House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas4 min read

Book description from the publisher, Bloomsbury

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. This is the third book in the Crescent City series, following the global bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath.

Publication date: 30 January 2024 (Bloomsbury)

Reviews for House of Flame and Shadow

UNFAVOURABLE	“Despite the buzz generated by TikTok theories, the novel fails to deliver the gripping and unexpected moments characteristic of Maas’ earlier works … In total, I would not claim this new book to be one of my favorites of Maas’. “However, there were aspects of the book characteristic to her writing and world-building motives that made me exhilarated for any future ones.” Brooke Tacsar, Her Campus
SUPERB	“Sarah J. Maas is absolutely on fire in this epic, exciting, ambitious and smoking hot third book in the Crescent City series … Themes of mental health, trauma, friendship, dysfunctional families, sexism/misogyny, motherhood, redemption, slavery, and even anti-colonisation are all quite prevalent in House of Flame and Shadow, and give this story way more depth and emotional resonance than people might assume at first glance … “Maas expertly balanced a lot of threads in this instalment, and she wove them all together magnificently in the end to create an impressive and utterly satisfying conclusion to this arc of the Crescent City series.” Esmay Rosalyne, Before We Go Blog
MIXED	“There’s not a single twist in the entire novel … Nothing that’s shocking or surprising … Don’t get me wrong, there’s information reveals. And dang good ones, too. Stuff I just ate right up because I love lore and getting explanations for questions we had … “While the book was beautifully written, and I was happy to see our heroes have their characters arcs resolved, I was just left with a gaping hole in my heart by the end, like something was missing. The previous two books left me shaken. This one left me empty with a deep sense of disappointment.” T.L. Branson, TLBranson.com
MIXED	“This novel marks the third installment in her “Crescent City” series, and while it is thrilling, sexy and addictingly page-turning, it is also sort of a mess … It gives the fans what they want: action, romance, and world-shattering displays of power. “However, it seems that too much of a good thing isn’t desirable, as the epic moments sometimes flounder when put too close together.” Hannah E. Gadway, The Harvard Crimson
SUPERB	“Whereas House of Earth and Blood was very much about healing and mystery with some action, and House of Sky and Breath had action but felt a little slow at times, House of Flame and Shadow is … action. There isn’t a page wasted in the 848 pages in this book. The story moved along quickly, but packed a hell of a punch … “House of Flame and Shadow had a great, climatic ending. My eyes were puffy, my head hurt, but I couldn’t put it down until the very last page. It was intense. It was emotional. Hell, it was even funny at times. It hit everything I want in a fantasy – especially in a Sarah J. Maas book.” Alisha Eadle, The Rambling Book Nerd
MIXED	“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 … 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.” Ashley Whitlatch, Books Are My Third Place

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