Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

18 reviews

tjandjamiestephens1291's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Kidnapping, Blood, and Trafficking

Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol

huddle_dragon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Violence, War, Slavery, Trafficking, and Sexual content

amartin48's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I honestly had more moments during this book than the first of being annoyed with characters and their poor life choices. It seemed messy and I felt Maas wrote the plot twists in this book rather predictably. 

That being said, I REALLY loved the world and lore expansion in this book. And I’m a huge fan of crossover series! This book left me satisfied with our FMC/MMC relationship, hopeful for new relationships, and SO excited to revisit old favorites. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, Trafficking, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Death, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and War

amy_in_the_city's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

 This book felt unfocused, constantly switching between too many plot threads and POVs. I feel like we could have done without a couple of the POVs, like Tharion's. He was just strange and kind of unlikeable (with the condescending nickname for Bryce and the creepy obsession with her underwear; wtf was that?), and I just didn't care about him. 

As a result of trying to cram in the various plotlines and other character POVs, I feel like Bryce and Hunt got lost in the shuffle. I was hoping to learn more about the main couple and see more of their relationship, but they were mostly in the story to serve the plot instead of the plot serving them. I missed seeing cute relationship moments like we had in the first book, and I don't feel like we really learned any more about Bryce and Hunt's pasts or struggles. I was hoping to see Hunt working through his emotions about the awful things he's done as the Umbra Mortis, his trauma from being enslaved, etc. but it seemed like all of that mostly went away or got brushed aside.

I loved seeing more of Ruhn and enjoyed his storyline of

falling in love with a spy sight-unseen

. I'm still not sure how I feel about who his lover ended up being and think he deserved better. Maybe I'll learn more about the love interest in the third book that will make me like her more.

Ithan seemed like an OK character, but I'm just tired of every guy in this book being in love with Bryce for some reason, and I wish that wasn't part of Ithan's character. I have hopes he'll be better in the next book as they seemed to be setting up some interesting storylines for him.

Everyone seemed to be making stupid decisions in this book. They're

constantly talking about their rebellion plans while walking down the street and while in public bars and cafes. They all know they live in a surveillance state, so why are they risking talking so openly in public places?

They also

send the kid everyone is looking for to go live with the main character's parents. Nobody thinks it will look suspicious that these people suddenly adopted an older kid who fits the description of the kid everyone is looking for?

Tharion decides to

break up with the River Princess without having a plan in place for escaping from the angry River Queen.

This guy is supposed to be the Head of Intelligence?

I really didn't like that the book ended on such a cliffhanger. I get that it's a series, but when I finish reading a romance book, I don't want to be left feeling worried for characters who <spoiler are in mortal peril and are going to be tortured for who knows how long. If I wanted that, I'd go read a normal fantasy series, not a romance fantasy. The only solution I can think of for how to avoid having such a stressful ending for the readers while still having plenty of stakes for Bryce in the next book is if

after Bryce disappears through the gate, somehow Ruhn and Hunt escaped or were rescued and went into hiding. Then Bryce could still be out of her mind with worry for what her brother and mate are going through, but the reader would know they're fine for now.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Slavery, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Murder, Infidelity, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Confinement, Cursing, and Colonisation

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Gun violence, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Genocide, and Grief

Minor: Drug use and Sexual assault

onceuponaballad's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Violence, Torture, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual content, and War

Moderate: Gun violence and Child abuse

mariadanna's review

The most god awful book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, War, Slavery, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

katbsc's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

SARAH, WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO US.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, Death, Slavery, Trafficking, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Minor: Body horror, Colonisation, Child abuse, and Child death

alite428's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Misogyny, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and War

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

kerttuli's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

I'm sure this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but... this book wasn't good. Same elements as all her other books. I’m so cranky. I think I have to read the next one because of the ending. I have read all of her published novels to date and I keep asking myself why I keep reading... maybe it's because I keep hoping it wont dissolve into garbage. I liked the first one, so I picked this up and was ready to give it a try.

I still struggle with SJM's reliance on the "copy/paste" style of writing  (the reliance on the same archetypes, tropes, and phrases, iykyk). I got really far in and nothing major had happened. The events didn’t have weight. It lacked any drive forward. There was so much that could have been cut from this book. No reason it needed to be around 800 pages.  The last 150 pages were slightly more interesting. I kept wishing something would get better because I liked the first book in each of her series. But they all seem to devolve into copy/paste fae "porn" with a bit of a plot line. Same story, different font. Also, the "mate" crap is beyond old and SO repetitive 🤮. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, War, Slavery, Torture, Classism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Trafficking, Rape, and Grief

Minor: Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

bi_n_large's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Slavery, War, Genocide, Sexual content, and Colonisation

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Trafficking, Cursing, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Grief