Ratings
Content Warnings: Language, Smut, Sexual Themes, Blood, Violence, Gore, Sexism, Racism, Drugs, Death
Introduction
House of Flame and Shadows is a bit anti-climatic overall, but nonetheless entertaining.
Pros
- ACOTAR cross-over
- Ember and Nesta’s mother-daughter moment
Cons
- The ending
- Events in the Meat Market
- Bryce’s change in character
- Ithan’s side quest
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
Absolutely love that we got to see Nesta and Az! Definitely the highlight, and best part, of the book for me.
The Harpy’s return was a great plot device, but they were killed off too quickly later on.
The Theia/Helena plot was interesting, but definitely confusing after awhile.
Love the connection between Midgard and Pytharian with the Dead Trove.
Adias and his brother’s stringing Bryce along as to what she should be doing when they could have just told her, making things so much simpler and more convincing.
The parasites in the water seemed to come from left field. Not a single scientist found that there were parasites? Its really not that believable.
Bryce winnows into her father’s office on will, but how? We don’t see her practicing or testing her traveling between worlds like that. How did she know it would work? It’s too convenient.
The death of the Autumn King and Allaven King was a bit anti-climatic.
Why was Baxion left behind on Morven? He would have been a great asset in the final fight.
So anyone can use the Mask now? Nesta experienced strong consequences of wearing said Mask, like it enthralling her. But for Bryce and Hunt it doesn’t?
What the fuck was that ending? It was so outlandish and corny. A mech suit in the vacuum of space and the Asteri dying by a black hole. I didn’t sign up for this shit. I signed up for an epic battle scene, not a cop out.
But whatever, I guess. Its obvious the ending is also setting up more books following other characters, like Tharion (gods why?) and Hypaxia with the House of Flame and Shadow.
Also, some of the characters should have died, like Bryce. She should have stayed dead. Instead, everyone survives and it feels like that stakes weren’t really that high. Everyone gets a happy ending and there isn’t a lasting effect on the reader on what just happened.
Characters
Bryce and Hunt still don’t seem like a couple! Their relationship feels forced. Same with Ruhn and Lydia, except their’s just moved too fast and we as readers didn’t get to sit in the simmer of it.
Bryce
A theme throughout this book that starts in the second is that Bryce doesn’t trust anyone. Not even Hunt. She devises plans and sets them in motion without telling her friends, which creates a lot of confusion. Bryce isn’t some mastermind strategist. She never has been, but that’s what she turned into and it’s quite annoying.
Some examples: She turns on Nesta and Azriel multiple times, even lying to them that they can trust her.
She is also cold and harsh to Hunt when he talks about his trauma. Yeah she apologizes later, but good grief, she doesn’t give him a chance to coup or talk about things. Instead, Bryce shuts him down and makes him feel bad for having conflicting thoughts on the whole rebellion.
Hunt
Although we see some personality/character from Hunt, there isn’t much of him in this final book. Again, he isn’t utilized and we don’t see much of him fighting and using his lightning. He had so much potential, especially when facing the Asteri, but he was just hung up to dry instead.
Side Characters
I love Jesiba, she’s become one of my favorite characters besides Danica.
Writing
What even are the Houses and how do they work? This is the first time we are seeing an HQ for the Houses and a hierarchy.
I don’t think the characters were utilized well. Fury and Baxion could have been shown more, especially in fight scenes.
It was obvious who the main focuses of the book were, even when there were others available to help. The mains: Bryce, Ithan, Lydia/Ruhn, and Tharion. Why Tharion had any screen time is beyond me. He really fucked his life up and continued to make question decisions after question decisions.
By the end, House of Flame and Shadow was on the verge of Sci-Fi and obsurdity. It briefly crossed that line, but came back over a little.
Final Thoughts
House of Flame and Shadow was a fun book, especially at the beginning with Nesta and Az (honestly the best part). But as time progressed, things became more chaotic and less conviencing. I would have liked to see the ending go in a different direction and more climatic plot points.
Some people think there will be more Crescent City books, and if there are, I probably won’t read them. I’m kind of over Sarah J. Maas. Her last few books have kind of been duds and just too long.
What did you think of the book? Did you like it or could you have done without it? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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