House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas on January 30, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal, Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy, Fiction / Romance / General
Pages: 816
Format: Paperback
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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.
This is the conclusion to the Crescent City series and it was fantastic! The ACOTAR Segment was just enough and amazing, I’m glad the crossover did not take over a big chunk of the book because it IS a Crescent City book. While I liked this book overall, and it did make me cry a little bit near the end, many things disappointed me or just didn’t live up to my expectations. Some aspects of the plot felt almost pointless, and at times I wanted to slap some sense into the characters. That being said, I still love (most of) them all, and I had a good time reading this book. So much was happening in the beginning of this book that I felt character devel0pment took a backseat. Overall, this was a nice conclusion to the series, and I like the potential for the multiverse (as long as my babies from ACOTAR and TOG remain happy and alive). It was a wild ride, full of action and emotions (and that bonus chapter with Ember and Randall was awesome), and while I am happy that the author wrapped it all up in three books and didn’t drag things on for too long, I am sad that this adventure is over.
This book was one hell of an emotional ride, and I’m not joking when I say I debated rating it 4 stars for quite a while. While I need some time to fully process my thoughts on it, I think I’m ultimately satisfied with the overall experience. I don’t care if people want to hate on this book; I found myself reading and enjoying it despite its flaws, and I want to keep that feeling.