Review // House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

Prince Hunt Athalar Danaan.
He would have hated the last name were it not for the fact that it was a marker of her ownership over his soul, his heart.

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House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

Rating - 1/2
Book 3 of the Crescent City series
Release - January 30, 2024
Genre - Fantasy Romance / fated mates
POV - Multiple 3rd person
Heat - descriptive
Source - library ebook
Length - 951 pages
Previous books in the series - House of Earth and Blood * House of Sky and Breath

Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she's going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that's no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.

Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he's in the Asteri's dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce's fate. He's desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri's leash, his hands are quite literally tied.

Writing a review for this book has been so hard because everything I've come up with has been pretty spoilery.

House of Flame and Shadow picks up right where the cliffhanger from the last book left us — Hunt, Ruhn and Bax are prisoners of the Asteri; Bryce is in the land of her ancestors; and everyone else is converging on the final showdown. There was so much revealed in this story and while I could appreciate the fact that there was a crossover of characters, I didn't read the other series, so I was meeting these people for the first time, without any preconceptions. I missed all of the Easter eggs and now I'm curious enough to read that series 😊

“I fell in love with you in the depths of my soul, and it's my soul that will find yours again in the next life.”

Without spoiling everything, I'll just tell you my feelings throughout the book. I was so proud of how far Hunt and Bryce had come in their relationship. Remembering where they started out, virtually enemies to allies to everything, I am a true sucker for the love, support and friendship they found with each other. Ruhn was still an absolute sweetheart and I'm excited for his future, especially one he will share with Day. My heart breaks for Bax, but dang that male came so far from where he used to stand. Never thought he would be such a staunch ally. I found this book scary and tense and exciting and incredible and I would not complain if there was another one in the series, despite the threat to their world being gone.

Shoot, just give me an extended epilogue or something!

Sarah J. Maas is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Crescent City, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and the Throne of Glass series. Her books have sold more than twelve million copies and are published in thirty-seven languages.

A New York native, Sarah lives in Philadelphia with her husband, son, and dog.

To find out more, visit sarahjmaas.com or follow @therealsjmaas on Instagram.