A review by so_many_books
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
4.0
I have to tell you... I liked the first book better!
This does not mean I didn't like this one it's just that HOSAB had most things that I can critique than the first book.
First of all.... I think it was way too long for the story it told! There were a lot of unnecessary things happening and the plot was forcefully moved forward with introducing yet another character who had something to do with it!
I still think the story arc was great but I think it was a bit too much with all these characters who we really only heard mentioned in the first book.
Second of all, it was predictable. I don't know if it was a good thing that it was written so coherently that the happenings could only lead to one thing or if it was a bad thing because the twist could be anticipated easily.
I am not saying I was bored or not thoroughly enjoying myself while reading just that compared to the plot twists in the first book now I felt like the twists made sense and did not surprise me at all.
Third of all, why is only one female POV? Compared to ToG for exmaple we get a lot less strong females in this series. Bryce is surrounded by strong males who all got a POV (Hunt, Ruhn, Tharion and Ithan) but no more leading ladies... it's just a bit strange for me!
Also let's talk a bit about token LGBTQ+ representation... I'm sorry but why are only the side characters queer? It's just my preference but it would be so nice to have an actual queer relationship in the middle of an epic fantasy that is between two main characters. It's not the author's forte, she's trying with the side-characters, I know, but I feel like they should have been left alone too instead of putting them in just to boost rep in the series.
Fourth of all, too many important characters! It is hard to keep up with all that's happenning when 10 new characters are introduced who has important roles in the story. It overcomplicates a bit.
But let's talk about what I still love!
The main characters are still amazing, however, my love now shifted more to Ruhn and Ithan instead of Bryce and Hunt! They were still a great pair and I actually liked there story going forward, but it was not so charged as before. (Though, Sarah really went to town with the adult theme)
Ruhn, though, finally got the attention he deserved along with Ithan and Tharion. Their stories are still a bit vague but I see them going somewhere!
I absolutely adored the end and what was revealed as the great secret! In terms of world and character building it was a great plot and I can't wait to see what Sarah will come up with in her next work!
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book! It was everything I expected from a second book in a series! I am bummed that we will probably have to wait a lot until the next book!
This does not mean I didn't like this one it's just that HOSAB had most things that I can critique than the first book.
First of all.... I think it was way too long for the story it told! There were a lot of unnecessary things happening and the plot was forcefully moved forward with introducing yet another character who had something to do with it!
I still think the story arc was great but I think it was a bit too much with all these characters who we really only heard mentioned in the first book.
Second of all, it was predictable. I don't know if it was a good thing that it was written so coherently that the happenings could only lead to one thing or if it was a bad thing because the twist could be anticipated easily.
I am not saying I was bored or not thoroughly enjoying myself while reading just that compared to the plot twists in the first book now I felt like the twists made sense and did not surprise me at all.
Third of all, why is only one female POV? Compared to ToG for exmaple we get a lot less strong females in this series. Bryce is surrounded by strong males who all got a POV (Hunt, Ruhn, Tharion and Ithan) but no more leading ladies... it's just a bit strange for me!
Also let's talk a bit about token LGBTQ+ representation... I'm sorry but why are only the side characters queer? It's just my preference but it would be so nice to have an actual queer relationship in the middle of an epic fantasy that is between two main characters. It's not the author's forte, she's trying with the side-characters, I know, but I feel like they should have been left alone too instead of putting them in just to boost rep in the series.
Fourth of all, too many important characters! It is hard to keep up with all that's happenning when 10 new characters are introduced who has important roles in the story. It overcomplicates a bit.
But let's talk about what I still love!
The main characters are still amazing, however, my love now shifted more to Ruhn and Ithan instead of Bryce and Hunt! They were still a great pair and I actually liked there story going forward, but it was not so charged as before. (Though, Sarah really went to town with the adult theme)
Ruhn, though, finally got the attention he deserved along with Ithan and Tharion. Their stories are still a bit vague but I see them going somewhere!
I absolutely adored the end and what was revealed as the great secret! In terms of world and character building it was a great plot and I can't wait to see what Sarah will come up with in her next work!
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book! It was everything I expected from a second book in a series! I am bummed that we will probably have to wait a lot until the next book!