Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - House of Sky and Breath

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

60 reviews

amartin48's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I honestly had more moments during this book than the first of being annoyed with characters and their poor life choices. It seemed messy and I felt Maas wrote the plot twists in this book rather predictably.

That being said, I REALLY loved the world and lore expansion in this book. And I’m a huge fan of crossover series! This book left me satisfied with our FMC/MMC relationship, hopeful for new relationships, and SO excited to revisit old favorites.

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rchulin1's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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amy_in_the_city's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book felt unfocused, constantly switching between too many plot threads and POVs. I feel like we could have done without a couple of the POVs, like Tharion's. He was just strange and kind of unlikeable (with the condescending nickname for Bryce and the creepy obsession with her underwear; wtf was that?), and I just didn't care about him.

As a result of trying to cram in the various plotlines and other character POVs, I feel like Bryce and Hunt got lost in the shuffle. I was hoping to learn more about the main couple and see more of their relationship, but they were mostly in the story to serve the plot instead of the plot serving them. I missed seeing cute relationship moments like we had in the first book, and I don't feel like we really learned any more about Bryce and Hunt's pasts or struggles. I was hoping to see Hunt working through his emotions about the awful things he's done as the Umbra Mortis, his trauma from being enslaved, etc. but it seemed like all of that mostly went away or got brushed aside.

I loved seeing more of Ruhn and enjoyed his storyline of

falling in love with a spy sight-unseen

. I'm still not sure how I feel about who his lover ended up being and think he deserved better. Maybe I'll learn more about the love interest in the third book that will make me like her more.

Ithan seemed like an OK character, but I'm just tired of every guy in this book being in love with Bryce for some reason, and I wish that wasn't part of Ithan's character. I have hopes he'll be better in the next book as they seemed to be setting up some interesting storylines for him.

Everyone seemed to be making stupid decisions in this book. They're

constantly talking about their rebellion plans while walking down the street and while in public bars and cafes. They all know they live in a surveillance state, so why are they risking talking so openly in public places?

They also

send the kid everyone is looking for to go live with the main character's parents. Nobody thinks it will look suspicious that these people suddenly adopted an older kid who fits the description of the kid everyone is looking for?

Tharion decides to

break up with the River Princess without having a plan in place for escaping from the angry River Queen.

This guy is supposed to be the Head of Intelligence?

I really didn't like that the book ended on such a cliffhanger. I get that it's a series, but when I finish reading a romance book, I don't want to be left feeling worried for characters who <spoiler are in mortal peril and are going to be tortured for who knows how long. If I wanted that, I'd go read a normal fantasy series, not a romance fantasy. The only solution I can think of for how to avoid having such a stressful ending for the readers while still having plenty of stakes for Bryce in the next book is if

after Bryce disappears through the gate, somehow Ruhn and Hunt escaped or were rescued and went into hiding. Then Bryce could still be out of her mind with worry for what her brother and mate are going through, but the reader would know they're fine for now.

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jdromsky's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Fantastic!! Really great book! It was a smidge slow in the middle but the characters’ humor and interactions helped make it through!

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amateur_bookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

My summary: Sophie Renast is half-human and half-Vanir, and with assistance of the Ophion human rebel group, breaks her brother, Emile, and last surviving member of her family out of a death camp he’s been in for three years. Sophie is a Thunderbird and has the ability to command any kind of energy, which means the Asteri have found and killed them all. But Sophie and Emile’s escape goes wrong. Bryce Quinlan, newly revealed as the Starborn Princess, and Hunt Athalar, recently released from slavery as the Shadow of Death under the Archangels, are soon pulled into the search for Sophie and Emile, and also into the human rebellion against the Asteri. Assisting the rebellion equals certain torture or death at the hands of the Asteri, a fate Hunt barely survived once. But Bryce is committed after finding ties to Danika and dares to dream of Midgard being free of the Asteri control one day.

My thoughts: Incredible. Yes, this book is very long, but, wow, what a story Sarah J. Maas weaves through it. I love Bryce and her intrinsic nature to do what is right, no matter the cost to herself. And her relationship with Hunt—swoon—it is so primal and, just, right. I love the other characters that we learn more about through this book too. And although I knew there is crossover between this series and the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, I was somehow not at all prepared for it. I’m so excited to start the next in the series now to see how Bryce’s story continues to unfold. It is really fantasy heavy and I still have a bit of a hard time keeping it all straight, but the whole thing is just so mesmerizing that I’m again blown away by Sarah J. Maas’s ability to write such complex storylines with such depth to each character—and then tie it into seemingly unrelated worlds of hers.

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yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was SO good. I really enjoyed it and I was STRESSED for a good portion of the read. Many of the plot twists and reveals were shocking/surprising. I found myself constantly torn on who was a rebel and who was not. I did feel like the characters were making reckless decisions but also that’s their personalities. The ending was CRAZY. I was so surprised to see that and I’m curious how it will play out.

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