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Just like all the other Sarah J. Maas fan girls, after treading the ending of House of Sky and Breath, my fangirl kicked into high gear, and I had a mission to complete (check out my House of Sky and Breath ending explained post)!
I knew I must re-read all the SJM books (other than Catwoman: Soulstealer, duh) in preparation for all the easter eggs I would be reading in House of Flame and Shadow.
(Also, check out my SJM books post here!)
Was I disappointed by this crossover? Yes, very much so. All my annotating and watching SJM multiverse theory podcasts on YouTube were not worth the wrym cave adventures of Azriel, Nesta, and Bryce.
Did I audibly scream when Rhys was mentioned, and did I highlight it in purple to match his eyes………..also, yes, let’s not talk about it right now.
ANYWAY, leading up to the release of this book, there was a lot of buzz about whether or not the Throne of Glass characters would be making an appearance in this crossover, and that is what we are here to talk about today!
(Also, spoilers ahead!!!)
Is Aelin In House of Flame and Shadow?
No, Aelin is not in House of Flame and Shadow. There are, however, some Throne of Glass easter eggs throughout the book.
In chapter 20, when Bryce is listening to the message left by Silene, she mentions the Fae from the TOG world.
“We were still waging our war on the humans when the door between worlds opened again. More Fae appeared—from another world this time…They were Fae like us, but not. The ears, the grace. The strengths were identical, but they were shape-shifters, all of them. Each capable of turning into an animal. And each, even in their humanoid body, equipped with elongated canine teeth.”
The Under-King is from the Throne of Glass world! In chapter 81 the Under King tells Ithan…
“I crept through when they charged so blindly into Midgard. This place is much better suited to my needs than the caves and barrows I was confined to.”
Hmm, barrows, you say? The Under-King is a Barrow Wight. Just like the Barrow Wight that Celaena and Rowan fight in Heir of Fire.
“Ithan reeled. ‘You came from the shifters’ world?’ ‘You were not known as the shifters then, boy...And she,’ the Under-King went on, gesturing to that unusual depiction of Urd towering about him, ‘was not a goddess, but a force that governed worlds. A cauldron of life, brimming with the language of creation. Urd, they call her here—a bastardized version of her true name. Wyrd, we called her in that old world.’”
URD IS WYRD! And it is also probably the Cauldron!
The Lidia-Aelin Connection
If Lidia Cervos being a Stag-shifter didn’t hint at her potential TOG connection, then everything that goes down in chapter 94 of HOFAS confirms that Lidia is related to Aelin!
After Lidia takes the antidote and receives her full powers, we see that she has powerful flame magic very similar to Aelin in the Throne of Glass series.
“She knew her flames were…different.”
Lidia also confirms that she is related to Brannon, thus being related to Aelin.
“It confirmed what Lidia had long guessed. Why she had named Brannon after the oldest legends from her family’s bloodline: of a Fae King from another world, fire in his veins, who had created stags with the power of flame to be his sacred guards.”
*screams in the old language of the Fae*
Is Feyre In House of Flame and Shadow?
No, Feyre does not appear in House of Flame and Shadow. Other ACOTAR characters are seen in this book, like Nesta, Azriel, Rhysand, and Amern (and, of course, a WYRM!).
However, Nesta mentions Feyre when she is in the tunnels with Bryce and Azriel.
In chapter 7, after Bryce and Nesta nearly escape death by a middengard wyrm, Nesta mentions her sister, who has painted the likeness of the wyrm that she fought.
We all know that this is Feyre and is referencing her battle with the wyrm under the mountain in A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Is House of Flame and Shadow The Last Book?
No, House of Flame and Shadow is not the final book in the Crescent City series.
However, it is likely that it’s the last book that follows the plot started by/following Bryce and Hunt with the first Crescent City book, House of Earth and Blood.
At the end of House of Flame and Shadow, the main plot wraps up nicely. However, there are side characters that appear to be set up for a potential spin-off series.
I would guess that these would be much like the first three ACOTAR books following Rhysand and Feyre, and then the continuing books follow a new plot in the same world and different leading characters.
The characters that seemed to be set up for a book four at the end of HOFAS are Tharion Ketos and Sathia Flynn.
It would make sense for the next book to follow Tharion and focus on the mer, most likely titling the next book, House of Many Waters, the only house that has yet to be the title of a CC book.
Sathia was introduced so randomly, and the relationship between Tharion and Sathia was very unresolved due to the amount of build-up it got in House of Flame and Shadow.
It is also possible that this book would continue the story of Lidia, her sons, and her servitude to the Ocean Queen.
Ithan is another character who was left very much unresolved at the end of the third CC book, so I guess that he would get a lot of page time in the next book as well.
Tharion is definitely not a fan favorite, but that has not stopped Sarah from giving a character a whole book in the past (i.e., Tower of Dawn).
Was Chaol as hated pre-TOD as Tharion is currently? Who’s to say?
If you have crack theories about Crescent City 4, leave them in the comments because I LIVE for that stuff!
-Paisley
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