WHAT a finale! House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas is the third (and as it currently stands final) book in her urban fantasy Crescent City series. And talk about throwing you straight back into the action. More happens in the first 25% of this book than in the other two books combined. House of Flame and Shadow is a non-stop adrenaline trip. I loved it!
Opening sentence: The Hind knelt before her undying masters and contemplated how it would feel to tear out their throats.
The ultimate crossover
First thing to talk about: Sarah J. Maas giving the readers what they want with an epic Crescent City / ACOTAR crossover. And not just a small reference, a lovely chunky plot featuring my personal favourite character, Nesta who has a significant story with Bryce.
The more these books go on, the more it becomes clear Bryce knew literally nothing about her best friend Danika, but the message of love and her devotion to her friend prevails and I’m here for that. It’s a nice thread running through all the books.
Through love, all is possible.
Plot-wise, there is SO MUCH happening and once again, I’m in awe of how the plot threads are all woven together, with each given more than enough air-time so that each story and character can develop and grow, but it never feels too cluttered or confusing.
In a nutshell we have… Bryce discovering her family history, we learn more about Hunt’s heritage and power (why he has lightning), then there’s Hunt and Ruhn being tortured, plus the Wolf-shifter Ithan is also a star. The witch Queen Hypaxia plays a bigger role and its interesting that the opening sentence of House of Flame and Shadow focuses on the Hind, as she gets a much bigger story here too. We get to know her by her real name, Lidia Cervos and her plot is brilliant, her moment in the big battle is epic.
It all come crashing together in a stressful, page-turning ending that sees Bryce take on the bad-guys of the whole series, the Asteri.
If that all sounds wild – it is! But in the best way. It goes without saying that this is very much not a standalone read, you need to have completed House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath first.
As House of Flame and Shadow is a romantasy, we do delve into Bryce and Hunt’s passionate and sometimes stormy relationship, as well as Ruhn and Lidia’s, giving lots of spicy scenes in this book.
Hunt pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I suspect you’ll find out the answers in the most dramatic way possible.”
House of Flame and Shadow is my favourite of the series (same with ACOTAR actually, the last book, A Court of Silver Flames was my fave of that set). It’s a 10/10 for me. I loved all of Crescent City and would happily read more. Whether that’s a crossover in the new ACOTAR 6 book or another standalone, I need more of the Bryce and Hunt story!
- Get your copy of House of Flame and Shadow here;
- Published by Bloomsbury 2024;
- 768 pages;
- Book review rating:
Books on the 7:47 