Reviews tagging 'War'

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

166 reviews

pagesbycaroline's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

Whatever I was expecting from this book...it was not THAT. The worldbuilding of this series is so far beyond anything else I ever read, even compared to other SJM books. I can't keep up with it, and just when I have it figured out, there's another layer to it that's peeled back and dives even deeper. I thoroughly enjoyed this and I cannot wait to read the next in the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Murder, Classism, Violence, War, Cursing, Gore, Torture, Blood, and Grief

Minor: War, Violence, Death, Sexual content, Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Murder

tiffanysmith's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I’ve had trouble deciding if I like this series or not. ACOTAR has been my favorite by far. In this second installment of the Crescent City series, the characters don’t feel particularly fleshed out and the plot is unorganized and random, as is the typical style of SJM. It’s challenging to read, because the majority of the story lacks good development and I admittedly grew bored. In typical SJM heroine fashion, Bryce was always just doing her own thing and new plot points sprung from nowhere without proper foreshadowing. 

I also don’t enjoy the romance between Hunt and Bryce. Their relationship doesn’t feel genuine, as it’s more of a secondary subplot to the character development. Going into this series, I knew that it wasn’t as romantically based as ACOTAR, so I don’t mind that it’s not the main point of the story, but their relationship evolved so quickly and *surprise*

they’re mates

. I’ve grown weary of the amount of spice in this book because it was there just to be there. I found myself skipping sections of it because it became tiresome and not romantic or genuine.  

The series does have some interesting quality. I’m captivated by SJM’s world that she has constructed. I only wish that it was executed better. If this book had been editing down and had the plot properly foreshadowed and fleshed out, it would have been really interesting! Alas, SJM leaves us with killer cliffhangers in the final pages. I was genuinely thinking of not continuing this series, but the curious part of me needs to know what happens next. So, I suppose I will read the third book and experience the same cycle of emotions of being annoyed at the writing and then stunned by the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Blood, and War

Minor: Drug use, Torture, and Sexual harassment

kbowles24's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Murder, Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, Blood, Alcohol, Sexism, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual assault, Torture, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Gore, Grief, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Confinement

anndreya's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Sexual content

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Slavery, Cursing, and Murder

Minor: Genocide, Torture, War, Infertility, Blood, Incest, and Sexual violence

ksilvio's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Genocide, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Torture, War, Classism, and Gun violence

librarian_sky's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Slavery, Violence, and War

Minor: Sexual violence and Alcohol

jessnotjen's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Death, Murder, War, Violence, Blood, Torture, Sexual content, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

cassidy_rain's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

"Our love is stronger than time, greater than any distance. Our love spans across stars and worlds. I will find you again. I promise."

I’m having such a fun time with this series. This second book in the series picks up right where the first book left off and in it’s aftermath. While the first book feels somewhat wrapped up by the end, we learn here that it was truly just the beginning and lotsss of things were left unanswered.

I continued to love the characters. Bryce and Hunt are so sweet and I love seeing their relationship grow. Though I do wish we could see more of them being together and getting to know one another without everything turning into sex. I enjoyed meeting Cormac and getting to see more of Ithan. I love the dynamic of all the characters working together. Ruhn and Agent Day was unexpected but I loooved it. The chemistry was top tier.

"Everything that ever happened to me, it was all so I could meet you, Quinlan. Be here with you. I'm yours. Forever.”

A few reasons I didn’t like this quite as much as the first- some parts were more confusing. More than once the writing felt a bit choppy, like it would jump into a topic without warning and I almost felt like I missed a chapter or paragraph. Also all the H names (the Harpy, the Hind, the Hammer, the Helhound, etc. most of whom have real names too) was difficult for me to keep track of. I *think* by the end of the novel I have them straightened out but don’t test me on this. Some things are starting to feel a bit repetitive to ACOTAR and TOG (though that comes with the genre typically)- perfect mates, developing an insane amount of power, coming into a position of power…

Unfortunately, reading a popular book well after it’s release has some disadvantages and I had seen some spoilers ahead of time, despite my best efforts. This didn’t ruin my experience but I definitely don’t think I would have seen either coming had I not seen the spoiler. (Ending and Agent Day’s real identity). Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t exactly sure how the ending would occur, only that it would happen so it was still shocking and exciting!

”Hard to enjoy being free if you’re dead” … “I can think of no better reason to yield my life.”

I also liked the twist of the Hel realms actually being the heroes. That was such a fun juxtaposition.

What a great ending with two cliffhangers, definitely excited to pick up the next book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Sexual content, and Torture

Moderate: War and Slavery

jeanettesreadingcorner's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Torture, Grief, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, War, Blood, Murder, Body shaming, Death, Colonisation, and Confinement

daniofthewood's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious medium-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Cursing, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Confinement, Death, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide, Gun violence, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol