I’ve been on my library’s waitlist for this book for months. I got on the list when I realized I wouldn’t be returning to college for the rest of the semester and I’d actually have time to read this book. Well, I didn’t get to read it until recently, BUT it was worth the wait.
I love Maas. She writes incredibly large and complex fantasy worlds and plots. I would say that she doesn’t get all the credit she is due for that talent. Her romance is of course wonderfully angsty and at times tragic. However, I don’t think we can overlook the complexity of the plots, characters, and worlds she creates. The romance is of course also a huge draw to keep returning to her books.
I was interested to see what kind of adult fantasy Maas would write. I will say that it wasn’t all that different from her YA. Her YA IS pretty mature though. I think most of us would agree that it’s more New Adult than Young Adult. So, having said all that, I don’t think this book was all that much more adult than her previous books. There was more cursing and perhaps more gore. There were also more drugs? BUT I don’t know if that’s attributed to it being an adult book or the fact that it was an urban fantasy. Overall though, not that much more mature than her previous books if you were wondering.
I honestly wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Bryce. I don’t have a lot in common with her and I didn’t really like her at the beginning. As I learned more about her, I began to appreciate her complexities more. I still don’t identify with her that much, but that’s the beauty of books right? I did like getting to read from such a different perspective from Feyre and Aelin who are more tom-boys to me. So, I appreciated a refreshing change in perspective. I also always love it when we see curvy or thicc girls as main characters because body positivity is so important!
Maas does a great job of empowering women in many different ways and I’m always here for that empowerment and positivity.
I really liked getting to read so much from the perspective of Hunt and Ruhn. I am super interested in Ruhn because he reminds me a lot of Rhysand in some ways, but of course, he’s his own character. I really want to see how he as a character develops. He appears to have a lot of room for growth and change. I really like the sibling dynamic he has with Bryce. I hope that continues.
Hunt (I desperately wish he went by Orion because I LOVE constellations and Orion is my favorite constellation) is a new alphahole. I love how Maas gets meta with alphahole by addressing her previous male characters. I also like how Hunt points out how Bryce exhibits alphahole characteristics. I think Hunt stays true to the kind of male characters Maas writes, pokes fun at those males, and he’s an evolved form of those males.
My favorite moments of him were the normal moments of life he lives like watching tv. It made me wish for more normal moments with characters from her previous books. But alas probably not going to happen.
Overall, I really enjoyed this adult urban fantasy by Maas. I also really enjoyed getting to read about a young 20-year old since I’ve been looking for more books featuring protagonists that age.
Let me know what you think in the comments!
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