House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)

Author: Sarah J Maas
Pages: 805
Overall: 4.5/5
Setting: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4.5/5
Cheers Factor: 4.5/5
Pairing: Give Me Relief

I feel like the name of this cocktail feels like how I wanted the characters to feel. The drink is refreshing and pleasant and absolutely calming. The cucumber mixed with the botanicals of the gin are great. But truly I wanted the characters to have some sense of relief and knowing Sarah we would get nothing of the sort for our band of characters and in her style she did indeed deliver.

"And every horror, every nightmare...all of it had been worth it for her."


Ingredients
-2 oz empress gin
-½ oz simple syrup
-cucumber slices
-mint sprigs
-soda water
-ice

Instructions
-Put 4-5 cucumber slices in a glass with simple syrup and a few mint leaves and muddle
-Add in gin and stir with stirring spoon
-To a rocks glass put ice and add optional garnish of cucumber slices to ice
-Strain gin into glass and top with soda water
-Add optional mint sprig garnish
-Enjoy responsibly

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Take a Shot: After the shocking events of book one we catch back up with our cast of characters as they attempt to return to a normal life, however they are destined for anything but when a new Archangel is set to take control of Lunathion and Bryce ends up betrothed to a distant cousin. Things are never boring for our frat pack plus Bryce and Hunt and they certainly will continue to surprise.


"Team Survive at All Costs - that was her team. She didn't care if that made her a coward."


Setting
I love Crescent City. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again I love it. I also really loved the additions we get to see of Tharion’s lodgings and his court as well as some of the other locales we get to visit like the submarine type ship that our band of characters gets to travel on.


"​"You'd be surprised what people will stomach when they find their families threatened."

Characters
I absolutely love that we get more of the side characters. I knew it was going to happen similar to Throne of Glass, but was so incredibly excited to get more of Flynn, Declan, Ruhn, Tharion and Ithan. I also loved the new characters we got to meet like The Hellhound, The Harpy, The Hind and the rest of their crew. It was nice to get their introductions and to also see them interact in the same space as many of the characters we became accustomed to in the last book.

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


Plot and Themes
I thought the book was a little slow at points I won’t lie. It took me a beat to really get into it. I did love the new storyline we got and the deeper we get into the Asteri and their story it was truly illuminating. I also loved the introduction of Cormac and all his motivations that bled into those of our main characters. It was very well woven to bring all the characters together in true SJM fashion. She is a master of melding plots and themes together and I cannot speak highly enough about the way she does all this and it is something to be admired and studied in order to replicate to the best of one’s abilities so that all books may feel as clever as her plots.

"The dead have little reason to lie."

Overall
I did indeed feel shocked at the end even though I had been spoiled prior to reading it. I really loved this book and loved all the new antics our crew got up to. I won’t say this is my favorite series of Sarah’s but I can say that if recency bias says anything it’s my favorite for the moment by way of both books in the series have both thoroughly enticed me. I recommend this series to anyone I come across and will continue to do so.

Too Strong: Some slow pacing
Reasons to Raise a Glass: RUHN. FUCKING. DANAAN. That’s all. I mean Hunt too, and Flynn but mainly RUHN. FUCKING. DANAAN.


"Males will always try to control the females who scare them. Marriage and breeding are their go-to methods."

Warning spoilers ahead if you click read more. Proceed at your own risk.

"I'm really glad you're my sister."


THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK PISSED ME OFF. I hate a cliffhanger because I’m negatively patient. I have to say I’m so worried for what happens to Ruhn in the hands of the Asteri with Hunt at their disposal. I’m praying Sarah’s editors put a kibosh on it based off her most recent interviews where she is like you should be worried. I really hope Lydia attempts to save him and is successful. Also there has to be a bonus for Ruhn having given Bryce the stone. I 100% know he will be able to get into contact with ehr. I swear though if I have to read 600+ pages of Bryce in Prythian whil waiting for her to get back for the last 400 pages in Lunathion I will throw up my hands and it will not be pretty. Like I desperately want them all to have some kind of happy ending and they deserve that.

"She will be a good princess as you are a good prince."

    I also want to see how Aelin will fit into this. If Sarah doesn’t include her I will be angry but I doubt that. However, I’ll be curious if she is the same age. We have pretty clearly established that Nyx is still an infant when Bryce lands in Prythian so Bryce is older than Feyre but not by much but I think it would be nice to have Aelin be older. I think as Sarah’s first female heroine it would be very poetic to have her be the unofficial leader of them all and be the one who started it all. However, obviously we are all speculating at this point as we are all waiting 18-24 months for the next book which makes me physically nauseous to be quite honest. I hope she’s planning to release something in the intermittence because I don’t know how I will make it to nearly 25 having to wait for this next book.

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

    I also don’t think I want to wait that long to figure out what happens to Hunt, Ruhn and Baxian. I also can’t wait that long for Elain’s book. I really really really hope Elain has some big importance with this Crescent City crossover. I hope that her being a seer has stayed and she’s able to have some powers and be the bad bitch we all know she is in these cross overs because I can’t keep pinning my hat on Elriel with all this Gwynriel push. I shall simply combust if we don’t get an Elriel ending.



"Ruhn said, shining with pride, 'Long live the Queen.'"