Similar to another review I just read, this is the first book I've reviewed in the series (shame on me). I'll try to not re-hash the story line but perhaps offer a few different perspectives and only a humble recommendation or two. Like many other fans out there, SJM is one of my absolute favorite authors for a variety of reasons. I really appreciate her plots (across all her series) and the twists and turns she sends me down. She is one of the few authors that actually surprises me with her plot twists, and I love it. Her heroines are true heroines...and she makes room for more than one in her novels, which is how it should be. I also appreciate just how brilliant her heroines are. They have sass and always something up their sleeve. She also knows how to write well, which is actually not that easy to find these days. She may have a fantastic set of editors that help, but I'm just going to ignore that possibility for now and give her 100% of the credit. I mention that because even though this novel is close to 1000 pages, each page serves a purpose, and there isn't a whole lot of "extra". I never once sat back and wondered why 3 pages of material was written to describe something that could have been handled with a paragraph. That has been a frustration with some other favorite authors of mine lately....rush jobs to pump out novels to appease fans that have not been edited well. Anyway, moving on... Something I wanted to point out that I loved with this novel was this technique of switching back and forth between the action among different storylines within the same chapter. I can't recall if she did this with her other novels, but I loved this technique in this one. For example, one moment we would be reading about Hunt and the torture he and the boys were experiencing in the dungeon (or whatever we want to call it), and then it would switch to Tharion's situation in the Viper Queen's nest. The way she'd switch mid-chapter really kept the story moving along and interesting. There were times I'd be reading about the action in one place and wondering what was happening with a different set of characters and then...bam!....I was reading about them without having to wait for the next chapter. Or, alternatively, I think I would have just skimmed over an entire chapter about Tharion staying doped up and feeling sorry for himself when he was living in the Viper Queen's nest, but reading the little snippets here and there as we moved through that story line were perfect. Ok, so...enough on the great writing itself. :)
Next, the crossover with ACOTAR....that was a present unto itself. Thank you Sarah J. Mass....seriously....thank you for that extra bit of joy you just gifted all of us. We knew it was coming, but I personally refused to acknowledge it after HOSAB because I knew I'd have to wait for the next book, and I couldn't get myself excited about it at that time knowing it would be a while before we'd have it in hand. I would have liked to see a bit more Rhysand and perhaps a Feyre appearance, but beggars can't be choosers, and I still loved it. I'm also looking forward to how some of this plays into the next ACOTAR novel that comes out!
Next, the spice. No, it doesn't have as much in it as some of the other books, but that was completely fine by me because in this book I just wanted answers! I wanted it to all come together, I wanted the characters to get rid of the Asteri and save the world. The book did all of this. I can't believe I'm stating this (because I love some spice...4 peppers please), but if there had been no spice in this one, I'd have still given it 5 stars. hahahaha. Let's face it, it is hard to find a moment when you are constantly with your friends in the middle of saving the world for some private time. That's fair. (But, a few of them still managed to do it....so....let's not be too critical about it).
If there was anything I might have tweaked, it would have been the process of getting rid of the Asteri. Something about it felt a bit too quick after Polaris was killed. At this point I've read two other novels and hundreds and hundreds of pages leading up to this moment, and I just felt like it was over a bit too quickly. (Maybe because Bryce is just such a good planner? :)) I liked the struggle described for Polaris. I think I was expecting one more twist or something to happen between that and getting rid of the others (outside of the kill-switch revelation). But, it's all good. Maybe at this point, we just want them gone.
Anyway, I really did enjoy this novel, and this series. It met, if not exceeded, all of my expectations, and I'm looking forward to her next book release. I wish we could get 2 books a year from her, but the complex storylines, character development, and world-building are well worth the wait. For me, the TOG and ACOTAR series are still in the lead, but this is an outstanding series. Her books are all at a whole other level, and I think we are very fortunate she discovered her talent and passion early on and pursued them.
I have only one recommendation, which I'm sure will never been seen, but I'm making it anyway! I am more than happy to wait a year or more for SJM's next book in a series. I'm all about quality over quantity. The challenge (for me at least) is that when that next book in a series comes out, I have, unfortunately, forgotten important details of the previous book(s), and I end up putting in a lot of extra time scouring the internet for synopsis, etc. (Thank goodness there is plenty out there). I wish I had the time to re-read previous books before a new one comes out, but that is not always possible with my schedule, and I read so many books each year that storylines can get a bit fuzzy. (I know...I know...there are some die-hards out there that can't believe I don't remember every detail, but it is what it is.). Anyway, I am a fan of what an author whose work I have read recently (Eliza Raine) has done to address this in one of her series, and I thought I'd put it out there as an example for consideration. She has added a short refresher/summary to the beginning of her books, and it is fantastic because it summarizes the details she thinks are most important from the previous books in the series. After reading this, you are locked in and ready to start the new book with no need to seek out summaries and play catch up. Anyway, just a humble recommendation for consideration.
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3.75⭐️ rounded up solely due to ✨Lidia Cervos✨
Lidia carried this entire book on her back and she has my whole heart. 🫶🏼 [SPOILERS below!!] • • • Overall, I enjoyed the reading experience of HOFAS. There were moments that had my heart aching, while others had me laughing or clapping with pride for a character. However, I will *die* on the hill that Lidia carried this whole entire book on her back. Other characters had moments here and there, but Lidia was the true shining star throughout these pages!! Period. The RuhnLidia romance and tension between them was so 🤌🏼😍 However, I honestly wish we would have gotten more of it (though I will eat up every crumb SJM gave us with these two). One thing I do wish differently was that Lidia’s trauma and healing/recovery process was explored more. We get the “flinching” scene—and I loved that moment between her and Ruhn, and her trying to apologize after the fact—but I wish there was more depth and exploration to her healing journey. Essentially, I just need a whole book dedicated to Lidia and RuhnLidia, please and thank you. 🌅🌌 ALSO!!! Lidia’s connection to TOG?? I—was—screaming. I was lowkey expecting it after the clues dropped in HOSAB and the initial portions of HOFAS, but the confirmation was still so exciting and validating!! Lidia is practically the Aelin of CC. My two favorite SJM girlies. ❤️🔥 I couldn’t have been more pleased. Another thing I loved about this book: Nesta!! Honestly, Nesta was the best part of the Pythian-based scenes during the first third of the book. I really loved her moments, and the way SJM left that storyline has me very interested in what she has planned for Nesta, Az, and ACOTAR5 in general. Also, the scene between Ember and Nesta **warmed my heart** 🥹 Things I disliked: - The increased arguing and miscommunication between Bryce and Hunt. I don’t particularly care about them as a ship, but reading about their continued bickering grew annoying. Especially when I would have much rather seen that time dedicated to more RuhnLidia development/moments. - As I previously eluded, Quinlar has always been a bit lackluster for me throughout all the CC books, and this sadly continued to be true during HOFAS. Despite this, I was hoping for a moving reunion once they finally made it back to one another again and then….we got “hey” lolol. It was underwhelming to say the least. Literally, the reunion between Bryce and Syrinx made me feel more. - The pacing. While certain elements felt dragged out, much of it felt rushed or solutions conveniently popped up.. SJM has so many great ideas. I would have love to see more time taken with the overall plot and individual stories—it was SO much to be shoved into a single book. - The switching POVs. While I tend to generally enjoy SJM’s style of switching POVs throughout the book, something about the timing of them felt a bit jarring this time around in HOFAS. - The Ithan and Tharion scenes were dull and my least favorite parts of the book… Especially the plot line with Ithan and Sigrid. Just- why?? 🙄 I will admit Tharion became mildly interesting to me after Sathia joined him through the marriage of convenience. I’m curious to see how that storyline plays out in the future. - The deaths of Sabine and the Asteri honestly felt a bit anti-climatic to me. — — Despite the qualms I had, my overall reading experience was enjoyable! I had the best time exchanging screaming voice memos via text with one of my book besties while reading and brewing up so many new theories for the SJMverse together. 😊 Now I’m going to go reread the RuhnLidia bonus chapter for the 32719 time. 🥹🥰🤍✨
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2024
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Antonio Muñoz LaraReviewed in Spain on December 3, 2024
Buen libro, fue para regalo
Libro comprado para regalar. Tiene buena calidad de impresión, el tamaño de letra es suficiente.Antonio Muñoz LaraBuen libro, fue para regalo
Reviewed in Spain on December 3, 2024
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