Reviews tagging 'Classism'

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

39 reviews

ilo_the_duck's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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imcourtneymarie's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

I liked this one more than CC1 but points taken off for some of the unnecessary smut. I don’t mind spice but i found myself glossing over those moments towards the end because they weren’t adding anything to the plot (which i deeply enjoy!) 

Loved the OMG moments throughout. Lots to think about. Can’t wait for CC3 👀
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helloimjacq's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I didn’t love the second book as much as the first one, but this was still a 5 star read. The story was a bit slow for this book, and I want to say this was more of a filler book (sets the story up perfectly for the next book though). There was a lot of character growth and you get to know some new characters as well. It’s a long book so come prepared (took me a week which is pretty slow for me). The ending was definitely worth it though! I need the third book now please!!! 

Just a side note, if you haven’t read A Court of Thorns and Roses, I highly recommend reading that series before this book to better understand Sarah’s writing style as well as certain themes/nuances. I would say it’s not 100% necessary but it’s the best way to familiarize yourself with certain aspects present in her worlds (overall it makes the breakdown of this series much more interesting).
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haleyneedsalife's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

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vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

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beckyremillard's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

5.0

The second book in the Crescent City series is superior to the first. It doesn’t have the confusing world building at the beginning and we’re already in love with the main characters. 

I am in shock after finishing this book. We get so many answers but so many new questions are raised. The story went in directions I could not have even dreamed of thinking about and I’m obsessed. 

My only regret is needing the next book and it’s not out yet. 

It’s preferable to read the ACOTAR series prior to this one but not crucial. Would recommend though if you want to go through the emotional rollercoaster I did.
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doubletherazzle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
No star rating yet because I’m indecisive and still processing, and this long rambling review is my external processing.

TLDR: lots of plot, cliffhanger, interesting  world building, but characters and relationships seemed to lack the depth that I’ve come to expect and love from SJM’s writing. Minor spoilers below, but all marked.

I freaked out at the ending (obviously), although I’m not really sure how to feel about it after the initial shock. I’m having a hard time trying to understand how the twist will play into the plots going forward. Concerns aside, I love the world building. I wasn’t sure I would like the urban fantasy setting of this series, but I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed the diversity of the setting. 

This series does seem to follow a pattern
of ‘get attached to this new character JK TRAGEDY’
and in CC1 it was a great plot twist.  In this one it felt more… predictable and not as important to the plot as I feel like I should’ve been. I read in a few days, so I feel I like I didn’t notice the shift from primary plot point A, to what became the main plot for the second half of the book. I’m starting to feel like this should’ve been two books for all the plot developments, which come at the cost of losing to some in-depth character showcasing and some loose ends floating around. 

Hunt and Bryce seemed rushed at points. I missed you the emotional depth in CC1 - seeing Hunt grapple with his own violence, Bryce trying to get through grief and growing up… both character seemed more flat now that sex is apparently their biggest relationship marker. I normally am a sucker for
the mate-trope, but I felt surprised by the reveal of it here. Not because I didn’t expect it, but it just seemed very casual, and their relationship didn’t seem like it had that gravity yet.
I felt like I needed more of a slow burn, or at least more exploration of them getting to know each other. 

In the same vein, I was craving much more from
braxian
for character development and hunt to deal with the feelings and conflicts
braxians presence brings,
and I never got it. Instead, we got quick-fire plot and character development
in one scene and all defined by Danika.
There could’ve been so much more (which was hinted at, but never capitalized on). 

I liked the bit of insight into the politics of the the various courts of power, but they’re all pretty much the same, and probably the only aspect of the world building that I feel needs to be amped (all people in power=bad and manipulative, and all major players feel trapped by their home courts). I do, however, appreciate the attempt at a grittier reality of war, ignorance (“there is no war in ba sing se”), extremism on both sides, and that this series isn’t blindly copying  the “dreamers” motif from ACOTAR. But, I don’t feel that these ethical quandaries are actually something the characters are grappling with (except Ruhn and maybe Ithan), and I’m still wondering how
Cormac ended up involved in rebellion
and I want to like Tharion, but he’s kinda an idiot? and somehow hypaxia’s fascinating story is only briefly brought to light here and there. 

Will of course read the next one, and will probably have to re-read these before then, because I had already forgotten plot points in the two months between reading CC1 and CC2, but ACOTAR 1-4 remains my favorite series from SJM. 
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ka_ke's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

When I tell you I screamed, I laughed, and I cried you have no choice to believe it. The last line on page 798 made me so excited. I am ready for the next CC book and the next
ACOTAR book
. The spice is incredible, and I have definitely fallen into Maas destruction once again. 
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tiana_king's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

HYPERVENTILATING

So this book is slower than the first one so for awhile there I was like solid 4⭐️ But holy sh!t the last 100 pages! I was screaming. I was rioting. I was sobbing. I was speaking in tongues. I was hyperventilating. The ending. Oh my god. I can feel that I’m crash landing into a reading slump as I type this. Will I ever recover?
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kerttuli's review against another edition

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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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