Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - House of Sky and Breath

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

53 reviews

microbemom's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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cammy_reads's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No

2.0

** TW for discussions of sexual content, misogyny, violence, war, death, and incest **

*This is my personal opinion and is not meant for SJM to read. If you are a fan of the book, you will probably not enjoy this.*

5 months and 800 pages later, here we are.

The Crescent City series is, amongst other things, a narrative about power — who has it, how they’ve clawed their way to possess it, and the lengths they’ll go to keep it. The bad guys want to hoard it; the good guys want to share it with the downtrodden. Yet for a tome-sized adult fantasy book with complex worldbuilding and near-apocalyptic stakes, House of Sky and Breath does not make me feel these stakes. It does not give me the sense of gravitas that SJM seems to be striving for. Because despite their legendary powers, our main cast of characters are actually inept at everything they’re setting out to do.

Cormac, when explaining the plan to blow up the lab: this is a revolution. Our enemies are ruthless, bloodthirsty, and hellbent on total destruction. We have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

Everyone: *surprised Pikachu face*

And yet somehow, even as they bumble their way through their 7-person DIY revolution, I am not worried for these characters. I am not on the edge of my seat, wondering how they’ll be able to get out of this latest kerfuffle. Because despite their incompetence, I know that they are in no true danger from facing the consequences of their actions, because they are so overpowered. When Ithan got his throat ripped out, I was so excited because I thought finally something is HAPPENING! But no, he made a miraculous recovery not even five pages later.

PART I – the little things

A. Characters constantly saying that they’re recovering from trauma =/= actually recovering from trauma. Especially if their technique for recovering from trauma is just a lot of sex. Where are the therapists in Crescent City?

B. “Agent Day” and “Agent Night.” I truly cannot.

C. When Cormac shows up to Bryce’s work, Bryce responds with this. “If you’re looking for ‘How Not to Be an Asshole,’ it’s shelved between ‘Bye Loser’ and ‘Get the Fuck Out.’” SICK BURN, Bryce! You really showed him! Whip out that middle school-level humor!

PART II – everyone is horny and I am tired

“But OP!” you say. “This is adult fantasy romance! Of course the characters are going to be horny!”

Very true. But my problem was not the fact that they were horny — it was how they were horny.

BRYCE AND HUNT

Oh God, this pairing. The scene that really sealed the deal for me was on page 38, where the two of them are sitting in the box seat with Bryce’s parents. Bryce is thinking about that (stupid) no-fucking rule that they’ve made for themselves. Hunt is smelling her arousal in the air (literally kill me). And then just as the lights go down for the performance to begin, Bryce’s star on her chest starts glowing. Bryce is embarrassed, her parents are concerned, people are staring and hollering at her.

What does Hunt do — does he block her from view with his wings? Does he offer her his suit jacket in a sweet little moment? NO. He paws at her breasts in what’s played as a flirty little scene — I will remind you, right in front of her fucking parents.

Where is the romance? Where is the buildup? Where is the love? There is nothing but horny between these two.

Also, the fact that everyone can smell their lust will never not be gross to me. I could have gone a thousand lifetimes without either Ruhn or the Autumn King commenting on how Bryce “smells,” how they can tell if she has or hasn’t done the deed with Hunt yet. Someone get me a fucking ice pick to go lobotomize myself with.

ITHAN

Ithan boils my blood. I have already previously mentioned that I was ready for him to die, and I stand by that. But it isn’t just my dislike for him as a character, it’s how SJM changed his narrative and motivations from the first book.

In Book 1, we see Ithan is destroyed after Connor’s death, blaming Bryce for his brother’s heartbreak, and only even begins to redeem himself at the very end when he helps Bryce and defies Sabine. Did I like him in the first book? No. Did I agree with the misplaced blame he put on Bryce? Also no. Did I at least think his motivations were interesting? Eh.

But SJM throws all that complexity away here in Book 2. Now that we’re in Ithan’s head, we suddenly learn that actually, Ithan has been in love with Bryce the entire time! Just like his brother! As if we haven’t already seen this gross, unnecessary plotline from Connor already!

It was creepy when Connor tried to “lay claim” to Bryce for two years despite her telling him no, and it’s creepy now for Ithan to be following in his brother’s footsteps. His grudge towards Bryce in Book 1 was already interesting character motivation!!! But now instead of that narrative of pushing past his resentment and healing his friendship with Bryce, we have this morose man-child “woe is me”-ing for the whole book. Pass, thanks.

THARION

My God, do I have a bone to pick with Tharion. He really encapsulates one of the bigger gripes I have with SJM’s writing overall, particularly her interpretation of feminism in her works.

Throughout the series, we see so many characters comment on Bryce’s body. They sexualize her, slut-shame her, completely undervalue her. A lot of the characters who make these comments are antagonists, and SJM uses their misogyny as a way to signal to the reader, “hey! This is a bad guy! They’re being gross to the main protagonist!”

Yet despite beating us over the head with this moral, apparently the same rules don’t apply for the male protagonists. And Tharion is the prime example of this.

I swear, nearly everything this man says to or about Bryce is explicit. He calls her “Legs.” He constantly brings up the idea of fooling around with her. He jokes to Ithan that he and Bryce have a deal that he gets to sniff her panties.

How am I supposed to root for this "friendship?" How am I supposed to like this character that is drooling over Bryce in the same way that all the weird sexually-motivated antagonists are? But oh, he’s a hot ginger merman, so apparently it’s all okay. So many of the men in these books, even Bryce's own friends, only ever see her as a sexual object to be commented on.

Bryce, honey, you need better friends. This group is way too weird for you. Honestly, the real reason that Declan’s the MVP of the group isn’t because he’s a tech whiz — it’s because he’s pretty much the only guy not trying to hump Bryce’s leg.

CORMAC (RIP)

I will admit, I was incredibly relieved to see how Cormac’s plotline played out — if only because at first SJM set the bar on the floor. I’ll take pretty much anything over Jace Wayland 2.0:

“You're my *cousin*," he said finally. "My *cousin*, my blood, my family. I should want to protect you" — he laughed soundlessly without any humor — "to protect you from the sort of boys who want to do with you exactly what I want to do.”

There was no real reason that Bryce and Cormac needed to be related. “But it was because he could lay claim to her as her cousin!” I don’t care. “It shows how backwards and misogynistic the Fae society is!” I don’t care. The Autumn King simply could have negotiated an arranged engagement between Bryce and a well-connected Fae royal — which is exactly what he already does. Just take out any mention of Cormac being a cousin at all, and you keep the entire (unnecessary) plotline! Ta-da!

Anyways, soon we find out that he isn’t even a threat to Bryce and Hunt’s relationship after all, because he’s a good guy who was actually in love with Sophie (undoubtedly the best ship of this book). Also, he at least knew how to manage a rebellion. RIP king 🕊️ 🪦

PART III – THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE, THE REASON I HAVE EVEN WRITTEN THIS REVIEW

5 months later and I am still beside myself with this writing choice.

I’ve seen a lot of people complain about the little investigation plotline that Bryce and Hunt had in Book 1, and I will actually come out and defend it: that was my favorite part of that book. Something was happening! I was intrigued by this gruesome monster! I enjoyed the murder mystery!

So when I started reading all the stuff about Sophie (RIP) and her brother, and how our main characters had to track down this kid before the enemies did, I was excited! And when it was revealed that Sophie had lied and Emile never had any powers in the first place, I was both shook and intrigued. What a sweet, final parting gift from Sophie, protecting her brother from beyond the grave, desperately trying to ensure a chance at safety for him even after her death.

So no, that wasn’t my problem. My problem was that we spent several hundred pages on a wild goose chase, for NO FUCKING REASON. Why? Because Bryce ALREADY FOUND HIM OFF-PAGE.

I am still so mad about this. What a waste of time, to spend so many chapters in AN EIGHT HUNDRED PAGE BOOK looking for a missing person that the main character has ALREADY FOUND!!!

I don’t care how much of a #girlboss Bryce is, you cannot tell me that she beat out the top-notch technology people were using to track Emile, or the tracking wolves. Obviously the whole point of this was so Bryce could have her surprise reveal and all the characters could clap and say “wow Bryce, you are so brilliant, everyone always underestimates you.” Yes, true. But did it have to be resolved LIKE THIS????????

When did she find the time to do this? Did she just slip out of the apartment one night, waltz over to the Meat Market, and find Emile on the first try? When it has taken everyone else AGES to find Emile’s trail? And WHEN in the narrative did this actually happen?!!!???!! I DEMAND AN ANSWER, SJM!!!!!!

If anyone has figured out where tf this happens in the narrative, PLEASE TELL ME BECAUSE IT IS DRIVING ME UP A WALL!!!!!!!

TLDR; 2 stars because this became so convoluted it was entertaining. Apparently this series is partially inspired by reality TV? Let me tell you, SJM hit the nail on the head there. Anyways, this book has haunted me since February, hopefully now that I’ve word vomited I will finally know peace.

Content Warnings

tessa_b's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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prairieraven's review

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

It's slow to read for the first 2/3 of the book, it starts twisting and turning after that and the end leaves the reader a bit bewildered and anxious about the next book. Not her best, good. Hoping that the rest of the series improves. Still excessive use of the word F--- which is fine but it's like a word just discovered by a child and is somehow used at least once a page.

Severe lack of diversity.

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readwithria's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

House of Sky and Breath was a long haul, and the end made it absolutely worth it.

I will say, this book probably could have been 600 pages instead of 800 pages. The middle felt a bit directionless, a couple of the characters felt a bit redundant, and there was a whole plotline that could have been omitted (though that could change in book three I guess). I also don't love how SJM writes her open-door scenes, but that wasn't that big of a deal for me.

Where this book really hit its stride was in the final hundred or so pages. The final sequences, the reveals, and the worldbuilding details all hit so hard! I'm floored, and I cannot wait to read the next book.

A good book with a strong finish - 4 stars.

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louisa_pennyfeather2021's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

OH MY GOD I NEED BOOK 3 RIGHT NOW

I seriously can't even form the right words to describe how I'm feeling right now. Especially after the recent information Sarah has released about Book 3. This book is a roller coaster of questioning what is truly good and what is truly bad. It makes the reader wonder just how far someone should go for those they love and/or the greater good. It acknowledges the weaknesses of the characters by exploiting those weakness and being so realistic. Just the idea of what will happen in Book 3 has my mind spinning in a maelstrom of theories.

I've learned to always look between every word and to think outside the box no matter how outrageous the thought is when it comes to Sarah's writing. Although I did spoil quite a bit of the end for myself, I never would have been able to predict half of the plot twists in this book.

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lisa_m's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy shit! I just finished this book and I don't know what to say. It was absolutely fantastic!
I truly don't know how she does it but Sarah J Maas always manages to capture me with her books. This one was no different. Throughout all 800 pages I never wanted to stop reading. I think this series is truly my favourite ever!

I am in love with the characters. I love love love them all so much. I like how we get to know even the side characters and none of them are flat. They all have a personality and history, wishes and doubts. The world is so clearly painted that I feel like I'm living there. In this book especially we get to know a lot about the history of Midgard and it's super interesting.

This book is so well thought out and so realistic while still being high fantasy, hella funny, without any information bombing and I just had a great time reading it. I mean I was going through a rollercoaster of emotions to say the least. One of my favourite things about the Cresent City books is how something horrible can happen but still the characters make you laugh. The story is just so captivating I can't really begin to explain my love for these books.

Okay I can't help it, I have to get into spoilery territory now.

WHATTHEFUCK was the ending???? I'm so excited for the next book I'm actually screaming.
I generally didn't like the idea of all of SJMs books being connected but somehow now I'm just excited. ACOTAR is my second favourite series ever and I just can't help being excited. This was a HUGE surprise but a great one for sure. As soon as she landed in 'Hel' I knew that was not where she was. She met Rhysand and Feyre and Azriel and all the others. It feels so weird like one favourite fictional character jumped into another world of my other favourite fictional characters and they get to meet and I'm just like I WANT TO BE THERE TOO!!!!
I'm so jealous of Bryce I can't help it hahah

But also I just really need to know what now happend with the others. I mean as much as I want Bryce to go on adventures with the ACOTAR inner circle I need Hunt and Ruhn to be okay. I really don't know what SJMs plan is now. Is the next book going to be A Court of... or House of... ? Are they even at the same time? I still don't quite understand everything going on there but it doesn't lessen my excitement.

Also THE HIND IS AGEND DAYBRIGHT? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK??? I was so surprised when I read this but also super happy beause it makes so much sense and it adds to the drama and I'm just so excited for the next book. I honestly wish I could just binge ACOTAR again and then binge all the Cresent City books. Idk I guess I should probably read Throne of Glass now since it is the only series by SJM I haven't read.. but I just think that there is no way these books can even be half as good as ACOTAR or Cresent City..

Okay so to finally come to and end here are my final thoughts (for now idk I might add something to this review in a few days - I doubt this will let go of my brain anytime soon)

This book was amazing. A great second part to HOEAB and I can't wait for the third book to come out. It is full of adventure and intrigue and love and friendship and loss and secrets and bad people and good people and bad people that are actually good. I don't think any series will ever be able to compare to this. It makes me quite sad actually because I love the characters and the story so much I don't want it to ever end.
I will happily wait a long time for the next books to come out and read them all. Who knows, maybe SJM will die after me and write until the day she dies. I truly hope that is the case because these books are a part of me now and I have to know how they end or I will be so absolutely upset!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After the second time reading this I still absolutely LOVE IT!!
So much happens during the last 50 pages and I'm so happy that this time I can continue reading and find out what is happening after this immense cliffhanger!

I forgot lots of what happened during this book but I also really enjoyed the new perspective. It was great being able to focus on the small things and hints especially when you already know the plot twists. I'm very excited for CC3!

Content Warnings

arthur_ant18's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

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ahse1dances's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I kind of hate the ending, the multiverse situation? Not a fan

Content Warnings

jessgreads's review

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adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

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

1.5

Rating: ⭐⭐⬜⬜⬜

Title: House of Sky and Breath

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fantasy

Setting: Midgard

Month Read: March 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication:2022

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 805

TRIGGER WARNING-

War / Death / Sexual Content / Violence /

"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 Summary:

At the beginning of the novel you find Bryce and Hunt recovering from the ending of the last book, and wanting desperately to enter a normal routine, and finally get a chance to live normal lives. A chance to relax, a chance to figure out what's next. The Asteri have not bothered our duo, but the rebels have also not gone away, and it's a matter of time before our leads need to choose a side. Will they stay silent during the obvious oppression happening, or do they fight for what they belive in above all else? This book is a sequel to House of Earth and Blood.

Review:

I'm a huge fan of Sarah J Maas, and the ACOTAR series is one of my favorites, but MY GOD WAS THIS BOOK HORRIBLE. I spent 805 pages alternating between wishing I was reading something else, and wondering why Bloomsbury won't get Sarah an editor that will make her cut 400 pages of absolute uselessness. The amount of walking around, saying the same things, and not advancing the plot at all was insane to me. I had fully decided that I was not going to finish the series, and I'd stop after this novel, and then the end of the book happens and now I feel like I am being held hostage in a world I dislike, characters I dislike, and a plot that is just absolutely awful. I honestly didn't know after slogging through the worldbuilding in book 1 that I'd still have to slog through the SAME WORLDBUILDING in book 2.

If you want Sarah's sexy sex scenes in this book, look somewhere else. The sex was badly written, almost boring, and definitely cheese. If I hear the word 'Alpha-hole' one more time I was going to set my book on fire and throw it out the window. I advise reading maybe the first hundred pages, skipping to about 600, and finishing there. You won't miss very much and you can gather what happens in-between. Mostly thinking about Danika, trying to find a missing rebel, some mind sex between secret agents, and a forced marriage ploy.

In other news, I did like the addition of some new characters, and I did like that we got a lot more supporting cast in this book than in the last one. None of them have the same chemistry as the team in ACOTAR, but maybe in another 3-800 page books we can get there.

I hate writing reviews for books that don't praise them. I've never written a book, and I don't think I'd be very good at it- but I really need a better editor on these books because I felt so similarly with A Court of Silver Flames. Write a good 400-500 page book, I don't need bad 800+ page books. They're so insanely mediocre and I know Sarah can do better because I've read every book she's written to date. Quality over Quantity seems to come in to play a lot with her books lately, and I just wish someone would talk to her. I'm unsure if I'll pick up another book in this series, or if I'll sparknotes it. I do hate that I feel like I will need to because of a twist. It's infuriating.

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"What she wanted was a true heart to love her, to run wild with her through the forest."

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