I'm Glad I Didn't Quit (House of Flame and Shadow)

This week I'm talking about House of Flame and Shadow, where I spent half the book trying to remember everyone's storyline, got way too excited every time the crossover characters showed up, and somehow ended up loving a series I almost gave up on.

Let's talk about the finale, the characters, the ending, and why I'm genuinely confused about what Sarah J. Maas could possibly do in a fourth book.

Did we read the same book?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hey everyone, it's Sadie here, and welcome to Did We Read the Same Book? All right, so this week I decided to continue on with the Crescent City um series, and now I'm on book three, House of Flame and Shadow. I actually was supposed to do like a shorter book in between, but I really had to know what was happening, and I started the book anyway. So I'm like, yeah, I'll get to the other books a little later. Let's let's finish this series. And I'm almost I'm already almost done with part one of that graphic audio because they're in two parts. So I'm almost done with part one, which would be oh, which would actually be part one of the the book itself, because I think it's also broken up into parts. Anyway, so a lot of things are happening once more. I feel like this series is like so fast paced, but also a little redundant. So I don't know, like it is fast paced, but then there's also like lulls where you're like, okay, we can move on past that. I think that maybe shh they're too long, they're too long, there's a lot going on, but they don't need to be super long. Um, so we left off on a cliffhanger in book two. We pick right back up where it left off, pretty much, and that is with Bryce trapped. Uh, and yes, she is in Prithian. She is with at the night court, I believe. And they're holding her right now under the mountain, and she's been down there for um a little while. She's not sure how time works there, so she's really worried about you know everyone she left behind and what's happening with them, and obviously getting back home to them. Um, but anyways, they're they're holding her right now because they just want to see why she's there, how she got there, what she's about, and if she's like a threat or not. So let me see. Nesta and Azrael are are like they're with her the majority of of this time. So, you know, we do, I know it left off with like Amran and all of them like questioning her in book two, but then they just kind of toss her in like um, you know, little cell in the mountain, and they're like, all right, well, you get stay here. They're feeding her, they're taking care of her, but they're just waiting her out. So she eventually just is like, there's something underneath these cells. I want to see what it is. So she goes and she's looking, and then her her chest, you know, the star and everything in her chest is kind of like glowing and leading her somewhere. So she's like, Well, guess I'll follow it and see where it takes me. There's a bunch of really crazy creatures down in the tunnels below her, and she's super scared, but they're backing away from her and they're letting her go through. So she's like, Oh, all right, cool. She falls asleep eventually because she's so freaking tired from just walking and then not eating a whole lot. So she's like, I'm just gonna close my eyes real quick. Wakes up and Nesta's there, and she's like, Whoa, wasn't expecting you, but you know, Nesta's like, Yeah, well, you know, we saw we know that you escaped, so I'm here to retrieve you. But, anyways, they end up going through the tunnels together. Um, Azriel makes an appearance later, and then now the three of them are going through the tunnels together. They run into the Alaskan bullworm down in the tunnels. I know that's not what it's called, guys, but you know, the worm, the giant worm thing, they run into that, they defeat it or her nest to do, but then Bryce is like, I'm gonna, I want it to come back and attack them. So she keeps like she has a wound on her hand and she keeps it open pretty much so the worm can find them. It backfires, doesn't work out. It does come out. Azriel and Nesta are like, uh, oh no, but they defeat it, and then she ends up coming back and like coming for them, anyways, because she feels bad. So they move on, they move forward, they're going through the tunnels, then they find finally the answer that Bryce has been looking for. I'm gonna pause real quick because there's a lot. So, okay, while Bryce's story is going on, there's also other stories happening, right? So the way that this book is is like point a thousand point of views again. Um less confusing now that I know the characters, so not as confusing as book one or two. I'm familiar with who everybody is now. However, it is like okay, short chapters. The chapters are super short, but they're from different points of view, like every chapter, pretty much, you know? So we're hearing a whole lot of things going on from everybody's point of view, what they're going through. Uh, the mermaid dude, Theorion, or whatever his name is, his story is really not that intriguing this time. I feel like he had a better story in the second book. Right now, he sold himself to the Viper Queen, and he's just kind of like, I don't know, drunk like not drunk, but high off her venom pretty much all the time. So that's that's his thing. That's what he's going through right now, and he's kind of like regretting his decision, but also he's reminded, like, all right, I did this to stay on land to help my friends and not to get sucked down into the like river creek river queen's wrath forever and ever and ever. So he's reminding himself why he sold himself pretty much to uh Slyther Lady, anyhow. He also feels a lot of um like shame, and he doesn't want his friends to see him like that, but it is what it is, so that's his story, not too much happening with that. Then there's Ethan, the werewolf guy, the wolf, and he he saved, so it left off on on a cliffhanger with him too in book two. He ends up going back to the mystic, and he wants to get that wolf out, right? The other alpha wolf. So he ends up saving her and getting her out, but she's just not really adapting that well. And I like I literally just ended with he had to fight her, and then he ends up killing her on accident. So we're left with that. It's a whole lot going on there. Um, and now he feels super sad and he's regretful, and he's like, I have to stay here and make things right. So there's that thing. Um, Sabine gets hurt at some point. I don't really know, nor do I really care about I don't know, her or whatever. And then what is going on? Oh, Hunt, Rune, and the other guy. I don't know his name, but um what's her name? What is her name? Bryce's best friend, that's not really her best friend because she has a ton of secrets. Danica. Okay, so Danica's mate, and I don't remember his name. So those three, the mate, Rune, and um and Hunt, they are being kept prisoner right now by the Seri, and they're being tortured every day, horrific torture. They're they're like on the brink of death every day, but you know, they're not dying because they don't die. But they have shackles on that like uh alter their like power and their ability to heal and regenerate quickly, you know. So yeah, so they're down there in dungeons and they're being brutally tortured, uh, you know, like wings cut off for hunt, even though they do grow back, they're going back super slowly and painfully, and like disemboweled, and you know, just all sorts. You think of it, it's probably happening. So they're doing that, and they're like, Man, we're gonna die. Like, where is Bryce? I don't know, but we're not, we're probably not gonna make it. They're gonna probably kill all but one of us, just so Bryce has something to come back to, you know, someone. Anyways, the hysteria is freaking the fuck out because they're like, Where did Bryce go? She left through some portal, and we need to find her. So they have all these mystics, all of them, like hundreds of them, looking for her right now because they have to sift through all the different worlds and possibilities where she could have gone. So they're thinking at first that she went to hell, but then it's like quickly, you know, found that she did that she didn't go there. The princes of hell come to Hunt and they're just kind of like checking on him. And Hunt's like, is Bryce there? And they're like, No, she's not here. Ooh, but we know where she could be. Okay, cool. And they're a little excited and a little worried. Um, but they don't tell Bryce, right? Or Bryce, they don't tell Hunt where what they think, and he's so stressed out because now he's like, if she's not in hell, where is she? So obviously he's stressing out about that. Okay, I think that's it. Like, I think we're caught up. Oh, and Lydia aka the um the what is her name? Not the hound. What is she? The hide. So she, you know, as we know, she is a double agent spy, and she's really rooting for the good guys. So she has a plan to to like save everybody somehow. She, I mean, obviously, we think I think her and Rune are mates, so there's that. She's trying really hard to save him because she's like, Oh, I can't let him die or suffer anymore. But she's also very trusted by the Asteri, so she has to like keep face and make sure that she stays trusted. Anyhow, she's like kind of she's trying to get the trust of the fire sprites queen that's down there, uh, also being pr in prison by the Astery. I don't know what their plan is exactly, but she just made a plan with her, so there's there's something brewing there. Okay, I think that's everything that's going on that's important that I can remember. Let me see. Okay, back to Bryce. So, Bryce, so she finds the the thing that they're looking for, right? She crosses in, and then there's like a hologram that comes up, and it's basically the whole backstory of the Asteria and how they came to the world at Prithian and how they took it over, and like everybody was under their rule for a while, so it wasn't just like they defeated them, you know, right away, like they were under their rule for a while, and then they eventually like rallied up and defeated them. Now, anyway, so now we learn um from this hologram who is one of the daughters of Queen Thea. I think that's her name. Yes, Queen Thea. Um, anyways, so one of them is like, I have to tell you guys something, or if you found me, then you know you are an ancestor, and you know, you are able to uh hold this knowledge and power. So here you go, here it is. Here's the history. So she goes on and tells them the history of like, you know, the stere and all that, and then she talks about um like ancient magical artifacts known as the dread trove. So those consist of the mask, which is um from the Avatar series. So I don't know if anybody's read all of that, but uh Nesta has the mask, which she can like command the dead with it pretty much. So there's that one. The harp also Nesta used that in her book too, and she can like stop time and reality with the harp. I think she can do a whole lot more with it, but I I in in her book she didn't really mess with it too much, but the harp sounds like it's super cool, actually. So there's six strings, they can open like different physical portals, they can move objects, they can travel between worlds, and they can stop time itself, you know, or slow it down. So harp is super, super cool. Hopefully, we get to see more of that in the series because I want to know what it does. Then there's a crown. I I don't think anybody has the crown, or maybe they do. I don't know. I know in Crescent City they don't, so maybe in Avatar they do, but I don't really remember too much about that lore. But, anyways, it's supposed to give them like powers, a lot of powers, and then control other people. So actually, I think the crown was an Avatar. If I remember now, I just don't remember. I it's been a long time since I read that series. Then there's the horn, which we know already that it can open up different portals and rifts between worlds. So, and then Bryce has that in her back. So we do know that one. Um, okay, so we learn more about that and how those were used. They were made by the Asteri, and then they were used also against the Astery. And the one of the daughters of Queen Thea, and I'm sorry, I forgot her name for some reason right now. What the daughter, there's two of them, but anyways, one of the daughters, she, you know, they're all trying to flee eventually. So we learned that Queen Thea is actually not super great. She was like, once they defeated Thea Stere in their world, then they are like, or she Queen Thea is like, all right, so I actually kind of want to go conquer a different world myself, you know. Like, I want us to all be powerful. I want my daughters to be powerful and have their own worlds to be in charge of. So she uses the horn and she opens up a rift into Midgard and she brings her people over there. She is being manipulated by the Asteria again. Um, they were known as the Daglin in her world, and then they're the Asteri in Midgard. Um, so they're being manipulated, and once she realizes it, it's a little too late, like she already brought a lot of her people over to the other world. Um, but then when they decide to actually like flee, they leave. Um, she gets killed, Queen Thea or whatever, and then um her other one of her other daughters gets stuck there. But the youngest daughter escapes and goes back to Prithian, and she leaves with the horn, or no, she doesn't leave with the horn, she leaves with the um the harp, and I think the I think the mask stayed in Prithian, anyways. But she she leaves with the harp and the horn, or not horn. I don't know, I keep saying that. The horn is used. Oh my gosh, I'm sorry guys. I'm like, what was the whole lore? I forgot it now. But, anyways, basically they close the portal completely, right? They close it, and now as we already know, the Asteri can no longer travel between worlds, they are trapped. Okay, so that's how they get trapped. So the hologram's hogging, and she's telling them all this stuff. Um, Nesta's listening, of course. Bryce is listening, and she's horrified about everything in the past and how greedy everybody was, and that nobody was good. And she's like not happy that she has this power now. This, like, you know, the sun power and all that, the light. Um, because she's like, Wow, my ancestors are kind of a piece of crap, and they're all selfish too, and they just wanted their own world to rule, like they're no better than the Asteri, anyhow. So that's she's processing all that that's going on. She learns more though how to use her powers and how to use the artifacts, so that's cool. And she ends up like I don't remember, but they they catch on, right? So Nesta catches on that the horn is in her back, and she's like, Yeah, you're coming with us. We need to we need to take you to our people, and we need to talk about this. Like, we have questions for you now. You know, you got a lot of power, girl, and you can do crazy things. And now that we know that they're after our world and you're danger, like, let's go. So Bryce is scared, and she's like, No way, you're not taking me. I you're not cutting this out of me, you're not questioning me like that. Like, I need to get home, I need to figure out how to kill these Asteri and save my people. So then she has like a big burst of like power, and then she decides she's gonna take power because she was shown kind of how. So she absorbs all this power from the mountain that was made by her ancestors, pretty much, and now she's like levels up like Mario, you know, when he gets that star and he's undefeated, and he just like lights up all bright. That's how I imagine. So she Mario's up, you know, she gets that star, and so now she's like, Yes, I don't need people to filter their powers through me anymore. I am just powerful. This is cool. Home girl also happens to release or to open up a tomb um to an astery, one of the originals that was there at Prithian, the one and only that actually ruled that place, and who happened to be the creator of all of the dread troves. Yeah, so she opens up that tomb. Home girl is still alive, she's in there, she's barely alive, but she is. And Bryce decides I'm gonna talk to her, and she lets her out. Yeah, she lets her out against everybody's wishes. Everyone else is like, do not know, do not unleash her. Like, what the hell? We definitely need backup now. And Bryce is like, nah, I don't think so. I want to talk to her. I have some questions. So she does, she unleashes, unleashes her, makes horrible decisions, and they chit chat a little bit. She doesn't really learn a whole lot of new stuff. Um, but just you know, she learns that they come from a different place, their play, their world was dying a little, so they decided to leave to jump worlds, and then they soon realized that a lot of other worlds did not have as much magic as theirs, so and then they couldn't get back to theirs anymore, they couldn't find it. So then that's why the Asteri have been just jumping whirls. They're like, we don't know where where we originate from. We lost it. So, anyway, she learns that. I guess that's good information. She also learns that they're that those troves can do a lot more than what they think they can. Like, yeah, the original Asteria like lets them know that pretty much. Like, you guys are barely even using any of the power that it's capable of. You guys don't even know how to use it. That's funny, that's cute. Um, so now we know that that they are capable of doing way more than just the little basic party tricks that they've been doing, you know, like going to new worlds or slowing down time. Um, yeah, so, anyways, she's keeping Bryce distracted by keeping her talking. Really, she's trying to like siphon up some of the power and magic, you know, so she can revamp herself and like leave. Azrael knows this, and so does Nesta. They are like, Bryce is such an idiot, but anyway, so they're ready for battle, they're readying themselves, you know. Well, Bryce is just chit-chatting. Um, then she does it, she gets all her, she powers up, and now it's like a battle. They have to try to like kill this hysteria who's powerful and ancient and scary. They do. Nesta does actually, because Nesta's a badass as always. So Nesta does pretty much all the damage and like gives her the final killing blow. Bryce helps, but you know, it's kind of her fault that this all happened anyways. And that's where I leave. Yeah, that's where I leave you guys for now. That is where I left off. That was pretty much all part one, and now I'm gonna go move on. Move on to part two and finish up the book and the series. I'll catch you guys later. Okay, everybody. So I am currently out of town right now, and I'll be staying in a hotel for a little while for work. So I brought all my stuff with me. If the quality, like the sound quality sounds different or weird, then that's that's why. I tried my hardest to kind of like recreate my little studio. Um, but yeah, no, it's it's a hotel. Uh so it is what it is. Anyways, where am I? I so I had a crazy drive. I mean, I guess not that bad. It was like nine and a half hour drive, and during that I listened to my audiobook, and I've I covered a lot. I didn't listen the whole nine hours, but you know, I did listen to a good chunk of the book. I am now in part two or book like the second part for the graphic audio because it's um yeah, they they record it half and half or whatever. So I have the second one now. I just started that today, but I finished the first part completely on my trip. Oh so much has happened. Okay, so Quinn or Bryce, sorry, I was calling her Quinlan. Anyways, Bryce left. She left. Oh my goodness. Where did I leave off? Okay, so I left off with her, you know, she was uh with what's her name, she was with the Avatar cast, pretty much, and now she isn't anymore. She leveled up and she was able to open up another portal and go back home, pretty much. So she went back home, she landed in her dad's castle, whatever state. I don't know what it is, but she landed there and then he was like, Oh, haha, we've been looking for you. He holds her prisoner, but she's not actually prisoner because she's super powerful now and she could just leave, but he doesn't know that. So she pretends she's being held captive for a few days because she wants information and she wants leverage and and all that stuff. So she gets it. Also, she did take the truth teller with her. Um, so she does have the dagger and she has her sword now, uh, which is really cool. And it's you know, fulfills a prophecy that when they're brought together, then you know something will happen. So she has all that stuff now, or those two things. She gets her dad's diary, basically, and she also finds out that he knows a lot more, you know, um, about like where to find the answers for their origin and the truth about the Astery. He knows a little bit more than he's letting on. So she gets that info and then she knows where to find it. She also knows that like the missed areas are like thin areas and they are easier to pass through and go to different dimensions or different worlds. So, okay, so that is that information. Then she reveals to her dad, like, I actually am not your captive. I'm gonna leave now, and I've been able to do that this whole time. So she I can't remember exactly anymore what she did. She did something to him, um, like to disadvantage him or whatever. He's alive. I do know that, but he's alive. I think she locked him somewhere. I don't remember. Oh my goodness, it's been a dizzying few days. Just I've had a lot happening, but anyhow, so she leaves and then she teleports to her hubby, her um mate, whatever. So she finds Hunt, and Hunt also they escaped, by the way. So with Lydia's help, um, they all got out, they escaped the Astery, and now they are staying on the on a ship, like the ocean queen or whatever, her her ship. Um, so they're staying there, and she's not happy. She's like, Oh my gosh, mermaid, dude, like you are causing so much problems, and they are looking for you, okay? And I'm gonna have to turn you in, or like you're gonna you're gonna have to stay here for a little bit until we figure it out, but you're gonna put everyone in danger. So yeah, I have to turn you in. There's nothing I can do. Then here comes Bryce, and she's like, actually, I'm a queen, and he works for me, you know, I own him, or whatever. And so here she comes and makes a grand entrance. And the queen, the ocean queen is like, I don't know who you are. And I don't trust that title, so I don't care. But whatever. So now they're all they're all there. Linia, the hunt. She finds she like wakes up. Okay, so during the escape, she gets really injured. Now everybody actually knows who she is. She blow, she blew her cover, but she gets hurt, and like she gets shot through the chest or the heart or whatever. And now she's like in the hospital on the ship, and she survives, of course. She she survives as soon as she wakes up, she tries running, her legs are injured, but she finds her son. So in the beginning of the book, she mentions, you know, that she used to have kids, like a little, I don't know, she has like a little part that she had to give them up. So now she's reunited with them. They are older, they're in school, and they don't fully accept her, and that like breaks her heart, but it's understandable. Like, she hasn't been in their lives for like 15 years, so you know, yeah, it is what it is. But yeah, so she is reunited with them. She's like, I'm gonna continue fighting um for like freedom and all that stuff. So there's that, there's her little part of the story. They don't really like accept her because they're teenagers, so and she hasn't been in their life this whole time. Also, she's the hunt, and they're just like skeptical about her role with the Asteri and all the bad things she's done. Okay, I think those are the major things. Then there is Ethan, the wolf. Again, I'm not really caring so much about like his story right now. I don't know why. It's just kind of like like there. I'm sure it'll be important at some point. But he so he ended up killing that one girl that he helped escape. Um, they're pitted against each other and in a fight, and then he ended up like decapitating her. So oopsies, right? Oh no, didn't mean to do that. So now he's trying to bring her back, and hypaxia the witch is also a necromancer, so he so he asked for help, she comes, and now she's um gonna bring the other alpha back to life. That's where that story left off right now. Everybody else is on a new mission, so they're like, we need to go to that the misty, the I don't know, I don't know what it is. There's another court, there's another, you know, somebody who's in charge of stuff, another king, and he lives in like the mist pretty much. People don't usually go there, they have to be invited, and the astery also cannot go there, right? They don't have access to that portion. So that so Quinn's like, I need to go there because there's information there. They have like a whole library, and they have um just yeah, info that I need to finally like get rid of the Astery. So she her and her rowdy crew members, they all go, they get on another little boat, she goes there, she's granted access, anyways. But now she's like, I want access to see all the literature and to read all the stuff. And he's like, Absolutely not. Women are not allowed to have that information, and you're a woman, and so there he's very sexist, you know. They're really sexist, and they're like, No, women don't have rights, they're just meant to be like wives and to breed, and that's it, that's all they're good for. But she's like, No, I don't think so. Um, I'd say otherwise because I am a starborn princess or star, whatever it's called. I have this light. Look at me, I'm so cool. Also, I have an I have this dagger and I have this sword, and they say otherwise. And she's like, also, I'll give you my dad's um diary, and you can have that as like leverage or whatever. So he's finally like, fine, I guess, even though I don't like you and you're being disrespectful, you can have access and then leave. But that's where I'm at, that's what's happening. Uh I don't know. I I do know a lot of people really love this book, and I really, really like the crossover, and that's my favorite so far. But as for her being back now and getting answers, I'm just like, well, you already know how to kill the Astery. You just killed somebody in the other world. You literally used the knife and the dagger to end that one, you know, Asterie's life, and she seemed super powerful and important. So why are we looking through more information? I don't know. I do not know. I don't understand it. I guess let let's just uh keep going and I will find out what the end goal is here, but anyways, yeah, I'm gonna continue on and I'll be back. Okay, hello everybody. I'm finally back home. I listened to a lot of the book on my long drive back, so I'm missing I'm I'm missing a lot of details I already know because it's been a few days between listening and this recording. All right, so I left off with Bryce and her gang of misfits trying to find more answers. They they did, okay. So they did, by the way. I'm not gonna get into great detail about how they got there because it was a lot of stuff, but what's what's important, I think, and what I remember is that they found the other star, I guess, Starlight, and she was able to kill the I forgot who I forgot his name already, but the host that was like, you know, super sexist and all that stuff. So she she killed him, and she also killed her dad, okay? Well, she didn't, but um, her brother did. So her brother killed the dad. There was like, I don't really know how he got there, I don't remember, but there was, you know, everybody was there, and they're like, You're a price, you need to stop because we don't accept you, and blah, blah, blah, and you're a traitor. And she's like, No, I'm actually gonna be the queen now. So off you guys go. You guys are dead. Okay, so that's what happened. They died. Now she opened or she took the rest of the power, so she's like super powerful now. She has all this light or whatever, and she raised the rest of the the islands that were hidden, or whatever. They, you know, because their power is being drained and worlds are torn apart and islands are disappearing. Anyways, she rose them up, they're beautiful. There's like beautiful flowers and gardens and butterflies and whatever else is happening, right? Just imagine somewhere super gorgeous. She did that, she brought it back, and they're still veiled in that mist thing. So the weird alien things can't get to her, can't get to her from there. And so she's like, All right, so what we need to do is we need to bring our loved ones here so that way they're under the veil and they're protected as much as they can be for now. And we need to talk to the river queen and we need to get people harbored under there as well, because the Asteri have kind of started like this war. So there's battleships everywhere, they've already killed a bunch of innocents. That field that we saw in like book one, I think, you know, that they protected and stuff in the very beginning. They finally did like target that they blew up the uh civilians, the the humans and everything. So a lot of people died, children, uh, women, men, everybody. So a lot of people have been killed because of the austerity and this war that is going on. And so Bryce is like, all right, let's start saving people. Also, I am the queen now of Fairs. I don't remember. Of two places, right? The place she just took over, where she killed the sexist king, so she's queen of that place now, and then the Fey, Queen of the Fey. I don't know. There's a there's a lot happening. I'm sorry, there's just a lot going on, and I am thoroughly entertained by this. I'm not saying like, oh, I don't remember because it's so boring. No, I don't remember a lot of details because I'm trying to keep up here. There's so many different stories happening all at once from all different points of views and characters, and I'm I'm like, all right, what's going on with this? And what's going on with that? So if this isn't, I don't know, it's not really my favorite genre. I actually really don't like multiple points of views in one book for this reason exactly because my attention span, it's just not the best. Yeah, I don't have the greatest attention span, guys, but I am trying really hard to pay attention. I do know what's happening, like when the stories shift and stuff, I'm not lost completely. I'm like, oh, okay, yeah, that's right, that's happening. But I do need reminders, like yeah, I have I when I hear it again, I go, oh well, yep, I got it. I remember now, but me on my own, far away from the book, don't remember everything. Sorry, I'm trying my best, anyways. So that's going on, and so she opens up a portal. Bryce opens up a portal, and she has this plan, okay? She needs to first she needs to open a portal, she wants to like open the gates of hell because they're the princes of hell are are willing to like give their aid and to help defeat the Astery once and for all because they've been trying to do that in the first place. So they offer their assistance, and Bryce is like, Okay, cool. Yes, I accept your assistance, I will open the portal, we will get you guys up here. Um, sounds super sketchy and worrisome because hello is the princess of hell. Also, I do like reading like dark romances, so I wouldn't mind reading their story. I know we won't get it, but that would be interesting. Alrighty. She does not open the gates to hell, she opens up a portal leading straight to Nesta. So Nesta makes her appearance once more. Makes me super excited. I was like doing a little like happy feet kicking thing. Like, oh yay, I just love this crossover. It's my favorite. It's literally the reason why I decided to even read this series, is because I know it crossed over. So, okay, so she opens up a portal to Nesta, chilling out in her living room, minding her own business, sitting in her chair. And then Nesta's skeptical because hello, a portal just opened up in her living room, and now she's looking at Bryce, who escaped them not too long ago. And Bryce asks her to please take or to please, you know, give her the um death mask, pretty much. Like, hey, is it okay if I borrow that mask? We're trying to defeat the Asteria over here, and I need all the help I can get. So can I please have that? And Nesta's like, no, I'm not giving that to you. Like, that's crazy. And so Bryce is like, okay, I have some, I have some collateral though. Okay, so here's what I'll do: I will give you my parents that are right here, and mind you, they they speak Nesta and all of them don't speak the same language as Bryce. So earlier in the book, they gave Bryce something to help like bridge that gap, that language barrier. So now Bryce can talk to her and her language, but nobody else around her can understand what the hell is happening. So they're just standing by in this portal thing, wondering what they're talking about. And Bryce is telling Nesta, like, you can have my parents, they're right here, right next to me. I'm gonna give you them and please keep them safe during this war because they are humans and I don't want them to get hurt. Um, so you keep them safe. I trust you guys enough to do that. Your world is cool and awesome and beautiful. So you keep them and then give me the mask, and when I win, I will open the portal again and I will give you the mask back. I just need to borrow it. So Nessa's like, well, what if you die though? Like, what if you don't make it? And she's like, That's a good point. If I don't make it, then at least you guys can keep my parents safe. And you know, I'll risk that, I guess. I just want them to be safe because they're really good people. So Nesta's like, all right, fine. We'll keep your weird, you know, human parents. Take the mask. So she so they do his trade-off. She shoves her parents through the portal and they're like, What's happening, Bryce No? And then Rassand is coming through the window on the other end, so I'm sure they're like super worried and scared, and then the portal closes, and then that's the end of that. We don't know their fate or what happens. Of course, you know, I'm assuming they get held somewhere, and Rassand's not gonna like murder them, but we don't know for sure. Okay, so back to Bryce and her misfit um, you know, people. She asked Farion, the mermaid guy, to go back and talk to the River Queen, pretty much on her behalf, to harbor all the innocent people down in you know their world. And so he does. He take and he takes his new wife. I think I did mention this before. He ended up marrying somebody else. So he, him and his new wife like leave, they go down, they ask, she's like, Oh, why would I do that? You broke off the engagement with my beautiful, wonderful daughter who's not spoiled and is lovely. And he's like, Oh my god, people are dying. There are kids up there, kids are dying, everybody is, everyone's being murdered. So then she's like, All right, fine, you convince me. Yes, I harbor them, and you are your new wife's responsibility now. Off with you, so that's cool. Then what else is happening? Ethan, isn't Ethan the wolf? I think he is, but the wolf, he so his story. Okay, I have not been invested in his story at all. Every time it switches to him, I'm like, my goodness, I hope this is fast. Like I really don't care about him. Um, but he just became the prime, okay, and that's kind of cool. So now I am interested in his story because I want to see what happens with that. Up until then, it was really him just like whining and crying and wanting to redeem himself and prove that he's worthy of something, you know what I mean? And that's cool and everything, but not for every single freaking chapter we read about him. So now he went to go talk to Sabine. Is that her name? Um, whoever the prime was before, I think it was Sabine, but he he was like, I gotta go warn them. No, he doesn't talk to Sabine. He wants to talk to everybody else and warn them, okay? He wants to warn them about what's happening and that there's like weird parasites in the water that's draining their powers. He gets an antidote from Hypaxia, who is super cool, by the way. I really like her. But hypaxia comes up with an antidote, but it's only temporary, and they don't know for how long yet. She thinks maybe a few weeks and maybe up to like a few months. Um, but either way, it's only temporary and it's not super stable. It's she literally made it super quick because Bryce asked her to, and they both tested on themselves. So hypaxia tested on her, and now she's like glowing and she has all this magic, and you know, it's great. And then Ethan, I think it I think his name is Ethan. He tested on himself, and then he finds out that he has super powers, so he's not just a wolf, and now he can shift like super quick, and he has all this like he's powerful, and he has all this energy, and he has ice powers, and he can like form ice and all that stuff. So he's like, What? I have like elemental powers, that's super cool. And he goes to his old pack and he's like, I need to tell you guys something. We, you know, what you guys have known isn't true, and Danica knew this, and she was trying to find answers for us, which is why she ended up dying. But now I know the truth, and I need to just tell you. So he's trying to tell them all this truth and all like what's happening and all this hoopla, and then uh the primal comes in and she's like, he's spewing lies, and uh and then they fight, and he's all powerful now, so then he like defeats her. He uh chews her up like a ragdoll, pretty much, and then now everybody's bowing down to him, and they're like, you know, uh, we accept you as our prime now, primal, prime, whatever. And that's kind of the end of his story that I'm at right now. So it just ended with that, and he took over. And what else is happening? Oh, I think that's about it right now. There's a lot of stuff going on, so yes, they're in full like war planning, I guess, right now. And Bryce is what is she doing? She's got her mask. Oh, she killed somebody with it already with the mask. Oh, I know who not the hind, it was the other one. Though she died a while ago and they brought her back. Anyway, she used the mask to like let her go because she turned into a reaper or something, and so that's kind of cool. And then now, yeah, I'm okay. I'm gonna finish the rest because I actually don't know what else is happening. That's all I remember. But let me finish it. I think I'm almost done with the actual book itself. So I will hop back on, I'll let you guys know how it ended and what my thoughts were. Okay, I finished the book finally. It was a long one, it took me forever, mainly because I'd just been traveling like in between. Okay, so I liked it. I thought it was a good book. Um, I think the second and the third book have been my favorite. The first book, I know if you guys have listened to my other episodes on this series, then you guys know I was not loving it. Um, but I'm glad I finished the whole thing because it turned out to be super good. Uh okay. I'm just gonna do a quick, like a quick recap, I guess, or what stood out to me. Um, and then we have to talk about it real quick. So uh the story tied up pretty nicely, I think. It closed out everybody's like little stories for the most part. Um, Bryce and Hunt got rid of the Astery finally. Well, I mean, I guess it's a team effort, right? But really it was Bryce. So she she got rid of all the Astery. She opened up little mini portals at first and like sucked up the Astery through the swords, and then she opened like a big portal towards the end, and then got rid of the last three, like Regulus or whatever his name is, and then the other two he was with. So pretty cool, I guess, that that happened. I did read a few, a few like um reviews after this that people didn't like the ending, they thought it was too fast, like the Asteres just died really, really quickly. Um I don't think so. I felt like the buildup was good toward to it. I think that like the whole battle scene and them opening, you know, the gates to hell and everybody coming together and kind of like helping. Um, I thought it was good. Uh, I don't really know how long people expect people like them to fight and how much action they wanted, but I was cool with it. I don't really like long-ass battle scenes, like I don't want to read it for you know five to six chapters. Give me a few chapters, let it be done, and and I'm cool with it. So I appreciated it. Uh Quinn or Quinlan. Bryce did die, by the way, again, you know. So she sacrificed herself, she opened up that portal towards the end, like I said, to nothingness, and then they got sucked in, but she also got sucked in, and then she was like, Okay, this is how it ends, and she accepted her fate, and they're just like floating in nothingness and being sucked into like a dark hole towards the end, and they you know, there was like no air, so she couldn't breathe. The horn on her back was letting her breathe for a little bit, but then it got like snuffed out, so she suffocated pretty much and died. Of course, she's the main character, she is the main character, so she can't really die. Which I kind of wish books would just like authors would just let that happen. You know what I mean? I don't know why they don't just let it happen. Like, why can't main characters die? Like, just do it, see what happens, see what the audience thinks. I would have been super surprised if she didn't come back to life. And I don't know if I would I probably would have liked it more. Like, I would have been really, really sad for Hunt, of course, and everybody else, but I would have been like, Whoa, I didn't see that coming. No, that's not the case. Um, she comes back. So Hunt goes in there and he's like, I'm gonna save her. And then so he does, and the princes of hell are like, Don't go in there, Hunt, because you're probably never gonna come back out. He's like, Well, I have to try. So he jumps in the portal after her. Um, he does at this point don the mask, the death mask, and yeah, he commands like the so the angel wings that are hanging up in the Asteres like palace, whatever it is, they kind of reanimate them because Bryce has a theory that the wings have essence of like their spirit still. So she uses the mask earlier in the like in this fighting scene to command them, and so the wings do come to life. She was right, they do have like a little essence of spirit. Um, so she commands them to like help with the battle, and then they pretty much like empty suits and wings, you know, uh join the fight. But anyways, so then now Hunt is wearing the mask and he's like, you know, help help me. So they do, and they help him help propel him down to her, and then he propels himself back up, and then everyone, all the friends and everybody else are there to like he throws up a lightning bolt, okay? So that's his thing. He throws it up to the prince of hell, and he they take hold of it, and then everybody up there like heaves them both up. So then now he saves Bryce. She won't come back to life though. So Sabine, I think it was Sabine. No, oh, I don't remember. They the the lady that is in charge of like keeping all the books and stuff safe. I don't think her name was Sabine, I think that's somebody else. But she Sandrill, no, it wasn't Sandrill. I don't know. It started with an S, I'm pretty sure. So she is like, I've lived here forever on this planet, and I was here for the first, you know, like I don't know, the war when these series came and took over. I've been here for everything, and I'm cursed to live forever, but I can give Bryce my curse and then she can live forever and come back to life. So then everyone's like, What? You would do that? She's like, Yep. So, anyways, that's the trade-off. She trades her life um and gives it to Bryce. So Bryce comes back to life, everybody's happy, yay. They live happily ever after. She decides she's not going to be a ruler. So she she uses her uh power and her status to basically dismantle everything, and she's like, All right, from now on, we're gonna just have a council, but we're not gonna have different houses and things anymore, or rule. Uh, you guys are free to like be free and live. It's stupid, but it is whatever. So that's what she does. She wants people to live in harmony, and so that's her final decree, I guess. Um, yeah, let's see. Okay, so let's wrap up everybody else's kind of story then. That's prices and hunts. They live happily ever after. They work together to like dismantle everything and give people peace. Now, Lydia and Rune, they also get to live happily ever after everybody, and I love that for them because I actually really like their story, and I like them as a couple. I think they're very um not sweet, but nice, I guess. I don't know, they're nice together. So Lydia and Rune are gonna go save her sons because they Asteri took her sons as captive and as lore, obviously. So they do, they save them. Um everybody takes like the the thing, the antidote thing, so the parasites don't live in their bodies, and everybody has like these cool wicked powers now. They all get to like charge up. So now Lydia is fire, and she is a badass, she can melt everything. So she goes out after saving her sons, and she's like melting missiles and whatever else, right? That's her part in the war. Super cool. I don't actually remember what Rune is doing. I don't remember what he's doing. Uh, I'm assuming he's running around saving people too, but I don't remember. Anyhow, they after the war ends and the Asteria are gone, they live happily ever after. They get like a cute little condo together and they make sure they have a spare room so her sons can come visit if they want. Let's see. Who else? Oh, Therion or whatever his name is, the mermaid. Um, I actually don't remember the ending for him. I know that he lives happily ever after, too, and he's like married to that girl now. Oh yeah, I don't know. I don't remember what happened to him actually. But Ethan is now the prime. We know that, and he's now that everything's done with, you know, he it sounds like he has like a little love interest happening, maybe. But yeah, his story wraps up pretty nicely too. So he's prime and he's trying to figure it out, you know? Uh the end. Uh, am I missing anybody or anything? I don't think so. So basically, oh, and the very end is so silly. So there's like Pegasus that you know uh come out of hiding or slumber or whatever they were doing. So now there's Pegasus in the world, and Bryce is so excited. She's super excited, and that's the ending for like the whole book. Now, as much as I loved it and I and everything, I am wondering what the heck is book four gonna be about. You know what I mean? Like, I see that it's in the works that this is not the last book in the series. There's gonna be a fourth book. Uh I cannot, I cannot think of what it would be about. The story is over. Do you know what I mean? Like, everything's done. The hysteria are gone. Bryce, oh, Bryce gave back all of the stuff to Nesta, like she said she would. So she gave them Truth Teller and the mask. She gave it all back, and she took her parents back too. So her parents get to come home. And when she went to go open the portal to give everything back, they were like just sitting down, hanging out, pretty much. And her parents were happy and they were mad at Bryce for not telling them what was going on, but they're also like, Yeah, we had a great time here, and Rassandis, you know, we like him too, everybody. So they had a good time and they got along with everybody there. Uh, he's very cute, anyhow. Everybody's story wraps up nicely. That's all I'm saying. Like, there's no more series, there's no more big threat. There, we get an ending for every character, and it's a pretty good one. Everyone lives happily, and now they have to like find their own peace and normal. So, I'm like, what the hell is book for? And is it gonna be worth reading? So, I'm assuming it's gonna be kind of like um Akatar, where they did spin-offs and other characters, you know, like Nesta story and stuff. So that could happen, but whose book would be a spin-off? I don't know. I I I guess I kind of hope it would be Lydia and Runes because I like them, but I also think maybe Ethan's would be a spin-off because he came into Prime, and I hope not because I thought he was the most boring character out of the whole book. I didn't really like his story, and I don't care to know more about it. Um, maybe Hypaxia, she was pretty cool. Uh, I don't know. I guess we have to wait and find out, but in the meantime, I'm done with the book. I enjoyed it, I recommend it. Push through that first one because it is rough, and then it gets better after that. Uh thank you guys for listening to my messy thoughts on this. And let me know if we read the same book and what you thought about it. I will see you guys next time.