House of Flame and Shadow

Even though I enjoyed this book overall and found it to be rather emotional in the conclusion, a lot of things fell short of my expectations or disappointed me. I occasionally wanted to slap some sense into the characters because of how almost meaningless various parts of the plot felt. Nevertheless, I still adore (most of) them all, and this book was enjoyable to read.

Darker is the House of Flame and Shadow. As the characters attempt to flee and survive the Asteris, reunite, and eventually figure out a means to get rid of them, the suspense increases. They visit every part of Midgard (and even beyond), engage in some dubious transactions, occasionally receive death threats, witness a patricide.

At the start of the book, a lot was going on at once: Tharion was under the Viper queen's control due to a desperate bargain he struck, Bryce was trapped in Prythian, Hunt, Rhun, and Baxian were being held captive in the Asteris' dungeon, and I then declared himself the protector and savior of the Lord Fendyr Heir. Unfortunately, I believe that character and relationship development suffered in this novel because there was so much story to develop.

There were moments when the shift in viewpoint from one paragraph to the next was startling. I usually don't mind when a chapter switches points of view, but in this book, we jumped from Bryce to Ithan to Hunt in a matter of pages (it even switched from Rhun's to Lidia's in one line!). I felt that this made the plot flow less naturally. Occasionally, a point of view would barely last one or two paragraphs before switching to a different character in a different scene and returning a short while later. Rather of adding suspense, it was irritating.

There were two info dumps, and to be honest, the order in which they occurred felt somewhat senseless. Surely Bryce could have learned what she did about Theia without having to go all the way to another realm? There must have been a better way, given that Hel's Princes are more approachable than Prythian and appear to be aware of Theia's entire backstory. The entire Aidas "you weren't ready yet" nonsense was really annoying. When she felt more confident and daring than ever, they determined that she was ready, despite having suppressed important facts because they thought she wasn't!

In relation to visiting other planets, I wasn't satisfied with how far the world-building had progressed.
It was disappointing in the end, to be honest, even though I had high expectations when I understood at the end of HOSAB that the universes had collided. We saw a lot of Nesta, who is not my favorite ACOTAR character at all, but it was interesting to see her from Bryce's (who didn't know anything about her) point of view. We also saw a little bit of Azriel in the first thirty or forty percent of the film, and then a few more crumbs of Nesta at the conclusion.I had hoped for more character development and greater significance for their encounter with Bryce. That was all there was to it—Bryce had to travel to Prythian to obtain Truthteller and discover a ton of disturbing revelations (#info-dump). It didn't feel like a real necessity for the continuation of the CC series, but like an excuse to set the stage for the next ACOTAR novel.

Yes, the whole Magical Starborn Princess nonsense became tiresome eventually.
Although it was vital for Bryce to confront the Asteris, I like that she was almost helpless in the first novel. She gains even more strength in this installment. The super-powerful fae main character that we are accustomed to reading about in SJM's stories was a welcome difference from Bryce in this book, who simply kept gaining power and learning new skills.She also had a carefree and arrogant demeanor, repeatedly presenting the "magical starborn princess" justification, and I didn't enjoy the aura it gave off. Compared to the irreverent identity she created for herself in the first novel, it felt forced and ostentatious, making her less likeable than in the prior books.

She also experienced moments of selfishness, which is strange to mention considering how selfless she is all the time. However, it seems like she lost the one thing from the previous book that really endeared herself to me. She is now extremely strong, decides everything without seeking input, and tells people to shut up if they are unhappy. She is also viewed as the world's savior since she is prepared to battle for the weak and helpless. Although I still enjoy her as the primary character, she can be a walking contradiction at times, and I didn't care for her as much in this novel.

I didn't like Bryce and Hunt in this book.
It wasn't because they were away for an extended period of time that made their mate bond seem weaker in this third book. I had been looking forward to their reunion, but it was incredibly disappointing. Though Bryce's reaction to seeing Rhun was more intense than Hunt's, I was expecting something along the lines of Aelin and Rowan's reunion in Queen of Shadows. They then tiptoed around one another for the next several days because Hunt believes he should have done more to stop Bryce, which is why he feels guilty for the mess.They are always at odds because, while Bryce regrets what occurred, he is also determined to keep searching for a solution to eliminate the Asteris. There appeared to be an underlying tension between them as Hunt persisted in asking the same questions and she persisted in repeating them, not really listening to his concerns and anxieties and not providing him with the knowledge he needed. In general, I don't think these two have as much chemistry as SJM's other "main couples."

This book's MVP is Lidia.
She was bold, selfless, and driven, and I was incredibly sorry for her. (See spoiler) Even though Bryce was the one who had to vanquish the Asteris in the end, and she kicked asses BIG TIME, none of it would have been possible without Lidia's assistance.

Now that I knew more about Lidia and liked her, I was pulling for her and Rhun, thus I enjoyed their relationship much more in this novel. I believe it's unfortunate that there wasn't more time spent developing their romance since I really wanted them to have their happy ending and I adore their chemistry.They have this push-and-pull dynamic in the book because there are a lot of secrets and traumas that need to be worked through, which makes perfect sense. However, I was hoping for more growth because they seemed to go from having problems to finding their happy ending too quickly. Though I still got what I wanted, I am not complaining because I would have rather spent more time with them and less time with Tharion.

Throughout the entire series, Ruhn has remained one of my favorite characters. I have adored him from the first book in the series, and I always felt so content when he was around. In the first half of the book, my poor kid went through a lot. In addition, there was the difficult and tumultuous relationship with Lidia to handle. However, he did not let me down and proved to be brave, devoted, and faithful in the end. I cherish him.

This series caused my opinion of Tharion to drastically decline. In the first novel, I really enjoyed him and wished there had been more of him; in the second, I found his decisions irritating; But in this one, I was just fed up with him. He ultimately made some progress, but his pathetic attitude during the early part of the book really got on my nerves. I regret this because I really liked him in HOEAB.

After reading the second book, Ithan finally understood what everyone had been implying to him. Even though I had anticipated the "twist" about his role with the wolves since HOSAB, it was still quite pleasant when it materialized. Although I enjoyed his chapters and saw how bravery and kindness really came through in this book, as well as how he matured and gained confidence, I can't help but question why the entire "lost Fendyr heir" narrative was included.It was a major revelation at the end of the second novel that was almost immediately dropped in this one, only to be utilized as a guilt trip to get Ithan to move in the direction the author wanted him to. The Fendyr heir, in my opinion, had no personality or significance other than that, and the sole goal of this subplot was to advance Ithan's character.

Hypaxia is present, but only temporarily. That's all there is to it. She was a major player at the conclusion of the novel and came into her own at that point, but I felt like she was practically an afterthought, even though her presence was essential to the plot's ending. It was peculiar. But I enjoy the person she's become, and if there is a sequel book, I hope to see more of her and her newfound abilities.

Some characters, like Sathia, just appeared out of nowhere and left me wondering why she was even in the book. Other characters, like Fury or Juniper, just vanished into the background and were largely forgotten (and even Flynn and Dec weren't that present in this book).
I also learned from this series to never undervalue fire sprites!

At long last, we now know more about Jessiba's origins, abilities, and true identity! Since the first book, I've had suspicions, but even if some of my theories were confirmed, there were a few surprises. Hunt's father and origins are also fully explained. Even though I'm glad to have more information on these two, there are still a lot of questions I have. Fury is who or what? Are Rhys and Rhun related in any way? Or in between Rhun and AZ?

I thought the series ended nicely overall, and I like the idea of a multiverse (as long as my babies from ACOTAR and TOG are still alive and happy, that is). Even though I feel like I covered a lot of the negative aspects of this book in my review, I still want to emphasize that, in general, I really enjoyed it. While I am glad the author wrapped everything up in three books and didn't drag things out for too long, I am sad that this trip is ended. It was a wild ride, full of activity and emotions (and the additional chapter with Ember and Randall was wonderful). Nonetheless, it's encouraging to know that she has confirmed a fourth book that will eventually focus on some of the supporting cast members. I'll be able to return to this amazing world she made with it.