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hannran's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual assault
leonormsousa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
TRIGGER WARNINGS
REPRESENTATION
REVIEW
Short short review incoming (mostly because I read the book a few months ago and I have the memory of a fish)…
Sarah J. Maas has got a hold on me and I loved HoEaB much more than I was expecting. However, in comparison to the first book of this series, I didn’t like HoSaB as much.
First things first, what did I really like about this book? My favourite thing, and something I thought was a real improvement, was the addition of new POVs. It allowed us to discover new (and old) characters in a much better way and added a complete other depth to the plot and the story. Apart from that, I did enjoy the book in general, like I often do with Sarah’s books! Oh and also… Night and Day <3
Now, some things I didn’t quite enjoy… I thought that this book was maybe a little bit more predictable (although there were still some plot twists that took me by surprise). Besides that, one thing that I really enjoyed in HoEaB and that I missed from this book (although I can totally understand why it couldn’t be included) was the detective vibes.
Going into more detailed aspects, I really couldn’t have gone without the whole “mate” thing. I mean, it was fun in ACOTAR and all, but I would really love to see Sarah J. Maas go into a different perspective where love isn’t something that is predestined or something like that but instead is something that you build. Not to mention that the concept of Mates points to there only being one “right person” for everyone and I don’t think that’s accurate in any way (both for monogamous and polyamorous people/relationships).
Another thing I would really like to see is more female POVs. Besides our main character Bryce, I would love to see some women characters take a bigger part. Fury and The Hind are just two examples of characters from which perspective I would love to read.
Also, how much was Danika hiding from everyone, including Bryce?! I’m starting not to like her and actually doubt her relationship with Bryce…
Besides all this, did I still love this book? Of course. Am I still dying to read the next book in the series? F*ck yeah! I love these characters and this world and I think that although this book wasn’t near perfect, it did set up a lot of interesting things for the series. I cannot wait to see what Sarah has prepared for us next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and War
forced/arranged marriageliaandersson's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Holy shitfuck. This is my favourite Sarah J Maas series so far. I love the story, the characters and the setting. I am in constant awe how well thought out these books are. Information that was dumped upon us on some random page in the first book come back to make itself relevant again. Ever word she writes will come back to claim its meaning and I enjoy every second of it. This ending will keep me in knots until the next book comes out, and I simply can not wait for that day to arrive. Have a sexy, feisty, funny and emotional read with this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Grief, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Body shaming
alli_the_bookaholic13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Gun violence, Death, Murder, Violence, Drug use, and Torture
Minor: Sexual assault
kayladaila's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Gun violence
Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Genocide, Alcohol, Incest, Murder, Stalking, Torture, Police brutality, Slavery, and Body horror
Minor: War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Trafficking
book_lover56's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
Sarah just loves to give us emotional trauma and plot twists after plot twists and cliffhangers. I can't wait for her next book.
This book just shows how talented she is. With her diversity in characters and how she delivers character trauma makes you relate to the characters.
This book was a mixture of smut, awesome world building, plot was out of this world (if yk yk) everything was amazing. I must say this series should be highly recommended.
This book just shows how talented she is. With her diversity in characters and how she delivers character trauma makes you relate to the characters.
This book was a mixture of smut, awesome world building, plot was out of this world (if yk yk) everything was amazing. I must say this series should be highly recommended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Torture
Minor: War, Blood, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Genocide, and Suicide
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I haven't decided on an overall rating because I fucking HATE the ending so much. The very last chapter is fucking stupid. Negative stars from me. NEGATIVE.
The rest was fine. But my enjoyment from it is basically null because of how much I do not like the ending.
Rep: Fat half-fae half-human white cishet female MC, BIPOC angel cishet male love interest, Black sapphic fawn female side character, sapphic female side character, sapphic BIPOC witch side character, side MLM pairing, sapphic female side character, several BIPOC side characters.
CWs: consensual sexual content (graphic, multiple scenes), violence, blood, death, cursing, torture, war, slavery, murder, gun violence, alcohol consumption, injury/injury detail. Moderate: past mentions of physical child abuse, colonisation, confinement, genocide, drug use, addiction, misogyny, sexism, sexual violence, sexual assault. Minor: mentions of possible infertility (never confirmed), trafficking.
The rest was fine. But my enjoyment from it is basically null because of how much I do not like the ending.
Rep: Fat half-fae half-human white cishet female MC, BIPOC angel cishet male love interest, Black sapphic fawn female side character, sapphic female side character, sapphic BIPOC witch side character, side MLM pairing, sapphic female side character, several BIPOC side characters.
CWs: consensual sexual content (graphic, multiple scenes), violence, blood, death, cursing, torture, war, slavery, murder, gun violence, alcohol consumption, injury/injury detail. Moderate: past mentions of physical child abuse, colonisation, confinement, genocide, drug use, addiction, misogyny, sexism, sexual violence, sexual assault. Minor: mentions of possible infertility (never confirmed), trafficking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Slavery, Blood, Death, Cursing, Murder, Sexual content, War, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Addiction, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Infertility and Trafficking
thecourtofreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.75
"this world could be so much more. this world could be free. i don't understand why you wouldn't want that."
holy shit. sarah literally blows me away. i don't know how to react to that ending. it started off slow, i can't lie and i did initially think "please don't let this be a filler book" and i did start to have a few doubts but oh my god this was so worth it and i physically have not and will not be able to recover from that ending fully until at least a few weeks have passed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: War, Blood, Colonisation, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual assault and Torture
raenyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
3.0
Spoiler free review!
So yes, that ending has me in a choke hold that I'm not sure I'll be free from until the next book is released. However, before that I felt like this book was meh, especially compared to how intense the first in the series was. Things were constantly happening and developing but nothing really grabbed or shook me enough to really get me excited about what was happening. I love how much more of Ruhn we got in this book as I think he's a really interesting character. There was a few too many sex scenes for me but I know many others reading this will enjoy it so I'm not going to criticise that too much.
Overall, I don't know if I liked this book, it probably would have been a 2.5 but that ending convinced me to bump it up a bit just cause of how much it has dominated my thoughts since I finished reading, even if I'm not actually sure I like it. Can't wait for the next one!
So yes, that ending has me in a choke hold that I'm not sure I'll be free from until the next book is released. However, before that I felt like this book was meh, especially compared to how intense the first in the series was. Things were constantly happening and developing but nothing really grabbed or shook me enough to really get me excited about what was happening. I love how much more of Ruhn we got in this book as I think he's a really interesting character. There was a few too many sex scenes for me but I know many others reading this will enjoy it so I'm not going to criticise that too much.
Overall, I don't know if I liked this book, it probably would have been a 2.5 but that ending convinced me to bump it up a bit just cause of how much it has dominated my thoughts since I finished reading, even if I'm not actually sure I like it. Can't wait for the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery, and Torture
nikitanavalkar's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
Reread (audio) finished 31 March 2022: Wow, I wrote a long ass review the first time, but I’m just back to say Elizabeth Evans kills it on this audio, with all the delightfully nuanced voices and accents. She makes the experience infinitely more amazing than I expected. Baxian’s voice especially; that accent 🤤. I already loved him, and now even more. I also fvckin love my Day and Night. Their interactions are even more heart wrenching now after knowing things 😣 And the ending packed a punch the second time around too. Also reading the whole thing with new eyes was, suffice it to say, revelatory.
<Spoiler free for this one but beware of spoilers for book one>
Sorry all other 2022 books, I’ve found my mate and and I’m off the market. I will love y’all but it won’t be the same. There can’t be another HOSAB. You know how we say we’re shook after we experience something? Well clearly I didn’t know the meaning of the word before today because this book has left me actually Shook. SHOOKETH. I mean I really have sweat running down my body and my heart is racing after that freaking ending. Someone get me therapy and several stiff drinks because I can’t feel my face due to shock. I thought book one destroyed me? Oh I’m in smithereens now. SHAMBLES. Life as I know it has ceased to exist.
I was going to say so many smart things about the book and it was chugging along nicely and even though I’d heard the ending was going be a doozy, I thought it couldn’t hurt me worse than HOEAB. I even made it to 97% without crying. LOL. Boy was I wrong. I was so not prepared. And funnily enough, there was strong foreshadowing, which I blithely ignored. Until that ending actually happened. Like a plane crashing on my face. Or a lightning strike. After that, head empty, no thoughts, only ending. Screaming, crying, throwing up. I WASN’T READY TO BE SLAUGHTERED MA’AM!
Now that I got that out of my system (not by a long shot but still), let me go back and try to be semi coherent. The book starts as promised, with Bryce and Hunt trying to recover from events of HOEAB while trying to manage their relationship. Ergo, we get loads of cutely domestic Quinlar content and it’s everything I ever wanted. Apart from the steamy content which is also what I wanted. They must be protected at all costs, and I see you laughing at my innocence SJM. We also get to see our mains forming an adorable little squad of misfits, and to watch them hang out and bro up, is frankly the heartwarming content I needed before the horrors to follow. No doubt our squad is reckless at times, and they know it, but no guts no glory right? You’d think (as many do) that some time was wasted on some of the fluff (but I’ll take more please and thanks), but that’s exactly what the author wants you to think so when she punches you in the face with a new twist or information or caresses your mind with Easter eggs or drops tantalizing little crumbs one could easily miss. We should all know by now, this woman does not waste words, every single one is important, every action has meaning, every scene written with intention. This book is like a treasure map for true connoisseurs.
It’s not all fluff and game changing endings however. In between all that, the author weaves her magic and builds upon the gloriously complex world she created and gives us compelling plot and new characters that will challenge your very morals core. It’s one of the things she does best, but in this series more than ever before she puts forth profound questions about right and wrong and living in the grey areas of life. How do you define right or wrong? Is any person all good or bad or is it just POV? Good people do bad things and bad people do good; can the scales ever be balanced? Is it worse if one does a bad thing for one’s own survival vs if they do it for someone else’s? It’s all relative, all about who’s telling the story and writing the history books. Even more so when it comes to war. She doesn’t necessarily provide answers or pass judgment, but poses all these questions that make you think and reflect. Which is one of the many reasons why I have a soul connection with her writing.
Quick thoughts about some characters, most of whom laughed at any preconceptions I might’ve had about them and surprised me at every turn. We thought this would be Hunt’s book, and it was to a certain extent, but Ruhn Danaan said no sir, I’m also Sky and Breath and really owned the shit out of this book. No further questions. Team Bryce and Ruhn are the best siblings forever. I also want to throw out affection for my frat boys, you know who you are. Also Hunt making friends is everything I’ve ever needed. Danika and even Lehabah are such a strong presence through this book, which is both sad and heartening. So many thoughts about new characters which I shall keep in my palpitating heart and not spoil.
I’ve written all these words but I haven’t begun to express what I felt for this book. The climax will have me tongue tied and crying and shaking forevermore and I’m a little sad I’ll never get back the feeling of reading it for the first time. That last line will haunt me for eternity. If it was a movie, the audience would be going wild at that moment. I want to bottle and hoard the feeling so I can open it when I ever feel blah.
TL;DR: go into it blind and avoid spoilers at all costs. It’s worth the wait and every single one of the 806 pages.
<Spoiler free for this one but beware of spoilers for book one>
Sorry all other 2022 books, I’ve found my mate and and I’m off the market. I will love y’all but it won’t be the same. There can’t be another HOSAB. You know how we say we’re shook after we experience something? Well clearly I didn’t know the meaning of the word before today because this book has left me actually Shook. SHOOKETH. I mean I really have sweat running down my body and my heart is racing after that freaking ending. Someone get me therapy and several stiff drinks because I can’t feel my face due to shock. I thought book one destroyed me? Oh I’m in smithereens now. SHAMBLES. Life as I know it has ceased to exist.
I was going to say so many smart things about the book and it was chugging along nicely and even though I’d heard the ending was going be a doozy, I thought it couldn’t hurt me worse than HOEAB. I even made it to 97% without crying. LOL. Boy was I wrong. I was so not prepared. And funnily enough, there was strong foreshadowing, which I blithely ignored. Until that ending actually happened. Like a plane crashing on my face. Or a lightning strike. After that, head empty, no thoughts, only ending. Screaming, crying, throwing up. I WASN’T READY TO BE SLAUGHTERED MA’AM!
Now that I got that out of my system (not by a long shot but still), let me go back and try to be semi coherent. The book starts as promised, with Bryce and Hunt trying to recover from events of HOEAB while trying to manage their relationship. Ergo, we get loads of cutely domestic Quinlar content and it’s everything I ever wanted. Apart from the steamy content which is also what I wanted. They must be protected at all costs, and I see you laughing at my innocence SJM. We also get to see our mains forming an adorable little squad of misfits, and to watch them hang out and bro up, is frankly the heartwarming content I needed before the horrors to follow. No doubt our squad is reckless at times, and they know it, but no guts no glory right? You’d think (as many do) that some time was wasted on some of the fluff (but I’ll take more please and thanks), but that’s exactly what the author wants you to think so when she punches you in the face with a new twist or information or caresses your mind with Easter eggs or drops tantalizing little crumbs one could easily miss. We should all know by now, this woman does not waste words, every single one is important, every action has meaning, every scene written with intention. This book is like a treasure map for true connoisseurs.
It’s not all fluff and game changing endings however. In between all that, the author weaves her magic and builds upon the gloriously complex world she created and gives us compelling plot and new characters that will challenge your very morals core. It’s one of the things she does best, but in this series more than ever before she puts forth profound questions about right and wrong and living in the grey areas of life. How do you define right or wrong? Is any person all good or bad or is it just POV? Good people do bad things and bad people do good; can the scales ever be balanced? Is it worse if one does a bad thing for one’s own survival vs if they do it for someone else’s? It’s all relative, all about who’s telling the story and writing the history books. Even more so when it comes to war. She doesn’t necessarily provide answers or pass judgment, but poses all these questions that make you think and reflect. Which is one of the many reasons why I have a soul connection with her writing.
Quick thoughts about some characters, most of whom laughed at any preconceptions I might’ve had about them and surprised me at every turn. We thought this would be Hunt’s book, and it was to a certain extent, but Ruhn Danaan said no sir, I’m also Sky and Breath and really owned the shit out of this book. No further questions. Team Bryce and Ruhn are the best siblings forever. I also want to throw out affection for my frat boys, you know who you are. Also Hunt making friends is everything I’ve ever needed. Danika and even Lehabah are such a strong presence through this book, which is both sad and heartening. So many thoughts about new characters which I shall keep in my palpitating heart and not spoil.
I’ve written all these words but I haven’t begun to express what I felt for this book. The climax will have me tongue tied and crying and shaking forevermore and I’m a little sad I’ll never get back the feeling of reading it for the first time. That last line will haunt me for eternity. If it was a movie, the audience would be going wild at that moment. I want to bottle and hoard the feeling so I can open it when I ever feel blah.
TL;DR: go into it blind and avoid spoilers at all costs. It’s worth the wait and every single one of the 806 pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and War
Moderate: Sexual assault