House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
House of Flame and Shadow (Bloomsbury Publishing) is the highly anticipated third installment in bestselling author Sarah J. Maas’ Crescent City series. To say that I’ve been looking forward to this book for a long time is an understatement. If you’ve read Maas’ body of work, you know just what kind of ending she left us with at the conclusion of House of Sky and Breath. With the fate of the world, and many of our beloved characters, hanging in the balance, House of Flame and Shadow has a lot to live up to — and live up to it, it does.
Portal Right In
You’re going to want to have brushed up on your knowledge of Maas’ prior books to fully appreciate the extent of the easter eggs, world building and history interwoven throughout House of Flame and Shadow. Fresh off the epic cliffhanger of the prior book, Maas thrusts us back into the world of Midgard and half human-half Fae princess protagonist Bryce Quinlan with little frill. After a failed attack on the Eternal City of the Asteri, Bryce finds herself in a different world after she jumps through a portal in an attempt to reach Hel to summon help.
Bryce’s mate, the lightning-wielding angel Hunt, her Fae prince brother Ruhn and Helhound shifter Baxian are being held prisoner beneath the crystal palace of the Asteri, tortured for information. Their remaining friends and allies are scattered as they search for a way to free the prisoners and find Bryce. Long forgotten history comes to light as Bryce finds herself in the home world of the Fae, their planet before Midgard, and it is there that she begins to unravel the truth about her ancestry and the glittering Starborn power that she wields. With everything they hold dear at risk and depending on their success, Bryce and her family, friends and unlikely allies must do whatever it takes to bring down the Asteri and free Midgard from their icy clutches.
Magic and Modernity
Maas is a master of world-building. Midgard and Lunathion (a.k.a. Crescent City) have been built up over the course of the previous two books, and House of Flame and Shadow expands that world even further, bringing us from the caves of Avallen to the Northern Rift and into Hel itself. Each and every scene is vivid and intricate, hyper-specific details woven throughout every interaction from the locations to the magic systems, from the different houses and races to the technology infused in this fascinating urban fantasy. I love the Crescent City series in particular for its wonderfully strange fusion of magic with technology — modern mixing with ancient — and House of Flame and Shadow really dove even more into that blend as Bryce finds herself in a world without the technology of her home world.
Bryce as a character is always fun to read. She’s a confident, spicy, sarcastic spitfire who isn’t afraid to speak her mind in any situation — even when it would be wise to not do so. She stands up for those who can’t speak for themselves, particularly other women, as the Fae society is very male-dominated, and she is a champion of the humans, a race that is looked down on by most others. Her relationship with Hunt continues to be explored further in this book, and it was interesting to see how their individual journeys while separated impacted their relationship with each other. I’ve always loved Bryce’s relationship with her brother Ruhn, and there were more moments in this third installment to fuel that. They are siblings raised in different situations, yet bearing similar burdens, and I live for the love, acceptance and strength that they find in each other.
“Through Love, All Is Possible”
House of Flame and Shadow has its share of absolute heartbreak, trauma and torment. Would you expect anything less from an SJM novel? Yet, shining bright amidst all that darkness is hope, strength and love. After all — “through love, all is possible.” It’s the heart-pounding follow up to House of Sky and Breath that you’ve been waiting for. Long standing questions are answered, ancient powers stir, and it all comes down to this final showdown. If you love a book with a badass, delightfully snarky female protagonist, found family, exhilarating battles, a few spoonfuls of spice, and twists and turns to the very end, then House of Flame and Shadow is for you!
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The fantasy writer Sarah J. Maas (USA), January 22, 2020. Photograph © Beowulf Sheehan
Sarah J. Maas is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Crescent City, Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass series. Her books have sold millions of copies and are published in thirty-eight languages. Sarah lives with her family in New York City.
