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A review by nikitanavalkar
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
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