Long awaited, the third Crescent City Novel from powerhouse author Sarah J. Maas is finally on the shelves and in peoples hands, but after two years of waiting does House of Flame and Shadow live up to the hype.
From the blurb;
'Bryce Quinlan is stranded in a strange new world. She's going to need all her wits about her to get home again and return to everything she loves. But that's no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.
'Meanwhile, Hunt Athalar is back in the Asteri's dungeons. Stripped of his freedom and the happiness he's fought so hard for, he's without a clue as to Bryce's fate. Hunt is desperate to help his mate, but until he can escape the Asteri's chains, his hands are quite literally tied. '
Following the cliff-hanger in House of Sky and Breath some will be left wishing that this novel were the sixth in The Court Of Thorns and Roses series, especially as they dive deeper into House of Flame and Shadow to discover that this novels focus is in Bryce's world, and not the beloved Night Court.
While Maas has hinted in recent interviews about a return to the world of The Court Of Thorns and Roses series in future novels readers will have to put their desire to see the Night Court cast aside if they want to truly embrace House of Flame and Shadow.
As is becoming usual for Maas's novels House of Flame and Shadow is a book of switching perspectives, across a now massive cast of characters. These swift switches will have readers heads spinning as we try to keep the various plot lines straight in our minds. However, this endless string of new challenges successfully keeps readers on their toes as they enjoy the story pulling together from several sides at once.
House of Flame and Shadow is an action packed read, starting with every main character caught up in their own battles, and seeing each of them go through considerable growth before finally coming together. With everyone's lives on the line some Maas readers will be surprised to find that House of Flame and Shadow has noticeably fewer scenes of passion between characters, however Maas still provides some romps at the books quieter moments, while not deviating from the overall sense of urgency that drives this tale.
At 835 pages before bonus chapters, House of Flame and Shadow is a commitment to read, and while in classic Maas fashion it will keep you hooked, it cannot be helped but to wonder if this novel in particular needed such behemoth length as we trudge through some chapters.
Of course the main pull for returning readers is Bryce and Hunt. These two lovers have become fan favourites as Bryce's take-no-shit attitude and quick quips resonate against Hunt's strong and emotionally wounded character, creating a lighthearted and passionate dynamic. In House of Flame and Shadow we enjoy not just their relationship growth but also a levelling up in power and understanding of their blood-lines histories, facts that ultimately come into play in the final 200 pages.
Unique among her other female lead characters Bryce was a breath of fresh air for Maas fans when she was introduced in House of Earth and Blood, so when Bryce begins to show character traits similar to the much loved Aelin Galathynius, there is a moment of worry that Bryce's strength will change her character beyond recognition. Thankfully by the close of House of Flame and Shadow the Bryce we all fell in love with, with her quick wit and playful attitude, has returned.
In a questionable publishing choice from Bloomsbury House of Flame and Shadow was released with five bonus chapters; Bryce & Hunt; Ember & Randall; Bryce & Danika; Ruhn & Lidia; Bryce, Nesta & Azriel; each printed as their own individual mini-book and distributed to be sold with the main novel, one bonus chapter allocated per book-selling chain. This decision has left some fans questioning the worth of splashing out huge sums to buy the novel five times so as to read all five bonus chapters, while others have been left reeling that in their country or area the bonus chapters are not available at all or in their entirety.
We can only hope that these five stories find their way to the Sarah J. Maas website for free in the near future as, in our opinion, the best chapters of the story are hidden in these bonus shorts.
For those readers who were left disappointed by the short glimpse into the world of The Court of Thorns and Roses, and would have liked to see more of these characters interactions with the House of Flame and Shadow cast and world, bonus chapters Ember & Randall and Bryce, Nesta & Azriel are for you.
Ember & Randall gifts readers with a glimpse into the struggles for Ember and Randall as they fight to accept everything their daughter is taking on and get their heads around a new setting filled with strange new people. While Bryce, Nesta & Azriel gives readers that little bit extra interaction between this mismatched main cast. Outside of distrusting one another, this bonus chapter allows our cast of characters to ask questions, explore their curiosities and connect on a genuine level. Providing readers with the cross-cast interaction they've been begging for throughout House of Flame and Shadow.
For readers who wanted more romance, and a glimpse into the aftermath of the main story, Ruhn & Lidia, and Bryce & Hunt are the romantically blissful extras you'll want to read.
Bryce & Hunt is a wonderfully light-weight, happy chapter full of merriment and couple-goals for this pair who have spent all of their romantic coupling caught up in hardship and power-struggles. It gives us a glimpse into who these main characters will be in the future, and gifts readers with a sense of joy as they step into a future they fought so hard to secure. On the other hand Ruhn & Lidia tells of a joy only just beginning, still finding it's feet, as the characters themselves go through a massive life shift and take on new roles to those they've always held.
Finally we are left with the most powerful of the bonus chapters, Bryce & Danika. Since her too short appearance in House of Earth and Blood, Danika and all that she meant to Bryce and the cast of characters around her, has pushed this main story line along. For three novels she has been the memory that carries Bryce through the storms, and stood as the character who laid the foundations for everything that was to come. While she means everything to the story, actual time with Danika is very little through out all three novels, and there are countless mysteries still to be answered when it comes to this powerhouse wolf. Bryce & Danika is the bonus chapter that gifts long term readers some of that insight. Pulling us back through the stories arching timeline to where it all began, and gifting us an interaction between these two best friends that we didn't realise we wanted to see so badly.
House of Flame and Shadow is a novel that will delight Maas fans, and with the addition of all five bonus chapters it lives up to the anticipation that surrounded it's long awaited release. With some plot lines left hanging House of Flame and Shadow leaves the door open to more in the Crescent City universe, and we hope that Maas will return to this world in the near future.
We give House of Flame and Shadow Four Stars
ISBN - 978-1-4088-8444-7 Hard Cover Price - £22.00 First published in the United States in 2024 by Bloomsbury Publishing.