House of Sky and Breath Review by Sarah J. Maas

It’s no exaggeration for me to say that House of Sky and Breath is/was my most anticipated book of 2022. I devoured it as fast as I could and here’s my House of Sky and Breath review for your viewing pleasure.

If you are anything like me, you were sitting there on Monday, February14th at a minute to midnight on the East Coast (which happens to be 9 PM for me) waiting for the e-book release.

I refreshed my email I don’t know how many times in the minutes following 9 PM until 9:05 when the email finally came that my e-book had arrived.

Without reservation or hesitation, I hit that download button and began to dive into what will end up being probably the most epic book I read all year.

If you had a similar experience, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. As we get ready to dive into my House of Sky and Breath review, I want you to know that I’ve divided into a spoiler-free and spoiler discussion section.

Read the spoiler one at your own risk, but it’s primarily a place for me to gush with others who have finished and NEED to talk about it.

House of Sky and Breath Review – Spoiler-Free

House of Sky and Breath starts with a prologue. I hate prologues. I especially hate starting book 2s and 3s with unfamiliar characters. Like, I’ve been dying to get back into this world and you start me with some seemingly unrelated crap.

I digress.

House of Sky and Breath picks up about 3 months after the events of House of Earth and Blood. Bryce and Hunt have been laying low like Rigelus, the Bright Hand, has ordered them to do.

In the opening chapters, there’s a lot of “You’ve got to be kidding me moments” and it thankfully doesn’t suffer from the same info-dump as House of Earth and Blood.

Pretty quickly, we realize how vital the prologue was to the rest of the book as our characters get wrapped up tangentially in Ophion, the human rebellion.

Up until this point, the human rebellion has just been talked about, but we haven’t seen any of them, except perhaps the fanatic Phillip Briggs. Now we’re starting to meet some operatives who all go by codenames like Agent Silverbow and Agent Daybright.

We’re also given the real name of one, Pippa Spetsos, who is the worst and most fanatical of the Ophion rebels. Aside from the Asteri, Pippa becomes a sort of antagonist within House of Sky and Breath that you’ll learn to loathe.

The bulk of the book is spent searching for a small boy believed to have a very rare magical talent that the Asteri thought they completely wiped out. This is similar to how they spent the majority of the time hunting for Danika’s killer and Luna’s Horn in House of Earth and Blood.

If you were coming into House of Sky and Breath expecting there to be a war going on (like me), you’ll be sorely disappointed. This is another book where 80% of it is spent at Bryce’s apartment gathered around a coffee table talking about where to find the boy.

I make it sound boring, but rest assured that it’s anything but. House of Sky and Breath is more riveting and immersive than the first.

My only complaint is that, while still plenty jaw-dropping, the ending lacked all the feels I got from Bryce killing Micah, destroying demons single-handedly, and making the Drop with Danika’s ghost.

House of Earth and Blood is the better book, but House of Sky and Breath still delivers on everything that you wanted in a sequel, and ends in such a way that’s sure to leave you needing Book 3 like tomorrow.

House of Sky and Breath Review – Spoiler Discussion

Before we continue, I must warn you that everything hereafter is a spoiler. If you have not read House of Sky and Breath, read at your own risk.

You have been fairly warned.

And I think I’ve put enough space on the page that you can’t accidentally have ended up here.

Onward.

Cormac, A New Love Interest?

When Cormac first entered the scene, I was like “Heck, no!”

I have been disturbed (not sure that’s the right word?) about SJM’s tendency to never allow the main character to fall in love with the first love interest and stay together. And I loved Hunt, so much so that I was extremely nervous for 2 whole years that SJM would pull the same crap.

And when HOSAB opened up with “What’s going on with you and Hunt, darling?” I was like NOOOOOOooooooo………

House of Sky and Breath Review

And then we’re introduced to Cormac who Bryce is going to be forced to marry and I immediately felt a Rhysand situation coming on. Like Feyre hated him at first, too.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long until we found out that Cormac was Agent Silverbow–which can I say was the first major “I did not see that coming” moment of House of Sky and Breath?–and that he was in love with Sophie, who everyone thought could still be alive at that point.

This let off some of the pressure, plus some other signs that Bryce and Hunt were fine, gave me a brief measure of relief.

Sophie and Emile Renast, the Thunderbirds

Did anyone else feel like the whole Sophie and Emile plotline was a giant waste of space?

Like, I get that we needed to have some involvement with the human rebellion, but couldn’t SJM have chosen a more interesting angle?

Let me rephrase, the thunderbird concept (especially given what we now know about the Asteri needing firstlight to charge them like batteries) was actually pretty awesome.

The disappointing part was that in the end, Sophie really did die in the prologue, and Emile wasn’t a thunderbird at all, making him all but useless to anyone.

So why did we spend 50% of the book looking for a kid who has absolutely nothing to bring to the table? I just felt like it was a huge waste of space.

The hunt for Danika’s killer and Luna’s Horn at least led to some pretty awesome stuff.

One might argue that we needed to know about the room in the Asteri Archives, but Danika knew about the room already. Surely they could have found something to indicate that what lay beyond that door was earth shattering without actually needed Sophie to go in there.

I don’t know, I was super into the book the whole time, so this isn’t a negative mark on my enjoyment of the reading process. It is, however, a point against my overall fulfillment for my investment.

Ruhn and Agent Daybright

Can I say that the interactions between Ruhn and Daybright might have been my favorite moments of the entire book?

I was theorizing who Daybright could be the whole book. I started off thinking it was Hypaxia because we’ve already been duped by her once and she had been absent earlier on.

Next I thought it could be Celestina, because she seemed really eager to make amends, and she was best friends with Shahar, Hunt’s beau of old.

But then right around the time of the Ydra confrontation I began to suspect the Hind might truly be Agent Daybright.

SJM tried to dissuade me from this belief during the Autumnal Equinox by having Ruhn run into the Harpy at the meeting spot followed by the Hind closing in from the opposite direction, making it look like the Harpy and the Hind were working in concert to trap him.

But I saw right through it, and that all but confirmed my suspicions as I now believed the Hind was coming to meet him.

I must admit that at this point, I Googled my suspicions because I’m terrible at waiting. I wasn’t expecting to find anything, the book having only come out the previous day, but I did, and I was right, and I felt soooooo good about it.

I absolutely loved the reveal when the Hind saved the day, and I was torn to shreds when Ruhn refused to answer her mental calling as they stood before Rigelus.

I cannot WAIT to see more “Night and Day” interactions in the next Crescent City book.

Crossover Incoming

All right, we can’t have a House of Sky and Breath review without talking about the ending, right?

Unfortunately, the final chapter was less impactful to me because it was spoiled for me. Someone somehow let leak the last page of the book about 6 days before the book released, and some inconsiderate idiot thought it would be fun to post about it online.

Like, seriously, how insanely messed up do you have to be to want to intentionally ruin someone’s enjoyment like that?

I actually didn’t learn about the spoiler then, as I’d caught wind of it before actually seeing the image. All that to be accidentally spoiled in a discussion thread where I wrongly assumed that most people were behind me in reading because I literally did not stop reading House of Sky and Breath for nearly two whole days.

What we learned on that final page was that Bryce transported herself, not to Hel as she expected, but to Prythian, seemingly right onto the pristine lawn of Rhysand and Feyre’s new home.

Azriel discovers her and takes Bryce to the apartment they often use for their own “coffee table pow wows” and everyone else shows up.

It seems that the Starborn sword is a sister weapon to Azriel’s’s dagger, and when Bryce meets Rhysand, she remarks that he looks a lot like Ruhn.

Of course, we learned that all the Fae from Crescent City actually came through a portal much like the one Bryce went through, and the Prythian Fae very likely are direct relatives of the Starborn line from Midgard.

This is some pretty next level stuff, but I’m not all that surprised.

Why?

Well, it’s a fantasy trend to write big massive franchises. I mean, heck, R.A. Salvatore is on book 40 something of the Drizzt series. Brandon Sanderson has his Cosmere of interconnected worlds. And apparently SJM intends to connect all her series.

Wait, I thought this was just a Crescent City and ACOTAR thing? If you think she won’t bring Aelin and Rowan into this, you’re not thinking far enough forward.

We already know that the Worlds of Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses have connected once before. Aelin saw Feyre and Rhysand in her world crossing experience at the end of Kingdom of Ash.

There is absolutely no reason to not believe that SJM is going to bring Aelin and Rowan into the fight, too.

The real question is whether Crescent City is the end game. Are the Asteri the biggest baddies, like Thanos in Avengers?

Or are the Asteri just a villain for Crescent City? Because by all accounts, Crescent City is only going to be a 3 book series. Personally, I think we’ll see a 4th book. After all, there are 4 major houses.

Even so, it would seem incredibly rushed to bring in both Feyre and Aelin in Crescent City Book 3, and a total let down to bring in Aelin in Book 4 only to end the series.

My best guess is that we’ll see the end of the Asteri in Book 4, but the introduction of a new threat that will require all six of our major heroes to defeat in a yet unannounced series.

These are just my guesses of course. But now that a crossover is confirmed, I would expect to see Aelin and Co. enter the fold before too long.

House of Sky and Breath Review – Final Thoughts

Let me end my House of Sky and Breath review by saying that I loved this book, but still think House of Earth and Blood is the better book.

Since I gave House of Earth and Blood a 5/5 rating, I feel like I am obligated to at least give a 4/5 stars for House of Sky and Breath.

Why? Well, because I still felt so incredibly unsatisfied with the major plot of finding Emile. It’s really the only complaint and my only reasoning for docking a star.

What about you? What are your thoughts?

70 thoughts on “House of Sky and Breath Review by Sarah J. Maas

  1. It’s Azriel who finds Bryce not Rhysand, just like its Az’s dagger Truth Teller that is the sister weapon to the Starsword. Just wanted to say that.

    1. Thank you, I updated the review. I had a hard time following who was who considering that Bryce doesn’t know any of them.

  2. I think when all the series and its characters are connected, It is gonna be like Spiderman: No Way Home. Pretty damn sure it is gonna be EPIC!

  3. But are we suuure Emile doesn’t,t have powers? Sophie was hit with a gorsian bullet which nullifies powers but yet something brought the ships down. So either Emile does have powers and he and Bryce are hiding them to keep him safe or thunderbirds aren’t affected by gorsian stone. Guess we shall see.

    1. That’s what I thought too! Or that the whole Thunderbird plot line has something to do with Hunt’s power that will be revealed in book 3, since there were the comments about him being “bred” — what is the difference between his power and a “thunderbird” , really anyway, since the thinderbirds don’t seem to literally transform into a bird right? Just that Hunt doesn’t take electricity from first light, he has his own internal reservoir? And what exactly was so dangerous about them that the asteri had to wipe them out to extinction? Clearly they are a direct threat, not just because they are dangerous (Hunt and others’ powers are super dangerous too), but somehow specifically dangerous to the asteri who need to eat first light. So, I think either Emile will play a big rolw in that, or it will turn out that Hunt can do something similar. Even though that plot detour seemed weird and time consuming, I think it has bigger implications for the next books.

        1. At some point Aidas said something about Hunt wearing a dark crown or something…there was also what Jesiba said in the previous book while she was with Aidas in his cat form, that Hunt’s father would be proud of him

  4. I did not expect the merging at all as I (thankfully) did not see any spoilers online. I legit choked on my coffee when he said “my name is rhysand”. I was listening to the audio book and I believe it was way more dramatic compared to reading it. AMAZING

  5. I literally scream bloody murder when reading the last chapter. And when feyre come in the picture. I already having a fit. And with the last line. I’m dead.

    1. I dropped to my knees screaming and my boyfriend thought I was literally dying. Great experience lol. #survivorofmaasdestruction

  6. This is more of a question to talk about with others. Does anyone else think Hunt could be half fae and half Illyrian? He has wings and Mordoc said he’s never smelled an angel like him as well as the fact him and Bryce can be mates across breeds. Once Rhysand was introduced I was very curious about that. But overall I agree, I felt as though this book was great, but there was no large moment for me. The first book had me in tears and on the edge of me seat for like the last 1/3 of the book.

    1. That’s an excellent point. I did remember Mordoc saying he didn’t smell like an Angel. I briefly considered him being a half breed but as what I didn’t stop to consider. Hunt being the same as an Illyrian didn’t even cross my mind because the crossover wasn’t confirmed until the final chapter.

      Up until that point, my brain was still separating the books as two separate stories without overlap.

      Someone else pointed out that Cormac’s teleporting is the same thing as winnowing. So we are definitely starting to understand how the two worlds are the same race/lineages.

      1. It was also discussed multiple times by Rigelus, by the Prime of the Wolves, by Bryce how the wolves were once more, once fae that could also shift into animals. I think this is how SJM is going to tie in ToG. Sounds a lot like the fae like Aelin & Rowan that have magic as well as an animal form.

      2. When the princes of the pit first brought up Hunts heritage to Bryce, I thought he may be half demon. And then when he drew power from the dead gate I reassessed and thought maybe he is half thunderbird because he could draw energy like that. But whatever his genealogy, he doesn’t seem Illyrian or half fae because of the specific way his powers are and his gray wings. I just don’t think half fae would make sense from the hints so far.

    2. I didn’t think of Hunt as being part Illyrian because he has feathery wings instead of bat wings, more closely related to the Seraphim or the other soldiers from the other land (I can’t remember their name who joined the battle). Bryce’s power is also very similar to the Day Court. I also thought about how she siphoned from the gates so like all Vanir and could have multiple untapped powers like Feyre since she was given power from every court. I think the Court of Dreams will be integral in helping her harness her power.

    3. I’m acotar there are another species of winged fae, the seraphim, who have feathered wings, what if hunt is part seraphim?

    4. I think it’s more likely that Hunt is related to the Seraphim or the Peregryns considerings his wings are made of feathers and not leathery like the Illyrians

    1. Someone said somewhere that Sarah is working on CC3 before the next ACOTAR book. Meaning that 2023 should bring CC3. But I don’t know how legit that rumor was.

  7. I can’t lie, I devoured the book. We immediately recognize Sarah’s voice in writing. It’s steamy, heavy and filled with turns. But all too many times I felt like I was zooming out and losing interest. I agree on the Sophie/Emile thing, overplayed. But kind of also felt the same with Pippa and the whole rebel cause. I suspect that Pippa’s death makes room for Bryce’s comeback as a leader of the rebellion.
    It feels like the whole book was predictable? Quite early on I would have guessed that The Hind was Agent Daybright because that is what would seem most like Sarah’s style of plotting. If she hadn’t been doing the love spin on Celestina and Hypaxia it could have been Celestina as well.
    Danika and Bryce had their ‘final talk’ at the end of the previous book and it seemed as if they cleared the air. But now all these WHOLE new life-changing stuff is discovered.
    I love the idea of a crossover as much as the next person however I can’t see how she’ll successfully bind this all together. Each series has their own characters who the readers root for and want to see happy. The only end that would be acceptable to the readers will be that all our key characters will be alive and well, in communication and prospering. And all of a sudden the climax of this series becomes predictable.
    Just seems like Sarah does what she likes most, forming unexpected mating bonds and throw in surprise. Compare this work with the TOG series, which had foreshadowing to no end, this series seems to be inventing things as they go.

    1. You bring up a lot of really great points. Especially about needing all the main characters alive. Which would cheapen the experience because really someone needs to die. She’s already brought back both Feyre and Rhys from death and a lot of people have been both glad and upset at the decision.

  8. What about Ithan and the mystic Alpha Wolf? Isn’t interesting that THIS was the epilogue?
    And is Hunt having the memory wiped?
    All in all, a great book, 5 stars for me.
    P.S. When I’ve read Rhysand name, I’ve re-read the whole scene with new eyes

    1. I know a lot of people really liked Ithan, but I just didn’t really care for him. I was actually really happy when SJM “killed him off” simply because she doesn’t let her characters die enough. Not everyone is an invincible shield. I mean, his throat was torn out. You don’t come back from that. But she made it happen. And it annoyed me.

    2. I was thinking that Hunt was having the slavery tattoo rebranded on his forehead during that scene and maybe passed out? Hoping he did not have his memory wiped.

  9. Question which is probably a dumb question but why can’t they understand Bryce at the end? What language is everyone speaking that part confused me!

    1. They share a common language in the Ancient Fae, but as would be expected after the two worlds diverged 15,000 years prior, their languages developed differently. So they just have two totally different languages. But since their ancestors were the same, they share that old language.

  10. What if starfall ties the 3 series together? The shooting stars (the lights we see during starfall) are actually passing spirits or people from one realm to the next? Like Aelin did as she was traveling and glimpsed Rysand and Feyre? Or what if the Under King and the Asteri are the reason why starfall is decreasing each year as Rys tells Feyre? “Less and less are passing each year”? This being due to the Asteri feeding on the second light/souls of the dead? A stretch maybe, but an interesting thought?

    1. That’s an interesting theory! I have a random thought to add – maybe the fire sprites in CC are actually from that forest in Aelin’s world ?

  11. I feel like I need to reread all three of the series again with fresh, more informed eyes. Then create a giant clue board to piece things together.
    I feel like Bryce’s time in Prythian won’t be long, but she will also probably find herself in Erilea as well. Since Rigelus basically says that all of the shifters and Fae are descended from Fae from different worlds. Since in Erilia (ToG) all of the Fae have an animal form, I’m assuming that is where the wolves and other shifters are from. And since Bryce says the Rhys looks exactly like Ruhn, the CC Fae must be Prythian originally.
    There has been fan theory about a missing “Dusk” Court in ACOTAR so many speculate that the “Dusk” file references this court and where the Asteri took Fae from to breed them in CC.

    1. I wouldn’t expect Bryce in Prythian very long either. She will have to get back to deal with the Asteri threat. I wouldn’t be surprised if Feyre and Rhys don’t actually go with her. They *might* send Az or Cassian, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they just arm her with tools or knowledge or something.

      I would imagine that a full on team-up won’t occur until a future series.

      You’ve got all valid thoughts and I look forward to seeing how everything unfolds.

      1. I think that the number 7 is really important in the CC books. Seven (original) Asteri, seven planets in their solar system, Seven Princes/levels of Hel, and seven High Lords of Prythian. I think the seven High Lord’s and their armies are going to go back with Bryce and overthrow the Asteri along withe the Princes of Hel

        I think that in this battle Helion will be killed and Lucien will become High Lord of the Day court which has felt like unfinished business from the ACOTAR series.
        I haven’t come up with other theories yet. I love your review and all the comments.

      2. There are multiple mentions in both CC books about fae lore that says “when the sword and the knife are reunited so shall our people be”. Rigelus tells Bryce that they weren’t going to Hel and that there was another world that had more magic that they wanted to go to first.

  12. I think that hunt may not be full angel since we never learned who his father was and it was said that jesiba and Adidas both knew hunts father. I think hunts father maybe someone from throne of glass.

  13. The prison is the dusk court. The harp is the other object that allows travel between worlds, the other object referenced by the horn. The people who died there were trapped in sealing it off from Midgard.

  14. I think Emile has powers and Bryce is hiding that information or Randall and Ember will find out through Randall’s training.

  15. I think that Hunt’s father is Thurr – who is the God of thunder/storms – which is basically “Thor.”
    Because at the end of the first book SJM addressed the mystery of his parentage and then in this book Bryce had several encounters with statues of Thurr and the the whole Project Thurr thing. But it is still left unexplored.

    I am really hoping that SJM doesn’t pull her usual style of never letting the main character be with the first love interest. Her and Hunt are equally matched and a great couple! It would really ruin the whole thing for me if she splits them up.

    1. She won’t split them for two reasons: they are true mates and there is a pattern. I see a parallel between Bryce’s, Feyre’s and Aelin’s love interest. Full theory bellow!

      Technically Hunt is not her first love interest. She had a non-important one with Reid (similar to the human boy from Feyre’s village (Isaac) and similar-ish to Dorion for Aelin) and a love interest, Connor, that wrecked her when he died (not forgetting that her big lost was Danika, of course) and eventually led her to her true mate (similar to how Tamlin’s possessiveness and fears wrecked Feyre and led her to Rhys, not forgetting that she was broken iniatially because of Amarantha; and similar to how Chaol’s treason wrecked Aelin and led her to Rowan, not forgetting that Nehemia’s death was the main source of her despair).

  16. Just a chain of thoughts …
    Azriel’s dagger is twin with Starsword, right? Obviously they had some of a shared world or history, whatever in the past.
    You know, in the book, a court of silver flames, about the dread troves. 3 times are known.
    And when Nesta & Cassian visit the prison to retrieve the harp, Lanthys shows some illusions to Nesta, and she sees the 4th dread trove. Is that possible , the 4th dread trove is the horn?!? That Bryce has it on her body now?!?

    With the 4th item reunites with 3 others, they might be able to do something spectacular?!?

  17. I’m totally and 100%agreed with your both reviews… almost…. and my thoughts are exactly same as yours… as you said it’s very SJM like that she had changed the love interests of her Female MCs in her previous series so I was waiting for the shoe to drop but I didn’t for a second think that he will be Cormac but I thought somewhere at some point she would turn toward Ithan but well as you see we were both wrong….
    About Agent Day Bright my thoughts are exactly same as that of your I got same feelings like yours…
    Now about the crossovers yeah it’s highly likely that SJM might include Aelin and group in this and if you remember the time when Rigelius was telling Bryce and group several things he mentioned that The Shifter in the Midgard are also the descendants of Fae but those Fae were differt from the Fae from whom the Fae of Midgards descended… the Forefathers of shifter were the Fae who can shapeshift but so I think it’s the mention of Rowan And all from Erilea….

    1. Someone else mentioned the fact that Rowan and co are Fae shifters too. Makes sense to me that that’s how she plans to bring in TOG

      1. Yeah that’s what I think…. another thing I noted that the fact that this series has a feel like TOG, plot wise…. like Erawen, Astries wanted their brethren to enter in Midgard and all they needed the means to open the portal as Valg needed wyrdkeys… Astries using species as their life source while Erawen used species in Erilea to breed their freeks and to possess them…. and as for Sophie and Emile I think they are plot as Sorcha to set events in motion but as far as Emile’s power are concerned for all I know Bryce might be lying because I noted that she is as good a schemer and manipulator as Aelin… ????

  18. Moreover it’s been a week since i finished the book but I’m still reeling…. I would like to say this book will be the epic of the of the year with it’s heart stopping twists and turns and mind blowing revelations and the way SJM like to drop bombs chapter after chapter… well it’s going to be a best book…

    1. I absolutely agree. It will still probably be one of my most favorite books of the year. Even if I did rate lower than 5 stars. That was more in comparison to House of Earth and Blood than it was in relation to other books. I might rate another 5 stars but still enjoy HOSAB more.

  19. Ahhh I finally finished this a couple days ago and it was one of the best surprises I have had from a book in a long time. I am actually about to start Throne of Glass now because I had not known about it when I started ACOTAR, so it’s cool to learn that Feyre and Rhys show up briefly in it. I agree that the thunderbird thing was off. I also felt that Tharian running to the Viper Queen was weird? I also was not a fan of the dragon. She was a huge letdown and I honestly expected her to play more of a role. Maybe in CC3?

    1. I should probably clarify that statement that Feyre and Rhys don’t so much as make an appearance as Aelin just sees them off in the distance during a scene where “she beholds lots of other worlds”

  20. I hoped after the relatively predictable plot of CC2 that something like this would salavage the day, but didn’t see the crossover untill I walked right into Azrael eyes and I knew. The book is interesting but I felt the whole time like it is a bridge to the next phase of Bryce and the war in Midgard. I still think SJM will pull one on Bryce pairing. Towards end of CC2 and most of it anyway, Athalar seemed muted and his role dim. And was his memory wiped out by Rigelus? Meanwhile, Bryce is reeling but still notices Azrael. Their first encounter is brief but intense. Also, Azrael is unmated. He could match Bryce’s intensity and I felt like his potential is wasted in acotar. Plus he is royal, a bastard but royal. SJM could step him up starting with being first to bring in Bryce. Could just be wishes though…

    1. A Bryce/Az matchup would be interesting but one again SJM never sticking with a first love. It makes her predictable. I think she needs to keep Hunt just to shake that stigma she’s developed.

  21. YES my theory is that Hunt is like the Prythian Fae, who I believe have a firstlight reservoir in their blood, BECAUSE I think Amren is Asteri and she has to drink blood to stay alive/power her.

  22. Great review! Just finished both books in the last week. I definitely enjoyed this book (especially the ending). My one complaint is having more reveals about Danika has cheapened the bond between her and Bryce, in my opinion. Her secrets about Synth worked in the first book because it was a fairly recent development and hella dangerous. However, finding out she’s been keeping all of these huge secrets from Bryce for 2 years? Especially her having a mate. I know there’s a throw-away line about how Bryce wouldn’t like it if Danika was mated to Baxian, but why? It’s not like Bryce knew Hunt and his biases about Baxian 2 years ago. What difference would it have made? One of their friends in their circle is a mercenary. Makes me wonder if they were ever really best friends in Danika’s eyes, and after the heartwarming ending of Crescent City with her and Danika’s chat, this book unraveled a lot of that bond to me.

    Sidenote: I, too, hope she sticks with Hunt just to shake up the SJM standard, but I hard core ship Bryce and Aidas, especially after learning about his romance with the previous starborn queen. Plus I just find him so much more interesting than Hunt!

    1. I completely agree! I was a little taken aback by dragging Danika back through this. It was a perfect ending in Book 1, no need to mess with that. I think SJM wanted to give Bryce sufficient motivation to see this through, and for some reason, only Danika can do that. Should she have found another motivator? Yes. But that’s my guess as to why use Danika again.

  23. When I heard the line “my name is Rhysand” I had to google who he was because my mind was so focussed on CC that I thought “okay where have they mentioned him in the book seems like I can’t remember” and then my mind was blown! Reading this I also realized that I did not realize that there already was a crossover between the other two series as I read ToG first. Now I am really looking forward to all this!
    Also I don’t think that Maas will split Bryce and Hunt since they are already linked as mates (don’t know the word used in english) and the typical “you think you know who she loves but then…” kinda already happened imo with Connor even if it was a brief moment.

  24. I’ve just finished the second book having re-read all of TOG and ACOTAR and I only have a few theories/queries:

    When Rhysand meets Bryce is this before or after Nyx’s birth? I would think after.

    Gywdion was an amazing touch, having been “lost” but also mentioned that it was to overthrow the Daglan? Could these be the Asteri under another name?

    I think Hunt has been rebranded along with Baxian (side note: I do wonder why it was never mentioned sooner that he was Danika’s mate considering others would have smelt the change on her potentially? I know they slightly discussed this but Ithan would have been near her and recognised it?) and I think CC3 will be about how he can “break” this though from all accounts it sounds as if Celestina and Hypaxia have stepped back to protect themselves so I’m unsure if Hypaxia will be able or willing to replicate this again?

    It does appear that SJM will be collating all of the books storylines and I’m looking forward to the next book even if Ithan’s ending was a little lackluster…

  25. I’ve re-read the CC books, ACOTAR, and ToG a few times now to make connections between all of them. So, here they are:

    1- Ruhnn Mountains (ToG) was Ruhn Danaan (Bryce’s brother, CC) named after them??

    2- The Walking Dead book that Aelin used in ToG is definetly the same The Walking Dead that Bryce used while fighting against Micah.

    3- Ruhn Danaan (CC) is he Rhysand + Feyre’s son, Nyx??? (ACOTAR)

    4- Fae shifters from ToG are definitely the shifters on Midgard (CC)

    5- Bryce and Aidas mates???

    6- Is Hunt’s father Apollion?? (7th Prince of Hel, Star-Eater)

    7- Is Ruhn’s mother Rhysand’s thought to be dead sister??

    8- Rhysand Danaan sounds right as his last name . . . after all, Rhyand’s last name was never revealed . . .

    9- SJM going to bring all the High Lord’s and Prince’s of Hel to fight the Asteri?? I think very much so.

    10- Some people were saying that the Autumn King in CC might be Lucien . . . I personally highly doubt it, but it’s still possible.

    11- If SLM somehow brings Danika back from the dead, I’m done with reading these books.

    12- And if SJM splits up Bryce and Hunt . . . . I am never reading another one of her books again, I’m sorry.

    13- What if Amren is ASTERI? Or their slave/protector/soldier-monster-creature thing?!

    I have more theories. I am far from done.

  26. Hey!! I’m back with more!! A few more theories after re-reading CC once again!!

    1- Hunt might not be END GAME!!!! Remember when the Oracle warned Hunt to stay away from Bryce!? The Oracle might have been warning Hunt because they knew they wouldn’t end well! (If this happens I might very well cry)

    2- Hunt might die in the next CC book . . . a lot of people believe so, and honestly I don’t believe SJM wouldn’t NOT go that far.

    3- Ruhn might die??? Honestly this was a HUGE debate between me and my friends who I read all the SJM books with, and we all eventually agreed that SJM might kill him off because someone very close to Bryce is definitely going to die. (Even though Danika and the Pack of Devils already died)

    4- Pack of Devils might come back as ghosts. This is a theory my friend brought up because they might come back to help out Bryce in maybe the upcoming war we all know is coming. This would honestly exhaust the plot, and I think at that point there would be so much going on in the book that it would just be a bit tacky.

    5- Aidas, Rhysand and Bryce might fight off Rigelus together? As we all know, Rhysand and the Inner Court might be brought into this war to help Bryce, and Aidas (as well as all of Hel) are going to help fight off the Asteri. So that big fight between them might happen.

    6- Aelin and her court going to somehow be brought into these books as well to help in the war? Seeing as SJM already brought in Rhysand and the Inner Court, I believe this is honestly very possible.

    7- Will Azriel be mated with someone in these books? My friend made a joke about Bryce and Azriel somehow being mated because Azriel is a shadowsinger, and Bryce is basically a living star at times, and her starlight could wash away his shadows or intertwine with them, etc. Then we all agreed this could very well happen because look at Rhysand and Feyre’s bond and how her glowing mixed/wrapped around with his night.

    8- What if Fury (CC) and Amren (ACOTAR) are related?? Because in HOSAB when Azriel had brought Bryce to see the Inner Court, it said that Amren and Fury looked similar. This is a bit of a stretch but it might be possible.

    9- I wonder how old Nyx (Feyre and Rhysand’s son) will be in the next HOSAB. (My friend is for some reason hoping that Bryce and Nyx will be about the same age and become close friends. It’s a cute idea.)

    10- I wonder if Rowan and Aelin will have had a daughter (Because I can see a cute mating potential there with Nyx)

    That’s all for now, but I know I’ll be back with more!!

  27. Hey!! I’m back with a few more theories and also backing up my past theories!!

    1- I texted my friend about why she thinks Aidas and Bryce might be mates and she said “Well look at it this way. The Oracle warned Hunt to keep well away from Bryce, and we all see there’s SOMETHING going on between Bryce and Aidas. And also, when Apollion had visited Hunt in the pocket realm, when Hunt was worrying if Apollion could get into Bryce’s mind, Apollion said, “If I went into her mind, my brother would be very angry with me. Again.” Therefore, showing that Aidas is protective of Bryce. And we all know how SJM never stays with the first love interest. So, it honestly could happen.” I only partly agree with her on this.

    2- Hunt is definitely only half angel. Remember when Mordoc (Danika’s father) had said that Athalar “smelled wrong for an angel,” and “not like any other angel” they had scented. Also, when Apollion visited Bryce in the pocket realm, he said, “‘Orion was bred to be receptive to our kind. Why do you think he is so adept at hunting us?'” When I had first read that, I was like “BRED?! Miss Maas. . . WHAT?!” And remember when Athalar visited the Oracle? Well, the Oracle had referred to Hunt as the “Lord of Thunder,” which honestly could mean that Athalar could even be the son of Thurr (mentioned as a minor storm deity in HOSAB, then there’s also Project Thurr, and the name Thurr comes up a lot in that book).

    3- Remember Dusk’s Truth? Well, I was talking with my friends earlier and we launched into a full-on debate about my theory: The three Solar Court’s in Prythian are Dawn Court, Day Court and Night Court. But what about Dusk Court? Princess Theia (Starborn Princess who had travelled from Prythian to Midgard through The Rift) could have been the High Lady of The Dusk Court. And also remember when Bryce was in the Asteri’s Palace and looking at the names of the doors? There was the Dawn door (makes me think of the Dawn Court), the Midnight door (Makes me think of the Night Court), the Midday door (makes me think about the Day court), and then the Dusk door in the middle of all of them. And we all know how much SJM loves to foreshadow things so quietly yet also thrown in our faces with confetti, so there could be a forgotten Dusk Court.

    4- Why is it I somehow ship Helion and Tharion??? (I feel like they would be so cute together)

    5- I also was talking with my other friend who believes Bryce and Azriel might be mates and they said “Remember that prophecy that says ‘When sword and knife are reunited, so shall our people be?’ Well, the knife already belongs to Azriel, and the Sword is with Bryce, so it could be a sign that they are meant to be together. And when Bryce first saw Azriel, her thoughts were, ‘But the male face that stared through the mists, grave and lethal. . . it was beautiful, despite the fact that his hazel eyes held no mercy.’ And think about what we know about Azriel. If he didn’t care about Bryce, he wouldn’t have helped her, and brought her immediately to the Inner Court, endangering his family’s safety to help her. And we also know how his shadows whisper things to him and could have told him she was important or something like that.” If I’m gong to be honest, what they said makes complete sense, but I ship Azriel with Gwyn.

    6- Bringing back the prophecy (“When sword and knife are reunited, so shall our people be”), I have a theory on it. When it says, “so shall our people be,” I think it’s referring to ALL Fae, which would include the Fae from Erilea, Midgard, and Prythian (And any other worlds other Fae might reside on). And by reunited it could mean send them to their home world (or a new world just for them) to live in peace together, and/or it could very much mean them all standing together and reuniting to all fight off the Asteri (With the Armies of Hel).

    7- I really REALLY did not want to bring this up, but it needs to be said. When the war we know is coming eventually happens, I really hope that SJM doesn’t bring in the Valg (from TOG) to help out the Asteri. Because think about it: The Asteri are already so outnumbered. They already have ALL of Hel’s armies against them, most likely all of Phrythian’s as well (And maybe the human armies too), and the human rebels from Midgard.

    8- I have a feeling that Wyrdmarks will somehow be brought back since some books from Erilea were in Jesiba’s hidden library, and also because of the nagging feeling that Aelin and her court are going to be brought into this war as well to help.

    9- I think we all feel it . . . the wolf mystic that Ithan saved might be his mate. It’s honestly kind of obvious. And it would be adorable.

    10- Lidia (The Hind) and Ruhn might be mates. I honestly fully support and would love to see if SJM lets this happen.

    This is all for now, but as you can probably tell, I’m going to be back with more theories and questions about CC soon.

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