House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, 2)

🌃 House of Sky and Breath 🌃 By @sarahjmass ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌶🌶 I am loving Crescent City more and more as I keep reading it!!! The second book was even better than the first one and I loved it all! The political intrigue, the unexpected plot twists, characters' growth, everything is just done so amazingly well!! I loved the plot, Bryce and Hunt involvement in rebellion was timed well with the story progression and all the side characters and events added to the depth of it! Side characters, as usual, Sarah J.Mass simply outdone and I was swooning over the connection between Agent Daybright and agent Night! I love these two so much!! The ending left me with my jaw on the floor!! It was soooo good, it was delightful and shocking!!! But also, again, so well written, it was very much believable! Sarah J.Mass truly is a genius and a master of her craft!! I am in love with her ability to create very much flawed and unperfect characters, likeable and real! And that's something she's done both with ACOTAR and TOG, and I honestly think that is one of the main reasons her books are that good! Love, love, love this!! What to expect: ▪️mates ▪️forced proximity ▪️found family ▪️complex political rebellion ▪️slowburn

Wow. I don’t even know where to start, except to BEG you to run to your nearest book retailer and pick up this series. Pick up all of Sarah J Maas’s series, as every single one of them is excellent and I have yet to read anything by her that I don’t absolutely love with all my heart. I’ve been following her career since the early Throne of Glass days, and seeing her find so much success and such a devoted fan base (one I’m proudly part of) that enables her to continue creating these incredible stories and equally spellbinding worlds? It brings me so much joy, and also a deep sense of kinship with the rest of the fandom who love her characters as much as I do. I’ll preface this actual review by saying I had already very confidently figured out two of the major reveals that are spelled out towards the end of the book. I guessed them early on (one I had figured out midway through HOEAB) and I have to admit - I had the audacity to feel disappointed because it had all just seemed so OBVIOUS to me and it didn’t seem like a typical SJM ending for there to be nothing crazy for me to gush over. That being said - despite those two mysteries having been pretty clear to me, I still LOVED the book. I loved the characters, I loved the dialogue, the internal struggles, the power moves, the sense of adventure the book carried through it. The way SJM writes fantasy, as always, is divine. The friendships and relationships snd love stories, as always, were poignant and touching, and they elevated HOSAB from a story about different types of magical beings living in a fantastical world to a story about the human condition and what it means to survive, what it means to sacrifice for something bigger than yourself, and what it means to truly love someone. So, even with those two reveals at the end not really being reveals to me, this story was so gorgeous that it was still a 5 star read for me. Now it seems like those reveals were red herrings of a kind, in that they kept the reader focused on those specific mysteries instead of wondering what else could be at play. BUT - then the real ending came, something that I never saw coming even ONCE and turned everything on its head so thoroughly that I had to eat all of those “disappointed feelings” with a monstrous slice of oh so humble pie because HOLY CRAP. THAT IS HOW YOU END ON A BIG REVEAL! It was fantastic. The ending was so surprising and delightful that I immediately wanted to run to everyone I knew and beg them to HURRY UP so we could talk about what this means! So well done and just so enjoyable in every single way. If you have been holding out on reading SJM and haven’t yet discovered what the fuss is about, I urge you to open up one of her books and find out for yourself why so many people are such devoted fans. Thank you for this beautiful second installment. I simply can’t wait to see what happens next!

Let me preface this by saying that SJM’s novels pulled me out of a years long reading slump, and I absolutely adore the majority of her work. After the letdown ACOSF was for me, I was excited to get pulled back into one of her worlds and experience the emotional roller coaster most of her work takes me on. Spoilers lie ahead! Firstly, I was one of the unfortunate people who accidentally saw the massive spoiler of how the book ends a week before the release. While I was livid at the trolls who made that possible, it did allow me to go through my reread of CC1 with that knowledge, and I caught a lot of little details I likely would have glossed over. I’ve seen reviews say that the ending came out of nowhere, didn’t make sense, etc., but I can assure you that the intersection of their worlds has been hinted at since basically chapter one, book one. I did also think this book was an easier read than the first, but that’s likely due to less world building. Bryce and Hunt being mates - cool. I wasn’t mad about having to sit through another failed romance, but it wasn’t exciting to learn about. I hope that in future novels, SJM can give us a MC relationship where they simply choose each other. I correctly guessed who Agent Day was by her third interaction with Ruhn. I knew it wouldn’t be someone we liked, but I did originally think it would be Baxian. Once I learned they were female, I knew, and Ruhn becomes yet another victim of the enemies to lovers trope, despite having a perfectly good, healthy(ish) romance set up for him in CC1. It was also obvious that Celestina was not some secret double agent or would have their back; she was a pawn, who had no interest in fighting the system. Her “betrayal” wasn’t even really a betrayal as much as her just doing her job. Also, the closet scene was uncomfortable and unnecessary, and felt very much like it was just thrown in for the sake of it like Mor’s sexuality in ACOWAR. The things that really irked me - the rebel situation, Danika, and glaring plot holes. I truly don’t understand how the whole time they were actively working with the rebels, they didn’t think they were...rebels? Also, I don’t understand why any of them even got involved in the first place, the reason why was pretty weak and I wasn’t sold on it. And *why* did so much rely on Danika? Literally nothing about that made sense - it was very forced and unbelievable, everything from her meeting Sofie, tasking Sofie with this mission, and Baxian being her mate. It felt like a plot device to make Bryce care, and therefore make us care. But I didn’t, because I didn’t believe it. I think it could (and should) have come from Fury, since she’s the one who’s always off doing secret missions and the like, and top secret, world altering knowledge is something that should have come from her. We have yet to see what makes Fury so feared and powerful, and her entire plot in the book was just about her being protective of Juniper. I also didn’t really enjoy how often Bryce made a secret plan that no one knew about and then *perfectly* pulled it off (cough, Aelin, is that you?). I understand that Bryce also did these stunts in CC1, but that’s when she was still getting to know Hunt and didn’t trust him. Another plot hole - when they go to the Bone Quarter and start getting attacked, Bryce wants Hunt to fly them out. If he could fly them out, why couldn’t he fly them in? Why did they need two ultra-rare-but-here-they’re-yours-take-them tokens from Jesiba? I’m also upset that during the ending, Hunt (and presumably Ruhn and Baxian) seem to get the halo tattooed on? But isn’t it supposed to be witches ink? So that seemed like a pretty major plot hole. I also don’t understand how Rigelus appeared as Aidas’ cat form and fooled them. Aren’t they all supposed to have the best scent detectors? Wouldn’t they smell that it wasn’t him? How did he make it cold when that’s not his power? So many small plot holes like that with unanswered questions are why I docked a star from this review. Other things to note - Ithan being in love with Bryce felt cliche, Tharion’s POVs were meh (and the whole thing with the River Queen’s daughter and the queen herself is just weird), and Hunt was surprisingly my most liked character this time, since I wasn’t a big fan of his in CC1. I’d suspected since reading CC1 the first time that the Asteri were somehow frauds, but I thought they just totally lacked power, not that they stole/ate it. I’m also still thinking Amren is the 7th Asteri, but only the next book will confirm. Ruhn looking like Rhys has been his description since the first book, and his powers are very similar as well, so it was clear that they’re related, even before we knew Bryce would end up there - we knew that the species came from other worlds, so it was obvious. I’m sure Bryce will train with him (Rhys) in the next book and truly come into her powers. I bet we’ll also learn Rhysand’s last name is Danaan, since it’s never been revealed in ACOTAR. I also look forward to finding out who Hunt’s dad is - they referred to him (Hunt) as a prince several times outside of Bryce being a princess, and my bet is on one of the princes of Hel. I’m also *really* looking forward to finding out who Jesiba is (maybe Theia or one of her daughters?? Definitely someone very old, and important. Maybe joined HOFAS for Aidas?). Overall, I did enjoy the book, but I felt like it lacked some of the SJM pizazz that made me love ACOTAR and TOG so much. Or, maybe the pizazz is being recycled, and it’s just not as fresh anymore. I still very much look forward to reading CC3 when it comes out!

I can say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It seemed most people were disappointed by the second book in this series and after reading book two and only giving it a 4 star, I was a touch worried. I shouldn't have been because I absolutely loved this one. Many of the things that bothered me in the first book were not an issue here. Mostly I found book one overly explanatory, too much world-building and not enough character development. Even so I did enjoy it and I loved the ending. This had great character development with everyone (I am honestly stumped that many reviewers didn't think so). I was completely immersed in Bryce, Hunt and all of their friends (or frenemies). Even some of the newer people introduced left me wanting more. Bryce's struggles and frustrations with her father were ever present, and I think I wanted to punch him as much as she did, but her relationship with Hunt and how it developed into loving each other captured me. It wasn't instant love, and even though there were several spicy scenes (which I loved, by the way), they didn't detract from the endgame. Their constant struggles with the direction they seemed to be going (and clearly manipulated to go) put me on pins and needles. I knew it couldn't be good, but I never guessed the ending and the things that Bryce found out about their world. I honestly didn't see it coming. I teared up a bit at the ending. It was a brutal way to rip them all apart. It left me feeling so much. I can't wait to read the next book. Again, I can't help but listen to people's opinions on the 3rd and final book in the series, and see such disappointment. I have it listed on my "must reads" for 2025, so I can only hope it's a satisfying end. I should also add, I have never read a SJM book previously, so perhaps not having delved into her other series is the reason I have enjoyed this one so much. I think it's time to stop listening to what others think and just go with my own impressions because this book went well beyond my expectations. And lastly the one thing that I wanted to add ... this book, like the first, was 800 pages. Book One I nearly DNFd at 200 pages because it was dragging on, but I continued and enjoyed the last 600 pages. This second book never felt like 800 pages. It was paced beautifully and I was never bored. None of the issues I had with the first existed, and I thoroughly enjoyed every page.

Perfecto

Mi sembra inutile fare una recensione per la storia scritta nel libro, perche ovviamente sarebbe solo un parere soggettivo, quindi lascio solo una breve descrizione oggettiva: le condizioni del libro. Arrivato nei tempi previsti, tenuto perfettamente nella scatola, neanche un angolino spiegazzato. Inchiostro ben stampato e contenente tutte le pagine (mi è capitato una volta di ricevere un libro a cui mancavano delle pagine), quindi direi acquisto consigliato a chi deve continuare la saga di Crescent city

I was dying to get answers and finally see where it was leading up to and the finale was so worth it, but holy crap was I on the edge of my seat! This was a great continuation from HOEAB, with an investigative storyline that kept me guessing. I think I audibly said, 'WTF??' at least 10 times. It felt like every hundred pages, there was a new surprise and an added layer of mystery. The storyline branched out with new characters and created more depth to the world, magic, lore, and overall plot. The action sequences were so well depicted and intense. It was super fun having side characters like Ithan and Tharion be more involved, along with Ruhn having more of an important role leading us to learn more about his character and magic. I love the way each character brings their own purpose to the group and mesh together so well for the story. The introduction of Celestina, Baxian, and Pollux added lots of tension and questions; their dynamics were always entertaining. Also, “Day”?! I’m still processing that revelation. Towards the end, my only concern was hoping that everything that was revealed in the end would be worth the 800 pages of information and investigating, and I was NOT disappointed. Also, I love how discoveries from Danika’s past link up with current events and they way the pieces came together. I honestly was just so immersed in the story and along for the ride!

INCREDIBLE