A review by kerttuli
House of Sky and Breath, by Sarah J. Maas

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

2.0

I'm sure this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but... this book wasn't good. Same elements as all her other books. I’m so cranky. I think I have to read the next one because of the ending. I have read all of her published novels to date and I keep asking myself why I keep reading... maybe it's because I keep hoping it wont dissolve into garbage. I liked the first one, so I picked this up and was ready to give it a try.

I still struggle with SJM's reliance on the "copy/paste" style of writing  (the reliance on the same archetypes, tropes, and phrases, iykyk). I got really far in and nothing major had happened. The events didn’t have weight. It lacked any drive forward. There was so much that could have been cut from this book. No reason it needed to be around 800 pages.  The last 150 pages were slightly more interesting. I kept wishing something would get better because I liked the first book in each of her series. But they all seem to devolve into copy/paste fae "porn" with a bit of a plot line. Same story, different font. Also, the "mate" crap is beyond old and SO repetitive 🤮. 
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