House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, 2)

I was so excited for this book to come out, and I was even more excited when I was able to grab the last one. It’s a great read I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up all day and all night finishing it. I even forgot I had children. ( Just kidding) !! Is definitely one of my favorite books. It’s where you get to the nitty-gritty of the series so if you’re debating on reading the series do it !! I know I know what you’re gonna say. The first book is dry. It’s hard to get through once you get to the middle it totally picks up from there worth the read don’t skip it!!!

5 amazing stars!

This is book two of the “Crescent City” series and can not be read as a stand alone.

WOW! I loved this book as much as book one. What I enjoyed even more about this book was the characters. This group of “misfits” was the best!! I loved them all and had zero clue who to trust. Hunt and Bryce are still going strong and beautiful. Ruhn is still deep in my heart. I knew he was someone special. But I felll hard for many other characters as well. Baxian was one that surprised me the most.

One thing this series is taught me is get ready to have your heart broke so many times. Dang it she made me tear up so many times.

I love all the different species coming together and learning all the history. That dang Asteri!! Let me just say the Hind… omg…. The River Queen makes me ill but to know her sister is the most amazing Queen.

I can’t wait to no more about what Ithan and the wolves have planned. Also, what is about to go down with the fae?!!! I am a little worried about the next book. What more can we do? Yet the ending of the last book left me desperate to pick up book two. ACOTAR is here and I’m ready for it!!

Hold onto your bookmarks, fellow bookworms, because Sarah J. Maas has unleashed another literary beast upon us – "House of Sky and Breath," the second installment in the Crescent City series. It's like she took a sip of creativity potion and said, "Watch me conquer your soul with words!"

First things first, if you haven't devoured the ACOTAR books, you might be wandering through Crescent City with a perplexed expression like a lost tourist. Trust me; you'll want to visit the Courts before taking this scenic route. And if you haven't feasted your eyes upon the Throne of Glass series, well, buckle up, because you're in for a royal treat. But hey, if you're feeling rebellious, you can jump straight from ACOTAR to Crescent City – just be prepared for a magical rollercoaster that might leave you questioning your life choices.

Now, let's talk about the chokehold this book has on your emotions. If "House of Earth and Blood" left you gasping for air, "House of Sky and Breath" will have you clutching your heart, desperately trying not to spoil anything for your fellow readers. The Asteri have kept their word – mostly – but rebels are rebellious, and the threat of chaos looms like a storm cloud over a cozy reading nook.

Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar just want to Netflix-and-chill their way to a normal life, but when you've got rebels stirring up trouble, staying silent is about as likely as convincing a cat to take up ballroom dancing. The choice is clear – fight for what's right or risk the wrath of fictional characters who've never been good at keeping quiet. Spoiler alert: They choose the epic battle route.

In this 27-hour-and-42-minute epic audiobook experience narrated by the enchanting Elizabeth Evans (seriously, give this woman all the awards), Maas weaves a story so captivating, that it's like she's playing a symphony on your heartstrings. Move over, Netflix and Hulu – audiobooks are the new binge-worthy entertainment, and Elizabeth Evans is our auditory goddess.

"House of Sky and Breath" isn't just sexy and action-packed; it's a literary explosion that makes you rethink your life choices. Maas doesn't just write books; she crafts immersive universes where love is the key, and everything – and I mean everything – is possible. The wait for the third book? It's like waiting for a magician to reveal their final trick – torturous and exciting all at once. This will leave you spiraling for all the theories you can get your hands on, I know I have.

So, grab your headphones, dive into the world of Crescent City, and prepare to be mind-blown by the queen herself, Sarah J. Maas. Through love, all is possible, and through Maas, all is enchantingly unpredictable.

<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 bejeezus 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.

This book really solidified my attachment to these characters and I loved the new characters Introduced, particularly Baxian. Bryce was a little reckless at times and that frustrated me a bit and I found Hunt to be a bit whiney at times but nothing to turn me off from these characters. Ruhn carried this story for me though. I loved his character in the first book but in this second book, I just got so excited when I would get to a Ruhn POV section.

We had addition questions answered in the story regarding world buiding (BIG F-ing QUESTIONS might I add!!) and im excited to see how the story progresses into the next book with that wild cliffhanger of an ending!

I did feel like there was additional side plots that left me kind of like "was that really necessary" and questioning how it's going to fit into the storyline but I may be proved wrong in the next book, which is completely ok!

I am really glad I don't have to wait as long as everyone did to get more from that cliffhanger since aCC3 is out but that would have probably driven me a little crazy!

Also in the first book I was 100% shipping Bryce and Hunt and felt like they had such a great connection, but personally in this book I felt like their connection was a little lack luster and I just wasn't completely convinced of their relationship. I'm not totally sure how I felt about it but I wasn't feeling in that much in this book.

Overall I loved CC1 and didn't love this as much as that but nonetheless, I still really enjoyed it and the ending really boosted how I felt about it because of the excitement of where the next book will go!