pages to off them.
I felt like every villain was eliminated way too easily and way too conveniently. I think it would've been better to spread out their deaths between HOSAB and HOFAS.
I'm glad that we saw Aidas, Apollion, and Thanatos but I was hoping for an epic battle between them and the Asteri. That one was too quick.
There is one trope Sarah likes to pull in the climax but I'm getting bored of it because she did it too many times to the point it no longer is impactful as it intends to be.
Another thing that threw me off was shift between different character POVs mid chapter which felt like a whiplash and needed better formatting. To me I don't think Sarah is weak when it comes to writing multiple POVs (look at Throne of Glass), but for some reason it didn't have a smooth flow in this book.
Overall, I did enjoy parts of book but Sarah took a big risk with the crossover.
Though will say I'm left with questions like:
• What happened to the comms Crystal Ruhn gave Bryce before she escaped to Prythian?
• What about all the Thurr connections and comparisons to Hunt?
• What's the point of Ariadne and her dragon flame being able to burn even Princes of Hel?
• Did we just forget about Viktoria?
• Octartis (the Asteri) was a female in HOSAB, but in HOFAS it's a male?
There are obvious continuity errors, typos and inconsistencies this book suffered from.
Don't let my review impact your experience with this book or your rating, I love these characters and this world and I will miss them dearly but I always planned to keep my review transparent when it comes to this book. Sarah is one of my all-time favorite authors and half of her books are 5-stars to me so you'll know it will take a lot to sway me from that rating.
I will definitely revisit these books in the future, I have attachment issues with Sarah's books.
I will end this review with my favorite quote in HOFAS that made me sob even harder the moment I read it because of what it meant to these characters and to me.
The friends they’d made were what mattered in the end. Not the enemies.
Through love, all is possible.
Thank you Sarah for another emotional journey I'm forever grateful for the stories and the characters you always gift us ❤️
August 23, 2024
3⭐️ Definitely had its moments but it wasn’t my favorite.
***This review contains SPOILERS so if you have not read HOFAS or the previous books in the series, STOP SCROLLING ***
PS: If you want to read the bonus chapters, I have them ALL on my story highlights on Instagram @thebiglittlelibrary 🫶 My favorites are Target's & BAM's!
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Here's a fun, little summary of what happens:
✨ ACOTAR crossover
✨ Bryce eats a magic bean
✨ Middengard Worm cameo
✨ History lesson with a ghost
✨ Nesta slayyyyyys
✨ Tharion is an idiot
✨ Baxian gets hungry in the dungeons
✨ Ithan packs one hell of a punch
✨ Lidia Cervos serves cunt
✨ Boring Quinlar reunion
✨ "We All Live In A Yellow Submarine" 🎶
✨ Lidia's is legit Mother
✨ Lots of sad boi energy
✨ Hunt has a wardrobe malfunction 🍆
✨ Asteri just being their usual asshole selves
✨ Hypaxia is . . . there
✨ “Don’t Fear The Reaper” 🎶
✨ A random arranged marriage
✨ Hel is DTF with an alliance
✨ Hunt learns he was a test tube baby
✨ Parricide 👏
✨ Avallen gets a makeover
✨ Bryce becomes death
✨ Ithan nuts up
✨ Hypaxia cures COVID
✨ Epic final battle
✨ Hel + sprites to the rescue
✨Aelin Lidia serves even more cunt
✨ Pollux gets fucked
✨ "Super Massive Black Hole" 🎶
✨ Bryce takes a trip to space
✨ Hunt becomes Iron Man
✨ Jesiba pulls a Ben Solo
✨ Happily Ever After
✨ My Little Pony reboot
✨ House of Many Waters COMING SOON featuring Tharion (and Ithan)
My Thoughts:
Was it a bad story? No. But was it the best? No. There were things I liked and didn't like. I'll be going over all of it. So buckle the fuck up because this is going to be one hell of a review.
First, I want to address the ACOTAR crossover. Honestly, I'm indifferent about it all. I was surprised we mostly see Bryce interacting with just Nesta and Azriel, but I wasn't mad about it. I actually liked Bryce and Nesta's interactions and could DEFINITELY see them as friends under different circumstances. But honestly, Nesta was the best part of this entire crossover. Even after ACOSF I wasn’t a huge Nesta fan but after this, I really like her. I enjoyed seeing her from a total stranger's perspective!
The entire point of the crossover was learning about Theia and her connection to the ACOTAR world - and it did its job there. HOWEVER, knowing that Hel knew the same history and could have easily shared this with Bryce is where my problem with the crossover comes in. If Hel had stepped in to give Bryce all the information (which Aidas says he didn't do because 'Bryce wasn't ready'), there would be no need for a crossover. I mean, I guess at some point she’d have to visit the Fae world to absorb Silene’s Starborn power, but I believe it could have been done without even seeing any of the ACOTAR characters. Which pretty much makes me believe SJM did this as a fan service and/or as a way to get fans who haven't read CC, to read it. It was a genius marketing strategy, but I don't think it did much for the story. And unfortunately, I’m hearing from quite a few people that the crossover disappointed them. So, in the end, it may have backfired on SJM. But if you enjoyed the crossover, I'd like to know and hear your thoughts on why. 😊
What I liked:
The overall plot. Listen, I gotta give it to SJM, she sure knows how to weave a story together. It's wild to me that even the smallest of details tend to have some significance later on in the story - things you may not have even realized are of any importance at all. I enjoyed the journey we've been on since book one, and I thought how everything came together by the end was phenomenal.
The insanity and possibilities of the Maasverse. I am still reeling from all the connections Midgard has to the worlds of ACOTAR and TOG. We mostly focus on the connections to the ACOTAR realm (the Fae home world) but we get some bits and pieces of the ties to the TOG realm thanks to the stories from Aidas and Jesiba. I am honestly in awe of how Sarah J. Maas is able to keep all this information straight and continue to build upon it. This is what I really admire and respect about the Crescent City series. From a fantasy standpoint, I think it was incredibly well done. This is a complex world with a complex history and magic system that can definitely be understood by a first time reader, but is probably appreciated more by those who've read her other series. I'm excited to see what Sarah does next in terms of connecting these worlds in the future.
History lessons with Theia's daughter, Silene. This was so freaking cool. I absolutely LOVED learning more about our beloved ACOTAR world as well as the beginnings of Midgard and the role the Asteri played in all of it. It was a lot darker than I expected, which made it that much more interesting. The only thing I predicted beforehand was that the Prison was the Dusk Court, but besides that everything else was new information and super fun to learn about!
Lidia mother-fucking Cervos. She is a baddie. Period. End of story. The things she's done. . . the things she's put herself through for years all for the sake of her sons. . . I'm in awe. Lidia is the definition of strength. Her backstory was so heartbreaking. I legitimately cried. The way she sacrifices her entire being (mind, body, and soul) really reminded me of the way Rhys sacrificed himself while under the mountain. Both these characters put on a mask and became monsters in order to protect the ones they love. Even how they act after they are free and deal with the trauma is very similar. There's a lot of parallels between the two, which is why I probably love them both so much. Honestly, Lidia is my favorite character of the entire series and I wish we'd gotten more time with her. Also, the fact she’s a descendent of King Brannon from the TOG world and therefore related to Aelin and Dorian in some way was not a surprise but super cool nevertheless.
Lidia and Ruhn's romance. These two have my whole heart. 🫶 I absolutely ADORE them! They're probably my second favorite mated couple besides Feysand. They went through absolute hell in this book. Ruhn getting tortured and Lidia having to participate was so hard to stomach. Lidia saving Ruhn's life and nearly dying only for him to say “You’re dead to me,” made me want to scream. And finding out Lidia has children and her real motives for being the Hind absolutely broke my heart. 😭 They endure so much in such a short amount of time, and even though there was so much broken trust between them, they're able to accept the past and be there for one another. Lidia and Ruhn deserved their HEA. And if you haven't yet, RUN to the link in my bio at @thebiglittlelibrary and read their bonus chapter because it is so perfect!
Ithan's character arc and story development. Did his rise to power feel a bit random and rushed? Yes. But I didn't expect it, so I liked that his story wasn't predictable - especially when he kills Sigrid by punching her through the throat. I GASPED so hard. lol Ithan was actually someone who really annoyed me in book two - he was immature and seemed lost - but his guilt for killing Sigrid takes him on a journey that ends with him coming into his own and finding his purpose as Prime. He grew up a lot and I honestly wouldn't be mad about seeing more of his story in future CC books. I'm also excited by the fact he has the elemental power of snow! Just another connection to the TOG world.
What I didn't like:
The multiple, mid-chapter POV changes DROVE ME NUTS. This was probably my biggest issue. Most of the chapters had three different POVs. And at the beginning of the book, there were four main plots happening at the same time: Bryce in the Fae home world; Hunt, Ruhn, and Baxian being tortured, Tharion with the Viper Queen, and Ithan and the other random side characters trying to figure out wtf to do. So each chapter, we'd follow one character and just as things were starting to ramp up, we'd shift to another character in a completely different situation. Because of these constantly changing POV, the story didn't flow well and I wasn't able to truly immerse myself. I felt removed while reading. Maybe if each chapter had only focused on one, maybe two (max) POVs, the story might not have felt so disjointed.
The predictable ending. While I enjoyed the Asteri plot, I thought the ending was predictable and incredibly low stakes (since you know no one important is going to actually die and stay dead). This could be because I've read SJM's other series and have noticed some patterns and similarities to how she writes her endings. The allying with the 'dark' forces of Hel, the sprites showing up last minute, the Lidia and Pollux confrontation, and Bryce dying and coming back to life, felt similar to the end of ACOWAR. And while the ending had a different plot, the familiarity of it all didn't allow for me to feel any surprise. It definitely wasn't a bad ending . . . I just didn't really pull me in.
The story is plot heavy with not enough character / relationship growth. There was too much going on plot-wise with too many different storylines and too many POVs. While everything neatly came together in the end, the journey to get there was messy and overly complex. I think SJM could have found a way to simplify the plot and cut some POVs to make this easier to digest. But at the same time, because there was so much focus on the plot, a few of the characters and relationships didn't get the attention they deserved. Specifically, Hunt and Ruhn dealing with the trauma from their torture, Lidia dealing with her trauma, Ruhn and Lidia's relationship (see below), Ithan's and his character arc, and Tharion as a whole because what growth has he even gone through throughout this entire series?
Not only did Ruhn and Lidia not get enough screen time to truly work through their trauma, trust issues, and anger, but THEY WERE ROBBED of a beautiful romance journey. (Sort of how we were robbed of more Elorcan in TOG.) I totally get the need for more plot in this book because it's the ending to the series and things need to wrap up. However, we barely scratched the surface of Ruhn and Lidia's romance in HOSAB. And then in this book, things are bad for a while before they come together without spending adequate time resolving any issues, healing from their traumas, and growing as a couple. I understand that it wasn't possible to do this in an already 838 page book, but I truly believe other things should have been cut to make their story more impactful. Or, I think they shouldn't have been a couple at the end so we'd get a book that focuses on Ruhn and Lidia. Regardless, I think not diving deep into their story was a missed opportunity.
Hunt and Bryce's 'reunion'. This was one of the most anticlimactic scenes in the entire book. I was expecting Hunt and Bryce to immediately jump into each other's arms . . . to sob . . . to kiss . . . and say some incredibly romantic and sappy shit to one another. BUT NONE OF THAT HAPPENS. After everything they went through to find each other again, this was not the reunion I was hoping for.
Hunt and Bryce as a couple Listen, I don't want to get into it but I don't think they have chemistry. Compared to SJM's other couples, they're definitely one of the weaker pairings. I get that in the story, they supposedly have this insane connection that spans across time and space, but I just never felt it. Side note: I LEGIT forgot they were married. 😂
If you like Bryce and Hunt (and the rest of the Crescent City characters), I believe you'll really enjoy this story. But if you've struggled to like or even connect with most of them, this story will probably disappoint you. Unfortunately, I fall in the latter group. As a whole, I think the CC characters are a bunch of immature idiots who act more like the stereotypical frat guys and sorority girls than people capable of saving the world. I mean, the majority of the characters are in their 20s but even the ones who are older still act childish at times.
Bryce. I'm sorry, but she's my least favorite SJM FMC. She's a selfish, immature, pick-me girl. If I had to read another sentence about how hot she was according to EVERY SINGLE GUY besides her brother, and listen to more of her shitty jokes (which EVERY SINGLE GUY thinks is so fucking funny), I was going to scream. And I get Bryce is a sarcastic bitch to everyone, but there's a time and a place for everything, and being obnoxious doesn't ever actually get anyone anywhere.
Bryce also isn't a character that earned my respect as The Chosen One. Let's look at the origins of SJM's other main FMCs. Feyra was a hunter and Aelin was an assassin, while Bryce was . . . a party girl? The other FMCs proved themselves to be worthy of being the Chosen One but Bryce had zero skills to qualify her as a fighter or good leader yet somehow she was able to amass a group of people to follow her. Also, she never learned new skills. She solely relied on her inherited powers and the skills of others. Nepotism at its finest.
Bryce was incredibly selfish when she unleashed an Asteri onto the Fae home world without a second thought for the millions of lives there . . . all because she wants answers, which she doesn’t really even get! Thank the Cauldron Nesta was there to save the day! And then, when Bryce tells Hunt, her supposed soulmate, to sack up and get over his trauma. Girl, WHAT?!
Lastly, Bryce hating ALL fae because she’s had some bad experiences with a few seems incredibly close minded and just plain stupid. What about the fae in her life like Ruhn, Declan, Flynn and countless others who are kind and fight for what’s right? Apparently they don’t count. But how dumb is she to write off an entire race/species based on the actions of a few?
Tharion. I didn't care for him in book one. I disliked him in book two. And I absolutely hate him in book three. I mean, does ANYONE like Tharion? Please, if you do, let me know in the comments and tell me why because I must be missing something. From what we've seen, he is a selfish, immature, fuck boi that doesn't go through any character growth throughout this ENTIRE series. I was extremely annoyed that his POV took up a huge chunk of this book when it added little to this story. But it looks like SJM was mainly setting things up for him (and Ithan) to be the MCs in her next CC book. 🙄 I know I'll read it because it's SJM, but I won't be happy about it. He better undergo a serious transformation, like Nesta in ACOSF, or else that'll be the end of my CC journey.
So many side characters that don't matter. Declan and Flynn. Okay, Declan's THE tech guy who only has use whenever SJM needed someone to hack something. How convenient. 🙄 But Flynn . . . I CANNOT for the life of me remember anything useful he did. Baxian. He's Danika's mate. Cool. And? I guess he's a hunk of meat that Bryce can call on during a fight. But as a character, he's not THAT special. Sigrid. She had so much potential but only propelled Ithan's character arc forward. Super pointless but probably setting up for the next book. Sathia. The most random of all characters. She pops up out of nowhere (I genuinely forgot Flynn had a sister) and married Tharion? This has to be a setup for the next book, but it just added another unnecessary piece to an already overly complicated story. Fury and Juniper. Bryce's ONLY female friends and I forgot about them lol. The fact Fury doesn't play an active role in this series is another missed opportunity. What's the point in Bryce having a badass friend if she doesn't even help??? I truly believe Sarah could and should have cut out a few of these people to simplify the story.
Aidas' reason for not just telling Bryce the entire truth about everything was flimsy. Apparently, it's because "Bryce wasn't ready". He couldn't risk her telling the wrong person and the Asteri finding out. So instead, he'd rather have Bryce go on an insane goose chase and risk her life doing a bunch of other dangerous shit because he didn't think he could tell her the truth and convince her to keep her mouth shut. This entire situation just brought up my PTSD from when Danika withheld the truth from Bryce. Riddle me this, how is it that someone who no one seems to trust ends up with the most power and becomes the savior of Midgard??
I also found it strange that Hel, a realm that has been trying to eradicate the Asteri for 15,000 years from Midgard and is currently helping other realms fight these beings, are fine sitting back, letting millions, if not, billions die throughout the years. From what I remember, after the initial rebellion with Theia, they tried helping once by creating the Thunderbirds. But that was eons ago and I don't believe they really tried since. It's like they were fine waiting till one of Theia's heirs was ready to take on the mantle and become the catalyst for a successful rebellion. But again, once they found Bryce, they didn't do shit to help her understand her powers or the history of Midgard and the Asteri. Ugh. Why??? There just isn't a good enough reason. So overall, I think Hel not stepping in more didn't make sense for a realm that is 'eager' to help the universe, but also Aidas not revealing the whole truth earlier was such a cop-out and made Hel's entire involvement useless until it was convenient for the story.
Overall, House of Flame and Shadow was an okay conclusion to the Crescent City series. I enjoyed how everything came full circle and how SJM scratches the surface of the multiverse. Sarah J. Maas is still one of my favorite authors, and even though this may not have been my favorite book, I respect the hell out of her and admire her. She's created some of the most magical worlds and stories that have changed a generation of readers, so she'll always hold a special place in my heart. I am excited for the next ACOTAR book, but I do hope she does what she does best and gives us a story with the perfect combination of a compelling plot, character growth, and romance. And for the love of god please don’t let it have more than 2 POVs.
Favorite Quotes:
“You’re as much of a monster as they are.”
“Love will do that to you.”
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For Bryce, home was - and always would be - Hunt.
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“You’re a prince, start acting like one.”
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“I don’t fucking care who you are, so long as you’re mine. Because I’m yours.”
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This wasn’t about sex. And as their breathing evened out, as they stared at each other in the near-dark, he’d never felt more seen.
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“Choose life. Choose each other. I have lived with the alternative for millennia - the loss never gets easier to bear.”
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“I see you, Ruhn. I see all of you.”
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Ruhn looked back to Lidia and saw her smiling, delight and mischief brightening her face. And damn if it wasn’t the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
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"You’re my best friend you know that? I mean, you’re my mate and wife but you’re my best friend, too. I’d never thought I’d have one of those.”
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Home - he was home. Home wasn’t a place or a thing, but him. Wherever Hunt was . . . That was where home was. She’d find him across galaxies, if need be.
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The friends they’d made were what mattered in the end. Not the enemies. Through love, all is possible.
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“I love you. I fell in love with you in the depths of my soul, and it’s my soul that will find yours again in the next life.”
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"What is made from love can never be destroyed.”
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“The world was out there. Life was out there. So Bryce and Hunt ran out to live it. Together.”
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***This review contains SPOILERS so if you have not read HOFAS or the previous books in the series, STOP SCROLLING ***
PS: If you want to read the bonus chapters, I have them ALL on my story highlights on Instagram @thebiglittlelibrary 🫶 My favorites are Target's & BAM's!
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Here's a fun, little summary of what happens:
✨ ACOTAR crossover
✨ Bryce eats a magic bean
✨ Middengard Worm cameo
✨ History lesson with a ghost
✨ Nesta slayyyyyys
✨ Tharion is an idiot
✨ Baxian gets hungry in the dungeons
✨ Ithan packs one hell of a punch
✨ Lidia Cervos serves cunt
✨ Boring Quinlar reunion
✨ "We All Live In A Yellow Submarine" 🎶
✨ Lidia's is legit Mother
✨ Lots of sad boi energy
✨ Hunt has a wardrobe malfunction 🍆
✨ Asteri just being their usual asshole selves
✨ Hypaxia is . . . there
✨ “Don’t Fear The Reaper” 🎶
✨ A random arranged marriage
✨ Hel is DTF with an alliance
✨ Hunt learns he was a test tube baby
✨ Parricide 👏
✨ Avallen gets a makeover
✨ Bryce becomes death
✨ Ithan nuts up
✨ Hypaxia cures COVID
✨ Epic final battle
✨ Hel + sprites to the rescue
✨
✨ Pollux gets fucked
✨ "Super Massive Black Hole" 🎶
✨ Bryce takes a trip to space
✨ Hunt becomes Iron Man
✨ Jesiba pulls a Ben Solo
✨ Happily Ever After
✨ My Little Pony reboot
✨ House of Many Waters COMING SOON featuring Tharion (and Ithan)
My Thoughts:
Was it a bad story? No. But was it the best? No. There were things I liked and didn't like. I'll be going over all of it. So buckle the fuck up because this is going to be one hell of a review.
First, I want to address the ACOTAR crossover. Honestly, I'm indifferent about it all. I was surprised we mostly see Bryce interacting with just Nesta and Azriel, but I wasn't mad about it. I actually liked Bryce and Nesta's interactions and could DEFINITELY see them as friends under different circumstances. But honestly, Nesta was the best part of this entire crossover. Even after ACOSF I wasn’t a huge Nesta fan but after this, I really like her. I enjoyed seeing her from a total stranger's perspective!
The entire point of the crossover was learning about Theia and her connection to the ACOTAR world - and it did its job there. HOWEVER, knowing that Hel knew the same history and could have easily shared this with Bryce is where my problem with the crossover comes in. If Hel had stepped in to give Bryce all the information (which Aidas says he didn't do because 'Bryce wasn't ready'), there would be no need for a crossover. I mean, I guess at some point she’d have to visit the Fae world to absorb Silene’s Starborn power, but I believe it could have been done without even seeing any of the ACOTAR characters. Which pretty much makes me believe SJM did this as a fan service and/or as a way to get fans who haven't read CC, to read it. It was a genius marketing strategy, but I don't think it did much for the story. And unfortunately, I’m hearing from quite a few people that the crossover disappointed them. So, in the end, it may have backfired on SJM. But if you enjoyed the crossover, I'd like to know and hear your thoughts on why. 😊
What I liked:
The overall plot. Listen, I gotta give it to SJM, she sure knows how to weave a story together. It's wild to me that even the smallest of details tend to have some significance later on in the story - things you may not have even realized are of any importance at all. I enjoyed the journey we've been on since book one, and I thought how everything came together by the end was phenomenal.
The insanity and possibilities of the Maasverse. I am still reeling from all the connections Midgard has to the worlds of ACOTAR and TOG. We mostly focus on the connections to the ACOTAR realm (the Fae home world) but we get some bits and pieces of the ties to the TOG realm thanks to the stories from Aidas and Jesiba. I am honestly in awe of how Sarah J. Maas is able to keep all this information straight and continue to build upon it. This is what I really admire and respect about the Crescent City series. From a fantasy standpoint, I think it was incredibly well done. This is a complex world with a complex history and magic system that can definitely be understood by a first time reader, but is probably appreciated more by those who've read her other series. I'm excited to see what Sarah does next in terms of connecting these worlds in the future.
History lessons with Theia's daughter, Silene. This was so freaking cool. I absolutely LOVED learning more about our beloved ACOTAR world as well as the beginnings of Midgard and the role the Asteri played in all of it. It was a lot darker than I expected, which made it that much more interesting. The only thing I predicted beforehand was that the Prison was the Dusk Court, but besides that everything else was new information and super fun to learn about!
Lidia mother-fucking Cervos. She is a baddie. Period. End of story. The things she's done. . . the things she's put herself through for years all for the sake of her sons. . . I'm in awe. Lidia is the definition of strength. Her backstory was so heartbreaking. I legitimately cried. The way she sacrifices her entire being (mind, body, and soul) really reminded me of the way Rhys sacrificed himself while under the mountain. Both these characters put on a mask and became monsters in order to protect the ones they love. Even how they act after they are free and deal with the trauma is very similar. There's a lot of parallels between the two, which is why I probably love them both so much. Honestly, Lidia is my favorite character of the entire series and I wish we'd gotten more time with her. Also, the fact she’s a descendent of King Brannon from the TOG world and therefore related to Aelin and Dorian in some way was not a surprise but super cool nevertheless.
Lidia and Ruhn's romance. These two have my whole heart. 🫶 I absolutely ADORE them! They're probably my second favorite mated couple besides Feysand. They went through absolute hell in this book. Ruhn getting tortured and Lidia having to participate was so hard to stomach. Lidia saving Ruhn's life and nearly dying only for him to say “You’re dead to me,” made me want to scream. And finding out Lidia has children and her real motives for being the Hind absolutely broke my heart. 😭 They endure so much in such a short amount of time, and even though there was so much broken trust between them, they're able to accept the past and be there for one another. Lidia and Ruhn deserved their HEA. And if you haven't yet, RUN to the link in my bio at @thebiglittlelibrary and read their bonus chapter because it is so perfect!
Ithan's character arc and story development. Did his rise to power feel a bit random and rushed? Yes. But I didn't expect it, so I liked that his story wasn't predictable - especially when he kills Sigrid by punching her through the throat. I GASPED so hard. lol Ithan was actually someone who really annoyed me in book two - he was immature and seemed lost - but his guilt for killing Sigrid takes him on a journey that ends with him coming into his own and finding his purpose as Prime. He grew up a lot and I honestly wouldn't be mad about seeing more of his story in future CC books. I'm also excited by the fact he has the elemental power of snow! Just another connection to the TOG world.
What I didn't like:
The multiple, mid-chapter POV changes DROVE ME NUTS. This was probably my biggest issue. Most of the chapters had three different POVs. And at the beginning of the book, there were four main plots happening at the same time: Bryce in the Fae home world; Hunt, Ruhn, and Baxian being tortured, Tharion with the Viper Queen, and Ithan and the other random side characters trying to figure out wtf to do. So each chapter, we'd follow one character and just as things were starting to ramp up, we'd shift to another character in a completely different situation. Because of these constantly changing POV, the story didn't flow well and I wasn't able to truly immerse myself. I felt removed while reading. Maybe if each chapter had only focused on one, maybe two (max) POVs, the story might not have felt so disjointed.
The predictable ending. While I enjoyed the Asteri plot, I thought the ending was predictable and incredibly low stakes (since you know no one important is going to actually die and stay dead). This could be because I've read SJM's other series and have noticed some patterns and similarities to how she writes her endings. The allying with the 'dark' forces of Hel, the sprites showing up last minute, the Lidia and Pollux confrontation, and Bryce dying and coming back to life, felt similar to the end of ACOWAR. And while the ending had a different plot, the familiarity of it all didn't allow for me to feel any surprise. It definitely wasn't a bad ending . . . I just didn't really pull me in.
The story is plot heavy with not enough character / relationship growth. There was too much going on plot-wise with too many different storylines and too many POVs. While everything neatly came together in the end, the journey to get there was messy and overly complex. I think SJM could have found a way to simplify the plot and cut some POVs to make this easier to digest. But at the same time, because there was so much focus on the plot, a few of the characters and relationships didn't get the attention they deserved. Specifically, Hunt and Ruhn dealing with the trauma from their torture, Lidia dealing with her trauma, Ruhn and Lidia's relationship (see below), Ithan's and his character arc, and Tharion as a whole because what growth has he even gone through throughout this entire series?
Not only did Ruhn and Lidia not get enough screen time to truly work through their trauma, trust issues, and anger, but THEY WERE ROBBED of a beautiful romance journey. (Sort of how we were robbed of more Elorcan in TOG.) I totally get the need for more plot in this book because it's the ending to the series and things need to wrap up. However, we barely scratched the surface of Ruhn and Lidia's romance in HOSAB. And then in this book, things are bad for a while before they come together without spending adequate time resolving any issues, healing from their traumas, and growing as a couple. I understand that it wasn't possible to do this in an already 838 page book, but I truly believe other things should have been cut to make their story more impactful. Or, I think they shouldn't have been a couple at the end so we'd get a book that focuses on Ruhn and Lidia. Regardless, I think not diving deep into their story was a missed opportunity.
Hunt and Bryce's 'reunion'. This was one of the most anticlimactic scenes in the entire book. I was expecting Hunt and Bryce to immediately jump into each other's arms . . . to sob . . . to kiss . . . and say some incredibly romantic and sappy shit to one another. BUT NONE OF THAT HAPPENS. After everything they went through to find each other again, this was not the reunion I was hoping for.
Hunt and Bryce as a couple Listen, I don't want to get into it but I don't think they have chemistry. Compared to SJM's other couples, they're definitely one of the weaker pairings. I get that in the story, they supposedly have this insane connection that spans across time and space, but I just never felt it. Side note: I LEGIT forgot they were married. 😂
If you like Bryce and Hunt (and the rest of the Crescent City characters), I believe you'll really enjoy this story. But if you've struggled to like or even connect with most of them, this story will probably disappoint you. Unfortunately, I fall in the latter group. As a whole, I think the CC characters are a bunch of immature idiots who act more like the stereotypical frat guys and sorority girls than people capable of saving the world. I mean, the majority of the characters are in their 20s but even the ones who are older still act childish at times.
Bryce. I'm sorry, but she's my least favorite SJM FMC. She's a selfish, immature, pick-me girl. If I had to read another sentence about how hot she was according to EVERY SINGLE GUY besides her brother, and listen to more of her shitty jokes (which EVERY SINGLE GUY thinks is so fucking funny), I was going to scream. And I get Bryce is a sarcastic bitch to everyone, but there's a time and a place for everything, and being obnoxious doesn't ever actually get anyone anywhere.
Bryce also isn't a character that earned my respect as The Chosen One. Let's look at the origins of SJM's other main FMCs. Feyra was a hunter and Aelin was an assassin, while Bryce was . . . a party girl? The other FMCs proved themselves to be worthy of being the Chosen One but Bryce had zero skills to qualify her as a fighter or good leader yet somehow she was able to amass a group of people to follow her. Also, she never learned new skills. She solely relied on her inherited powers and the skills of others. Nepotism at its finest.
Bryce was incredibly selfish when she unleashed an Asteri onto the Fae home world without a second thought for the millions of lives there . . . all because she wants answers, which she doesn’t really even get! Thank the Cauldron Nesta was there to save the day! And then, when Bryce tells Hunt, her supposed soulmate, to sack up and get over his trauma. Girl, WHAT?!
Lastly, Bryce hating ALL fae because she’s had some bad experiences with a few seems incredibly close minded and just plain stupid. What about the fae in her life like Ruhn, Declan, Flynn and countless others who are kind and fight for what’s right? Apparently they don’t count. But how dumb is she to write off an entire race/species based on the actions of a few?
Tharion. I didn't care for him in book one. I disliked him in book two. And I absolutely hate him in book three. I mean, does ANYONE like Tharion? Please, if you do, let me know in the comments and tell me why because I must be missing something. From what we've seen, he is a selfish, immature, fuck boi that doesn't go through any character growth throughout this ENTIRE series. I was extremely annoyed that his POV took up a huge chunk of this book when it added little to this story. But it looks like SJM was mainly setting things up for him (and Ithan) to be the MCs in her next CC book. 🙄 I know I'll read it because it's SJM, but I won't be happy about it. He better undergo a serious transformation, like Nesta in ACOSF, or else that'll be the end of my CC journey.
So many side characters that don't matter. Declan and Flynn. Okay, Declan's THE tech guy who only has use whenever SJM needed someone to hack something. How convenient. 🙄 But Flynn . . . I CANNOT for the life of me remember anything useful he did. Baxian. He's Danika's mate. Cool. And? I guess he's a hunk of meat that Bryce can call on during a fight. But as a character, he's not THAT special. Sigrid. She had so much potential but only propelled Ithan's character arc forward. Super pointless but probably setting up for the next book. Sathia. The most random of all characters. She pops up out of nowhere (I genuinely forgot Flynn had a sister) and married Tharion? This has to be a setup for the next book, but it just added another unnecessary piece to an already overly complicated story. Fury and Juniper. Bryce's ONLY female friends and I forgot about them lol. The fact Fury doesn't play an active role in this series is another missed opportunity. What's the point in Bryce having a badass friend if she doesn't even help??? I truly believe Sarah could and should have cut out a few of these people to simplify the story.
Aidas' reason for not just telling Bryce the entire truth about everything was flimsy. Apparently, it's because "Bryce wasn't ready". He couldn't risk her telling the wrong person and the Asteri finding out. So instead, he'd rather have Bryce go on an insane goose chase and risk her life doing a bunch of other dangerous shit because he didn't think he could tell her the truth and convince her to keep her mouth shut. This entire situation just brought up my PTSD from when Danika withheld the truth from Bryce. Riddle me this, how is it that someone who no one seems to trust ends up with the most power and becomes the savior of Midgard??
I also found it strange that Hel, a realm that has been trying to eradicate the Asteri for 15,000 years from Midgard and is currently helping other realms fight these beings, are fine sitting back, letting millions, if not, billions die throughout the years. From what I remember, after the initial rebellion with Theia, they tried helping once by creating the Thunderbirds. But that was eons ago and I don't believe they really tried since. It's like they were fine waiting till one of Theia's heirs was ready to take on the mantle and become the catalyst for a successful rebellion. But again, once they found Bryce, they didn't do shit to help her understand her powers or the history of Midgard and the Asteri. Ugh. Why??? There just isn't a good enough reason. So overall, I think Hel not stepping in more didn't make sense for a realm that is 'eager' to help the universe, but also Aidas not revealing the whole truth earlier was such a cop-out and made Hel's entire involvement useless until it was convenient for the story.
Overall, House of Flame and Shadow was an okay conclusion to the Crescent City series. I enjoyed how everything came full circle and how SJM scratches the surface of the multiverse. Sarah J. Maas is still one of my favorite authors, and even though this may not have been my favorite book, I respect the hell out of her and admire her. She's created some of the most magical worlds and stories that have changed a generation of readers, so she'll always hold a special place in my heart. I am excited for the next ACOTAR book, but I do hope she does what she does best and gives us a story with the perfect combination of a compelling plot, character growth, and romance. And for the love of god please don’t let it have more than 2 POVs.
Favorite Quotes:
“You’re as much of a monster as they are.”
“Love will do that to you.”
_______
For Bryce, home was - and always would be - Hunt.
_______
“You’re a prince, start acting like one.”
_______
“I don’t fucking care who you are, so long as you’re mine. Because I’m yours.”
_______
This wasn’t about sex. And as their breathing evened out, as they stared at each other in the near-dark, he’d never felt more seen.
_______
“Choose life. Choose each other. I have lived with the alternative for millennia - the loss never gets easier to bear.”
_______
“I see you, Ruhn. I see all of you.”
_______
Ruhn looked back to Lidia and saw her smiling, delight and mischief brightening her face. And damn if it wasn’t the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
_______
"You’re my best friend you know that? I mean, you’re my mate and wife but you’re my best friend, too. I’d never thought I’d have one of those.”
_______
Home - he was home. Home wasn’t a place or a thing, but him. Wherever Hunt was . . . That was where home was. She’d find him across galaxies, if need be.
_______
The friends they’d made were what mattered in the end. Not the enemies. Through love, all is possible.
_______
“I love you. I fell in love with you in the depths of my soul, and it’s my soul that will find yours again in the next life.”
_______
"What is made from love can never be destroyed.”
_______
“The world was out there. Life was out there. So Bryce and Hunt ran out to live it. Together.”
_______
February 5, 2024
In a word: Unsatisfying
update no. 1
24 hours after finishing and I'm already dropping this down to 2.5⭐
update no. 2
I heard you loud and clear in the comments that you want the review now instead of later. Because it's 1 AM and tomorrow 5 of my bookish friends are coming to spend the weekend at my place, I'm going to post some of my raw notes because I don't want to leave you hanging. The plan is to come back on Monday and edit these into something easier to read lol. Don't expect these to be in an order that makes sense. There will be loads of spelling errors, ya just gotta deal until I can edit.
With that said, SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT
.
.
.
Fury
The fact that all we “used” was her ability to pilot a helicopter is an embarrassment. Not to mention that this series was supposed to be about female friendships. We just, do away with fury and juniper altogether in this book. Stupid. Also, Fury literally makes a scoff about how all she’s doing is playing babysitter and I was like UH YEAH. THE FUCK?
Jesiba
There should have been breadcrumbs. We should have seen her interact with SOMEONE who knows Appolion *ahem, Aidas* and had her trash talk him. Then we’d be like what’s her beef?
Book of breathings/library of parthos
big old plot hole. Disappointing.
reunion between Bryce and Hunt
one of the things that made me SO ANGRYYYYYY like in the moment I was walking around saying “the fuck??? Wait WHAT???” I don’t see Pete for 24 hours and I will leap into that man’s arms. You’re telling me that *mates* who’ve been tortured and never knew if they’d find their way back to one another were going to like the fucking Ocean Queen stop them from falling into each other’s arms??? You cannot tell me they shouldn’t have been sobbing together. bullshit.
Lack of character dev.
I was surprised by this. I expected the book to at least take place over the course of a month, not like, a week. I get we don’t tend to change as humans thaaaaat much over a week but it's historically been something I appreciate that in her writing and we got none of it.
Silene / Princes of Hel info dumps
I could go on and on here, but in essence, it’s bloody infuriating that there were people who knew everything all along and never guided or drop-fed that info to us over the three books. “You weren’t ready” I WANTED TO THROW MY PHONE what a cop-out. Secondly, by sharing all this info all at once, the reader doesn’t get to chew on any of it, the think about what it means. We’re just hanging on for dear life trying to take it all in. It’s like someone tossing us a ball… versus having a cannon full of tennis balls shot at you all at once
General messiness/she bit off more than she could chew
When I’m over here wishing that she’d kill some characters off, just so that we could have some emotional impact AND narrow the field, we’ve got a big problem. I think about Chekov’s Gun all the time when I’m reading… the rule in writing that if you include an element, you should use it by the book’s conclusion. And she just… doesn’t. I’ve never been more convinced than I am now after HoFaS that SJM doesn’t actually have some crisp master plan. She just leaves a fuck-tonne of Chekov’s Guns lying around, and picks them up willy nilly when it sort of works in a future book. That’s why it feels so messy, plot-hole-y, and just kind of ???
the (anti)climax
the whole final fight scene was anticlimactic, it never felt like anyone was actually in danger, and legit in all caps I was fuuuuuuming about the bringing her back to life. Nah. I’m fucking sick of it. Death is there for a reason. Get rid of it and you have NO stakes. Which makes all your hard work trying to get the reader to be worried about the character’s wellbeing null and void
Other things that made me real mad:
• what was the point in the viper queen getting a private fight between Sigrid and Ithan????
• SIGRID. are you fucking kidding me all of that round and round in circles and FOR WHAT.
• Ithan choosing to try to bring Sigrid back from the dead (reaper form) instead of focusing on what’s ACTUALLY important aka THE FIGHT OF THEIR LIFE WITH THE BIG BAD?????
• Bryce opening the coffin. why she acting like a dumb bitch? I literally wrote down: “????? Girl why so reckless”
• over promising and under-delivering: don’t make it seem like we’re going to get any face time with the acotar crew only to give us two of them
• The parasite is something they should have learned in the previous book. And it should have been DIFFICULT and CHALLENGING and NERVE WRACKING for them to try and produce an anti-dote right under their noses. Get fucked that NO ONE in the scientific community in this urban fantasy has noticed
• can anything crystal be a gate? Like shit just doesn’t line up.
• "Surrounded by a fire that even Tharion’s water could not extinguish” to that I wrote: Pokemon says otherwise
• RUHN SHOOTING LIDIA. for so many reasons. They’re supposed to heal quickly, so which is it?? She’s spent over a decade in an abusive relationship with Pollux, so because he walked with her sons for a bit they’re just fine with it? Nahhhh fuck that. They shouldn’t have ended up back together by the end of this book and we should have gotten him making ALL the amends, her fighting with herself to learn how to trust him again, etc in the next book. THATS the character growth I want to see. ughhhhhh I’m still so mad lol.
• all that nonsense about to join or not join the blades… and she can simply summon the void herself???
Lastly, and possibly most hilariously
something that didn’t really matter but spoke to how inconsistent SJM was with her own established rules: WHY DID IT TAKE RHYS 80 YEARS TO GET TO THE HOUSE OF WIND? TWIIIIIIIICE? He has literally winnowed just outside the wards and flown inside in a matter of seconds/like, a minute. He does it when Nesta is stuck in that nightmare in ACOSF. and TWICE we get oooooo he’s coming. look at that encroaching darkness. ooooo you better go. (proceeds to have a long, heartfelt goodbye with mom hugs) *closes portal before he ever arrives* bsffr.
update no. 1
24 hours after finishing and I'm already dropping this down to 2.5⭐
update no. 2
I heard you loud and clear in the comments that you want the review now instead of later. Because it's 1 AM and tomorrow 5 of my bookish friends are coming to spend the weekend at my place, I'm going to post some of my raw notes because I don't want to leave you hanging. The plan is to come back on Monday and edit these into something easier to read lol. Don't expect these to be in an order that makes sense. There will be loads of spelling errors, ya just gotta deal until I can edit.
With that said, SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT
.
.
.
Fury
The fact that all we “used” was her ability to pilot a helicopter is an embarrassment. Not to mention that this series was supposed to be about female friendships. We just, do away with fury and juniper altogether in this book. Stupid. Also, Fury literally makes a scoff about how all she’s doing is playing babysitter and I was like UH YEAH. THE FUCK?
Jesiba
There should have been breadcrumbs. We should have seen her interact with SOMEONE who knows Appolion *ahem, Aidas* and had her trash talk him. Then we’d be like what’s her beef?
Book of breathings/library of parthos
big old plot hole. Disappointing.
reunion between Bryce and Hunt
one of the things that made me SO ANGRYYYYYY like in the moment I was walking around saying “the fuck??? Wait WHAT???” I don’t see Pete for 24 hours and I will leap into that man’s arms. You’re telling me that *mates* who’ve been tortured and never knew if they’d find their way back to one another were going to like the fucking Ocean Queen stop them from falling into each other’s arms??? You cannot tell me they shouldn’t have been sobbing together. bullshit.
Lack of character dev.
I was surprised by this. I expected the book to at least take place over the course of a month, not like, a week. I get we don’t tend to change as humans thaaaaat much over a week but it's historically been something I appreciate that in her writing and we got none of it.
Silene / Princes of Hel info dumps
I could go on and on here, but in essence, it’s bloody infuriating that there were people who knew everything all along and never guided or drop-fed that info to us over the three books. “You weren’t ready” I WANTED TO THROW MY PHONE what a cop-out. Secondly, by sharing all this info all at once, the reader doesn’t get to chew on any of it, the think about what it means. We’re just hanging on for dear life trying to take it all in. It’s like someone tossing us a ball… versus having a cannon full of tennis balls shot at you all at once
General messiness/she bit off more than she could chew
When I’m over here wishing that she’d kill some characters off, just so that we could have some emotional impact AND narrow the field, we’ve got a big problem. I think about Chekov’s Gun all the time when I’m reading… the rule in writing that if you include an element, you should use it by the book’s conclusion. And she just… doesn’t. I’ve never been more convinced than I am now after HoFaS that SJM doesn’t actually have some crisp master plan. She just leaves a fuck-tonne of Chekov’s Guns lying around, and picks them up willy nilly when it sort of works in a future book. That’s why it feels so messy, plot-hole-y, and just kind of ???
the (anti)climax
the whole final fight scene was anticlimactic, it never felt like anyone was actually in danger, and legit in all caps I was fuuuuuuming about the bringing her back to life. Nah. I’m fucking sick of it. Death is there for a reason. Get rid of it and you have NO stakes. Which makes all your hard work trying to get the reader to be worried about the character’s wellbeing null and void
Other things that made me real mad:
• what was the point in the viper queen getting a private fight between Sigrid and Ithan????
• SIGRID. are you fucking kidding me all of that round and round in circles and FOR WHAT.
• Ithan choosing to try to bring Sigrid back from the dead (reaper form) instead of focusing on what’s ACTUALLY important aka THE FIGHT OF THEIR LIFE WITH THE BIG BAD?????
• Bryce opening the coffin. why she acting like a dumb bitch? I literally wrote down: “????? Girl why so reckless”
• over promising and under-delivering: don’t make it seem like we’re going to get any face time with the acotar crew only to give us two of them
• The parasite is something they should have learned in the previous book. And it should have been DIFFICULT and CHALLENGING and NERVE WRACKING for them to try and produce an anti-dote right under their noses. Get fucked that NO ONE in the scientific community in this urban fantasy has noticed
• can anything crystal be a gate? Like shit just doesn’t line up.
• "Surrounded by a fire that even Tharion’s water could not extinguish” to that I wrote: Pokemon says otherwise
• RUHN SHOOTING LIDIA. for so many reasons. They’re supposed to heal quickly, so which is it?? She’s spent over a decade in an abusive relationship with Pollux, so because he walked with her sons for a bit they’re just fine with it? Nahhhh fuck that. They shouldn’t have ended up back together by the end of this book and we should have gotten him making ALL the amends, her fighting with herself to learn how to trust him again, etc in the next book. THATS the character growth I want to see. ughhhhhh I’m still so mad lol.
• all that nonsense about to join or not join the blades… and she can simply summon the void herself???
Lastly, and possibly most hilariously
something that didn’t really matter but spoke to how inconsistent SJM was with her own established rules: WHY DID IT TAKE RHYS 80 YEARS TO GET TO THE HOUSE OF WIND? TWIIIIIIIICE? He has literally winnowed just outside the wards and flown inside in a matter of seconds/like, a minute. He does it when Nesta is stuck in that nightmare in ACOSF. and TWICE we get oooooo he’s coming. look at that encroaching darkness. ooooo you better go. (proceeds to have a long, heartfelt goodbye with mom hugs) *closes portal before he ever arrives* bsffr.
February 5, 2024
When you manage your expectations by being realistic and enjoy tf outta this masterpiece 😌🤭
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
I honestly feel so emotional finishing this book, saying goodbye to Bryce and Hunt's story. I was thoroughly entertained, invested and satisfied with the way this book was written. I would say that when you go into this book, please keep in mind you're reading Bryce's story, simply put you are going in for Captain Marvel and not Avengers Endgame 🤷♀️
I also see people disappointed with the way Bryce was in this book. Even though she had few moments where I felt frustrated with her, I fully understood her. In a strange environment, she is not going to or supposed to act calm. She will be paranoid. Meeting new people whom SHE doesn't know and acting suspicious, trying to escape makes ABSOLUTE sense. Even in her irrational actions, there were rational intentions 👀
Coming back to the book which is divided into Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 like any other Crescent City book. Part 1 explored more folklore, history, new places and people (for Bryce) and setting up a much more powerful world building. I found myself loving it, there were some big reveals and connections. I was also shocked to see one of the creatures back in the world and it brought intense memories. It also ends on a brutal note. Iykyk.
Part 2 was more hands on action, it built on to the reveals made in part 1 brilliantly. I see MANY people saying that this part bored them and dragged on. On the contrary, I found it to be much more intense and mind blowing. Lidia and Ruhn carried it beautifully. Part 2 ends on a very nerve wrecking note, and you'll immediately want to binge the rest of the book.
Part 3 was simply put- Binge worthy. Big reveals happen here, characters in this world get what they deserve and I ate it up. Ithan and Bryce were my favorite here, and surprisingly Jesiba too. It ends on a satisfying note and I just can't wait to see how it's going to add up to the future books.
Onto the characters-
❤️🔥Bryce- Although a bit erratic her actions are completely justified imo. She is the same Bryce we have grown to love- smartass, funny, badass, always standing up for the right and calculating. The sacrifices she's willing to make was emotional to see. But like any other, she does have flaws and is imperfect.
⚡Hunt- My man. The way he cared for Bryce was everything. Even while getting tortured to the point where he is close to death, all he cared about was Bryce and his friends. He would do anything to protect them, even if it means he's gonna end up hurt. His big reveal was one that I was never expecting and I was shook. I loved seeing him unleash and put Celestina in her place.
🔥Lidia- I LOVE her. She did so much for literally everyone good in this book, such huge sacrifices. She did not put herself first once and I loved her. I swear I just want to give her the biggest hug.
🖤Ruhn- Loved seeing the way he felt for Lidia. Man's had me gasping, crying, emotional for more. His bond with Hunt and Baxian was intense and so loyal. The way he was protecting Bryce was everything. Tho that one scene made me dizzy (you know which one).
🐺Ithan and 🧜♂️Tharion- Although different paths, I found them to be quite similar with the way they deal with their struggles. Before anyone gets frustrated with these two- Have you ever made a mistake and in order to correct it desperately, you make more bad decisions and more mistakes?? That sounds pretty relatable to me. Not all of us are perfect. Living in self loathing, guilt, and anxiety isn't easy. Tharion and Ithan thinking that they don't deserve anything good happening to them after making so many mistakes is real and it's a mental health representation at its best. So many people acting like Tharion and Ithan were annoying breaks my heart cause I found them to be so endearing and loving, so loyal, so worthy despite what the two thought. I just wish to hold them and talk to them about it all.
Baxian- All I'll say is he has strong teeth 😭
Jesiba and Hypaxia- I appreciated so much what these two did, especially Jesiba. Without giving too much away, am sure you'll like them more.
The romances-
Bryce and Hunt- Honestly, after Feyre and Rhys these two are my favorite SJM couple and they are immensely underrated. Even in their arguments, they know when to support each other. They're the couple who will support each other in public even if they are wrong and correct the other in private.
Ruhn and Lidia- So angsty. It's like they broke my heart multiple times and mended it to complete perfection. Literally everything about them is PERFECT. I loved how they communicated and bared themselves to each other.
Also, did SJM throw in the marriage of convenience trope? 👀 Y'all gotta find out for which couple, no spoilers here. 🤭🤭
I believe people have forgotten that this is Bryce's story. In order to enjoy this book, you gotta keep that in mind. I can already see that SJM has foreshadowed a lot of multiversal possible scenarios. Hopefully she'll explore them on an Endgame level someday.
But for now, am excited to see where the Crescent City series will go from here 😉 I highly recommend reading this series after ToG and ESPECIALLY ACOTAR.
I did not want this to end, I could still read another 500 pages of this beautiful book and world. Already can't wait to reread 😭❤
•~•~
IT'S FINALLY HERE 😍😍 In all it's glory 🥹🥹
~•~•~
Am so ready for Jan 2024
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
I honestly feel so emotional finishing this book, saying goodbye to Bryce and Hunt's story. I was thoroughly entertained, invested and satisfied with the way this book was written. I would say that when you go into this book, please keep in mind you're reading Bryce's story, simply put you are going in for Captain Marvel and not Avengers Endgame 🤷♀️
I also see people disappointed with the way Bryce was in this book. Even though she had few moments where I felt frustrated with her, I fully understood her. In a strange environment, she is not going to or supposed to act calm. She will be paranoid. Meeting new people whom SHE doesn't know and acting suspicious, trying to escape makes ABSOLUTE sense. Even in her irrational actions, there were rational intentions 👀
Coming back to the book which is divided into Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 like any other Crescent City book. Part 1 explored more folklore, history, new places and people (for Bryce) and setting up a much more powerful world building. I found myself loving it, there were some big reveals and connections. I was also shocked to see one of the creatures back in the world and it brought intense memories. It also ends on a brutal note. Iykyk.
Part 2 was more hands on action, it built on to the reveals made in part 1 brilliantly. I see MANY people saying that this part bored them and dragged on. On the contrary, I found it to be much more intense and mind blowing. Lidia and Ruhn carried it beautifully. Part 2 ends on a very nerve wrecking note, and you'll immediately want to binge the rest of the book.
Part 3 was simply put- Binge worthy. Big reveals happen here, characters in this world get what they deserve and I ate it up. Ithan and Bryce were my favorite here, and surprisingly Jesiba too. It ends on a satisfying note and I just can't wait to see how it's going to add up to the future books.
Onto the characters-
❤️🔥Bryce- Although a bit erratic her actions are completely justified imo. She is the same Bryce we have grown to love- smartass, funny, badass, always standing up for the right and calculating. The sacrifices she's willing to make was emotional to see. But like any other, she does have flaws and is imperfect.
⚡Hunt- My man. The way he cared for Bryce was everything. Even while getting tortured to the point where he is close to death, all he cared about was Bryce and his friends. He would do anything to protect them, even if it means he's gonna end up hurt. His big reveal was one that I was never expecting and I was shook. I loved seeing him unleash and put Celestina in her place.
🔥Lidia- I LOVE her. She did so much for literally everyone good in this book, such huge sacrifices. She did not put herself first once and I loved her. I swear I just want to give her the biggest hug.
🖤Ruhn- Loved seeing the way he felt for Lidia. Man's had me gasping, crying, emotional for more. His bond with Hunt and Baxian was intense and so loyal. The way he was protecting Bryce was everything. Tho that one scene made me dizzy (you know which one).
🐺Ithan and 🧜♂️Tharion- Although different paths, I found them to be quite similar with the way they deal with their struggles. Before anyone gets frustrated with these two- Have you ever made a mistake and in order to correct it desperately, you make more bad decisions and more mistakes?? That sounds pretty relatable to me. Not all of us are perfect. Living in self loathing, guilt, and anxiety isn't easy. Tharion and Ithan thinking that they don't deserve anything good happening to them after making so many mistakes is real and it's a mental health representation at its best. So many people acting like Tharion and Ithan were annoying breaks my heart cause I found them to be so endearing and loving, so loyal, so worthy despite what the two thought. I just wish to hold them and talk to them about it all.
Baxian- All I'll say is he has strong teeth 😭
Jesiba and Hypaxia- I appreciated so much what these two did, especially Jesiba. Without giving too much away, am sure you'll like them more.
The romances-
Bryce and Hunt- Honestly, after Feyre and Rhys these two are my favorite SJM couple and they are immensely underrated. Even in their arguments, they know when to support each other. They're the couple who will support each other in public even if they are wrong and correct the other in private.
Ruhn and Lidia- So angsty. It's like they broke my heart multiple times and mended it to complete perfection. Literally everything about them is PERFECT. I loved how they communicated and bared themselves to each other.
Also, did SJM throw in the marriage of convenience trope? 👀 Y'all gotta find out for which couple, no spoilers here. 🤭🤭
I believe people have forgotten that this is Bryce's story. In order to enjoy this book, you gotta keep that in mind. I can already see that SJM has foreshadowed a lot of multiversal possible scenarios. Hopefully she'll explore them on an Endgame level someday.
But for now, am excited to see where the Crescent City series will go from here 😉 I highly recommend reading this series after ToG and ESPECIALLY ACOTAR.
I did not want this to end, I could still read another 500 pages of this beautiful book and world. Already can't wait to reread 😭❤
•~•~
IT'S FINALLY HERE 😍😍 In all it's glory 🥹🥹
~•~•~
Am so ready for Jan 2024
January 31, 2024
The weakest conclusion to an SJM series by far. This book was one big deus ex machina clusterfuck. But I think most fans will overlook the huge issues in this book because we get to see some old favourite characters.
Let's start off with the good parts:
- Lidia Cervos 🧎🏻♀️🧎🏻♀️🧎🏻♀️Few characters had any agency in this book. Lidia was one of the few people who actually made a difference in this book. She really stole the show from Bryce and Hunt.
- In the same vein as Lidia, Nesta lit up every scene she was in. Every scene she was in, I only noticed her. She really carried every part of the story she touched and she is so fun.
- And obviously the entire Prythian part because those characters are elite. Loved the lore drop we got.
- There was a particular scene with a few characters waving at each other that broke my heart.
Now on to the bad:
- Welcome to the Bryce Quinlan Show, where I spent 50% of the book asking myself "Why are Tharion/Flynn/Declan/Sathia/Hunt/Ruhn even in this scene??". So much of this book involved Bryce and Co. going somewhere to do something. But they all could have been Bryce's solo missions because it literally would not have made a difference if her companions weren't there. I think this was made particularly evident because there were 3 or 4 times where Bryce had to relay stuff she had done in the previous chapters to her group of friends. Because her friends weren't doing anything. The side characters felt soooo unnecessary in so many points in this book.
- Another note on Bryce, she has some smart moments in the book but so much of her dominance is because she is The Chosen One. Everything she gains is because she is related to XYZ and has ABC in her blood. It makes it really hard to root for her because she didn't have to earn anything.
- As I already mentioned in HOSAB, Bryce is only interesting in the context of Danika. By herself, she isn't that particularly interesting or someone I would root for. I think the strongest part about her was her friendship to Danika. This is particularly evident when anything happens between Hunt and Bryce. They just don't have that much chemistry tbh. I really wish this series had been about Bryce and Danika. Hunt really felt like a side piece. I really dgaf about this man.
- I can't believe I had to read about Hunt going commando because his d**k is too big to fit into his underwear. I actually wanted to gouge my eyes out. 🤢😵💫😵 Also Hunt and Bryce getting handsy while their friends were fighting for their lives? Why were Ruhn and Lidia trying to get it on while their friends were literally right beside them in the cave? The most unnecessary scenes that were added just so this book can be spicy.
- Ithan LOLOLOL. If you look up "filler character" he would be the #1 offender. He actually didn't do anything in this book for the first 70% and then he suddenly just have everything happen to him. His rise in power was the most eye-rolling experience because he doesn't deserve any of this.
- Tharion sorry babes I wish I had skipped every scene you were in. I actually do not give a fck about this man. Suddenly Sathia appears. What did she even add to the story? Tharion and Ithan were the two most ridiculous characters in this book. I'm actually so mad both of them got so much "screen time". But Tharion might get the "Nesta" treatment because it is clear his story isn't over.
- In true SJM fashion, we get the "We could have told you all of this in Book 1 but you weren't ready so we are just going to explain everything now". I'm so sick and tired of important information being gatekept for the sake of having a plot.
- I want SO MUCH MORE grovelling between Ruhn and Lidia. I wanted the angst and yearning and the hurt x comfort. They are by far the best couple in this series.
- LOOOL COOPER. Why did we focus so much on Sophie and Emilie in book 2 for them to basically not matter at all.
- Sigrid and Ariadne felt like loose ends. Perhaps they will be important in future books but they took up too much time in this book for them to not matter much at the end.
- OK, so book 1 had that big dramatic massacre, which really got my hopes up that SJM would actually commit to some gruesome ends for some of her main characters. SYKE! I'm so tired of none of the characters actually being in danger.
- Hypaxia exists to be a deus ex machina. Her and Jesiba's sole purpose in the series is to get people out of a pickle. They literally didn't serve any other purpose.
- Also where were Juniper and Fury? They were completely neglected except for one scene.
- While writing this, I just remembered I haven't even mentioned Baxian. That just shows how insignificant he was in every scene he was in. He just gets lumped in with Hunt and Co.
- The Harpy comes back for her to get KO'd in 0.2 seconds?
- Hypaxia defeats a certain character very quickly. It felt so out of left field and rushed.
Overall, this book felt sloppy.
Let's start off with the good parts:
- Lidia Cervos 🧎🏻♀️🧎🏻♀️🧎🏻♀️Few characters had any agency in this book. Lidia was one of the few people who actually made a difference in this book. She really stole the show from Bryce and Hunt.
- In the same vein as Lidia, Nesta lit up every scene she was in. Every scene she was in, I only noticed her. She really carried every part of the story she touched and she is so fun.
- And obviously the entire Prythian part because those characters are elite. Loved the lore drop we got.
- There was a particular scene with a few characters waving at each other that broke my heart.
Now on to the bad:
- Welcome to the Bryce Quinlan Show, where I spent 50% of the book asking myself "Why are Tharion/Flynn/Declan/Sathia/Hunt/Ruhn even in this scene??". So much of this book involved Bryce and Co. going somewhere to do something. But they all could have been Bryce's solo missions because it literally would not have made a difference if her companions weren't there. I think this was made particularly evident because there were 3 or 4 times where Bryce had to relay stuff she had done in the previous chapters to her group of friends. Because her friends weren't doing anything. The side characters felt soooo unnecessary in so many points in this book.
- Another note on Bryce, she has some smart moments in the book but so much of her dominance is because she is The Chosen One. Everything she gains is because she is related to XYZ and has ABC in her blood. It makes it really hard to root for her because she didn't have to earn anything.
- As I already mentioned in HOSAB, Bryce is only interesting in the context of Danika. By herself, she isn't that particularly interesting or someone I would root for. I think the strongest part about her was her friendship to Danika. This is particularly evident when anything happens between Hunt and Bryce. They just don't have that much chemistry tbh. I really wish this series had been about Bryce and Danika. Hunt really felt like a side piece. I really dgaf about this man.
- I can't believe I had to read about Hunt going commando because his d**k is too big to fit into his underwear. I actually wanted to gouge my eyes out. 🤢😵💫😵 Also Hunt and Bryce getting handsy while their friends were fighting for their lives? Why were Ruhn and Lidia trying to get it on while their friends were literally right beside them in the cave? The most unnecessary scenes that were added just so this book can be spicy.
- Ithan LOLOLOL. If you look up "filler character" he would be the #1 offender. He actually didn't do anything in this book for the first 70% and then he suddenly just have everything happen to him. His rise in power was the most eye-rolling experience because he doesn't deserve any of this.
- Tharion sorry babes I wish I had skipped every scene you were in. I actually do not give a fck about this man. Suddenly Sathia appears. What did she even add to the story? Tharion and Ithan were the two most ridiculous characters in this book. I'm actually so mad both of them got so much "screen time". But Tharion might get the "Nesta" treatment because it is clear his story isn't over.
- In true SJM fashion, we get the "We could have told you all of this in Book 1 but you weren't ready so we are just going to explain everything now". I'm so sick and tired of important information being gatekept for the sake of having a plot.
- I want SO MUCH MORE grovelling between Ruhn and Lidia. I wanted the angst and yearning and the hurt x comfort. They are by far the best couple in this series.
- LOOOL COOPER. Why did we focus so much on Sophie and Emilie in book 2 for them to basically not matter at all.
- Sigrid and Ariadne felt like loose ends. Perhaps they will be important in future books but they took up too much time in this book for them to not matter much at the end.
- OK, so book 1 had that big dramatic massacre, which really got my hopes up that SJM would actually commit to some gruesome ends for some of her main characters. SYKE! I'm so tired of none of the characters actually being in danger.
- Hypaxia exists to be a deus ex machina. Her and Jesiba's sole purpose in the series is to get people out of a pickle. They literally didn't serve any other purpose.
- Also where were Juniper and Fury? They were completely neglected except for one scene.
- While writing this, I just remembered I haven't even mentioned Baxian. That just shows how insignificant he was in every scene he was in. He just gets lumped in with Hunt and Co.
- The Harpy comes back for her to get KO'd in 0.2 seconds?
- Hypaxia defeats a certain character very quickly. It felt so out of left field and rushed.
Overall, this book felt sloppy.
February 4, 2024
The harder you rise, the harder you fall. Sarah J Maas wrote her own kill switch to the “Maasverse” and activated it when this was published.
Disappointed does not even sum up the entirety of how I’m feeling. For those people who are really enjoying and loving this, I am so happy for you, and I wish that was the case for me. But I am just glad to have finished it so I never have to think about it again. Long live the Crescent City duology. I am envious of the characters who got to die in HOSAB/HOEAB so they didn’t have to experience HOFAS and the defamation of character that touched every single character I had previously cared about and rendered them boring, two dimensional and soulless.
For a book “millions of fans” have been waiting for for two years, Sarah did not deliver. She did not even purchase a postage label. The epic conclusion to the crescent city trilogy, which had so much potential, was reduced into a messy concubine of soap opera, unwanted comedy and minimal stakes. There was so much potential. So much potential and this is what we got. I am so angry.
The writing in this book leads me to believe Sarah no longer cares about Lunathion, or her characters. This book is a testament to laziness, loss of passion and the arrogance of knowing no matter what she wrote, she would be making money.
Through love all is possible… yet there was no love in this book. It was rendered impossibly cold and distant from anything else she could have possibly written. Through “convenient coincidences”, all is possible, should be her new slogan.
I don’t even understand how in any stage of production, anyone at bloomsbury could confidently look at this and not question the drastic changes to characters, such as Bryce’s complete tyrannical selfishness, and Hunt’s stripped down personality and so on and so on. HOFAS was a failure and nothing more.
Due to my disappointment at the entire picture, I could not even bring myself to be excited when certain plot points; which I would have screamed at, were unravelled, they felt anticlimactic and convenient at best. The the potential Sarah carefully constructed in not only the last two books, but the small sprinkles of lore throughout all her books, remains completely untapped and unused. Fans and theorists could have patched together a better ending to this series and (as someone who grew distasteful of theorists and did not look forward to a crossover) I’ve seen theorists who care more and know more and understand more of Sarah’s precious worlds than she seemingly did in this book.
I am so so so angry. Sarah chose convenience, palatable and cheap shock factor over writing something meaningful. I can only guess this comes from the fact that “fame” has gotten to her head. Sarah has done a disservice to long standing fans in an attempt to suck in and appeal to celebrities and influencers, blending epic backstories and well planned out history into grey palatable mush that can be consumed by the masses, instead of the quality book it could have been to be consumed by the people that make this all possible for her.
Even her regular fashion of fast paced, “epic” final 100 pages could not overcome first 700 pages of convenience, low stakes nonsense. There was no slice of life, no character development, just a long endless cave of info dumping and convenience.
Sarah’s best writing is a footnote in the past. Bloomsbury I am so so disappointed in you for allowing this, marketing this, profiting off this. House of Flame and Shadow is a mockery of everything good in fantasy and did not deserve our excitement, our hope, or our joy.
I normally restrain myself from negative reviews, because I do believe all art is subjective and everyone has a right to enjoy art as it comes. But this was objectively bad and there are no excuses. There is no explanation. Someone as revered as Sarah J Maas should be doing better as she rises, not worse. I hope HOFAS/Sarah and the rightful people at bloomsbury receive the criticism this book deserves so that they can ensure future books do not suffer the same fate.
Disappointed does not even sum up the entirety of how I’m feeling. For those people who are really enjoying and loving this, I am so happy for you, and I wish that was the case for me. But I am just glad to have finished it so I never have to think about it again. Long live the Crescent City duology. I am envious of the characters who got to die in HOSAB/HOEAB so they didn’t have to experience HOFAS and the defamation of character that touched every single character I had previously cared about and rendered them boring, two dimensional and soulless.
For a book “millions of fans” have been waiting for for two years, Sarah did not deliver. She did not even purchase a postage label. The epic conclusion to the crescent city trilogy, which had so much potential, was reduced into a messy concubine of soap opera, unwanted comedy and minimal stakes. There was so much potential. So much potential and this is what we got. I am so angry.
The writing in this book leads me to believe Sarah no longer cares about Lunathion, or her characters. This book is a testament to laziness, loss of passion and the arrogance of knowing no matter what she wrote, she would be making money.
Through love all is possible… yet there was no love in this book. It was rendered impossibly cold and distant from anything else she could have possibly written. Through “convenient coincidences”, all is possible, should be her new slogan.
I don’t even understand how in any stage of production, anyone at bloomsbury could confidently look at this and not question the drastic changes to characters, such as Bryce’s complete tyrannical selfishness, and Hunt’s stripped down personality and so on and so on. HOFAS was a failure and nothing more.
Due to my disappointment at the entire picture, I could not even bring myself to be excited when certain plot points; which I would have screamed at, were unravelled, they felt anticlimactic and convenient at best. The the potential Sarah carefully constructed in not only the last two books, but the small sprinkles of lore throughout all her books, remains completely untapped and unused. Fans and theorists could have patched together a better ending to this series and (as someone who grew distasteful of theorists and did not look forward to a crossover) I’ve seen theorists who care more and know more and understand more of Sarah’s precious worlds than she seemingly did in this book.
I am so so so angry. Sarah chose convenience, palatable and cheap shock factor over writing something meaningful. I can only guess this comes from the fact that “fame” has gotten to her head. Sarah has done a disservice to long standing fans in an attempt to suck in and appeal to celebrities and influencers, blending epic backstories and well planned out history into grey palatable mush that can be consumed by the masses, instead of the quality book it could have been to be consumed by the people that make this all possible for her.
Even her regular fashion of fast paced, “epic” final 100 pages could not overcome first 700 pages of convenience, low stakes nonsense. There was no slice of life, no character development, just a long endless cave of info dumping and convenience.
Sarah’s best writing is a footnote in the past. Bloomsbury I am so so disappointed in you for allowing this, marketing this, profiting off this. House of Flame and Shadow is a mockery of everything good in fantasy and did not deserve our excitement, our hope, or our joy.
I normally restrain myself from negative reviews, because I do believe all art is subjective and everyone has a right to enjoy art as it comes. But this was objectively bad and there are no excuses. There is no explanation. Someone as revered as Sarah J Maas should be doing better as she rises, not worse. I hope HOFAS/Sarah and the rightful people at bloomsbury receive the criticism this book deserves so that they can ensure future books do not suffer the same fate.
Want to read
July 20, 2023By now I’m sure we’ve all seen the news for special editions. Everyone is excited for the Adriel, Nesta and Bryce chapter so clearly Walmart is the move right? Everyone is happy. And excited. And that’s fine and dandy.
But let me ask you this.
WHERE IS CASSIAN???????
WHERE’S MY MAN IN ALL THIS!
He wasn’t included as one of the people in the bonus chapters and no one is concerned!!
Did we forget that Elain saw a vision of Cassian dying??
Why are Nesta and Azriel together while Cassian isn’t there????
I’m scared guys. This book isn’t out and I’m already stressed.
First of all, if Hunt, Bryce, and Ruhn don't live happily ever after in this. We riot.
Second, if we don't get an Avengers level team up in this book I'm suing for getting my hopes up. That ending killed and then revived me and I don't know how I'm going to wait for this.
Third, get ready for some crackpot theories cause my brain is spiraling!!! I don't know anyone in real life who has read this book, or who is just as excited about any of this as I am, so I have no one to scream these at. Instead, I'll scream them at you all!
Feel free to tell me I'm crazy. At this point, I'm grasping at straws and I know it.
But let me ask you this.
WHERE IS CASSIAN???????
WHERE’S MY MAN IN ALL THIS!
He wasn’t included as one of the people in the bonus chapters and no one is concerned!!
Did we forget that Elain saw a vision of Cassian dying??
Why are Nesta and Azriel together while Cassian isn’t there????
I’m scared guys. This book isn’t out and I’m already stressed.
First of all, if Hunt, Bryce, and Ruhn don't live happily ever after in this. We riot.
Second, if we don't get an Avengers level team up in this book I'm suing for getting my hopes up. That ending killed and then revived me and I don't know how I'm going to wait for this.
Third, get ready for some crackpot theories cause my brain is spiraling!!! I don't know anyone in real life who has read this book, or who is just as excited about any of this as I am, so I have no one to scream these at. Instead, I'll scream them at you all!
Feel free to tell me I'm crazy. At this point, I'm grasping at straws and I know it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2024
Erm, it’s no from me.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Sarah J. Maas owns my ass.
I don’t feel this level of obsession for any other author.
But this book? Was a shit show. I’m so glad it’s over. 😓
I don’t even had it in me to be sad about this. I just wanna hate. Respectfully.
✨Incoming rant review! ✨
NO spoilers. Just a general overview.
The first half had me captivated. I loved being back with these characters, discovering the world and the lore. Things were exciting!
But, the second half lost me completely. The amount of running plot points we had started to read scattered instead of it coming together.
Bryce, honey? You can suck my dick. 🙂
Her character arc was so messy, it made no damn sense! 😑
The development was not there. Instead of growing into her power, her knowledge with wisdom, with the support of others that are much more skilled and smarter than she is, that understand the political nuance of the world better than she does, she chose to act like a spoiled, entitled brat, had the nerve to call herself a leader, yet was acting on her own accord all the time.
She was running on arrogance and recklessness. She read stupid. She became the ‘alphahole’ she kept complaining about.
I don’t understand why this was the direction her character went in. I don’t know what SJM or her editors were thinking. Or am I not understanding things correctly?
No, I’m not the problem here.
Bryce ruined it. She read like a bootleg version of Aelin and it was embarrassing to read. 🙄
At some point, I had enough of the world-building too. A lot of information was being revealed and it was not smoothly laid out or explored. It just kept being piled on top of one another and I got bored. I don’t want to be reading pages of it.
The crossover was another thing that was so poorly and boringly told. If you’re going to have a crossover, do it right. Incorporate the worlds together, because otherwise, why introduce it in the first place? The potential this aspect of the story had was squandered and fucked with. 😑
Whilst I’m a fan of multiple POV’s, the constant switches here were making me dizzy. 🥴
We had multiple perspectives within the SAME chapter. The paragraphs were too short. There was no time given to truly connect to their POV and immersive oneself in their struggles before we swiftly moved on to the next POV. I wish chapters were dedicated to them instead.
This is by far my least favourite novel from SJM and now my least favourite series.
This is not the SJM I’ve come to know and love. The one that creates found families like no other, romances like no other, mental health and trauma representation like no other with far tighter plots.
I wasn’t expecting for my feelings to go in this direction. This was underwhelming and such a disappointment. I’m holding out hope that whenever the next book releases and I reread this *shudders* I’ll like it more? 😬
I need ice cream. I feel dead inside. 💔
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Sarah J. Maas owns my ass.
I don’t feel this level of obsession for any other author.
But this book? Was a shit show. I’m so glad it’s over. 😓
I don’t even had it in me to be sad about this. I just wanna hate. Respectfully.
✨Incoming rant review! ✨
NO spoilers. Just a general overview.
The first half had me captivated. I loved being back with these characters, discovering the world and the lore. Things were exciting!
But, the second half lost me completely. The amount of running plot points we had started to read scattered instead of it coming together.
Bryce, honey? You can suck my dick. 🙂
Her character arc was so messy, it made no damn sense! 😑
The development was not there. Instead of growing into her power, her knowledge with wisdom, with the support of others that are much more skilled and smarter than she is, that understand the political nuance of the world better than she does, she chose to act like a spoiled, entitled brat, had the nerve to call herself a leader, yet was acting on her own accord all the time.
She was running on arrogance and recklessness. She read stupid. She became the ‘alphahole’ she kept complaining about.
I don’t understand why this was the direction her character went in. I don’t know what SJM or her editors were thinking. Or am I not understanding things correctly?
No, I’m not the problem here.
Bryce ruined it. She read like a bootleg version of Aelin and it was embarrassing to read. 🙄
At some point, I had enough of the world-building too. A lot of information was being revealed and it was not smoothly laid out or explored. It just kept being piled on top of one another and I got bored. I don’t want to be reading pages of it.
The crossover was another thing that was so poorly and boringly told. If you’re going to have a crossover, do it right. Incorporate the worlds together, because otherwise, why introduce it in the first place? The potential this aspect of the story had was squandered and fucked with. 😑
Whilst I’m a fan of multiple POV’s, the constant switches here were making me dizzy. 🥴
We had multiple perspectives within the SAME chapter. The paragraphs were too short. There was no time given to truly connect to their POV and immersive oneself in their struggles before we swiftly moved on to the next POV. I wish chapters were dedicated to them instead.
This is by far my least favourite novel from SJM and now my least favourite series.
This is not the SJM I’ve come to know and love. The one that creates found families like no other, romances like no other, mental health and trauma representation like no other with far tighter plots.
I wasn’t expecting for my feelings to go in this direction. This was underwhelming and such a disappointment. I’m holding out hope that whenever the next book releases and I reread this *shudders* I’ll like it more? 😬
I need ice cream. I feel dead inside. 💔
March 29, 2024
all SJM books have:
- dudes with massive, cervix destroying hogs
- dead ladies who info dump, sorry, PROPHECY the entire plan on how to save the world
- every character joining together to overthrow the government and then BECOMING the government
- heroines who are strong i guess but also deeply irritating and unchanging
- sex scenes in the middle of war, because of course ur friends wanna hear the cot squeak
- a deeply unsatisfying final battle scene
and yet, somehow i keep giving her my money lmao 🤡
- dudes with massive, cervix destroying hogs
- dead ladies who info dump, sorry, PROPHECY the entire plan on how to save the world
- every character joining together to overthrow the government and then BECOMING the government
- heroines who are strong i guess but also deeply irritating and unchanging
- sex scenes in the middle of war, because of course ur friends wanna hear the cot squeak
- a deeply unsatisfying final battle scene
and yet, somehow i keep giving her my money lmao 🤡
September 2, 2024
5/5
This book cements Bryce Quinlan as one of my favourite book heroines ever.
This book cements Bryce Quinlan as one of my favourite book heroines ever.
Want to read
June 1, 2020I guess we're gonna have around 10 books from this series and every one of them is gonna be 1000+ pages. I seriously don't know how she does it.
Want to read
April 13, 2021Hello future self,
This will probably come out in like 2024 and if that’s the case, I would just like to tell you that no, you are still not too old to read these books. Thanks.
This will probably come out in like 2024 and if that’s the case, I would just like to tell you that no, you are still not too old to read these books. Thanks.
March 9, 2024
3/5
I'm too lazy to write a proper review, but this is probably one of my least favorite SJM books. The fact that I was more invested in Ruhn and Lidia, than in Bryce and Hunt says a lot.
I'm too lazy to write a proper review, but this is probably one of my least favorite SJM books. The fact that I was more invested in Ruhn and Lidia, than in Bryce and Hunt says a lot.
January 30, 2024
maybe the real Maasverse crossover was the friends we made along the way
Read
January 31, 2024i have to think on this.
February 1, 2024
hunt literally can’t wear any underwear because his dick is too big (????)
March 15, 2024
don’t let chatgpt write your books y’all
February 5, 2024
2 stars- one for Nesta and one for Azriel, the rest of this book was a shit show.
February 6, 2024
I'd like to formally request that Bryce make her grand re-entry to Midgard riding Helion's pegasus.
.
.
Ok well that ⌃⌃ didn’t happen, but it doesn’t matter because this book absolutely slapped.
Honestly, it’s so hard to compare SJM books with others out there, because her writing is in a unique lane of its own. I applaud her (yet again) for her ability to weave so many threads, characters and mythology into one insanely action packed tale.
SPOILERS BELOW
.
.
.
I'm going to start with Bryce. I adore her. I feel like the theme of this book was ‘Level Up’, and she did this and then some. After all of the shit she went through in the previous books I loved see her step fully into her own.
I’ve seen a few reviews criticising her character as being ‘insufferable’, which I find kind of interesting … mostly for the fact that when we judge something, it’s most often the thing that we don’t give ourselves permission to be or feel, or are judging within ourselves. As a collective, women have been taught to fear our own power, and here we’re presented with a fully fleshed, whole person that doesn’t feel the need to humble herself or shrink to make herself more relatable to others. Given the above, I get this can be polarising for some people who identify as female… but for me? I freaking LOVED this. The scene in particular between her and the two fae kings was so cathartic. SJM was really channelling some feminine rage and putting a metaphoric foot down against the patriarchy. Honestly, the amount of times I wish I’d been in a position to fight back like this… it was so wonderful to read.
Bryce’s character arc across all three books felt right to me. The bit of tension between her and Hunt also felt valid - I could see things from both their sides and it felt true to their characters. Ultimately, Bryce was carrying the sole weight of being the key to destroying the Asteri, and her mental fortitude (while maybe it came across as being too headstrong at times) was needed in order for her to carry this out. Sorry not sorry.
Onto Hunt - bless him, he really went through it in this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed his ‘Level Up’ towards the end. The romantic tension between he and Bryce was definitely higher in books 1 & 2 - here they were more in the ‘marriage phase’ of being a couple, which I guess is fine… although I wish we’d had a little bit more of a dramatic reunion / spice. Overall Hunt has always been a solid character in my mind.
Lidia & Ruhn… I LOVE. They carried the romance in this book. Lidia was an incredible personality to work into the mix - she kind of reminds me a bit of Manon in that she’s not the FMC, but easily could be.
Ithan - his scene with Connor had me sobbing. I had secretly hoped he’d end up as the Prime!
Nesta - I’ve never been a massive fan of hers, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed her in this book!. All of the snark and banter between her and Bryce was fantastic.
Azriel - honestly, I’ve never gotten much from Az, and this book was no different. I think people project onto his personality (which is very quiet) and build stories about him in their own minds, because in reality we know very little about him, and he doesn't really speak that often. That being said, I loved the sweet moment between him and Nesta when he convinced her to take off the mask - it did mushy things to my heart.
THE ENDING
I have no words except… what in the holy Interstellar!!? SJM can sure write a mind blowing action scene. So. Freaking. Amazing.
THE ACOTAR CROSSOVER
For the most part, I was OK with how this panned out. There was always going to be a fine line between this remaining a Crescent City book vs turning into an ACOTAR take over.
I think I would have liked just a **smidge** more from the interactions between Bryce and the gang - particularly with Rhys, Cassian and Feyre (who did not make an appearance at all.) It honestly felt like a Nesta x Crescent City crossover in the end, but I’m not mad about it. I am glad SJM stuck with the Crescent City POVs and that it stayed firmly a CC book.
Furthermore, now that she has opened the connection between the two worlds, it leaves room for CC characters to cameo in future ACOTAR books which I wouldn’t object to in the slightest. And with the Starsword now back in Velaris… I’m sure it will come into play in future books.
Side note: Randall & Ember’s bonus chapter - IDK why, but she continues to portray Rhys as an overbearing asshole? I just want the Rhys we know and love back.
THE NEXT CRESCENT CITY BOOK
I’d guess it will be a continuation of Tharion’s story. His journey in this book, was, essentially a retelling of The Little Mermaid - it would make sense for the next book given House of Many Waters is the remaining title. I think SJM put Tharion through the ringer in this book to lay the groundwork for a lot of character growth and redemption should his story continue. Maybe he and Ariadne are going to wind up together??
Ithan's romance was also hinted at with Perry, but again there's a wide open space there so that's also another possibility.
TO SUM UP
I'm really sad this series is over, I've loved every second of it. <3
.
.
Ok well that ⌃⌃ didn’t happen, but it doesn’t matter because this book absolutely slapped.
Honestly, it’s so hard to compare SJM books with others out there, because her writing is in a unique lane of its own. I applaud her (yet again) for her ability to weave so many threads, characters and mythology into one insanely action packed tale.
SPOILERS BELOW
.
.
.
I'm going to start with Bryce. I adore her. I feel like the theme of this book was ‘Level Up’, and she did this and then some. After all of the shit she went through in the previous books I loved see her step fully into her own.
I’ve seen a few reviews criticising her character as being ‘insufferable’, which I find kind of interesting … mostly for the fact that when we judge something, it’s most often the thing that we don’t give ourselves permission to be or feel, or are judging within ourselves. As a collective, women have been taught to fear our own power, and here we’re presented with a fully fleshed, whole person that doesn’t feel the need to humble herself or shrink to make herself more relatable to others. Given the above, I get this can be polarising for some people who identify as female… but for me? I freaking LOVED this. The scene in particular between her and the two fae kings was so cathartic. SJM was really channelling some feminine rage and putting a metaphoric foot down against the patriarchy. Honestly, the amount of times I wish I’d been in a position to fight back like this… it was so wonderful to read.
Bryce’s character arc across all three books felt right to me. The bit of tension between her and Hunt also felt valid - I could see things from both their sides and it felt true to their characters. Ultimately, Bryce was carrying the sole weight of being the key to destroying the Asteri, and her mental fortitude (while maybe it came across as being too headstrong at times) was needed in order for her to carry this out. Sorry not sorry.
Onto Hunt - bless him, he really went through it in this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed his ‘Level Up’ towards the end. The romantic tension between he and Bryce was definitely higher in books 1 & 2 - here they were more in the ‘marriage phase’ of being a couple, which I guess is fine… although I wish we’d had a little bit more of a dramatic reunion / spice. Overall Hunt has always been a solid character in my mind.
Lidia & Ruhn… I LOVE. They carried the romance in this book. Lidia was an incredible personality to work into the mix - she kind of reminds me a bit of Manon in that she’s not the FMC, but easily could be.
Ithan - his scene with Connor had me sobbing. I had secretly hoped he’d end up as the Prime!
Nesta - I’ve never been a massive fan of hers, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed her in this book!. All of the snark and banter between her and Bryce was fantastic.
Azriel - honestly, I’ve never gotten much from Az, and this book was no different. I think people project onto his personality (which is very quiet) and build stories about him in their own minds, because in reality we know very little about him, and he doesn't really speak that often. That being said, I loved the sweet moment between him and Nesta when he convinced her to take off the mask - it did mushy things to my heart.
THE ENDING
I have no words except… what in the holy Interstellar!!? SJM can sure write a mind blowing action scene. So. Freaking. Amazing.
THE ACOTAR CROSSOVER
For the most part, I was OK with how this panned out. There was always going to be a fine line between this remaining a Crescent City book vs turning into an ACOTAR take over.
I think I would have liked just a **smidge** more from the interactions between Bryce and the gang - particularly with Rhys, Cassian and Feyre (who did not make an appearance at all.) It honestly felt like a Nesta x Crescent City crossover in the end, but I’m not mad about it. I am glad SJM stuck with the Crescent City POVs and that it stayed firmly a CC book.
Furthermore, now that she has opened the connection between the two worlds, it leaves room for CC characters to cameo in future ACOTAR books which I wouldn’t object to in the slightest. And with the Starsword now back in Velaris… I’m sure it will come into play in future books.
Side note: Randall & Ember’s bonus chapter - IDK why, but she continues to portray Rhys as an overbearing asshole? I just want the Rhys we know and love back.
THE NEXT CRESCENT CITY BOOK
I’d guess it will be a continuation of Tharion’s story. His journey in this book, was, essentially a retelling of The Little Mermaid - it would make sense for the next book given House of Many Waters is the remaining title. I think SJM put Tharion through the ringer in this book to lay the groundwork for a lot of character growth and redemption should his story continue. Maybe he and Ariadne are going to wind up together??
Ithan's romance was also hinted at with Perry, but again there's a wide open space there so that's also another possibility.
TO SUM UP
I'm really sad this series is over, I've loved every second of it. <3
February 5, 2024
Part One: The Drop
Ruhn is pretty pissed at his girlfriend and our winged boys (feathers not leathers) aren’t doing great. Bryce is in a dungeon with a weirdly polite Rhys and friends but not the High Lady which seems not very “we are equals”-y. I had to Google Flynn because I could not remember who he was to save my life. Tharion is now a drug-addicted UFC fighter which I’ll call a step backwards. I have no idea where Syrinx is and this is very distressing. Nesta keeps being referred to as a warrior even though we all know that the biggest foe she’s ever faced is Cassian’s dick. Bryce’s Boob Star acts as MapQuest and Ithan accidentally kills someone he’s known for three days. Bryce finds out she hails from hella colonizers and then wakes up a haughty old bitch. Homeward bound! Azriel is apparently now the Nesta Whisperer?
Part Two: The Search
Bryce teleports into her dad’s office and he is a predictable dick about it. Ruhn, who asks to have his hand chewed off, is rescued alongside Hunt and Baxian and I cried. Lidia dies but this is a Sarah J. Maas book so she also un-dies. Ithan gets a job as an executive assistant in exchange for reanimating a corpse. Ruhn discovers that Lidia has little fawns and Hunt and Bryce reunite in a really unsatisfying way. You’ve heard of the Avatar, the master of all elements, now meet Hypaxia: The Fendyr-Bender. Bryce and the gang go treasure hunting on the island from MYST. There are many hieroglyphics and Hunt is a huge bitch while in Hel where he meets his dads. Ruhn kills their father (Vanserra boys take note), then Bryce sticks her sword in the floor of a cave and the land heals itself like the end of The Lion King.
Part Three: The Ascent
Syrinx is with Bryce’s parents so everybody (me) can relax. The Asteri blew up a town square and killed a lot of people so Bryce decides to rip a hole in the space time continuum to get rid of them; perhaps they can be lured by a line of treats on the ground. Nesta just hands over her death Mask, which is totally like her and completely in-character. Bryce makes major decisions regarding other people without consulting them and isn’t sorry because deez nuts. Hunt decides he’s tired of his slave halo and just gets rid of it, I guess. Lidia is apparently Aelin’s granddaughter or something. Bryce sucks all the baddies into a void and then dies and comes back because SJM cannot stop writing anticlimactic endings. Nesta gets a nice hug. What happened to Tharion and his wife and the dragon and the dead alpha and the Viper Queen? What great questions that have no answers.
Ruhn is pretty pissed at his girlfriend and our winged boys (feathers not leathers) aren’t doing great. Bryce is in a dungeon with a weirdly polite Rhys and friends but not the High Lady which seems not very “we are equals”-y. I had to Google Flynn because I could not remember who he was to save my life. Tharion is now a drug-addicted UFC fighter which I’ll call a step backwards. I have no idea where Syrinx is and this is very distressing. Nesta keeps being referred to as a warrior even though we all know that the biggest foe she’s ever faced is Cassian’s dick. Bryce’s Boob Star acts as MapQuest and Ithan accidentally kills someone he’s known for three days. Bryce finds out she hails from hella colonizers and then wakes up a haughty old bitch. Homeward bound! Azriel is apparently now the Nesta Whisperer?
Part Two: The Search
Bryce teleports into her dad’s office and he is a predictable dick about it. Ruhn, who asks to have his hand chewed off, is rescued alongside Hunt and Baxian and I cried. Lidia dies but this is a Sarah J. Maas book so she also un-dies. Ithan gets a job as an executive assistant in exchange for reanimating a corpse. Ruhn discovers that Lidia has little fawns and Hunt and Bryce reunite in a really unsatisfying way. You’ve heard of the Avatar, the master of all elements, now meet Hypaxia: The Fendyr-Bender. Bryce and the gang go treasure hunting on the island from MYST. There are many hieroglyphics and Hunt is a huge bitch while in Hel where he meets his dads. Ruhn kills their father (Vanserra boys take note), then Bryce sticks her sword in the floor of a cave and the land heals itself like the end of The Lion King.
Part Three: The Ascent
Syrinx is with Bryce’s parents so everybody (me) can relax. The Asteri blew up a town square and killed a lot of people so Bryce decides to rip a hole in the space time continuum to get rid of them; perhaps they can be lured by a line of treats on the ground. Nesta just hands over her death Mask, which is totally like her and completely in-character. Bryce makes major decisions regarding other people without consulting them and isn’t sorry because deez nuts. Hunt decides he’s tired of his slave halo and just gets rid of it, I guess. Lidia is apparently Aelin’s granddaughter or something. Bryce sucks all the baddies into a void and then dies and comes back because SJM cannot stop writing anticlimactic endings. Nesta gets a nice hug. What happened to Tharion and his wife and the dragon and the dead alpha and the Viper Queen? What great questions that have no answers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2024
1.) House of Earth and Blood ★★★
2.) House of Sky and Breath ★★★
♡ all 5 HOFAS bonus chapters: tumblr + reddit
this was a reading experience, friends! after my content and trigger warnings, i will do a spoiler section of my thoughts because at this point in the sjm universe / maasverse, and this being the third book in the crescent city series, it is difficult to talk about anything without it being a potential spoiler!
i had a good time reading this. I really loved lidia and ruhn’s storylines and they really made the entire book for me. I am also still so very in love with hypaxia, and the things i would do to get her pov. speaking of, I felt a little bored at some povs in hofas - mostly ithian and tharion (i am so sorry to these men, i love them and feel so much empathy for them, but it is true). and bryce’s pov made me feel a range of emotions, that’s for sure, but most of the time it wasn’t the best emotions. ultimately, i think there were too many povs in this book and sometimes the switching between them felt very jarring and unbalanced. i also feel like there was just so much going on, which valid, but instead of it being information that we started to learn in the first two books, it felt like sjm was kind of just throwing out every plot she could think up. and i think this all made the pacing of this book a bit weird feeling. but i did love that baldur’s gate unexpected cursed dot storyline a lot.
like all sjm books, this could have been edited down a little bit (or a lot a bit). But i think what all sjm’s books do exceptionally well is discussion of trauma and grief and learning to live coinciding with those two very heavy things and also trying to heal from them, and how those healing paths can look very different for everyone. I feel like we can really see that in her crescent city series and it is always something that i will appreciate her putting out into the world.
overall, i had a lot of fun reading this and making connections between all the things. if you follow my reviews, you will know how much i love theorycrafting and connecting different universes together, and this book truly took this experience to a different level. each easter egg truly felt like a long awaited gift i was finally able to open. and once i finished this last page, well… and all the bonus chapters, the anticipation i felt for whatever sjm does next was very surprising and a little unmatched. plus reading a new sjm book when it drops, with what feels like half of the online book community, feels special each and every new release.
trigger + content warnings: death, grief, blood, captivity, slavery, extreme torture, a lot of violence, gun violence, maybe cannibalism / maybe just a lot of gore, battle, war, loss of a loved one in past (and a lot of talk about it), loss of sibling in past, defecation and urine mentions, self harm to get blood, sexual abuse, threat of rape, talk of forced breeding, talk of medical experimentation, talk of domestic abuse, talk of parental abuse, colonization, needles, bombings, a lot of talk and mentions of hurt children, vomit, a lot of talk of parasites, drugging / poisoning, self sacrifice / a lot of attempts at self sacrificing
this next section of this review will be filled with spoilers! please use caution! and please make sure you’ve read the entire throne of glass series and the entire a court of thorns and roses series!
us finally getting the throne of glass crossover moment we have all been waiting for? I was truly screaming. lidia cervos, the woman you are. the stag throne, the hidden flame powers, the ruby ring, the blatant descendant name drop of whitethorn galathynius. i am still losing my mind while i type this. obviously bryce and ruhn being somehow related to rhysand is pretty cool. and i truly believe Ithan is a descendant of dorian because of the ice powers (and by the end of tog dorian was a shifter). but lidia being related to aelin? i am just speechless.
lidia was the best character in this book for me, too. And she had the most heartfelt and empowering story going on throughout as well. and the naming of her one son brannon? truly, her and ruhn really were the stars of this third book and their povs were hands down my favorite. (that target bonus chapter? so good)
okay more throne of glass crossover screaming - the under king! full credit to emmahalbrook on tiktok! but my jaw is still on the floor. i am just so excited to read reviews and find more crossovers that i missed, and to see all the crossover content that is still to come!
my mind is still trying to process everything with theia and aidas (and helena and silene). i know rhysand is a descendant of theia and amren told him she was a prisoner of theia. But this book kind of makes it appear like amren was a captured “pet monster” of silene. i need to do more research but amren connecting all the gods and theia is really cool and something i think the fandom has been wanting more confirmation of for a really long time.
okay back to crescent city, hypaxia was amazing, as always! i just love my sapphic necromancer queen. i know i made the baldur's gate joke above, but wizards of the coast are quaking at her finding the antidote to defeat the parasites and still finding ways to make it more easily accessible and forever lasting. she is actually the real mvp of this book.
ruhn, hunt, and baxian going through some dark stuff and making jokes to keep light getting out of that dungeon. I actually really loved seeing their friendship in this book, even if… again, some dark stuff.
i don’t want to talk about this, but ultimately i know i need to because i feel like this is the reason i am giving this book three stars, so let’s talk about it - bryce wasn’t my favorite in this book, sadly. her leaving cooper was just so cruel to me. i know many other reviewers are saying this, but bryce did so many things that made readers question that maybe she is turning into the villain (which might have been a little cool actually). but her leaving him behind was just wild to me. ember and randall showing they are upset because of this and voicing that bryce was wrong for leaving him still (or maybe even enhanced) made me so upset at her. But there were so many other instances too, like when she called lidia’s kids baggage? like when she told hunt to get over himself when the man was really going through it in those dungeons? what was all that? she felt so reckless and so careless and even heartless. ahhh i dont know, i just feel like bryce is easily my least favorite of sjm’s main characters, and i just liked her less and less each book, which feels so bad to say, but it really is how i feel.
this is so random, but i also need to admit that i truly didn’t think cormac was dead dead, so i was so surprised when this book wrapped up and i guess that man really is! man oh man, i was truly waiting for that reveal and it just never came!
okay, the ending! i loved seeing those three fire sprites truly saving the day. and them working at griffin antiquities at the end? oh, i really loved to see it. i shed many tears at jesiba actually saving the day, and i shed even more at bryce seeing danika and connor and everyone she loves waiting for her. and i did actually like the blackhole portal teleporting as well. the last 100 pages of this book were very strong and very heartfelt.
and the very end? the way i truly wept at bryce's mom hugging and saying kind words to nesta. I actually felt insane with swollen eyes because of it. (the bam bonus chapter was probably my favorite of all the bonus chapters though. also, i just really want to live in the house of wind!) But yeah, i felt like this was a very strong ending to this book, and a very strong set up for whatever sjm does next! (probably with acotar now that nesta has the sword, dagger, mask, and a harp to potentially find bryce or whoever else whewwwww)
lastly, because i cannot write a spoiler section review and not bring this up: when azriel said nyx is waiting too. oh, it got a tear from me. and bryce telling nesta and azriel how a phone works got a giggle from me. i truly cannot wait for whatever sjm gives us next.
the acotar reread really came in clutch, especially acosf! But this whole reading experience just made me really want to reread tog asap! especially because (i can’t believe i am typing this) i think nesta is really making it hard for me to say that manon is my favorite sjm character!
blog | instagram | youtube | kofi | spotify | amazon
1.) Throne of Glass ★★
1.) A Court of Thorns and Roses ★★★★
2.) A Court of Mist and Fury ★★★
3.) A Court of Wings and Ruin ★★★
3.1) A Court of Frost and Starlight ★★★
4) A Court of Silver Flames ★★★★
2.) House of Sky and Breath ★★★
♡ all 5 HOFAS bonus chapters: tumblr + reddit
this was a reading experience, friends! after my content and trigger warnings, i will do a spoiler section of my thoughts because at this point in the sjm universe / maasverse, and this being the third book in the crescent city series, it is difficult to talk about anything without it being a potential spoiler!
i had a good time reading this. I really loved lidia and ruhn’s storylines and they really made the entire book for me. I am also still so very in love with hypaxia, and the things i would do to get her pov. speaking of, I felt a little bored at some povs in hofas - mostly ithian and tharion (i am so sorry to these men, i love them and feel so much empathy for them, but it is true). and bryce’s pov made me feel a range of emotions, that’s for sure, but most of the time it wasn’t the best emotions. ultimately, i think there were too many povs in this book and sometimes the switching between them felt very jarring and unbalanced. i also feel like there was just so much going on, which valid, but instead of it being information that we started to learn in the first two books, it felt like sjm was kind of just throwing out every plot she could think up. and i think this all made the pacing of this book a bit weird feeling. but i did love that baldur’s gate unexpected cursed dot storyline a lot.
like all sjm books, this could have been edited down a little bit (or a lot a bit). But i think what all sjm’s books do exceptionally well is discussion of trauma and grief and learning to live coinciding with those two very heavy things and also trying to heal from them, and how those healing paths can look very different for everyone. I feel like we can really see that in her crescent city series and it is always something that i will appreciate her putting out into the world.
overall, i had a lot of fun reading this and making connections between all the things. if you follow my reviews, you will know how much i love theorycrafting and connecting different universes together, and this book truly took this experience to a different level. each easter egg truly felt like a long awaited gift i was finally able to open. and once i finished this last page, well… and all the bonus chapters, the anticipation i felt for whatever sjm does next was very surprising and a little unmatched. plus reading a new sjm book when it drops, with what feels like half of the online book community, feels special each and every new release.
trigger + content warnings: death, grief, blood, captivity, slavery, extreme torture, a lot of violence, gun violence, maybe cannibalism / maybe just a lot of gore, battle, war, loss of a loved one in past (and a lot of talk about it), loss of sibling in past, defecation and urine mentions, self harm to get blood, sexual abuse, threat of rape, talk of forced breeding, talk of medical experimentation, talk of domestic abuse, talk of parental abuse, colonization, needles, bombings, a lot of talk and mentions of hurt children, vomit, a lot of talk of parasites, drugging / poisoning, self sacrifice / a lot of attempts at self sacrificing
this next section of this review will be filled with spoilers! please use caution! and please make sure you’ve read the entire throne of glass series and the entire a court of thorns and roses series!
us finally getting the throne of glass crossover moment we have all been waiting for? I was truly screaming. lidia cervos, the woman you are. the stag throne, the hidden flame powers, the ruby ring, the blatant descendant name drop of whitethorn galathynius. i am still losing my mind while i type this. obviously bryce and ruhn being somehow related to rhysand is pretty cool. and i truly believe Ithan is a descendant of dorian because of the ice powers (and by the end of tog dorian was a shifter). but lidia being related to aelin? i am just speechless.
lidia was the best character in this book for me, too. And she had the most heartfelt and empowering story going on throughout as well. and the naming of her one son brannon? truly, her and ruhn really were the stars of this third book and their povs were hands down my favorite. (that target bonus chapter? so good)
okay more throne of glass crossover screaming - the under king! full credit to emmahalbrook on tiktok! but my jaw is still on the floor. i am just so excited to read reviews and find more crossovers that i missed, and to see all the crossover content that is still to come!
my mind is still trying to process everything with theia and aidas (and helena and silene). i know rhysand is a descendant of theia and amren told him she was a prisoner of theia. But this book kind of makes it appear like amren was a captured “pet monster” of silene. i need to do more research but amren connecting all the gods and theia is really cool and something i think the fandom has been wanting more confirmation of for a really long time.
okay back to crescent city, hypaxia was amazing, as always! i just love my sapphic necromancer queen. i know i made the baldur's gate joke above, but wizards of the coast are quaking at her finding the antidote to defeat the parasites and still finding ways to make it more easily accessible and forever lasting. she is actually the real mvp of this book.
ruhn, hunt, and baxian going through some dark stuff and making jokes to keep light getting out of that dungeon. I actually really loved seeing their friendship in this book, even if… again, some dark stuff.
i don’t want to talk about this, but ultimately i know i need to because i feel like this is the reason i am giving this book three stars, so let’s talk about it - bryce wasn’t my favorite in this book, sadly. her leaving cooper was just so cruel to me. i know many other reviewers are saying this, but bryce did so many things that made readers question that maybe she is turning into the villain (which might have been a little cool actually). but her leaving him behind was just wild to me. ember and randall showing they are upset because of this and voicing that bryce was wrong for leaving him still (or maybe even enhanced) made me so upset at her. But there were so many other instances too, like when she called lidia’s kids baggage? like when she told hunt to get over himself when the man was really going through it in those dungeons? what was all that? she felt so reckless and so careless and even heartless. ahhh i dont know, i just feel like bryce is easily my least favorite of sjm’s main characters, and i just liked her less and less each book, which feels so bad to say, but it really is how i feel.
this is so random, but i also need to admit that i truly didn’t think cormac was dead dead, so i was so surprised when this book wrapped up and i guess that man really is! man oh man, i was truly waiting for that reveal and it just never came!
okay, the ending! i loved seeing those three fire sprites truly saving the day. and them working at griffin antiquities at the end? oh, i really loved to see it. i shed many tears at jesiba actually saving the day, and i shed even more at bryce seeing danika and connor and everyone she loves waiting for her. and i did actually like the blackhole portal teleporting as well. the last 100 pages of this book were very strong and very heartfelt.
and the very end? the way i truly wept at bryce's mom hugging and saying kind words to nesta. I actually felt insane with swollen eyes because of it. (the bam bonus chapter was probably my favorite of all the bonus chapters though. also, i just really want to live in the house of wind!) But yeah, i felt like this was a very strong ending to this book, and a very strong set up for whatever sjm does next! (probably with acotar now that nesta has the sword, dagger, mask, and a harp to potentially find bryce or whoever else whewwwww)
lastly, because i cannot write a spoiler section review and not bring this up: when azriel said nyx is waiting too. oh, it got a tear from me. and bryce telling nesta and azriel how a phone works got a giggle from me. i truly cannot wait for whatever sjm gives us next.
the acotar reread really came in clutch, especially acosf! But this whole reading experience just made me really want to reread tog asap! especially because (i can’t believe i am typing this) i think nesta is really making it hard for me to say that manon is my favorite sjm character!
blog | instagram | youtube | kofi | spotify | amazon
1.) Throne of Glass ★★
1.) A Court of Thorns and Roses ★★★★
2.) A Court of Mist and Fury ★★★
3.) A Court of Wings and Ruin ★★★
3.1) A Court of Frost and Starlight ★★★
4) A Court of Silver Flames ★★★★
February 2, 2024
SJM??????
Byrce ruined this whole book for me..
I feel like SJM just wanted to throw in everything in one book and hoped for the best.
Byrce ruined this whole book for me..
I feel like SJM just wanted to throw in everything in one book and hoped for the best.
February 9, 2024
I FINISHED….IT’S DONE.
I will never recover from this series. I will always be SO grateful to SJM for writing these books.
I’ve been a certified #1 CC fan since the beginning. I adore these characters, world, lore, relationships - all of it, so much. Having said that, there were some things that did bother me in this book. Some parts were underwhelming, which really pains me to say.
Overall though, CC will always hold such a special place in my heart. SJM said this was the “conclusion” to Bryce & Hunt’s story, and that honestly makes me so sad. I’m sure it is for some other prominent characters too.
It will be a while, but there is a 4th CC book coming, SJM confirmed this. I honestly can’t wait to see who it’s about. There were things left open-ended, and a handful of characters whose stories clearly aren’t over.
I’m so excited for what’s next - I cannot wait to come back to this world.
————————-
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST COVERS I HAVE EVER SEEN!!! I AM SO HYPED FOR HOFAS IT'S INSANE.
EDIT: JAN 2024 RELEASE DATE - LET'S GO!!!!!!!!!
I NEED THIS BOOK MORE THAN ANYTHING I’VE EVER NEEDED IN MY LIFE.
I’LL BE THINKING ABOUT THIS BOOK EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY UNTIL IT’S IN MY HANDS.
I will never recover from this series. I will always be SO grateful to SJM for writing these books.
I’ve been a certified #1 CC fan since the beginning. I adore these characters, world, lore, relationships - all of it, so much. Having said that, there were some things that did bother me in this book. Some parts were underwhelming, which really pains me to say.
Overall though, CC will always hold such a special place in my heart. SJM said this was the “conclusion” to Bryce & Hunt’s story, and that honestly makes me so sad. I’m sure it is for some other prominent characters too.
It will be a while, but there is a 4th CC book coming, SJM confirmed this. I honestly can’t wait to see who it’s about. There were things left open-ended, and a handful of characters whose stories clearly aren’t over.
I’m so excited for what’s next - I cannot wait to come back to this world.
————————-
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST COVERS I HAVE EVER SEEN!!! I AM SO HYPED FOR HOFAS IT'S INSANE.
EDIT: JAN 2024 RELEASE DATE - LET'S GO!!!!!!!!!
I NEED THIS BOOK MORE THAN ANYTHING I’VE EVER NEEDED IN MY LIFE.
I’LL BE THINKING ABOUT THIS BOOK EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY UNTIL IT’S IN MY HANDS.
February 17, 2024
I have a love hate relationship with this book. There were so many things I liked about it, yet a lot of stuff bothered me too that left me feeling perplexed. Despite my mixed feelings, I was completely engrossed the whole time and enjoyed it. It genuinely makes it hard to rate the book 🫠 I’m leaning towards 3.5 stars. It's not to say it was a bad book; it’s just not what I thought it’d be, and it gave a completely different vibe to CC1&2.
Spoilers ahead!!
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The book is extremely plot driven, and I loved learning about the universe’s lore! I don’t think I’ll ever wrap my head around everything revealed. How Sarah can think up these ideas and craft such intricate worlds, I have no idea!🤯
Part 1 was intense! The crossover was amazing. I appreciated how the book remained a Crescent City book and wasn’t wholly overpowered by the crossover. However, I didn’t like that too much was revealed all at once, too quickly, and mainly through direct dialogue. It would have been better if Bryce had discovered things on her own instead of being told straight up. It was almost a little too convenient. It set the tone for the rest of the discoveries as well. Nothing was played out entirely to its full potential.
The lore was amazing, there’s no denying that, but the execution of it could have been better. It felt flat and almost like a tick box exercise, unlike Sarah’s usual style. With the number of things that were revealed, it might have been better to split this into two books as it sometimes felt rushed. I can’t get over the fact that this entire book's timeline was ONE WEEK! If it could have been spread further, it would have worked so much better, and that way, it would have addressed the lack of depth.
My main dislike of the book was the complete lack of emotional connection. All the characters lost the usual flair they had in CC1&2. It was as if they all lost their personalities. And maybe that’s with it being plot driven, but something just felt off with them all, and there was a sort of emptiness to them. It’s the complete opposite of CC1&2. Those books had me sobbing, but with this one, I didn’t find it anywhere near as emotional as I thought it would be or what it attempted to be. My issues with this started to present during part 2, with the reunion of all the characters. It was so underwhelming.
We know Sarah likes her POV switch ups, and I usually don’t mind it in any of her books, but something was off here. The switches were abrupt and often within the same chapter, so any emotional development happening instantly fell short, and I struggled to immerse myself. Not to be picky, but there were many grammatical errors, too. I found many missing quotation marks, which just ended up disrupting the flow even further, as I was like 'wait, when did the dialogue start?' On the other hand, I didn’t find myself getting bored in anyone’s storyline since it was extremely fast paced. It was hard to find a good point to put it down as the plot and the story just never stopped!
Bryce frustrated me so much! She almost felt like a completely different character, and her character arc was extremely messy and frankly made no sense. She was acting as if she knew everything and was so unserious. Thankfully, part 3 is where she starts to return to her usual self, and by the end of the book, I was thinking 'there’s the Bryce I know and love'. But the arc she went on to get to that point was bizarre.
Bryce and Hunt’s relationship is part of what made me love CC so much, but their relationship in this book was flat. It lacked the chemistry, banter, and warmth they usually had. Sarah, why on earth did you have them arguing after their reunion!?!?!? Why were they constantly at odds with each other? I thought they had resolved their trust issues in CC2, so I did not like the angst between them at all. I get that they’re portrayed as a real couple, but I’m sad at how it played out 😭 They just needed to talk to each other and explain their feelings, but it was instantly shut down whenever they tried. That was primarily due to Bryce - I don’t understand why she acted as she did towards Hunt; she constantly dismissed his feelings. And again, the abrupt POV changes did not help. I’m glad they returned to normal in part 3, and I’m happy I got the bonus chapters between them to end it on a good note.
Ruhn and Lidia were certainly a highlight!! There were loads of reveals about Lidia, which were completely unexpected. It made me love her even more. I must admit their relationship development felt awkwardly paced to me, though, which is such a shame because their romance journey could have been so much more beautiful 😭
Surprisingly, I enjoyed Tharion’s and Ithan’s chapters. They added a nice reprieve from the intensity and added some value to the journey towards the end.
Part 3 saved the book for me and was the only part where I felt somewhat emotional, even though the ending was pretty convenient. At no point did I even fear for any character, as it just didn’t feel high stakes enough. Shahar’s appearance was such a lovely surprise. I loved the reveal of Brann’s name. I didn’t connect the dots with that one, so I jumped out of my skin at that!! The sprites were some of my favourite side characters, and the mentions of Lele were a nice touch too 🥺 The Hel plot was handled well, and the reveal of Hunt’s father was a great twist.
Overall, I’m feeling pretty bittersweet about it. Part 1 was good, I didn’t entirely like part 2, and part 3 saved it. It set up the next ACOTAR book well, and I can see how the next CC book will play out too.
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HAPPY HOFAS RELEASE DAY 🥳
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apparently the book has been leaked and people are posting spoilers of the ending on twitter/tiktok etc😭 thankfully I haven’t seen anything but just had to give you guys a warning to be careful!!!
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OMG we have a cover!!!
Jan 2024 can’t come quick enough 😫
Spoilers ahead!!
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The book is extremely plot driven, and I loved learning about the universe’s lore! I don’t think I’ll ever wrap my head around everything revealed. How Sarah can think up these ideas and craft such intricate worlds, I have no idea!🤯
Part 1 was intense! The crossover was amazing. I appreciated how the book remained a Crescent City book and wasn’t wholly overpowered by the crossover. However, I didn’t like that too much was revealed all at once, too quickly, and mainly through direct dialogue. It would have been better if Bryce had discovered things on her own instead of being told straight up. It was almost a little too convenient. It set the tone for the rest of the discoveries as well. Nothing was played out entirely to its full potential.
The lore was amazing, there’s no denying that, but the execution of it could have been better. It felt flat and almost like a tick box exercise, unlike Sarah’s usual style. With the number of things that were revealed, it might have been better to split this into two books as it sometimes felt rushed. I can’t get over the fact that this entire book's timeline was ONE WEEK! If it could have been spread further, it would have worked so much better, and that way, it would have addressed the lack of depth.
My main dislike of the book was the complete lack of emotional connection. All the characters lost the usual flair they had in CC1&2. It was as if they all lost their personalities. And maybe that’s with it being plot driven, but something just felt off with them all, and there was a sort of emptiness to them. It’s the complete opposite of CC1&2. Those books had me sobbing, but with this one, I didn’t find it anywhere near as emotional as I thought it would be or what it attempted to be. My issues with this started to present during part 2, with the reunion of all the characters. It was so underwhelming.
We know Sarah likes her POV switch ups, and I usually don’t mind it in any of her books, but something was off here. The switches were abrupt and often within the same chapter, so any emotional development happening instantly fell short, and I struggled to immerse myself. Not to be picky, but there were many grammatical errors, too. I found many missing quotation marks, which just ended up disrupting the flow even further, as I was like 'wait, when did the dialogue start?' On the other hand, I didn’t find myself getting bored in anyone’s storyline since it was extremely fast paced. It was hard to find a good point to put it down as the plot and the story just never stopped!
Bryce frustrated me so much! She almost felt like a completely different character, and her character arc was extremely messy and frankly made no sense. She was acting as if she knew everything and was so unserious. Thankfully, part 3 is where she starts to return to her usual self, and by the end of the book, I was thinking 'there’s the Bryce I know and love'. But the arc she went on to get to that point was bizarre.
Bryce and Hunt’s relationship is part of what made me love CC so much, but their relationship in this book was flat. It lacked the chemistry, banter, and warmth they usually had. Sarah, why on earth did you have them arguing after their reunion!?!?!? Why were they constantly at odds with each other? I thought they had resolved their trust issues in CC2, so I did not like the angst between them at all. I get that they’re portrayed as a real couple, but I’m sad at how it played out 😭 They just needed to talk to each other and explain their feelings, but it was instantly shut down whenever they tried. That was primarily due to Bryce - I don’t understand why she acted as she did towards Hunt; she constantly dismissed his feelings. And again, the abrupt POV changes did not help. I’m glad they returned to normal in part 3, and I’m happy I got the bonus chapters between them to end it on a good note.
Ruhn and Lidia were certainly a highlight!! There were loads of reveals about Lidia, which were completely unexpected. It made me love her even more. I must admit their relationship development felt awkwardly paced to me, though, which is such a shame because their romance journey could have been so much more beautiful 😭
Surprisingly, I enjoyed Tharion’s and Ithan’s chapters. They added a nice reprieve from the intensity and added some value to the journey towards the end.
Part 3 saved the book for me and was the only part where I felt somewhat emotional, even though the ending was pretty convenient. At no point did I even fear for any character, as it just didn’t feel high stakes enough. Shahar’s appearance was such a lovely surprise. I loved the reveal of Brann’s name. I didn’t connect the dots with that one, so I jumped out of my skin at that!! The sprites were some of my favourite side characters, and the mentions of Lele were a nice touch too 🥺 The Hel plot was handled well, and the reveal of Hunt’s father was a great twist.
Overall, I’m feeling pretty bittersweet about it. Part 1 was good, I didn’t entirely like part 2, and part 3 saved it. It set up the next ACOTAR book well, and I can see how the next CC book will play out too.
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HAPPY HOFAS RELEASE DAY 🥳
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OMG we have a cover!!!
Jan 2024 can’t come quick enough 😫
February 26, 2024
Super Magical Starborn waste of my goddamn time.
February 11, 2024
oh wow no one died again.
January 31, 2024
Go girl, give us nothing!
April 11, 2024
"The Hind knelt before her undying masters and contemplated how it would feel to tear out their throats." ❤️🔥- Line 1, Page 1.
Spoiler Free Review.
SJM has somehow managed to completely capture my heart and blow my mind once again!
I want to start by saying that SJM never fails to completely capture my heart. Some books I may love just a tiny bit more but there is no doubt that I have loved everything she has written.
With House of Flame and Shadow I was pulled in immediately and in a complete choke hold. I did not want to move! Not to eat, work, or even talk to anyone. Like, hello. Leave me alone, I'm in Midgard right now.
Often I find that there's a slow build with SJM books. Nah lol. Not with this one. From page one it is off to the races I had to actually steal moments to catch my breath, stare at the ceiling for a little bit. Do my best to collect myself and then just jump right back in. It is so addictive and fast paced!
It was consuming, exciting, riveting, an edge of your seat, nail biting thrill ride!!
In the first two books there were times I would get a little lost with the plot because, let's be honest- there's A LOT going on but with HOFAS I felt that the story was very clear and concise. No murky or confusing plot points. No need to get out your legal pad to take notes. Lol. 😉
The pacing was fast for a good amount of the time but slowed when necessary letting you breathe for a moment to take in all that is going on. The romance is absolutely chef's kiss 💋
The magic is ohhh so magical.
And that crossover - lawd. I need some of ya'll to get at me because...
All in all SJM delivered, she put in the work on this one.I would say it's arguably her best book to date! Okay, maybe not that far.. but still one of the best.
I'm not going to post any quotes or passages at this time as the majority will be spoilers - will update this review at a later time for that. 💗
Spoiler Free Review.
SJM has somehow managed to completely capture my heart and blow my mind once again!
I want to start by saying that SJM never fails to completely capture my heart. Some books I may love just a tiny bit more but there is no doubt that I have loved everything she has written.
With House of Flame and Shadow I was pulled in immediately and in a complete choke hold. I did not want to move! Not to eat, work, or even talk to anyone. Like, hello. Leave me alone, I'm in Midgard right now.
Often I find that there's a slow build with SJM books. Nah lol. Not with this one. From page one it is off to the races I had to actually steal moments to catch my breath, stare at the ceiling for a little bit. Do my best to collect myself and then just jump right back in. It is so addictive and fast paced!
It was consuming, exciting, riveting, an edge of your seat, nail biting thrill ride!!
In the first two books there were times I would get a little lost with the plot because, let's be honest- there's A LOT going on but with HOFAS I felt that the story was very clear and concise. No murky or confusing plot points. No need to get out your legal pad to take notes. Lol. 😉
The pacing was fast for a good amount of the time but slowed when necessary letting you breathe for a moment to take in all that is going on. The romance is absolutely chef's kiss 💋
The magic is ohhh so magical.
And that crossover - lawd. I need some of ya'll to get at me because...
All in all SJM delivered, she put in the work on this one.
I'm not going to post any quotes or passages at this time as the majority will be spoilers - will update this review at a later time for that. 💗
Want to read
March 15, 2023if this doesn't have a scene where ruhn danaan declares his undying love for me i don't want it
January 28, 2024
i literally, don’t even want to talk about it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53,180 reviews