Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - House of Sky and Breath

No star rating yet because I’m indecisive and still processing, and this long rambling review is my external processing.

TLDR: lots of plot, cliffhanger, interesting world building, but characters and relationships seemed to lack the depth that I’ve come to expect and love from SJM’s writing. Minor spoilers below, but all marked.

I freaked out at the ending (obviously), although I’m not really sure how to feel about it after the initial shock. I’m having a hard time trying to understand how the twist will play into the plots going forward. Concerns aside, I love the world building. I wasn’t sure I would like the urban fantasy setting of this series, but I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed the diversity of the setting.

This series does seem to follow a pattern

of ‘get attached to this new character JK TRAGEDY’

and in CC1 it was a great plot twist. In this one it felt more… predictable and not as important to the plot as I feel like I should’ve been. I read in a few days, so I feel I like I didn’t notice the shift from primary plot point A, to what became the main plot for the second half of the book. I’m starting to feel like this should’ve been two books for all the plot developments, which come at the cost of losing to some in-depth character showcasing and some loose ends floating around.

Hunt and Bryce seemed rushed at points. I missed you the emotional depth in CC1 - seeing Hunt grapple with his own violence, Bryce trying to get through grief and growing up… both character seemed more flat now that sex is apparently their biggest relationship marker. I normally am a sucker for

the mate-trope, but I felt surprised by the reveal of it here. Not because I didn’t expect it, but it just seemed very casual, and their relationship didn’t seem like it had that gravity yet.

I felt like I needed more of a slow burn, or at least more exploration of them getting to know each other.

In the same vein, I was craving much more from

braxian

for character development and hunt to deal with the feelings and conflicts

braxians presence brings,

and I never got it. Instead, we got quick-fire plot and character development

in one scene and all defined by Danika.

There could’ve been so much more (which was hinted at, but never capitalized on).

I liked the bit of insight into the politics of the the various courts of power, but they’re all pretty much the same, and probably the only aspect of the world building that I feel needs to be amped (all people in power=bad and manipulative, and all major players feel trapped by their home courts). I do, however, appreciate the attempt at a grittier reality of war, ignorance (“there is no war in ba sing se”), extremism on both sides, and that this series isn’t blindly copying the “dreamers” motif from ACOTAR. But, I don’t feel that these ethical quandaries are actually something the characters are grappling with (except Ruhn and maybe Ithan), and I’m still wondering how

Cormac ended up involved in rebellion

and I want to like Tharion, but he’s kinda an idiot? and somehow hypaxia’s fascinating story is only briefly brought to light here and there.

Will of course read the next one, and will probably have to re-read these before then, because I had already forgotten plot points in the two months between reading CC1 and CC2, but ACOTAR 1-4 remains my favorite series from SJM.

Content Warnings

prairieraven's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-paced

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

3.0

It's slow to read for the first 2/3 of the book, it starts twisting and turning after that and the end leaves the reader a bit bewildered and anxious about the next book. Not her best, good. Hoping that the rest of the series improves. Still excessive use of the word F--- which is fine but it's like a word just discovered by a child and is somehow used at least once a page.

Severe lack of diversity.

Content Warnings

louisa_pennyfeather2021's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

OH MY GOD I NEED BOOK 3 RIGHT NOW

I seriously can't even form the right words to describe how I'm feeling right now. Especially after the recent information Sarah has released about Book 3. This book is a roller coaster of questioning what is truly good and what is truly bad. It makes the reader wonder just how far someone should go for those they love and/or the greater good. It acknowledges the weaknesses of the characters by exploiting those weakness and being so realistic. Just the idea of what will happen in Book 3 has my mind spinning in a maelstrom of theories.

I've learned to always look between every word and to think outside the box no matter how outrageous the thought is when it comes to Sarah's writing. Although I did spoil quite a bit of the end for myself, I never would have been able to predict half of the plot twists in this book.

Content Warnings

ahse1dances's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

I kind of hate the ending, the multiverse situation? Not a fan

Content Warnings

jessgreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

Rating: ⭐⭐⬜⬜⬜

Title: House of Sky and Breath

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fantasy

Setting: Midgard

Month Read: March 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication:2022

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 805

TRIGGER WARNING-

War / Death / Sexual Content / Violence /

"Our love is stronger than time, greater than any distance. Our love spans across stars and worlds. I will find you again, I promise."

No Spoiler Summary:

At the beginning of the novel you find Bryce and Hunt recovering from the ending of the last book, and wanting desperately to enter a normal routine, and finally get a chance to live normal lives. A chance to relax, a chance to figure out what's next. The Asteri have not bothered our duo, but the rebels have also not gone away, and it's a matter of time before our leads need to choose a side. Will they stay silent during the obvious oppression happening, or do they fight for what they belive in above all else? This book is a sequel to House of Earth and Blood.

Review:

I'm a huge fan of Sarah J Maas, and the ACOTAR series is one of my favorites, but MY GOD WAS THIS BOOK HORRIBLE. I spent 805 pages alternating between wishing I was reading something else, and wondering why Bloomsbury won't get Sarah an editor that will make her cut 400 pages of absolute uselessness. The amount of walking around, saying the same things, and not advancing the plot at all was insane to me. I had fully decided that I was not going to finish the series, and I'd stop after this novel, and then the end of the book happens and now I feel like I am being held hostage in a world I dislike, characters I dislike, and a plot that is just absolutely awful. I honestly didn't know after slogging through the worldbuilding in book 1 that I'd still have to slog through the SAME WORLDBUILDING in book 2.

If you want Sarah's sexy sex scenes in this book, look somewhere else. The sex was badly written, almost boring, and definitely cheese. If I hear the word 'Alpha-hole' one more time I was going to set my book on fire and throw it out the window. I advise reading maybe the first hundred pages, skipping to about 600, and finishing there. You won't miss very much and you can gather what happens in-between. Mostly thinking about Danika, trying to find a missing rebel, some mind sex between secret agents, and a forced marriage ploy.

In other news, I did like the addition of some new characters, and I did like that we got a lot more supporting cast in this book than in the last one. None of them have the same chemistry as the team in ACOTAR, but maybe in another 3-800 page books we can get there.

I hate writing reviews for books that don't praise them. I've never written a book, and I don't think I'd be very good at it- but I really need a better editor on these books because I felt so similarly with A Court of Silver Flames. Write a good 400-500 page book, I don't need bad 800+ page books. They're so insanely mediocre and I know Sarah can do better because I've read every book she's written to date. Quality over Quantity seems to come in to play a lot with her books lately, and I just wish someone would talk to her. I'm unsure if I'll pick up another book in this series, or if I'll sparknotes it. I do hate that I feel like I will need to because of a twist. It's infuriating.

See more reviews at: https://jessgreads.wixsite.com

"What she wanted was a true heart to love her, to run wild with her through the forest."

Content Warnings

kat1105's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

5.0

Content Warnings

More...