872: House of Flame and Shadow was frustrating, until it wasn’t...
In this episode, it was interesting to read alongside friends…
Warning: This review is appropriate for all ages, but the story probably is not. Use your best discretion when selecting books.
Friends, friends, friends.
Welcome back to Teatime Reading where there are books in progress.
The first two books in the Crescent City series were exhilarating, intense reading experiences.
That was partly because of the sheer increase in spice and romance, but also because of the dramatic tension with the characters and the world in which they inhabited. Bryce was easily my favorite in the series, but several others in the cast made impressions on me.
For some reason, even as I was reading book 3, House of Flame and Shadow, I thought that it was the final book in a trilogy. In reality, nothing about the finale changed my opinion about this story being a trilogy, but author Sarah J Maas has clearly said a fourth book is coming, so I tend to think it will be a new story rather than a continuation of Bryce’s story.
Now, to this book at hand.
It was interesting going from reading a series that one friend had recommended to reading a new book with a group of acquaintances who were all in the same boat.
It challenged my patience and my impatience alike. I know, that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but maybe this will help. It took me five weeks to finish this book, so I felt like I was going too slow by my usual pace. However, my friends in the group chat were just as slow, but also a little irritated by some stylistic choices.
One of my retrospective critiques of the first two books was clearly the length and complexity, but in this book, I was also left a little frustrated at the mid-chapter changes in POV.
I couldn’t remember the last time POV changes were as irritating as in House of Flame and Shadow. In the last couple of books in Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle, the shifts between Eragon, Roran, and Orik became frustrating, but that, at least, was generally limited to new chapters.
Up to this point, you may be thinking that I was dissatisfied with House of Flame and Shadow. I’m not exactly sure how I could put it any better than the title of this review: It was frustrating, until it wasn’t.
Out of the three series in the Maas-verse, I always liked Crescent City’s the most. The blending of magic and technology and dangerous villains worked better for me than the more fantasy worlds of Throne of Glass and ACOTAR.
So, even as I was frustrated by some of the pacing and POV changes, I still couldn’t help but push forward in the story. The lore combined with the plot and characters made me curious and invested in this story. This time around, while I still liked Bryce, I was much more curious about two other characters. Lidia, and Ruhn Danaan. Lidia wasn’t someone I had cared about in the last book, but this time around, I couldn’t help it. Her personality and backstory jumped off of the page. Ruhn’s was a story of growth, and even though I thought he was slightly predictable, especially after reading Throne of Glass and ACOTAR, he was still a fun character.
So, House of Flame and Shadow was a long novel with good things and not-so-good things. Since I liked the characters and the world and the lore, I was able to forgive the tedious pacing and jarring POV changes. By the final pages of the book, I was really emotionally moved, even though I had a good idea of the way this story would end.
I won’t say anything about specifics, but like the best parts of Throne of Glass, the best parts of ACOTAR, and the best parts of the previous Crescent City books, House of Flame and Shadow reached its peaks when the characters’ emotions were strongest. Sure these books have spice and hot book boyfriends for their target audiences, but it was the emotionality that hit me the most, not the seduction or the war.
I will have to reflect on these three series after this book, because I hadn’t read Throne of glass the last time I reviewed a Crescent City book. If I am forced to choose, I will go with Crescent City, then ACOTAR, followed by Throne of Glass, but it’s really close at this moment.
They are all worth reading, and I hope you check them out.
Until next time, keep your bookmarks close.
Peace, Love, Pages.
Note: As Always, Affiliate Links are here for your convenience at no cost to you. All reading was at my own expense.