Happy Friday book friends! I know, it’s been a while. I had zero blogging inspiration, spent February exclusively rereading books, and then caught Covid lol. Basically I spent the last six days or so in bed. But thankfully I wan’t so sick that I couldn’t read, so I managed to finish House of Sky and Breath!
I think it’s fair to say that House of Sky and Breath was in my top 5 most anticipated 2022 releases. I got a copy as soon as it came out, and couldn’t wait to dive in. Though I had to finish up my Throne of Glass reread first… As as side note, I think if I continue like this I’ll easily make my reading goal of 40K pages this year.
Anyway, once I finished Kingdom of Ash I went straight into House of Sky and Breath. And honestly… I don’t know how to feel. More on that below. Meanwhile, you can check out my review of House of Earth and Blood here if you’re still deciding whether to pick up this series (in my completely biased opinion, you should).
Warning! This review won’t contain spoilers for House of Sky and Breath, but might contain small spoilers from House of Earth and Blood.
House of Sky and Breath
By Sarah J. Maas
My Rating: ★★★★☆Published February 15 by Bloomsbury Publishing
Urban fantasy | New Adult | Romance
Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar are trying to get back to normal―they may have saved Crescent City, but with so much upheaval in their lives lately, they mostly want a chance to relax. Slow down. Figure out what the future holds.
The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt, and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans, the choice becomes clear: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.
In this sexy, action-packed sequel to the #1 bestseller House of Earth and Blood, Sarah J. Maas weaves a captivating story of a world about to explode―and the people who will do anything to save it.
My Thoughts
Okay, so I said I don’t know how to feel about this book, but I do know that I liked it. Obviously, considering I am giving it four stars. By far my favorite aspect of this book were the characters. There are so many new POVs and I did not find a single one to be boring. The relationship between all of them is so different from how they were in HoEaB, too and it was a lot of fun to read about. More POVs also means more character arcs, and I’m excited to see where all these characters will end up in the next book.
As far as worldbuilding goes, I don’t think Maas expanded a lot on what was already established in book 1. The vast majority of the story still takes place in Crescent City. I was actually hoping to see a map of all the places that are mentioned in this book, instead of just a map of Crescent City. I want to know where things are in relation to each other, but maybe that’s just me.
The plot was fine. It wasn’t anything super special in my opinion, but I sped through this book in a couple of days so clearly it was enough to hold my attention. What I think is that the impact of book 1 and 2 got reversed. Book 1 had me sobbing through the last 200 pages, and book 2 honestly didn’t make me feel a whole lot of things. There was just not as much oomph. Also I saw all the major plot twists coming from a mile off. Not sure if that makes this book predictable or if I’m just really good at guessing, though.
I was actually hoping that the end would make it all better, but nope. So I don’t know how to feel about the ending either. I won’t go into the specifics because of spoilers, but let’s just say I’m a bit frustrated. It seems like Maas is trying to make a type of Cosmere but I’m not sure if this is working out for her. Either way, I’m willing to put that aside for a moment and see where this will all go in book 3.
And that’s it! So I did truly enjoy this book, but it’s still a grumpy four stars from me. Like, it’s good, but it would’ve been easier for me if it wasn’t. I really hope that the third book will pack a little bit more action and drama. Let me know if you agree with any of my points here or just want to talk about the book with me!
Find more reviews in my Archive!
