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A review by mjladow
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The book is over 800 pages long, so there is a lot to talk about. The first hundred or hundred and fifty pages were a struggle to get through. The political and societal backdrop of the book is complicated and twisty. When we got through the first bit, we figured out something -- this book is a MURDER MYSTERY!
WOW! Once we knew that, things fell into place. Bryce Quinlan is a human with no noticeable powers. She works for a witch in an art gallery. When her best friend in the whole world dies, she is left reeling. Two years pass, and similar murders take place. The governor asks Bryce to work with Hunt Athalar, a fallen angel who is enslaved.
Bryce isn't keen to work with Hunt, but his sexy body is nice to look at. As the story unfolds they become friends and more. When the climax of this book finally hits, it is an unstoppable race to finish. The last 100 pages of this book will make you cry, steam with anger, want to throw away your phone, and more.
If I were Sarah J Maas's editor, I would have told her to start the book with the Governor approaching Bryce, and take the first 100 pages in small bites and flashbacks as needed, but whatever....
If you love SJM, this book isn't like ACOTAR. At all. It's an urban fantasy, set in another world. At times, I considered stopping, especially early on. But I loved Bryce, and if you stick it out, the PAYOFF IS AWESOME.
Some of the issues I had in this book are similar to ACOTAR. Women are seen as inferior, especially human women. Slavery is used as a POW punishment. Lesser fae are hunted and kept as pets. Parents abuse their children. This world is one I'd read about, but not one I'd love to live in.
All in all, it was very hard to rate this book. There were many things I loved even though structurally, the books was much longer than necessary. One of the things I loved in ACOTAR were the steamy parts between Nesta and Cassian and Feryre and Rhysand. Hunt and Bryce didn't have much time for loving in House of Earth and Blood
WOW! Once we knew that, things fell into place. Bryce Quinlan is a human with no noticeable powers. She works for a witch in an art gallery. When her best friend in the whole world dies, she is left reeling. Two years pass, and similar murders take place. The governor asks Bryce to work with Hunt Athalar, a fallen angel who is enslaved.
Bryce isn't keen to work with Hunt, but his sexy body is nice to look at. As the story unfolds they become friends and more. When the climax of this book finally hits, it is an unstoppable race to finish. The last 100 pages of this book will make you cry, steam with anger, want to throw away your phone, and more.
If I were Sarah J Maas's editor, I would have told her to start the book with the Governor approaching Bryce, and take the first 100 pages in small bites and flashbacks as needed, but whatever....
If you love SJM, this book isn't like ACOTAR. At all. It's an urban fantasy, set in another world. At times, I considered stopping, especially early on. But I loved Bryce, and if you stick it out, the PAYOFF IS AWESOME.
Some of the issues I had in this book are similar to ACOTAR. Women are seen as inferior, especially human women. Slavery is used as a POW punishment. Lesser fae are hunted and kept as pets. Parents abuse their children. This world is one I'd read about, but not one I'd love to live in.
All in all, it was very hard to rate this book. There were many things I loved even though structurally, the books was much longer than necessary. One of the things I loved in ACOTAR were the steamy parts between Nesta and Cassian and Feryre and Rhysand. Hunt and Bryce didn't have much time for loving in House of Earth and Blood