Reviews tagging 'Classism'

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

42 reviews

cady_sass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

I need some time to process this. Holy shit. I’ve never read 700 pages so fast in my life. I have so many questions. My heart, in pieces. My brain, on the wall. My soul, well… 
5 stars. Can’t wait for the next one. SJM if you fumble this as hard as ACOSF I will never recover. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cakrolik's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

erkietheturkey's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

ilo_the_duck's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Slavery, and Blood

imcourtneymarie's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked this one more than CC1 but points taken off for some of the unnecessary smut. I don’t mind spice but i found myself glossing over those moments towards the end because they weren’t adding anything to the plot (which i deeply enjoy!) 

Loved the OMG moments throughout. Lots to think about. Can’t wait for CC3 👀

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Infertility, Death of parent, and Alcohol

helloimjacq's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I didn’t love the second book as much as the first one, but this was still a 5 star read. The story was a bit slow for this book, and I want to say this was more of a filler book (sets the story up perfectly for the next book though). There was a lot of character growth and you get to know some new characters as well. It’s a long book so come prepared (took me a week which is pretty slow for me). The ending was definitely worth it though! I need the third book now please!!! 

Just a side note, if you haven’t read A Court of Thorns and Roses, I highly recommend reading that series before this book to better understand Sarah’s writing style as well as certain themes/nuances. I would say it’s not 100% necessary but it’s the best way to familiarize yourself with certain aspects present in her worlds (overall it makes the breakdown of this series much more interesting).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Torture, and Death of parent

haleyneedsalife's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation

beckyremillard's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? No

5.0

The second book in the Crescent City series is superior to the first. It doesn’t have the confusing world building at the beginning and we’re already in love with the main characters. 

I am in shock after finishing this book. We get so many answers but so many new questions are raised. The story went in directions I could not have even dreamed of thinking about and I’m obsessed. 

My only regret is needing the next book and it’s not out yet. 

It’s preferable to read the ACOTAR series prior to this one but not crucial. Would recommend though if you want to go through the emotional rollercoaster I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Classism

doubletherazzle's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated

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. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery and Violence

Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Classism