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Megan (@midwestreading)

Book Review: House of Flame and Shadow - Sarah J. Maas (Spoiler Free!)

5 STARswords


Okay so let’s start with: I think this is a 5-star read with 3-star energy.


And I think there are going to be a lot of people disappointed by this book - I’m not one of them. I think this is our Tower of Dawn moment…the set-up novel.


Remember there are 4 Houses in the Crescent City world. We’ve had a book for three of them now. Buckle up, Maas fans!


As for HOFAS, it’s a must-read. I think we all went into it with high expectations. It was well plotted but didn’t give everything we wanted (and honestly, everything we reasonably expected based on the teasers).


This book was SO DARK, y’all - which definitely took away from my enjoyment overall. I winced my way through this one—but it is Flame and Shadow. It’s got ACOTAR’s “under the mountain” overall vibe/heaviness throughout and it’s got torture scenes as bad or worse than Kingdom of Ash. You’ve been warned.


That said, while I think the storyline is so good that it doesn’t need all the gore (felt a bit cheap), it’s a thrilling read. Questions are answered. New ones are asked. The stage is set for CC4. Bring it on!

I, like many of you, was disappointed at some of what we DIDN’T get. But wow did we get a promise of it for the next book.


So yep, this was slow and dark. 800 pages of “not quite what I wanted” but when the goosebumps hit you at Chapter 94…that's the 5⭐️ energy.

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