Sweet baby Jesus where to begin... What to say... This book picks up amazingly where House of Breathe and Sky leaves off but weaves practically all the POVs and then some of every character we have been introduced to thus far. This book provides a constant and balanced feeling of tension with gratifying and sometimes explosive pay off. Think about having a theory (or several) for YEARS only to be proven right suddenly at many calculated points in the behemoth of a book!!! Absolutely thrilling. I typically finish new books of this genre and size in 2-3 days (because I have zero chill or self control; thanks ADHD hyper-fixation and loving books more than people) but I wanted to take my time with this; Really absorb it after so many years of waiting; really take every word and possibility in to my brain. Boy was I not wrong to do so! This book made me laugh, cry with joy and sorrow, scribble like a mad-woman in my "notebook" and group texts of potential connections and theories, and it made my heart absolutely explode with the strengthening of the themes of the power of all forms of love, the unyielding bonds of friendship (across great distances), the value and significance of found family and the determination to do what is right regardless of the potential cost. It is this reader's opinion that SJM has continued her long running streak of writing creative stories, that weave in and out of past, present and future histories, while also writing complex, deep sometimes tortured characters who seek redemption and love as a way to heal from their pasts, and provides high stakes nearly in every chapter that keeps you excited, but also trembling with fear for those you care about and the world you've come to love. Now, I am not with out some disappointment in some areas of the story telling specifically related to a lot of focus/attention on a certain Sunball Player and a Mer having a mid-life crisis without any real pay off as well as some great starting points in House of Sky and Breath for C and D characters with literally a hurried and almost "throw away" story line for them. It is clear that SJM may have had a few too many cooks in the kitchen with this one but overall I was still engaged, impressed and sad to leave some of my favorite characters: I'm looking at you: Ruhn and Lidia! Bravo to Sarah J. Maas on continuing to be the magical world building, enticing wordsmith Fae princess badass that our Earth needs!!!

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.