House of Sky and Breath - Crescent City Series

Raven Sharada
May 17, 2022
5 min read

House of Sky and Breath is the second instalment in Sarah J. Maas' Crescent City series, planned to be a trilogy. I read the first book, House of Earth and Blood, as my third book in the 100 book fantasy challenge. I was planning on waiting for House of Sky and Breath, mostly because I really don't like waiting for the next book in a series to come out, but I couldn't resist. It was on sale, ok? I started reading it on April 23, 2022 and finished April 26. Not a bad pace for an 800 page book. I enjoyed House of Sky and Breath more than I did the first book in the series.

Summary

Bryce Quinlan - art by Fernanda Fernandez

In House of Earth and Blood, we ended with (SPOILER ALERT) Bryce's powers being revealed as she made the Drop in an attempt to save Crescent City from a demon invasion. Fast forward a few months to the beginning of House of Sky and Breath, and she is trying to live a normal life - as normal as possible, anyway. A new Archangel has been assigned to Crescent City, and she seems to be trustworthy or at least kind. Bryce and Hunt are still living together but they've decided to wait until Winter Solstice to take their relationship any further. They both feel like everything went so fast during the murder investigations and their aftermath, they didn't really get a chance to know each other as friends, so they decided to take things slow. (I'll let you predict how long that lasts. I was taking bets for within the first two chapters.)

What's Important?

I couldn't find any fanart of the Asteri, so here's picture of Hunt by Sasha Lee Coleman for your enjoyment.

The story really starts to pick up in this one, making House of Earth and Blood seem a bit like a really long prologue with a mini-plot. The politics of not only Crescent City but the rest of Midgard (AKA the world) come into play in a way we didn't see in the previous novel. In House of Earth and Blood, we learned about how the Archangels work with the mysterious and extremely powerful Asteri (who are, allegedly, actual stars given form) and enslave parts of the population, enforcing strict class rules and keeping humans close to the bottom of the food chain. The Vanir, meanwhile, who are magical beings, are the next step up - most of them, anyway. Some sects of the Vanir population have been relegated to "low" status and basically enslaved or at the very least marginalized, as Lehabah was in the previous book. We see less of the low Vanir this time around, and focus a lot more on how the Archangels, Asteri, and Vanir are ruling and, perhpas, ruining Midgard. So the plot is really the most intense part of this book, though we also get to know some of the side characters from the previous book in greater detail, as well as some new characters - check out the fan art here :) featuring art by elizianna.the.one, Morgana0anagrom, faeriereverie, and sncinderart.

Rating

I give House of Sky and Breath 4 out of 5 stars, and 5 spicy peppers.

I held back a star because of a pretty petty reason, which is that it has a MASSIVE cliffhanger at the end and it ticked me off. I'm glad I read it, of course, but I really wish I had waited until the third book came out because now that cliffhanger lives rent free in my head until Sarah J. Maas (AKA Queen Maas) sees fit to write the next damn novel. 5 spicy peppers because...well, I'll let you figure that one out, shall I?

Anyway, cliffhanger notwithstanding, I really enjoyed reading House of Sky and Breath. It did require a bit of character mapping to keep track of everyone, as the cast of characters expands in this one, but I did learn more about the world and the characters, which is really what I'm looking for in a second novel in a series, and the plot was very engaging as well.

Before I head into my favourite quotes...

I have a question for y'all. I've realized that at the rate I'm posting (once or twice a week - I'm trying to be more consistent!), I won't be able to review all of the books I plan to read this year. So I had a thought - what if I only reviews a series as a whole after I've done reading it, rather than review each book individually? Or should I just write more? Let me know what you think in the comments :)

Ok, quotes now!

WARNING - language and spice below. Readers beware! Quote reading reccomended for those who have alread read the book or don't mind a teeny bit of spoil.

Ruhn Danaan knew three things with absolute certainty:

He had smoked so much mirthroot that he couldn't feel his face. Which was a damn shame because there was a female currently sitting on it.
He had downed an obscene amount of whiskey, because he had no idea what the female's name was, or how they'd gotten into his bedroom, or how he'd wound up with his tongue between her legs.
He really fucking loved his life. At least...right now.

- Do I need to explain why this is hilarious? It also gives us some insight into Ruhn's character at the beginning of the book.

Bryce lifted her chin and said to Cormac Donnall, lurking in the doorway, "If you're looking for How Not to Be an Asshole, it's shelved between Bye, Loser and Get the Fuck Out."

- I love Bryce :) she's so sassy.

"Because I'm a self-destructive, yet insanely charming idiot?" Flynn grinned. "Emphasis on insane," Dec muttered.

- Ruhn's roommates, Declan Emmett and Tristan Flynn. We get to know them better in this book, even though Dec played a fairly important role at the end of the last book.

"Well, fuck. He should have come up with a code name. He sure as Hel couldn't risk his own name or identity, but her wanted something cool, damn it."

- Ruhn being Ruhn. He's so funny and I love him.

"Because I'm the Super Powerful and Special Magic Starborn Princess," Bryce answered, wriggling her eyebrowns.

- Bryce and her sass again. A lovely new title she's given herself. Let's see how that works out, Bryce...

His mate. His. Ans he was hers. It wouldn't have surprised him if her name were stamped on his heart. He wondered if his own were stamped on the glowing star in her chest.

- THEY'RE MATES it's so cute! (Not that the entire fandom didn't see that coming...)

Hunt - a storm personified. Art by Carlosqzz003

Hunt was the heart of a storm personified. The lightning around him turned blue, like the hottest part of a flame.

- I know some people don't like Hunt, but I think he's really cool.

Wherever you're headed when this life is over, Quinlan, that's where I want to be, too.

- Once again, reasons I love Hunt.

You remind me of the wind...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.

- Bryce is a bit of a whirlwind.

"Snacks?" Fury said, but opened one of the rear doors. "You know," Bryce drawled, "garbage food that provides zero nutrition for our bodies, but lots of nutrition for our souls."

- This is the best definition of junk food I've ever seen.

Death is the only victor in war.

- Unfortunately, very true.

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

- Yet again, how do people not like Hunt???