'House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3)' by Sarah J. Maas - review

   ​Deus Ex Machina x Infinity and the Avengers Assemble Approach


I'm not a Sarah J. Maas basher. Let me get that out of the way upfront. Over the last few years, I've come to feel like a lot of people who read and review her work.. don't like it at all.. and specifically continue to do so in order to use the name and massive audience just for attention. That being said, this is now the fourth title of hers I have finished and it's the first one I've been disappointed with. 

Bear with me.. and I'll try to get through this without spoiling anything if possible.

I was late to the SJM party despite the urgings of my closest friend. I just couldn't get past the beginning of A Court of Thorns and Roses the when I initially tried it, so my first full SJM read was House of Earth and Blood back in 2020 and I loved it. From the get-go, the author drew me in and made me love characters that she immediately turned around and used to destroy me. What's not to like?

While the first book suffered from a couple of issues that I considered minor considering the overall scope of the story, it was a rich.. emotional read. The worldbuilding and magic systems were both huge, elaborate pieces of the book, the characters were relatively diverse in behavioral make-up, and it was clear the series was going to have a lot to offer.

By book two, I was eager to get my hands on the next installment of the story.. particularly because it promised more attention to my favorite character.. but also because I wanted to see where the tale was going. As with the series debut, House of Sky and Breath was another stunner. It had the same flaws I took issue with in the first, but again.. the payoff was so good it didn't ultimately matter. It also had the things that had hooked me.. devastating emotional moments and deep character development.

Obviously, I'm sure it's no surprise then.. that I also jumped on the release of House of Flame and Shadow as soon as it released, but nothing could prepare me for the whopping disappointment and general disinterest I found as I read one of my most anticipated books of the year. 

Here now, those two relatively minor problems became huge ones. The information dumping I complained about before.. was prevalent everywhere.. with an entire chapter even dedicated to nothing else. Maas' penchance for forcing characters to behave outside of their psychological profile in order to drive the story to a specific point.. likewise.. is on full display. 

Unfortunately, the strengths that had enabled me to easily overlook those things in the two previous books.. were largely missing. I suspect the reason for this is quite simply a case of having more plates spinning in the air.. than Maas could reasonably handle in the space of time provided. 

Originally, I felt like it was a skill issue.. and in a sense.. perhaps it is. As I thought about other authors who had dealt with similarly dense content, I realized either they.. or those who chose to publish their works.. just knew where to draw the line. They either kept to a smaller focal point.. enabling the reader to retain that close connection with the characters or they divided the content into more segments and I really think either choice could have saved the final part of the story for me.

There is understandably.. a lot happening in this novel. We've had over 1,600 pages previously to build a world-sized cast and a monumental plot. In trying to tie together everyone's personal histories, their present situations as individuals, and their role in the overarching tale.. while also managing all the chaotic plot devices, any connection with the characters or the story itself was lost. 

Things that I would ordinarily be moved by in Maas' hands.. had little to no effect on me as they were skimmed by. Interactions between characters mostly felt forced and uninteresting. I wanted to feel for my favorites, but I wasn't given the opportunity. We were too busy being jettisoned to the next thought or next scene. 

And holy deus ex machina.. my friends. I'm not sure I've ever seen the device so abused before. It is everywhere. There is no weight of consequence despite the dire situation we're told everyone is in because there are resolutions for any possible conflict popping up all throughout the book. 

Everyone is leveling up.. becoming super powered, none of course more extensively than our main protagonist, to the point they constantly feel unstoppable. They're massing allies for the final Avengers vs super villains confrontation. Every time there's a problem, there's a solution at the ready. I never spent a moment fearing for anyone.. and that's not something I can say for either of the other books in the series. There's literally a point where I threw up my hands and realized.. okay.. there are no longer any world/system rules here at all. 

While that's not to say that everyone IS 100% safe.. there wasn't a moment that upset me.. or unnerved me in anyway. The surprises are minimal and while I found one of them quite interesting in concept, it was handled in such an offhanded way that I didn't care. 

Add to all that, the Chosen One thing is so overdone.. I can't even deal with it.. and everyone around her has suddenly become unable to make a move without her. All these previously strong characters are just useless props for the Super Magical Starborn Princess Whatever. They've all become too weak, too guilt-ridden, too afraid.. insert random vulnerability here.

Don't even get me started on convenient 360s and basically being told something is final.. repeatedly.. only to see again and again that it isn't.. but oh.. Through All Love.. blah blah blah.

I'm sad that the series feels ruined, but the author's work with the first two books.. as well as Throne of Glass.. which I also finally read, will keep me trying for now. I hope that this isn't a sign of things to come. If you're on the fence about reading this book already, maybe don't waste your time. But if you're generally a fan of the author, I guess you might owe it to yourself to get through it.. even if you feel like I do in the end.

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