House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas, the second novel in the adult fantasy Crescent City series, was released on Feb. 15. Continuing the story of Bryce Quinlan and her group of friends and family, this novel begins to elaborate on the plot of the human rebellion against the all-powerful rulers, the Asteri, that Maas foreshadowed in the first book, House of Earth and Blood. The large cast of characters begins to realize that they are going to have a role in the war whether they would like to or not, and begin to make moves and take sides in preparation for the upcoming conflict.
In this latest book, protagonist Bryce has just saved the world and gained a wealth of power as a result. Now, she is trying to figure out how to go back to a somewhat normal life, even though she is a celebrity with a famous boyfriend and is a significant power player in her world.
Maas is known for a few things in her books: gut wrenching twists, older men with wings as the main love interest, and a woman who starts out ordinary but gains huge power that becomes the turning point in the war and which she eventually loses in a sacrifice. This has been the case in both of Maas’ previous series, Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses, and appears to be carrying through into the Crescent City series. These tropes are by no means unique for the fantasy genre, but Maas has the skill to make them exciting. Unfortunately, after so many fantasy books following similar plots, it is beginning to get repetitive and predictable.
House of Sky and Breath did have some great domestic moments between the cast, which helped humanize them and added to their relatability. It also nicely cut up the dramatic and action-heavy moments of the book, which was an appreciated break. In comparison to the first book, House of Sky and Breath gave readers more insight into the inner workings of the friend group and made it easier to differentiate between them, which is extremely helpful when there are so many characters. Maas’ redeeming of the evil characters in the previous book added a nice twist, but it was reminiscent of many of her past books.
With 15 books so far, it makes sense that Maas is getting somewhat repetitive. While House of Sky and Breath has a lot of similarities to previous books, the focus on female friendship and the change to a more modern world make this book unique enough to still enjoy, as do the shocking plot twists and quirky characters. In this book, Maas has added a final twist that should definitely be different than what we have seen before, connecting Crescent City with A Court of Thorns and Roses by sending Bryce into the world of the previous series. While an Easter egg in Kingdom of Ash, the final installment in the Throne of Glass series, showed protagonist Aelin falling through the other two worlds, there was never any real interaction. This seems to not be the case for the next books in the two newer series, since Bryce needs to get a lot of allies before coming back to her world for the war.
There are definitely connections to be made between House of Sky and Breath and Maas’ other novels, but they do not stop readers from being drawn into the novel and held there until the last page, in true Maas fashion. There are more than enough twists, adorable moments, and swords to keep readers interested and waiting impatiently for the next books.
Allison is starting her BA in English with a minor in Criminology to become a publishing contract lawyer. In her spare time, she watches way too many true crime shows and reads a lot of Y.A. fiction, while slugging along on various articles.