House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, 2)

On my first read of House of Sky and Breath, I gave it 5 stars, and after revisiting it on audiobook, that rating holds up without hesitation. Elizabeth Evans once again delivers an incredible performance. She brings so much life to Sarah J. Maas’s characters that it’s easy to forget you’re listening to a single narrator. Every voice feels distinct, every emotional moment lands, and she completely elevates an already phenomenal story. The Crescent City series is such a joy to experience. The world is rich and immersive, the characters continue to grow in ways that feel earned, and the pacing keeps you completely invested from beginning to end. House of Sky and Breath especially does an amazing job of moving the overall story forward, with revelation after revelation that had me completely hooked. And that ending… wow. The first time I finished this book, I was absolutely devastated that House of Flame and Shadow hadn’t been released yet. Thankfully, this time I don’t have to wait…I can dive straight into the next book, and I couldn’t be more excited. This series has absolutely earned its place among my favorites.

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!

This was my favorite book in the Crescent City series. I felt like there was the perfect amount of plot mixed in with the day to day life of the characters (which I feel like we normally don’t see a lot of in fantasy novels ). I enjoyed getting to know more of the background characters and I thought that the beginning of this book did a good job setting up the relationships between each of the characters. I found it endearing that SJM included a little more whimsy in this book and I felt like we had a good balance between heartwarming and dramatic moments. This book was driven by both the plot and the characters which was another balance that I felt like SJM did a good job with. Ruhn Danaan, Crown Prince of the Valbaran Fae, stole my heart in this book. I’m a sucker for a good shadow boy and he was the perfect mix of some of my favorites. I enjoyed seeing the different sides of him - unserious, lonely, suffering, brother, friend, son - and the juxtaposition between each of these sides was beautiful. He was my favorite character and I hope that once everything is said and done he can live a peaceful life filled with love, laughter, and light. He deserves every bit that he can get. Bryce was my second favorite character in this book and the relationship between Ruhn and Bryce was my favorite. I love how they accept each other for everything that they are and offer endless support to one another, no matter how harebrained the scheme that - mostly Bryce - is concocting next. I felt like Bryce really grew into herself in this book and I loved how she approached her circumstances on her terms, and how she continued to make the best of a bad situation. She had everyone’s best interests at heart and this was showcased for her love and acceptance in those that became her family. She did what was best for her people but did so in a way that wasn’t self sacrificing, it felt like her journey was one of self acceptance. As always I adored Hunt and how he fit in with Bryce and those she loves. He was fiercely protective of everyone whom she cared about and I have the highest amount of respect for him because of this. The connections that were being made between characters - I’m looking at you Ruhn and Lydia - added an extra layer to the story and I loved watching everything unfold. The plot for this book was well thought out; SJM truly outdid herself with this one. The connections between events were intricate and well designed. Oftentimes I found myself flipping back and forth between pages that were 300 pages apart because of how many layers there were and how many triggers needed to happen to wind up where we did. The setup for the ending was incredible, I felt like it had to have been in her mind for years before actually writing it. I really loved how each individual storyline had its moment to shine and each one added to the plot without outshining or detracting from the other storylines. The exploration of new places also added another element to the dynamic plot. It felt like the story was woven into the fabric of Crescent City and with how detailed the city itself was I thought this created a cohesive relationship between the setting and the story. Overall I loved this book and would recommend this series based on this one alone.

This book was really good. Although in the be beginning I felt like I was getting word salad, it all started to come together. I probably missed a few things because of all the information sent my way. It was a lot. You have to literally be locked in to grasp the magnitude and significance of all the information. My word!! It's like a 5 million piece jigsaw puzzle with a few of the pieces still with the manufacturing company. 😵‍💫 I still enjoyed the characters but the standout was definitely Ruhn. He became a gradually important character by the end. Of course I think he is still finding his way, finding his place. I am interested to see what becomes of him by the next book. He definitely had his Day brighten 😁😎... Now let's get to Bryce. My girl can't catch a break. Even though I feel like this was all her making. They literally did not have to do that they did. But I guess no one else could. At the end of the day, something is brewing and it's up to Bryce to figure it out. Her relationship with Hunt definitely grew stronger. To the point where, yeah! I am definitely getting Aelin and Rowan vibes. To whatever end basically. Hunt even has more reveals for him. I don't know if he's just an Angel. SJM is cooking up some type of surprise. Speaking of surprise what an ending?! Hel, Asteri, Midgard, Fae... Is anything what it truly is? There are so many questions and reveals in this book. I'm overwhelmed. And the crossover! I was very excited! I'm now trying to piece together the relationship between TOG, ACOTAR, and CC. Because there is one. There is no doubt about it. I'm starting to theorize and put pieces together. The connections!!!!🤔🤔🤔🧐🧐🧐 Danika is the most alive dead character in the history of dead characters. She's literally connected to everything. Was Bryce and Danika truly friends?! 🤔 Cause the secrets! I would be questioning things. I'm thinking we are having a good time partying and you're out there trying to save the world. At least give me a hint! Ithan and Thurion are both in predicaments that are very precarious. I wonder for their outcomes in the future. Not so good right now. And will anybody get Viktoria out of her life of loneliness and darkness. That's kind of sad! Am I the only one hoping she gets saved?! I am glad I can just go to the next book. These characters are about to go through their greatest storm. Maybe not Hunt. Been there, done that. But maybe the stakes are higher now that he has Bryce. I don't know. I thought they were all going to die in this book so it's good to know that most of them will make it to CC3. But Hunt! They are touching him in every book! Things I didn't like about this book. The anime feel. But I guess that's the style that SJM is going with. Also the beginning was slow. High fantasy and slow pacing just drags the story along. I didn't get why they were so invested in Sophie and Emile but I guess it did lead to the big reveals. It still seem unbelievable at points. I did like this book better than the first one. The whole watching Bryce's predicament like a movie and no one moving to save her in the first book did not sit well with me. But this book's ending made me excited. I want to know what's going to happen! On to the next! 😃

This series just keeps getting better and better! SJM stayed true to making the last 100 pages the most exciting. The ending just left me wanting more!

🌃 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

So, if you are like me, you read the ACOTAR series and thought, "this is absolutely the best thing I have ever read and I'm now going to read it approximately 25 more times". Once you had every word memorized, you read the Throne of Glass series. SJM was yooounngg when she started that and you kind of have to plow through the first few books for the payoff, but still a terrific series. Then, SJM interrupted her ACOTAR release schedule with HOEAB. Druggie, partying Fae girl...no thank you. Alas, you ran out of YA fantasy, read ACOTAR one more time and finally decided "what the heck" and gave Bryce a shot. And loved her. She was a modern, excellent heroine. Maybe you were team Hunt, maybe you have trust issues and didn't want to be Tamlin'd again. Whatever, you were excited for HOSAB. So, it's here. It's 800 pages. As others have noted, the POV jumps around to a big circle of side characters. I actually like this, although I think SJM 100% wrote this series for TV. It reads like a script with scene/set changes and lines. You kind of infer the big Asteri reveal early on (wait...are they Valg?!). Bryce has some Aelin vibes with the sudden reveals of having called in favors and figuring everything out behind the scenes. That plot device doesn't work as well in this series because of the trust and partnership dynamic established with Hunt and Ruhn and because Bryce does some questionably villainous things. The side romances are a little tedious. The sudden departure for Hypaxia and Ruhn, Ithan really loved Bryce all along, Tharion is an idiot, the kind of useless Sofie and Cormac characters....added pages. Anyway, who cares. None of that matters. Really, just read the book - it doesn't matter if you like it or not because you MUST read the last chapter. Your jaw will drop. You will need to sprint around your room. Call some friends. And now wait in agony for at least a year to see what the next move is. Really, we should have seen this coming. The Sword and Fae King sub-plot in Nesta's story was weird and a big tease. We also know she shot Aelin through ACOTAR, so....let's see what happens next! I for one think SJM could be building the greatest literature fantasy world ever written as she merges this story. And I say that as someone who fangirls over Rhys but also as someone who has extensively read fantasy canon. I'm gonna put this up with LOTR, HP, GoT, NotW, and TFS.

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

Bookup 10 de 10! Excelente servicio y productos, muchas gracias!

I love this hardcover! It’s beautiful! Very happy with it!

Title: house of sky and breath Author: @sarahjmaas 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐈 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞. ✨NO-SPOILER✨ HOSAB is a captivating fantasy novel and second in the series. It follows the life story of Bryce, Hunt and Ruhn together. Sets in the modern world where the magic is real and the discrimination in hierarchy is prevalent. Filled with various instances of Bryce dealing with adventure, mystery and tragedy. Bryce's character has been crafted so well that you ended up rooting for her. The supporting cast is equally well developed, adding depth and complexity in the plot. The Crescent series is richly detailed and immersive. The vivid description of Lunathion brings the settling to life. The themes discussed in the book are loss, love, fated-mates and the pursuit of knowledge. The pacing of the book is well-balanced, with moments of action and intrigue interspersed with quieter, more introspective scenes. Overall, "house of sky and breath" is a stunning novel that showcases Bryce's strength and courage to stand up against the world if they are corrupt. With its compelling characters, rich worldbuilding, and masterful prose, it is a must-read for any fantasy fan.