House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)

Published February 15th 2022 by Bloomsbury Publishing, Hardcover 805 pages

Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar are trying to get back to normal―they may have saved Crescent City, but with so much upheaval in their lives lately, they mostly want a chance to relax. Slow down. Figure out what the future holds.

The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt, and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans, the choice becomes clear: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.

In this sexy, action-packed sequel to the #1 bestseller House of Earth and Blood, Sarah J. Maas weaves a captivating story of a world about to explode―and the people who will do anything to save it.

User Reviews

Angelica

Rating: really liked it
I...

I don't have the words. I'll try to write a review but bear with me.

First, let me just say that if anything happens to Ruhn and Hunt I am going to riot. And yes, that's a threat.

Ok, now to the review.

This book stressed me. I can't even count the number of times I had to put it down and walk away for a minute because I was scared to read what happened next. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, a whole other layer of complications and magic and worldbuilding was added to the mix. It was a rollercoaster in every way.

While I did predict the outcome to several plot twists, like the identity of agent Daybright, there were a billion other twists that I didn't see coming, like that ending for which nothing could have prepared me for!!!!. And honestly, it's because half the time most of those twists were coming entirely out of left field and it was all Danika's fault! I was getting second-hand embarrassment for Bryce every time something new was revealed about her supposed 'best friend'. Danika had a whole secret life, filled with so many secrets and people that Bryce never knew about. After a while, it kinda felt like SJM just wanted to introduce new things and didn't know how so she threw them into Danika's bag of secrets and called it a day.

But, whatever. What I was really here for, more than the plot twists, was the characters! Gosh darn it, I love all of these characters so much!!! I really wasn't kidding about rioting if anything happens to them.

Ruhn was my favorite. I picked him out in book one as my comfort character in this series and I am way too invested in this man's well-being. Ruhn, Declan, Flynn, Ithan, and Tharion. I loved them. I loved the dynamic and I loved how Ruhn's house just kept getting more and more crowded and they all just accepted it like it was nothing. That brood of highly competent, badass idiots are all my babies and they better come out unscathed.

Then there was Bryce and Hunt. I love them. The banter, the chemistry, loyalty, and love they have between them is everything. Nothing will ever come close. I was worried about Hunt, I'm not gonna lie. Sarah has a tendency to bait us into falling for one guy, just for another dude to come in for the win. But no, Bryce and Hunt were everything together. There's nothing else to say.

Overall, this was great. I loved it. Not as much as I did the first book, I have to admit. But I loved it. And no, this wasn't really a review. I didn't even mention the plot of the novel, but if you've made it this far you probably already know what it's about. I just needed to gush about these characters for a bit since no one in real life will get excited and talk about these characters with me.

So yeah. That is all. Go read this book. Talk about it with me in the comments. That ending left me with too many emotions. Goodbye.

But before you go!

My final question to this all, the one that has bothered me since book one and plagues me to this day: how does a faun dance ballet? Like actually though? You can't be on pointe with hooves and bent legs. Every time they mentioned June dancing my brain almost spontaneously combusted trying to conjure up a visual! At this point, I just assume that Juniper is to ballet, what Feyre is to painting and I'll leave it at that!

Ashlee » libraryinthecountry

Rating: really liked it
HELLO, YES. I FEEL SO VALIDATED NOW. Sarah really said: Hold my champagne, I’ve got work to do and hearts to destroy. Just ... I was right, y’all. I WAS RIGHT. It is 4am and I am reeling and I haven’t slept and just holy shit. Sarah did that.

Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate the bro club in this book? Ruhn, Declan, Flynn, AND MY PRECIOUS ITHAN. Okay, Ruhn is still my favorite but ITHAN came out of left field, barreled into me with a boyish smirk and a wink, and next thing I knew I was on my knees *cough* He is a must protect. And Tharion and Cormac? SJM just working her magic, that’s all.

Love Bryce and Hunt still of course, but SJM’s side characters have a way of jumping off the page and tunneling into your heart. This book is no exception.

The romance delivers, the plot delivers, the EASTER EGGS, the tension, the camaraderie and humor and banter between characters delivers, and THE PLOT TWISTS!?! Holy mother of all plot twists. I mean, yes, I’ve definitely been wanting that and assumed it might be the case, but I didn’t actually expect SJM to do it AND make it so integral to the plot. It was unexpected, and I both loved it and immediately had mixed feelings because it opens a whole can of worms—but after another day of letting it all sink in, I am here for it. I’m excited, and game to see what comes next, and I know SJM has our backs.

My theories are ABOUND and the connections I’ve been making in the time since finishing are off the charts. This space is spoiler free, but I can’t wait until we can discuss things more fully

Enjoy the book!

July 2021:

MY SUMMONING CIRCLE WORKED, Y’ALL. HOUSE OF SKY AND BREATH COMING AT YOU JAN 2022. YOU’RE ALL WELCOME.

May 5, 2021:
summoning circle, hope this works

                       🕯️
              🕯️              🕯️
       🕯️       title and       🕯️

   🕯️         cover reveal         🕯️

       🕯️       may 2021       🕯️
              🕯️              🕯️
                       🕯️

and make the title House of Sky & Breath and the cover blue

Original, May 19th, 2018:
*SJM announces Crescent City #1*

Me:

a few days later: *sees Crescent City #2 on GR*

Me:

ELLIAS (elliasreads)

Rating: really liked it
no. noo. NO SHE FUCJING DIDN'T BC THAT ENDING!!!!????!!
she did not. BUT SHE DID. actually, im-.....s c r e a m s

the way this book did NOT need to be 800 fucking pages.....literally half of this book is all detective work and finding out that the people you think you know and love *gasp* are not who you think they are?!?! consider me shocked. anyways...

this was an enjoyable mess but i would say the stakes in the first book sounded better and played out wayyy more extreme and intriguing than here in this book....aside from the last 30 pages because uh....if you know, you knowwwwwww!!!!

but...the smirking, hissing, giggling, and purring that amounts in this sequel? "GEEJUS CHRYSLER. NO. MORE. IM BEGGING, PURRING," SMIRKING AS IM TYPING THIS OUT......

too many slow-too much talking and banter-and nothing happens-parts but when the good parts hit, THEY HIT .

i skipped all sexy scenes bc no ty.

Full review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpd99...

book rating overall: 3 STARS.
those last 30 pages overall: 4 STARS
Twitter | Bookstagram | Youtube

(view spoiler)

____

The way this aged LMAO. cringe
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*crosses fingers*

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL SMUT AND FARIES EVERYWHERE, PLEASE PUBLISH IN 2021. GOOD VIBES ONLY FOR 2021. PRETTY PLEASEEEE

Cardan Greenbriar

Rating: really liked it
it's not even out yet and 71 103 humans have already rated it 4 & 5 stars

AND CAN THIS BOOK PLEASE BE RUHN'S LIKE FUCK I NEED MORE RUHN

OH and
can the cover please glow in the dark

I SAID CAN THE COVER PLEASE GLOW IN THE DARK?!

~~oh and let's look at the bright side: only one more book~~
i'm sorry, i read somewhere that it's a trilogy

NickReads

Rating: really liked it
Ladies and gentlemen here I represent you the fae encyclopedia

lainey

Rating: really liked it
didn’t read it i just hate seeing sjm fans happy

jessica

Rating: really liked it
that ending has me ✨ s t r e s s e d ✨
~~MY BODY IS READY~~.

chan ☆

Rating: really liked it
sarah janet said “let there be chaos” 💅🏻

edit: i am finally ready to rate this on goodreads and after the initial ending excitement wore off, i think i am settling on 2 stars lol

☀︎El In Oz☀︎

Rating: really liked it
5/5

WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?

RTC

Bryce Rocks My Socks

Rating: really liked it
spoiler-free summary of this book in four words: porn with a plot

TJ ☾

Rating: really liked it
[this book peaked in the prologue imo, i was struggling through the middle ok it was a whole lot of nothing

☄️ ruhn and agent daybright had no chemistry... their relationship development shifted from professional to iN lOvE way too fast
☄️ bring back sophie, this girl was there for like .2 seconds and her chapter served harder than anyth

SK

Rating: really liked it
I'M SCREAMING. LITERALLY. I might have died. WHAT AN ENDING. 😭❤️
I ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY LOVE YOU SARAH J. MAAS.
OH. MY. GOSH. (Please excuse my screaming. I have lived).

Okay, I think I've calmed down enough to review this now that I've had time to process the bombshell Sarah dropped. I swear I've been admiring that last chapter ever since I finished it 😂😭 I had definitely stopped breathing, especially when the "R" word was dropped.

Firstly, Kudos to Sarah for writing such a masterpiece. I think it's going to be one of the best reads of 2022. I don't think I've read a bad review of it so far and rightly so. The book starts off at a good pace which she maintained throughout, especially compared to House of Earth and Blood. This was so much better than what I had expected. If I could have given more than 5 stars, I would.

What really interested me was the character development of Hunt, Tharion and Ruhn in particular. Their journey is one worthy of praise. Hunt's power and Ruhn's purity is commendable. Tharion ended up being my favourite, I enjoyed his struggles and his tough decisions, it brought more personality to the limelight. I was hoping he would've made a different choice at the end but it's going to be interesting to see what direction his story takes. Bryce was as usual badass. It was so good to see how she was struggling with Danika's constant secrets, it made her seem more human, instead of a robotic push over. What lays ahead of her in the series is going to be so good to see. There was a lot of foreshadowing done, can't wait to see how it unfolds. Cormac was a nice addition. Ithan and his struggles are shown well and the way he's welcomed into the group is just heartwarming to see. Flynn and Declan as usual are underrated supporting characters. I feel we don't give them much credit. The other supporting characters bring out great chemistry between the group as a whole. It just works out so well😩

The plot as a whole had a lot of twists, some of which had me shocked but it works well together. Their world just got bigger and there are lot of possibilities to explore, I do wonder how Sarah would incorporate it all. It's going to be a challenge considering the fan expectations will hit the roof, but I bet she can pull it off.

Also, if anything happens to Hunt and Bryce, Ruhn and Tharion, I'm SUING. 👀

I already CANNOT WAIT for the third book in the series. It's going to be mind-blowing for sure.

Through love, all is possible ❤️

Margaret M - hiatus (Limited access- will message when I can)

Rating: really liked it
My mind was blown away by it, my attention was absorbed by it, and my heart adored it. I have no hesitation in giving 5 sensational stars for another mind blowing and epic fantasy that is possibly my favourite SJM novel yet.

**** NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW ****

Once again SJM has come up with an ending that is jaw-droppingly brilliant and one that all her fans are going to adore.

A sensational story in the world of dark fantasy, that is magical and haunting, with an exhilarating plot, powerful world building, a level of suspense that inspires a hungry turn of pages and a brilliant array of characters that I believe are her best cast yet. Ingenious.

The Plot

“I’m guessing you’re in Sky and Breath.” She went still. Had he struck true? “Why do you say that?” “You remind me of the wind.” He tried to explain. “Powerful and able to cool or freeze with half a thought, shaping the world itself though no one can see you. Only your impact on things.”

Sofie, is about to die with one vital piece of “information hidden in her head, information that could very well be the final piece of this war against the Asteri. The blow that could end it all” and so Bryce, Hunt and Ruhn try to unearth the corruption and the devastating truth that cost Danika her life in the last book and now Sofie in this story. This is not a spoiler as it happens in the first chapter but sets up a storyline that will continue well into the book.

As worlds collide and the Houses of Crescent City seek to take control, the treachery and danger takes us to the city ships of the queen’s court, the seven levels of hell and the orrery planet solar system as reluctant alliances are forged to prevent the Asteri taking control.

However, with an order from the Asteri to lie low or endure a penalty of death, the crew must carve out a strategy where the stakes are high, the game is at a different level, and the people only too willing to betray the daughter of the King of the Autumn Court too numerous.

Ignoring the request from her father to strengthen the alliance with the House of Avallen, by marrying Cormac, her cousin, Bryce is left isolated except for her lover and ‘mate’ Hunt and brother Ruhn.

Review and comments

What makes this my favourite Sarah Maas book yet!!!

The Ending ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The sensational ending just blew me away. I was left speechless and very happy knowing we have a fantastic set up going into the next book. If you have read other SJM series you will adore it. Although it is worth pointing out that you do not need to have read A Court of Thorns and Roses first.

Storyline and Plot ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The plot / subplots are complex, gripping, and captivating and written at a pace that never slows. I loved that multiple sub plots were introduced rather than having everything centred around the two main characters which has become a common thread in SJM’s books. However, I feel there is room to make these side stories with other people even stronger and shorter because at 800 pages it feels too long, hence the 4.5 stars.

Main Characters ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Hunt and Ruhn are adorable, and although I liked Bryce much better in book 2, The connection is still not great. I would like to see the female characters portrayed differently from ‘bad ass bitches’.

Writing Style ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stunning writing and one I connect with although you need to pay attention given the number of subplots and wide ranging 'fantastical' names. However, for an immersive and absorbing read that captured me through the writing, then it can only be 5 stars.

Imagination ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I am in awe of SJM’s imagination. Ingenious, creative and explosive with settings like the seven levels of hell, orrery of planets and intricate details like the seven star and its representation, the glowing star on Bryce’s chest and symbolic nature of the marks and tattoos.

For ‘Love and other words’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ There is no shortage of passion between the main characters. What I loved about this part of the story was Bryce standing up for her right to choose her own ‘mate’ against her fathers wishes. Even better when she achieved this in such a clever way that blindsided everyone around her, including her father.

Book length ⭐⭐ This was too long. The Court of Thorns and Roses was in average 500 pages and was just right. At a huge 800 pages this was too long and more importantly not all the content was needed although written well.

Tormenting, imaginative, spellbinding, a fabulous game of brinkmanship, and totally immersive. A book I read over two days and up to ‘stupid o’clock’ in the morning to finish, because I hankered to know how it would all end, and what an ending it was - but no spoilers here!!!! And my advice is please do not read reviews that contain spoilers because the element of surprise will leave you speechless and very happy.

I have to confess that this is my favourite book over two series, this and the Court of Thorns and Roses.

Unbelievably good and highly recommended.

__________________________________
I have not re-read but my written review has disappeared so had to create under a new date that seems to have worked. How strange!!!

naz

Rating: really liked it
I AM NOT OKAY

i literally can't believe it ended like that. i am crying, sjm you are evil for doing this to us !

omg the amount of twists and turns in this book had my head spinning!!

“He pressed a kiss to her mouth. The entire universe melted away with it. It was only them, would only be them, dancing together, souls twining. “Everything that ever happened to me, it was all so I could meet you, Quinlan. Be here with you. I’m yours. Forever.”

i honestly didn't think i could love brycehunt even more than i already did and yes they finally fucked, who else cheered🤩

03/20
i really hope this is bryce and hunt's book because we still didn't get that sex scene. I NEED IT