on
3.5/5
Non-Fiction
- Get link
- Other Apps
Re-read for the third time in order to prepare for House of Sky and Breath to be released on 15 February.
Rating: 4.5/5
Started: 7 February 2022
Finished: 12 February 2022
Summary:
It's been two years since Bryce Quinlan stumbled home from a club to find her best friend's entire pack of wolf shifters ripped to shreds. Though she has done her best to resume her life, guilt and pain still shred at her daily. When she is approached by the ruler of her city with the command to reopen her friends case and hunt down the killer, she knows that the investigation will reopen wounds that she's not ready to face again. But with the persistent Hunt Athalar, the enslaved angel known as the Shadow of Death, assigned to protect and help her, Bryce has no choice but to go forward. The case is more complicated than it seemed at first, though, and as Bryce and Hunt slowly begin to trust one another—more than trust, really—they also must take risks with a whole new level of power, and a dangerous one at that.
Thoughts:
I know SJM has her issues, but this book is kind of brilliant. The world building is so alive, and the plot twists are genius. On top of that, though, something about this book is incredibly attractive to me. Maybe it has something to do with the beauty and power of all the characters, or maybe it's their confidence and wittiness. But regardless of all of the pain they experience, I honestly think I would choose to have their life rather than my own.
I think the urban city melded with fantasy is genius. It allows characters to use phones other modern tech, and helps readers enter the world with less of the confusion that a new fantasy world often creates, since the city setting is an easy in. but the little touches are also cool, especially in the flashbacks of how Danika and Bryce used to be normal best friends, having endless fun in the city. I'm not a huge fan of the big bad powerfuls, the Asteri, who have no character and sit on thrones in some unnamed uppity place and be powerful over everyone else. But the intricacies of different legions in the city, and a war far away, and other things like that, are super cool.
I also really do love the characters. I get Bryce's issues with having Alphaholes in her life, but I also kind of like the situations it brings about (horrible, I know). Maybe it's the idea of having someone around who can legitimately offer care and safety. There was a scene in HOEAB where Bryce went on a run, and since she knew Hunt was following her as per his orders, she felt safe enough to turn up her music all the way and just run. That really hit me. I can't just turn up my music all the way and run, because I am female, and that means risk. So maybe the draw of the alphahole is just that I could be, and have a person who truly would guarantee my safety, which would be such a relief. Bryce, obviously, is fantastic. She's so self-assured and quick witted. She's so cool. I'm endlessly glad SJM tried for a more Aelin-like character rather than a more Feyre-like one, since Aelin is so much cooler. Her badass-ness at the end of the book is freaking amazing. Hunt is relatively average, to be honest. He does a good job being the romantic interest, but I'm not super set on him being the one, though I am curious to see if he lasts. I think my prediction is that he dies, and then Bryce eventually ends up with the Demon of Hel that she summons for information. I like him. But I think that my favorite character might honestly be Fury. She's such a badass. Even really, really powerful people are afraid of her. She dresses in all black. She's the person who says "I'll take care of it," disappears, and the comes back later with everything sorted and the blood already washed off. I mean. Also, speaking of her, I think we might have our first actual lesbian relationship in all of SJM's soon to be 13 books, which I guess is good, even though it's been a long freaking time with way too many straight couples. But oh well. At least it's progress.
I'm super excited for the HOSAB to come out soon. I want to get more Bryce and Fury, and world building and relationships. I have a feeling (sadly) that we will end up with war scenes and a big power struggle, which sucks, since the detective thing is an absolute blast, but regardless, I look forward to seeing where the series goes next.
Words:
Diaphanous (adj) (especially of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent.