Spoiler Review: Sarah J. Maas’ Crescent City 3: ‘House of Flame & Shadow’ and Why You Might Be Disappointed
We’ve all been waiting for this Romantasy book for over two years, so there was a LOT of anticipation surrounding the release of House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas. So much so, some of my Booktok creator friends and I rented an Airbnb in Texas to all fly in and read it together (see all the details about our reading retreat here!). We all binged it in a couple of days, and now I’ve been sitting and processing my thoughts…because I have a lot of them. I’ve seen so many people on social media hating on this book, and while it’s not a perfect read, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Something I also think people need to keep in mind in terms of character development (or lack of), is this book took place over such a short period of time (don’t quote me, but I believe around 10 days) and people just don’t change that much in such a short time, so we didn’t get to see some of the development you’d normally get in an SJM novel—especially from the very irritating side characters (*cough Ithan and Tharion). I’ve seen a lot of people mentioning this ventured too far into sci-fi for them, which is a shame, because I love sci-fi, so I was so here for that. On a similar note, I’m afraid this book is not going to be for the Romance girlies. That definitely took a backseat in this book. It felt way more plot heavy, with so much info being shared, and I loved every second of that, but I’m an epic fantasy/sci-fi girl at heart, so I completely understand why some people didn’t love it as much. There was also something quite big that a lot of people were hoping would happen, and I think a lot of us were disappointed when it didn’t. But let’s get into it…
Things to Know:
Third book in the Crescent City series
You MUST read her previous series or there will be major spoilers and Easter Eggs you’ll miss
New Adult Romantasy with some spice
TW: Torture on page
Super fast paced
***FULL SARAH J. MAAS SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT—YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!***
Let’s get this straight right out of the gate: the pacing of this book was insane—in a good way. It started off with a bang and didn’t let up for the entire 800+ pages. This was definitely helped along by the very controversial mid-chapter POV changes. I honestly didn’t mind them, because it did keep you glued to the page. It was a little jarring at first, but I got used to it.
The other thing I want to address right away: Terrasen. Where was Aelin and Rowan?! So many people (myself included) were convinced we were going to get a full crossover moment with ACOTAR and Throne of Glass, and when it didn’t happen, it left a lot of people disappointed. In some ways, I understand why, and I did appreciate all the little nods and nuggets of info mentioned from the Throne of Glass world, but I am a little sad we didn’t get an Avengers moment. And now the moment is passed, the Asteri are gone, and there’s no reason for Throne of Glass to come into play…right? We DID however, get a Tony Stark moment, so perhaps that’s a consolation?
And speaking of crossovers, I’ll admit, I felt so underwhelmed by the ACOTAR crossover. I guess I expected more than just being stuck in a cave with Nesta and Azriel the whole time. And this is just something small, but WHY was she wearing bright pink sneakers when she was trying to run a covert mission at the end of the last book?! Please, Bryce. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the interactions we did get, but I was really hoping we’d head to the library and do research with more of the inner circle. Nothing big, but just a scene or two would have been cool. I liked that we got more answers, and I didn’t mind the info-dumping. The Princess Leia ‘help me Obiwan Kenobe, you’re my only hope’ video projection was a bit out of left field, but still cool. And I’m actually not convinced Vesperus is an Asteri…I’ll save the theories for another post, but Snow White gave off major Valg vibes to me, and I don’t believe the Daglan/Asteri and Valg are the same beings.
Lidia Cervos aka The Hind, carried this book. Her storyline was literally so incredible and had my jaw on the floor multiple times. What do you mean she’s a MOTHER?! She’s got fire power?! She had so many of us spiraling thinking about how she ties into Throne of Glass. Plus, I loved her sons, and of course, her and Ruhn’s relationship. I about lost it when she was running away from the wolves and jumped off the cliff.
Ok, quickfire thoughts:
Things I loved:
Is it terrible that the dungeon scenes were hilarious to me? The dark humor was on point, and the hand moment…
Lidia’s entire storyline, also the fact that one of her sons is named Bran.
The fire sprites are everything and I loved every time they were on the page—especially the queen getting her revenge.
Bryce’s parents and the BAM bonus chapter. Literally the cutest thing.
Ruhn unaliving the Autumn King. I had had hopes he would come around and sacrifice for his children, but I’m honestly so happy it was Ruhn who ended him.
The moment Hunt realized the spirit in the mech suit was Shahar’s I about lost it. I think I did start crying.
Team Caves/Team Archives
The fact that even though we got so many answers, there’s still so many unknowns, and infinite possibilities of the Maasverse.
Jesiba’s reveal, and sacrifice. Honestly, I loved her character in this book, and it made everything from House of Earth and Blood hit even harder now we know where she’s from.
Things I didn’t love:
Bryce making terrible decisions. Bryce has never been my fave SJM MC—she' and I are polar opposites in almost every way. Also, her just abolishing the Fae monarchy without even thinking. That’s what drives me nuts, she just acts without thought about the consequences constantly.
Bryce and Hunt’s interactions. I was so disappointed we didn’t get an epic reunion. The poor Angel was tortured, and I can’t believe their first moments alone were basically off page. Also, WHEN did they get married?! Also, when she just expects him to get over his trauma. I don’t even understand why they were fighting at all. It didn’t make sense. She’s a bad communicator.
Ithan’s storyline was super irritating. And tangentially, what the heck was the point of going through everything in the last book to save Siggy for her to just die?! That whole situation made my blood boil. I thought she was supposed to be Prime and they were supposed to be mates? Instead he accidentally kills her, then turns her into a wacko zombie and somehow becomes Prime. And now I’m feeling him and Perry…
Tharion was worthless…but I still love him. More Sathia please!
It was a little lame for me to see the Under King, who’s supposed to be this all-powerful being just get killed by Ithan of all people.
The spice. Be honest, it was so awkward. I was not a fan. And why was there literally one with Bryce and then right after one with Ruhn. It was even more awkward. I loved that this book was more focused on the plot and characters (I’m not a big spice person), but the spice felt like an afterthought like, “Oh shoot, I have to add a spice scene…ok, this’ll do,” and I just didn’t vibe with it.
Things I loathed:
The magic freaking bean. What in the Ice Planet Barbarians was that?!!!
The fake death of the MC—this is now the third time Sarah has done this, and it’s getting a little old. And speaking of unaliving, Baxion needed to die. I was shocked when he survived the dungeon, and his character would have had so much more emotional tug on the reader if he had died and joined Danika. I did like that we got a little Connor moment with the bullet though—that was special.
Hypaxia. What a worthless necromancer. Not to mention she just up and vacates her throne without a fight?! AND she forgives Celestina?! No. Just no.
“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.”
Overall, I had a great time reading this book. I think the more I sift through all the bits and pieces, I’ll enjoy it more and more. And yes, SJM made me cry again. Crescent City is a series that has continued to grow on me. While it’s still my least favorite of her three series, each installment always seems to improve on a reread, and I cannot wait to read House of Flame and Shadow again in the future. I may add more thoughts to this review as they come…like I said at the beginning, I’m still processing.
If you love all of Sarah J. Maas and Crescent City, be sure to check out the officially licensed Crescent City collection from Valor & Lore!
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