Hey ForeverBookers,
How are you all? I hope you’re well!
I’ve just finished reading “House Of Flame and Shadow” by Sarah J Maas in anticipation for “A Court of Splintered Harmony,” coming out in October, and I really enjoyed it! I got through it in under a week, which judging by its size is a shock for me! It normally takes me ages to get through a book of that size! I think because I was reading the book and the ebook on my phone it made it easier to fly through.
4.5 Stars!
The main plot of “House Of Flame and Shadow” is Bryce, Hunt and their team trying to find, hunt and kill the Asteri, an angel race. To do this she has help from characters from the ACOTAR series (Nesta and Azriel) in obtaining the mask Nesta used in ACOSF to defeat the bad guys. This mask is significant to the defeat of the Asteri too. How? I’ll let you read for yourself!
Of course as well as all the plot, which there was a lot of in this book, which is probably why it went by so fast, there’s a lot of subplot so romance and dialogue between our main characters and their comrades. As well as the Asteri, Bryce and Hunt try to defeat Bryce and Ruhn’s father, the King of Autumn. Can they? Or does something or someone get in their way.
There were parts I skimmed over because they weren’t that necessary to the overall plot, I didn’t think. For example, The River Queen and the parts with Ithan. Characters surrounding them had stronger influence to keep me reading.
I read House of Flame and Shadow for a couple of readathons.
Reading Rivalry - A Book that makes an impact - All Sarah J Maas books make an impact because they’re such big releases. Especially, the sequels when you’re already invested in the plot, like I was here!
Always Fully Booked - Read the Rainbow challenge - BROWN - I don’t normally like having this colour as a part of this challenge as there often aren’t really any brown books. However, the motif on the cover of HOFAS is a gold/brown so I’m counting it!
There are extreme things that happen in the plot but its fantasy so that’s to be expected, I think. Also there are a few consensual/loving sex scenes too!
Spoilers Below…
“They arrived in my world fifteen thousand years ago. No one knows from where.”
“What do you mean by arrived?” Rhysand asked.
“Honestly? I have no idea how they first got to Midgard. The history they spun was that they were … liberators. Enlighteners. According to them, they found Midgard little more than a backwater planet occupied by non-magical humans and animals. The Asteri chose it as the place to begin creating a perfect empire, and creatures and races from other worlds soon flocked to it through a giant rip between worlds called the Northern Rift. Which now only opens to Hel, but it used to open to … anywhere.”
Amren pushed, “A rip. How does that happen?”
“Beats me,” Bryce said. “No one’s ever figured out how it’s even possible—why it’s at that spot in Midgard, and not others.”
Rhysand asked, “What happened after these beings arrived in your world?”
Bryce sucked her teeth before saying, “In the official version of this story, another world, Hel, tried to invade Midgard. To destroy the fledgling empire—and everyone living in it. But the Asteri unified all these new people under one banner and pushed Hel back to its own realm. In the process, the Northern Rift was fixed with its destination permanently on Hel. After that, it remained mostly closed. A massive wall was erected around it to keep any Hel-born stragglers from getting through the cracks, and the Asteri built a glorious empire meant to last for eternity. Or so we’re all ordered to believe.”
This is a bit info dumpy but it happens when Bryce meets Rhysand and Amren at the beginning of HOFAS. She gets there by escaping Midgard, the place she’s always resided. She has to find Hunt, her mate and save him after the events at the end of HOSAB. Can she? What does she need to do in order to accomplish this? I’ll let you read for yourself but it’s good! It kept me hooked, anyway!
I expected Rhys from the ACOTAR series to have a bigger role in the plot of “House of Flame and Shadow,” as he’s the ruler of the Night Court. It surprised me to have Nesta and Azriel as the main characters from that series as the main representatives here. Cassian is mentioned at the end as well as here, in the middle too.
“Cassian’s waiting for you, Nesta,” Azriel said—tone gentling. “Take off the Mask.” Nesta stayed silent, Ataraxia ready in her hand. One swipe, and Azriel would be dead. “He’s waiting for you at the House of Wind,” Azriel went on. “At home.”
Another blink from Nesta. The silver fire banked a little.
Like whoever Cassian was, and whatever the House of Wind was … they might be the only things capable of fighting the siren song of the Mask.
“Gwyn and Emerie are waiting,” Azriel pushed. “And Feyre and Elain.” The silver flame flared at that. Then Azriel said, “Nyx is waiting, too.”
The silver flame went out entirely.
The Mask fell from Nesta’s face, clattering on the stone.”
This is significant because Nesta puts on the mask that controls her to show Bryce what happens. It’s the mention of her mate, Cassian and her nephew Nyx that puts an end to that control. This is significant because it shows that the characters are all affected by something, whether its big or small. In Nesta’s case it’s small in comparison to what Bryce is going through, trying to find Hunt, I believe. In the quote above Azriel mentions a lot of characters from the ACOTAR series. I enjoyed this crossover. I’m not going to like a TOG crossover if we have that at some point because I don’t like the Throne of Glass series. I consider it boring and nothing on what ACOTAR or CC are.
Overall then, I’m giving House of Flame and Shadow 4.5 stars! It had everything I loved in a good romantasy. I would recommend it, of course after reading “House of Earth and Blood” and “House of Sky and Breath” and the first five “ACOTAR” books. I am really looking forward to“A Court of Splintered Harmony” and “A Court of Fractured Melody” in the coming months. Are you?
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