SJM writes another amazing book with this. It’s got a great story, great characters, and is all around very interesting.

**3.5 STARS** Content Warning: Violence I have finally read the book and whew…it’s a long one at 805 pages. I love the cover, this series has good covers so far. Bryce and Hunt are solid in this sequel. There is no question about whether they are meant for each other, they are mates (I know SJM is all about fated mates). Nothing can come between them throughout this book and we see their relationship get to the next level. There are a bunch of spicy scenes between Bryce and Hunt with the signature mind and space altering sex that always happens in a SJM book. These two are ride or die, besties, lovers, partners forever and I’m glad about it but also I felt like okay now that we’ve established that, let’s move on in the story. 😅 The world building is as intricate as ever. This urban fantasy has everything in it: angels, demons, fae, shifters, wolves, mer, humans and everything in between. So I am impressed as ever with how vivid this world is. The side characters have a big, big role in this book. I’m glad Ruhn had a chance to shine in this one. I think he was my favorite in the book. Ruhn is really trying to figure out who he is without his apart from his royal Fae status and I appreciated his struggle. Also, I was so into his growing relationship with the mysterious Agent Day – I was actually thinking it reminded me of like an online relationship 😆, it made me laugh a little when things got spicy! But I love Ruhn. There are so many characters who got a spotlight: Tharion (the mer), Ithan (the wolf), Cormac (Fae Prince), Sofie and then some. And then some!!! There are sooo many characters and honestly I thought it was too many at one time. Cormac was okay-not very interesting, Tharion is to be determined…we shall see where his story goes and Ithan is that younger brother type role. Honestly by the middle of the book I was wondering why Bryce always surrounded by guys in this one? Where was the female friends I loved from book one?! Why was Fury and Juniper barely in this book? I was bummed about that. One of the reasons why I loved the first book was Bryce and her girlfriends. It’s almost at the end of the book when she longs for a female friend and finds a new one in Hypaxia, Ruhn’s fiance. Speaking of fiance…this is a fated mates story which means…everyone is going to find a mate by the end of this series. 💯 That’s a lot of fated mates lol. The story unfolds like a mystery with Tharion, being the main detective and then he drags Bryce and Hunt into the search . And for something so secret – it ended up being a whole group knowing the secrets! There is a LOT going on in this story and at one point when a character referred to Hunt as Athalar, I was like, who’s Athalar?! LMAO 🤣. I was like did someone new come into the conversation? I was so genuinely confused…that’s when I had to take a break on reading. Can’t they all just call him Hunt? Like everyone else was being called by their names except Hunt/Athalar/Orion. I have a hard enough time keeping the Princes of Hel straight – where is the character name list? I need one. The beginning is good with Sofie and then it got slow and some parts was just boring. There was so much dialogue about mundane things at times. I was hoping for more urgency in finding this child with Thunderbird powers. That story fizzled out into something else…but that was the main engine of the story until Danika’s breadcrumbs started to lead them to something more sinister. I wanted more action, maybe less of everyone’s point of view. I could have done without the romance dramas of everyone involved, but I get that this is a romance heavy urban fantasy. The whole story was about finding information and making all the pieces fit into the puzzle. When there was action, it was good and there is a major twist at the ending. I’m still trying to decide how I feel about it…I was like 😳😱. I almost wish this was one of those series that gave each character a book because it seems like Ruhn deserves one, Tharion, Ithan, Ariadne too probably, and Hypaxia also. And I can’t forget the Hind and her backstory as well! I did not read this in one sitting like I do with SJM books, it took me about 3 or 4 days. The writing is easy so at least it is easily devoured but like I said…there is so much going on. Why you should read it: *you are an SJM fan and already invested in the series *Bryce and Hunt steamy scenes for those who were waiting for it lol *some really good twists, especially the ending Why you might not want to read it: *long and wish it had more action *I think some characters need their own book to keep some of these installments shorter you will either love or hate the ending My Thoughts: I thought I would have read this in one day, even with the 800 page count but if I thought book one was a 4 star read, for me, this was a 3 star read but the ending bumped it up a little. But I wish it didn’t take 700 pages for me to be wowed by the book lol…the ending is a shocker for sure, and I will definitely read book three to see how that goes. I hope it goes beautifully but I also have my worries about it as well. Overall, a pretty good sequel with detailed world building as usual and characters I came to care about but there were spots that were little too slow for me. I loved that Ruhn had more of a spotlight and of course this will definitely make Bryce/Hunt fans super happy…well, for the most part. 🤭 Looking forward to book three…hopefully we don’t have too long.

Wow. I don’t even know where to start, except to BEG you to run to your nearest book retailer and pick up this series. Pick up all of Sarah J Maas’s series, as every single one of them is excellent and I have yet to read anything by her that I don’t absolutely love with all my heart. I’ve been following her career since the early Throne of Glass days, and seeing her find so much success and such a devoted fan base (one I’m proudly part of) that enables her to continue creating these incredible stories and equally spellbinding worlds? It brings me so much joy, and also a deep sense of kinship with the rest of the fandom who love her characters as much as I do. I’ll preface this actual review by saying I had already very confidently figured out two of the major reveals that are spelled out towards the end of the book. I guessed them early on (one I had figured out midway through HOEAB) and I have to admit - I had the audacity to feel disappointed because it had all just seemed so OBVIOUS to me and it didn’t seem like a typical SJM ending for there to be nothing crazy for me to gush over. That being said - despite those two mysteries having been pretty clear to me, I still LOVED the book. I loved the characters, I loved the dialogue, the internal struggles, the power moves, the sense of adventure the book carried through it. The way SJM writes fantasy, as always, is divine. The friendships and relationships snd love stories, as always, were poignant and touching, and they elevated HOSAB from a story about different types of magical beings living in a fantastical world to a story about the human condition and what it means to survive, what it means to sacrifice for something bigger than yourself, and what it means to truly love someone. So, even with those two reveals at the end not really being reveals to me, this story was so gorgeous that it was still a 5 star read for me. Now it seems like those reveals were red herrings of a kind, in that they kept the reader focused on those specific mysteries instead of wondering what else could be at play. BUT - then the real ending came, something that I never saw coming even ONCE and turned everything on its head so thoroughly that I had to eat all of those “disappointed feelings” with a monstrous slice of oh so humble pie because HOLY CRAP. THAT IS HOW YOU END ON A BIG REVEAL! It was fantastic. The ending was so surprising and delightful that I immediately wanted to run to everyone I knew and beg them to HURRY UP so we could talk about what this means! So well done and just so enjoyable in every single way. If you have been holding out on reading SJM and haven’t yet discovered what the fuss is about, I urge you to open up one of her books and find out for yourself why so many people are such devoted fans. Thank you for this beautiful second installment. I simply can’t wait to see what happens next!

The second of Crescent City Series, House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas certainly got intense and the ending of the book, unfinished, kept me wanting for more! The opening of the book with Sofie Renast was certainly interesting though I expected a different outcome for her. How Sofie got intertwined into the original story feels somewhat neat and seamless and actual continuation of the first book, House of Earth and Blood. There is definitely more depth added to the characters of Bryce, Hunt, Ruhn, Ithan, Tharian and Hypaxia. Agent Daybright kept me guessing until ruling out couple of other choices. It was an interesting reveal to me. Another interesting reveal was that of Baxian. Didn’t see things coming as they are with Celestina or what Tharian chose at the end. Addition of Ariadne and three fire sprite Malana, Rithi and Sasa was a nice touch. Also, interesting is the intro of Sigrid. Waiting to see how all of these character contribute the final plot and how it’s all going to end. Sarah J. Maas sure knows who to tell a story wonderfully and definitely a bold writer and I like her for that. Plot is at a very interesting point and can’t wait to finished the last and final part of the series, House of Flame and Shadow to know what happens. Looking forward to finish it soon. 🙂 Also, it’s great having kindle edition with the audio book. Enjoyed the narration by Elizabeth Evans with her adept narration for all the characters. The pace felt a bit slow and it was perfect to listen at the speed of 1.2x.