Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood By Sarah J. Maas Book Review
“I promised Fury not to do something stupid,” Bryce said, her eyes on Syrinx’s branded-out tattoo. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do anything smart.”
(pg 635)
About
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: High Fantasy New Adult
Series: Crescent City Book 1
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Synopsis
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life―working hard all day and partying all night―until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose―to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.
As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion―one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.
With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Timesbestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom―and the power of love.
Review
Spoilers Definitely Contained Below
To the Sarah J. Maas lovers,
It’s a few days later that I finally decided to sit down and write/type out this book review. If you know, you know, but when you finish a Sarah J Maas book, that’s what you have to do to keep your sanity. Truly.
But now, we’re here. Or you’re here for a book review, and I have all the thoughts and questions, the good, the exciting, the sad—–all of it. I am going to talk about ALL of it because MY gosh,
When I say Sarah J. Maas has outdone herself, she truly has.
World-Building is everything when it comes to a new series, especially a fantasy series. And like most series, there has to be a big information dump of the world so the reader can understand the dynamics of the environment. Something I always appreciated with Sarah J Maas books is the way she interweaves all the world-building things seamlessly so that it’s not overwhelming or just one huge chunk of paragraph after paragraph, explaining how this is the world and all this. But she breaks it up and explains it when the need arises, which makes it easier to understand the world. As a long time fantasy reader, it’s still hard for me to fully grasp a world within the first hundred or so pages because my mind’s still processing everything. So it was difficult for me to understand the world fully. I’m still kind of confused, if I’m being honest, and if you understand the whole world she created within this book, please let me know 😅.
From what I got of the story, they live in this Fae world and there are multiple Fae areas like Crescent City/Lunathion, Pangera, Midgard, etc. And there’s also different Fae worlds—-like a multiverse—–the Sarah J Maas Multiverse, if you will, where there’s other worlds where a certain power comes from like with how the Fae and shifters come from other worlds (pg. 471) and that Hel is a different universe that’s real. When Sarah J. Maas opened up the universe like that, I was like, so you’re telling me, a Throne of Glass and ACOTAR crossover is possible?! 😆 Because of course, my mind would go there! But how cool would that be to see the whole Sarah J. Maas Universe come together. Now, that would be Sarah J. Maas outdoing herself and if she ever wrote a story crossover like that, someone needs to check me into a hospital because I’d go insane 😂. Anyway, Crescent City is one city of such power and it has seven different sectors with a different head/Governor who presides over the people there. In this world there are different houses based on the elements and each has a leader and each lives in a different sector. I really love the different powers that each have from sprites, vampyrs, werewolves, and duh, Fae. But something I’m still kind of lost on is the whole Archangel world dynamic? Like who the Asteri really are? And what’s the difference between an Asteri and an Archangel? Not too sure. But it’s an interesting world they live in.
If you don’t have powers, you’re thought of as a civitas, the Mortal Instruments equivalent of a mundane. If you do have powers, you’re not necessarily immortal unless you take the Drop. If one doesn’t take the Drop that person grows older, but at a glacial speed. The Drop is such an interesting ceremony within itself where a person falls into his/her power. They have to have a Anchor/tether to the world. During the time a person makes the Drop, they have an out of body experience where their life ticks down and they have to race back to life to fully reach their power, or they fall into an endless pit of death. When a person makes the Drop, they gain new power and they also emit this energy called the first light that powers a lot of things and can be harsh.
Bryce Quinlan is half–fae and half human. When she was thirteen she found out who her birth dad was—-the Autumn King. She went to him and he was a piece of trash 🤪. He kicked her to the curb with all her things already out on the road and shunned her away. And he had the AUDACITY to buy her silence so that no one knew that he was his daughter. He never wanted to stake claim to her the day after she visited the Oracle and the Oracle was blinded by this light, which the dad took as Bryce not being good enough so he wanted nothing to do with her. Honestly, the dad’s a piece of trash who has no respect for his kids. He abused Ember, Bryce’s mom, and I’m BEYOND happy that Ember got out of that relationship with Bryce early on because she deserved better. While we’re talking about the mom, I just want to say how much I love the fact that the mom married a sharpshooter, Randall Silago, who was good with weapons because my gosh does that skill come in handy for Bryce. I mean, fate really was on her side with that one. I also loved how Ember and Randall clearly loved each other and took care of one another. He knew when to reel her in and when to let her run loose. And my gosh, is Ember truly related to Bryce because the woman has a mouth on her and spunk for days and I LOVE it 🥰. I love her strength and finesse! I also loved how she would constantly reach out to Bryce, trying to talk to her. The FaceTime call where the mom literally was like, “I can see the dust on your table.” What good eyes!😂 Or what good HD quality they must have for the mom to recognize dust on Bryce’s table! She’s such a loving character! I really want to see the mom in person. Love her!
Speaking of people I loved, one of the things that set this book apart from other Sarah J. Maas book was the friendship. I mean, the friendship was BEAUTIFUL and STUNNING. There really are no words to how Sarah J. Maas enraptured such a long-term, loving, strong relationship in the span of a hundred pages. Literally no words. Because those hundred pages with Danika felt like I’ve known their friendship forever. And there’s something to be said about a strong female friendship like Bryce and Danika because a lot of the time in books, we see girls going at it or they’re jealous of each other or they’re close, but not too close. Like with ACOTAR, Feyre and Mor were close and I love them as friends, but Danika and Bryce felt like family—like sisters. Their bond was so strong that it just felt different, you know? And people questioned whether their friendship was more/romantic, but it was just that—-a friendship. Hey, if it was ever going to be something more either, I would have loved that too. But to just have them be friends who supported and looked out for each other—who just got one another—was so powerful.
“Through love, all is possible.”
The mantra of the book. Danika’s fate.
When I first read it, my initial thought was, “Wow, sounds like all the other quotes on Pinterest.” 😂 Not in a bad way, but in a way that felt like it was like all those other clichéd quotes about how love is the most powerful thing. But as the book progressed, this quote took on a whole new meaning that is beyond special to this story and I loved what it became ♥️.
But in the moment, it meant that these two strong, brave women were friends who loved each other. They had secrets they told only each other and secrets they never said to protect one another. Both done out of love.
I just want to say before I go forward, how much I admire Danika as a strong pack leader and a woman. She stood up for what she believed was right and she let the whole world know. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and she wasn’t afraid to take action. It really hurt that people thought of her as the “party princess” when she did all these things to help other people. She had more compassion in her heart than anyone because even with Phillip Briggs’s rebellion, Danika gave him multiple chances to be better because she understood his case and why he was fighting for it. She respected that. So she was lenient with him until it became too dangerous. But she understood his anger to give him a chance. This was something not anyone would do. She also was the type of person to put everyone but herself first, and I admired that. She did it with Bryce. I could relate to Danika a lot in the way we use the word love. Love is such a sacred word that most times people just throw it around and it loses its meaning. But Danika was selective in who she said she loved and only told Bryce she loved her because that day when at the rocks where they were being shot at—-near death experience—it put into perspective how much she did love Bryce and would do anything for her. And love is such a beautiful thing, and I just loved their friendship.
Then there came that night where Danika just got out of a meeting where they were releasing Phillip Briggs, the human leader of the rebellion. He had bombs and was a threat to the Fae world they lived in because things like weapons weren’t exactly magic and could do actual harm. Danika was fighting for Phillip not to be released, but he was that night and it put Danika on edge to not be the one escorting him when he was a dangerous person and someone she put behind bars in the first place. That night Bryce had a date with her trash boyfriend Reid. I mean, he even has a trash name 😂. I’m joking! Sorry Reid’s, you have a lovely name, just this Reid sucked. I mean if a guy shows up late to a date he planned and then doesn’t even explain why he showed up late AND he was just on his phone the minute he did show up, I MEAN WHO RAISED YOU? A WOLF? EVEN WOLVES HAVE MORE RESPECT THAN THAT?! That was rude as heck. I was like, good for Bryce for drinking the expensive wine to pay him back for showing up late and not paying attention to her. And good for her for leaving and dumping his sorry butt! If he couldn’t appreciate the woman in front of him and truly worship the ground she walked on, he didn’t deserve her 👏🏼.I couldn’t believe when she did walk out that restaurant, that he looked up from his phone for a second, a SECOND, and then went back to his phone like it wasn’t a big deal. Honey, if he did that, you never mattered to him in the first place. He’s the epitome of everything NOT to look for in a man.
OOOOOOOOOO! DON’T GET ME STARTED ON CONNOR!!!
Truly, DO NOT.
Oh, well because I have to talk about CONNOR! 😰
CONNOR. I just want to give the world’s saddest, most dramatic, honest to gosh, heart-breaking sigh. If Sarah J. Maas set up the best friendship in the span of so many pages, she also set up such a good relationship between Connor and Bryce too. I don’t think we got to know Connor enough as I would have liked to, but man, even in the however many pages we got with Connor, he was SUCH A GOOD MAN. SUCH A GOOD MAN. And I felt that. And nothing is more powerful than women’s intuition, am I right ladies? 😅 But seriously, what a good man. Like you could tell he liked Bryce and respected Danika enough not to pursue Bryce because Danika asked that of him. I mean, he listened to Danika because she was his leader, but at any point his raging male hormones could have been like screw this, I want to date her and he would have done it. But no. He was loyal and he was respectful. But something changed that night where he finally got the courage to ask her out after YEARS and then he texted her all these things about how he was crazy about her and how he just wanted a chance. And then when she walked out on Reid, she finally said yes. Then she said, “If you’re late, it’s over.”
And he said: “I’ll never keep you waiting.”
I MEAN, HE DID!!!! 👉🏼👈🏼😥
And then he was like “Message me when you’re home safe” (pg 53).
Because he cared.
And Bryce went out, did some drugs, drank some alcohol, did it with someone in the bathroom, and then went home and when the door was open, I was like, no. NO NO NO NO NO.
And then Bryce saw Connor and she saw Danika and my heart just dropped. PLUMMETED.
NO. NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOO. She just said yes to Connor! She was Danika’s best friend! What do you mean they’re dead?! I COULD NOT. NO.
I would like to say though, I give Bryce the utmost credit for going after the demon who “killed” Danika and the pack and then also saving Micah/angel in the alleyway because my gosh, for someone who hasn’t made the Drop yet, she was able to fight that thing off by herself.
But afterwards, my heart truly hurt for Bryce. Just the lifelessness that she was described having when they took her into the interrogation room, was such a stark contrast to the bold girl who was laughing hours before with her best friend and the girl who was finally going to give the guy she liked, but denied liking, a chance. And that made me so sad for her. She lost not only her best friend and a future lover, but a whole pack of friends who were close to Danika too. And she was attacked. That’s sucky. I honestly don’t blame Ithan, Connor’s brother, for being mad at Bryce for doing someone in the bathroom when she was high on drugs and alcohol. I understand why he didn’t want her at the boat ceremony to send him and Danika off. But I thought it was rude that he told her she wasn’t welcome. I get it. He was hurt, but she was hurt too and he should have said something later on to say he was sorry for how he reacted to her because he came from a place of hurt, but he never did.
So two years later, Bryce was still lingering in her hurt. All throughout the book, it gives pieces of how deep that hurt lies and my heart really just hurt with Bryce. It’s never easy to lose anyone in life, and Bryce lost two people she loved. She never got closure with them. She never got to say goodbye. And I think maybe, she placed blame on herself for being drunk and high off her butt to have been there to help them sooner. Or she blamed herself for all her mistakes she made that cost them their life. It explained why she didn’t drink anymore. Other people thought she went to the bars because she drank, but they were judging her character based on what they thought she knew. Bryce stopped dancing. She loved dancing and she felt like it wasn’t right for her to do something that brought her happiness and joy when all she felt was pain and like she didn’t deserve it. And I just want to say, whoever told Bryce she couldn’t dance because she was too chubby or chunky needs to get a firm zap in the head. Bryce is such a beautiful young woman with curves for days and she owns it well. So who was that person to make her feel inadequate in her own body!? Honestly, that person was probably just jealous they didn’t look that good. I digress.
What made my heart ache the most was how alone Bryce felt. Fury Axtar, her other kick butt friend, took off for two years and wouldn’t return her texts or calls, and then there was Juniper who was always busy with dance. It’s not like Bryce wanted to talk to Ruhn, her brother, when she was angry at him. So it felt like no one understood her or where she was coming from. All she wanted was someone to be there and to know the pain and loss she felt, but all the people who could possibly understand were doing other things that she felt alone in bearing all the pain in her heart—this emptiness Danika left. Because Danika was her light.
“I know people don’t get it. It’s just . . . a light went out inside me when it happened. Danika wasn’t my sister, or my lover. But she was the one person I could be myself around and never feel judged. The one person that I knew would always pick up the phone, or call me back. She was the one person who made me feel brave because no matter what happened no matter how embarrassing or sh**** it was, I knew that I had her in my corner. That if all went to Hel, I could talk to her and it would be fine. . . But it . . .It’s not fine. I will never talk to her again. I think people expect me to be over it by now. But I can’t. Anytime I get anywhere close to the truth of my new reality, I want to space out again. To not have to be me. I can’t f****** dance anymore because it reminds me of her—of all the dancing we did together in clubs or on the streets or in our apartment or dorm. I won’t let myself dance anymore because it brought me joy, and . . . And I didn’t, I don’t want to feel those things.” She swallowed. “I know it sounds pathetic.”
(pg. 486)
I’m not sad, you are! 😥
But I could just feel her pain. The fact that Bryce was being so vulnerable and open to Hunt about what she felt meant a lot because she didn’t talk about it with anyone. She was recommended to go to therapy, but she never did want to do that. There is nothing wrong with seeing a therapist and saying that you feel sad or anything else. It’s good to have someone be there to help you shoulder the pain, the boulders, the anxiety, or the sadness you feel. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. And you would think in the year 20059 or whatever the number was, they would have normalized therapy. Because therapy isn’t for “crazy” people. Therapy is to help people. People go through so many things and it’s crazy to expect everyone to know how to handle every single problem life throws at them or to go through it alone. No. Sometimes therapy is needed so we can hear how we can navigate life the best we can and to know that even if I go through something, that someone else has gone through it too—-has felt it too. And that’s why this conversation she had with Hunt, was one of my favorites. They were being so unapologetically raw and open with each other about their pain, sorry, and regrets. I liked how Hunt opened up to her about how much he loved Shahar and how he still would have rebelled under her to fight for what was right. Because Hunt was going through a lot too underneath the surface of it all—-he was grieving someone he loved and had to deal with this new life he had killing people and being enslaved.
I think now’s the time to talk about Hunt because I got ahead of myself, because truly there is so much to talk about.
But Hunt is the Umbra Mortis—the Shadow of Death. He kills people ruthlessly by hand or with his lightning. He is enslaved to Micah because he rebelled against the Asteri because he believed in Shahar’s vision of a world that was freer and had no hierarchies. So Hunt fought with her and they were also in love. I would have liked to know more about how exactly they were in love and the type of qualities Shahar had that made him love her. Because we got bits and pieces of why and how they were in love, but Shahar seems like this whole other person who’s a part of Hunt’s life, but don’t know that much about. Anyway, they revolted against Shahar’s twin sister, Sandriel, but in the end the twins fought and Shahar was killed by her own twin. But people blamed Hunt for how everything went down and Hunt had to pay the price by being enslaved and he was under a mountain in prison for seven years. Kind of reminds me of Rhysand’s story a bit in how they both were prisoners and lived under mountains enslaved to a woman. Hunt was sold around and eventually sold to Micah who offered him a deal where he could be free if he took as many lives as he took that day with the battle on Mount Hermon: 2,217 lives. It explained why he was the Umbra Mortis and why he killed so many people, but I couldn’t believed that in just four years, barely made a dent in his freedom. Again, not condoning murder/killing, but my gosh, he only had 82 lives under his belt. Like, Hunt was going to be enslaved the rest of his life 😞. And it put into perspective for me, how honestly, even if he took a lot of lives it’s not like he wanted to do it. He was just trying to free himself. And I loved those glimpses that we see after Hunt doing his duty 😂, you know what I mean, where he’s washing himself from the blood and where he hangs his head in shame or hurt because I don’t think Hunt’s a bad guy or a killer. He was just in a difficult and complex situation that made him act immoral and I can’t fault him for that. Still, not condoning killing or murder, but I understood why he did what he did, and the lengths he took. And him feeling guilty and ashamed for it, highlighted that good person beneath that I knew and liked. Hunt wasn’t the Umbra Mortis. He wasn’t a killer.
He was there the day that Danika was murdered and he saw how beat up and lifeless Bryce was. He thought of her as a party girl too, but he let her go. Then years later they find each other again because Micah reopened the Danika case because of another killing that had the same killing marks as the thing that killed Danika and the pack. They had to work together to find the demon and whoever killed Danika because the great summit of leaders was coming up and Micah didn’t want chaos in his city, so it was best that they solved the case and find the demon before someone deemed Micah unfit to rule Crescent City. They needed Bryce’s help because she was the only one there that night who truly saw the demon and who was close to Danika and that Tertian Vampyr dude who lost his life recently in the same way (the dude I talked about earlier). Later on it was revealed that the angel in the alleyway that was attacked was Micah, so she essentially saved an Archangel, which was crazy! Honestly, his male ego couldn’t handle the fact that a woman saved him, a half-fae no less, and that he was an immortal all-being who got ripped to pieces by that thing. I was really surprised when Hunt told her this because the angel in the alley seemed so innocent and normal that it made me question how it was an archangel. But it made sense. But what I really liked about the situation was how Bryce looked to make sure the angel that night was safe; she said how she asked the hospital who the angel was and if that person was okay. But she never heard anything because they covered it up so no one would know that an Archangel got attacked in that way (male pride). The care and heart of Bryce is so pure and I love that!
So Bryce was on the case and Hunt was supposed to be her guard against all the violence that might come with it. So that meant he had to work with her on solving the case. And Micah also gave the incentive that if they solved the case of the murders, he would reduce Hunt’s debt to only ten people. I mean, that’s one way to put a fire under his butt to make him solve the case with her.
Bryce and Hunt in the beginning was hilarious 😂.
The sass she had was next level and I loved it. I loved how she shut her curtains, knowing he was right outside her window on the roof, which I will say was kind of stalker-ish and creepy. Like give the woman some privacy Hunt! Honestly, I thought it was funny how Bryce truly didn’t care what he saw and how she would walk around in her underwear everywhere! That’s a big F and U. Or how he would say to Bryce to open the curtains so he could see the TV. I’m sorry, Hunt, I didn’t know you were paying her electric bill to get a glimpse of her TV 😂. My favorite was when she went get her nails done and made him trail her in the rain. And how she was there for HOURS talking to the nailtician. I couldn’t stop laughing at how Hunt called Isaiah and was like, “I’m going to kill her.” But his perspective was hilarious because he was complaining about how many coats she needed and all that. I bet a lot of people think the same thing if they’re not really into doing one’s nails. Little did Hunt know that she already made a list of suspects like he asked of her and that she was doing her research with the nail thing. Because the nailtician was Teritan’s girlfriend and she was getting information on him and if he knew Danika and if he ever did drugs. And I just want to say, he truly underestimated Bryce.
Honestly, a lot of people underestimate Bryce. It truly makes me upset.
“Hunt took a sip of Bryce’s water and shook his head. Not a party girl at all—–just content to let the world believe the worst of her.
Including him.”
(pg. 260)
Literally everyone gives Bryce no credit. She’s SUCH a good person and I wished people saw that. Hunt saw her the way he saw Danika, a rich little, pretty girl who did it with every guy, someone who didn’t have a lot of brain, someone who partied and drank or did ditzy things like get her nails done, someone who had an air purifier/humidifier because she was trying to posh or fancy. He even thought she was a suspect for the case because of all the evidence associating her with both cases of Danika and Teritan. For one, Bryce has the biggest, most caring, lovable, empathetic, compassionate, honest, wholesome heart there is and I would just like to say a big screw and a big you to anyone who ever thinks otherwise because they are completely wrong. Second, she inherited her apartment from Danika and the will and that was the apartment they were going to live in. Third, she didn’t drink since that night. Fourth, the ditzy nail thing was research. Fifth, she had an air purifier/humidifier because she didn’t go to therapy but she heard from Juniper’s therapy sessions or from someone that an air purifier/humidifier could help clear her mind. Sixth, this girl runs like the wind anytime she feels overwhelmed and needs to let off steam because running is a release, something I can personally attest to. When I was going through the hardest part of my life, running helped clear my mind and get away from things. Seventh, Bryce hated silence because it meant she would be alone with her thoughts, her thoughts that were waaaayyyy to heavy for her to bear alone, so she blasted music and the TV and did all these things to fill the silence. I don’t think it’s completely silent to block out the noise in our head, but I get it. I think it would be healthier if Bryce took those moments to herself to think and process her feelings, but that’s okay because people have different ways of healing and grieving and this was hers. I remember the moment she picked up a book and said how she didn’t do things like that anymore because it was such a silent activity and it made my heart hurt for her because as a reader, reading is quiet, but it takes a person to another world. It’s a journey, and to know that maybe Bryce was a reader but didn’t do it anymore because it made the voices in her head louder, made me sad for her. Eighth, when that bomb went off at the White Raven, did Bryce, someone who didn’t make the drop, save herself? NO! She jumped in front of Juniper, her best friend, someone who did make the Drop, someone she knew had a whole prestigious ballet career ahead of her—–she protected her. When Bryce did that, I was like this woman is SELFLESS! SELFLESS. And no one can tell me otherwise. She knew Juniper would heal because she made the Drop, but instinct or not, Bryce protected her because Bryce already lost a friend and she wouldn’t lose another. I LOVED that. What I didn’t understand was why Juniper slapped Bryce hard on the face—-hard enough to bleed/scar—-because Bryce saved her instead of herself. I get it, Juniper was angry at her for risking her life for hers, but still, Juniper didn’t need to slap her! Is that how you repay a friend who tried to protect you? 😅 I don’t know. Ninth, Hunt suspected her as the killer. He kept ticking up all these things in his mind that she did it and was just playing this “act.” This wasn’t an act, sweetheart. She loved her best friend so much. You think that pain is from acting? Give her a Grammy, give her ten! NO, that’s from pure, unfiltered hurt, anger, and grief. How DARE he think she did it. Not for a second. A minute, a millisecond did I think Bryce did it. I know we saw the story through her eyes to know she didn’t do it, but maybe heck, some parts were blurred and written off to build this idea she could have done it. The big plot twist if Sarah J. Maas wanted to do that. But NO. I was like, Bryce didn’t do it. Plain. Simple. It was truly heartless of Hunt to make her go to the scene where there was another killer, knowing how she was the night Danika was killed. And when he told her that she was on his suspect list, I TRULY did not blame her for cursing him and telling him to go the heck away. I mean the disrespect he had toward her was truly rude. And he was judgmental and didn’t know who she really was so it was rude to assume the worst in her.
The quote I put above about Hunt saying he was wrong, made me go, “Yea, you were. You owe a big, massive I’m sorry.” But it really encapsulated everything about Bryce to me. She made people assume the worst in her or to assume whatever they want, even her own brother didn’t know she didn’t drink, but she didn’t care what they thought of her (that much) because people would always assume the worst in her anyway or to think what they want and she was tired of correcting them or defending who she really was when she knew who she was. And I loved that. She had absolutely nothing to prove to anyone because if they want to judge her before they know her, that says a lot more about them then it does about her. I know Bryce. She’s so much more than people see or know of her. So much more ❣️. But I think she got so used to all these trashy things people said of her that it made her defensive and guarded. I get it. When people judge you so much, you truly say a big screw you and just live your life, but at the same time, anyone who tries to come into your life, it’s hard to let them in, so the walls go up, the sass comes out. Because that’s all she’s ever known. She’s been told time and time again she was too big, she was trash, or that she felt she wasn’t good enough.
“The partying and stuff—it was the only time when the four of us were on equal footing. When it didn’t matter that Fury’s some kind of mercury or Juniper’s so amazingly talented or Danika would one day be this all-powerful wolf.”
(pg. 482)
She felt inadequate to her friends and their great futures when she was just a half-fae who hadn’t made the Drop. When she did all these fun things with her friends, it felt like they were friends, not this great future and her tagging along. To know that Bryce felt that way, made my heart hurt 😢. She’s so much more and I will forever say that.
One of my favorite parts of the book was this apology scene between Hunt and Bryce where she tried to cook him something and they were vulnerable with each other about her sorrow, her feelings, and his sorrow and feelings. I love vulnerable, honest conversations between people and they needed this to understand each other. I liked how after that, Hunt truly saw her differently. He saw her for her. The moment when they went to the gun range with Ruhn, Flynn, and Declan was beyond epic. I loved how Bryce had her Merida from Brave moment when she shot the gun like a pro and she shot the center of the target three times on the same spot because that’s how skilled she was. And I kept laughing at how turned on Hunt was that she could handle a gun. I guess a man likes women that shoot straight. It was funny. But it was the moment I felt a shift between them where he was even more attracted to her. They shared a look and in that eyes they saw each other. Truly saw each other. It’s a running thing during the whole book in how they look at each other and they know, or they see each other for who they really are. And I love that. Because no one else sees them for who they are—-they think one’s party trash and the other’s a lethal killer. But they know each other.
I couldn’t stop laughing at how Bryce owned Jelly Jubilee and the whole nine yards the of Crescent City equivalent to Beanie Babies 😂. It’s soooo cute. Honestly, I am Bryce 😂. I love me some stuffed animals! But it was so cute and just so childlike-innocent and human of her to have her stuffed animals in her closet. Hunt knowing her secret obsession with her stuffed animals was knowing a piece of her she never showed to anyone. It was funny how he thought it was something else and wanted to know 😂. I also loved how normal Hunt was with his baseball cap turned backward and him drinking beer like a middle-aged uncle with baseball turned on. What a dad!
“The hat was the first thing I bought when I came here. With the first paycheck I ever received from Micah. . . I saw it in an athletic shop and it just seemed so ordinary. You have no idea how different Lunathion is from the Eternal City. From anything in Pagera. And that hat just . . .”
“Represented that?”
“Yea. It seemed like a new beginning. A step toward a more normal existence. Well, as normal an existence as someone like me can have.”
(pg 408)
I just loved the sentiment of the hat after that. Because Hunt had an unusual life and if wearing a hat, watching baseball, and chugging gross beer makes him feel normal, then so be it 😂. But it’s also sweet because when he first got to Lunathion, he knew no one and had no life, and here he was trying to start over, to create a new life for himself, and the hat represented his new life, something anything from normal.
As the case went on, more lives were lost and the harder it was to crack the case. I kept wondering who did it or who Danika really was? And I just kept thinking how much it would hurt Bryce to know if Danika stole the Horn—-to feel like her best friend kept s much from her and Bryce never really even knew her friend. Part of the quest now involved Ruhn and them looking for the Horn that would attract the Kristallos demon, the demon that attacked Micah and others. So if they found the horn, they would find the Kristallos, and then the killer. The Horn is also a fae artifact that can be used by the starborn and can bring things to life. So if someone were to have it, they would have the possibility of immense power. The Horn broke with a battle and couldn’t be repaired except now there was this Synth, synthetic magic/drug, that could repair the Horn and it’s powers. But before I get into Synth, let’s talk about everything before that with the case. Let’s talk about the moment Hunt and Bryce paid a visit to Sabine. Sabine who smudged the footage years ago to save her daughter’s face. They thought Sabine killed her own daughter because she always made it known how Sabine thought Danika was trash and that she was trash for hanging out with Bryce. So it made sense why she would do it. To see if she did, they went to visit her, but her wolf guards were standing outside the door.
And here’s the thing. People can think what they want about Bryce, but out of everything the one thing that nagged me the ABSOLUTE MOST about how Bryce was treated was how everyone, everyone called her trash. A slut, excuse my language. But there’s a lot of slut shaming that Bryce gets and it disgusts me. In no way is it right to slut shame a person. Just because she’s a young attractive woman with legs for days, a big butt, a big bust, and eyes that are seductive as heck, doesn’t mean she’s anyone’s toy to play around with or to ridicule for being beautiful. I just found it sleazy as heck when Teritan in the beginning was trying to cop a feel and get her into the bedroom because he felt like it was some sort of male right that because Bryce was beautiful that he deserved her in bed. Or how people would ogle her and say all these sexualized things. Sure, they might have been jokes, but if Bryce was uncomfortable by them, that’s sexual harassment. And that’s not okay with me. And it’s not okay that people constantly made her feel like she was a slut, when she wasn’t. Dressing in revealing clothing doesn’t make a person a slut. It absolutely, 100% does NOT. It does not make the person “available.” It doesn’t make the person “asking for it.” NO. It makes the person confident enough that that person would want to show off his/her body in a way they feel confident and proud in and no one should make anyone feel bad for someone who is proud of who they are just because they dress a little more revealing than others. Sure, it’s not the most accepted if a person is revealing a lot of skin in front of kids, but still that person’s not a slut. Just because a person sleeps with other people a lot, doesn’t make that person a slut. Just because someone parties, doesn’t make that person a slut. And I AM SO TIRED of people who slut shame others. It’s disgusting. Some people hate their body. Some people feel so disgusted by their own body that it’s not okay to tear others down for it. Nope. So others tearing Bryce down for it wasn’t okay. Other people holding her mistakes against her? Not okay. Other people constantly making her feel inadequate and wrong? NOT OKAY.
I mean, the wolf packs had so much time on their hands that they felt sooooooo compelled to make a song called ‘I Just Hooked Up with Someone in the Bathroom, Don’t Tell Connor.’ LIKE WHAT THE BONKERS? GET A LIFE! 😡 Stop making Bryce the joke when out you’re out here jealous that she’s young, beautiful, confident, and has a good job. I mean, are you that petty to spend all your time invested in her drama to take the GOSH DARN TIME to write a FREAKING song about one mistake she made? She’s human! Give her a break!
I could not stand when she talked to Amelie and saw Ithan. Absolutely could not. I like Ithan, he seems like a good boy, but he let his anger and hurt fester in his bones and it made him ugly. He was truly rude to Bryce when they were at the Gates, I think, with Amelie, someone who liked Connor, and they were teasing Bryce about how she was a s*** and trash and all these things. And Ithan contributed to that. That was what hurt my heart. He’s hurt, but he shouldn’t hurt others. Connor wouldn’t be proud of how he treated Bryce years later.
But then came Danika’s birthday and my heart really went to Bryce because it was a hard day for her. I loved how she sat on the bench across the Bone Quarter to be closer to Danika. And she had chocolate croissants because that’s what Danika always wanted on her birthday. It made me sad how sad Bryce was. It seemed life went on and no one remembered that it was Danika’s birthday except her, but Bryce remembered 😢. When Bryce opened up the box, Amelie changed the message on the chocolate croissants to trash. I WAS LIVID! I was like, you know what, Amelie is trash! Because how dare she do that?! I’m honestly still wondering how Amelie even knew she was at that freaking bakery in the first place to have the message be changed to trash? Like how did she know Bryce would be there that day?
But OOOOOH when Hunt flew to her, I was like, she’s a dead wolf 😂. He was going to make wolf jerky!
Honestly, I wanted him to make wolf jerky. I wanted her to feel the burn! 😂 Hunt going all protective and territorial on Amelie was the highlight of that day! Not that I condone violence just don’t you dare cross Bryce! What made it sad was how Ithan was there and he said he had no part in it, and he also asked what it was about. Then he noticed the box and the croissants and pieced it together. And that’s when Ithan got it together. He realized how dumb and childish he was being in his grief because here he was years later, laughing at Bryce for being trash, when Bryce was the only one who remembered, who celebrated her friend. Someone Ithan probably thought of as family too. And he didn’t remember. I loved that he reached out to her afterwards and how he tried to be better. I think he needed that wake up call as much as Amelie did.
But gosh, did I know that Hunt was GONNA GET IT *says in Raven Simonés voice*. Because Micah was going to beat his butt for stepping out of line.
Before that, Micah was already on the fence with Hunt because Micah tried to ask Bryce out or something and Bryce, only Bryce, could confidently say she wasn’t interested in an Archangel. I give her so much credit. You know what else I admired about Bryce? The way she could look down on people who were taller than her. I mean, how does one do that? I would like to master that look myself as someone who is 5’0” 😂. The other thing that got under Micah’s skin was how Hunt and Bryce accused Sabine of killing Danika and Sabine found out. She went to Bryce’s apartment after Hunt and her initially saw Amelie and Ithan, and then Sabine told them that Danika stole the Horn and that she switched the videos to protect her. Personally, at this part, it still made not sense to me why Danika would steal such a precious artifact. She really seemed like she had no purpose or motive to do so, and saying Danika just wanted to steal it for fun, didn’t feel right to me because Danika might have liked to have a good time, but stealing a Horn, didn’t seem like her.
Micah didn’t like getting yelled at by Sabine for Hunt and Bryce’s false accusations, so to punish Hunt, Micah ordered him to take the life of yet another person. Bryce knew something was off from all the one-worded messages Hunt sent her and how he wasn’t watching guard over him. It really made my heart sad to see her conflicted over whether or not she should text Hunt how she truly felt—worried about him. I understood. Because Bryce lost someone before and she didn’t want to lose him either and not because he shut her out and she should have reached out. So it warmed my heart when she just straight up texted him that she was worried about him and for him to call her. She truly has come to care about him and I liked how even Ruhn knew how much Hunt meant to her and was willing to help her find him after all these hours.
It meant a lot too, how Bryce stayed up until Hunt came home—-because he now saw her house as his home. When Hunt walked through the door as lifeless as ever, my heart lurched for Hunt. He had a BEYOND tough, gruesome job. I respected how Bryce gave him his space at first, because she herself had to process the person she saw in front of her, someone she knew wasn’t Hunt. Seeing it through Hunt’s eyes was also interesting because he felt like he was doing the walk of shame when he saw her. He felt like a monster.
One of my other favorite parts of the book, not just because of how steamy it was, was when Bryce literally got on her hands and knees in the shower with him and washed his body and hair. It was so intimate, not in a sexualized way, but in a way that highlighted how she didn’t see him as a monster. She saw him as a person who did something he didn’t want to do, but had to do for his freedom. She saw his hurt. She saw his pain. She saw Hunt. And she wanted to care for him and be there for him. And that meant absolutely the world. The fact that she didn’t shy away from all of him—-good and bad. She was so gentle and compassionate, and I kept thinking, he’s butt-naked, how isn’t this the slightest bit weird 😂, it probably was a bit uncomfortable, but she did such a beautiful job at showing Hunt that she was there for him through the dark. I thought it was kind of funny that she held out his boxers for him to step in like a mother would do for a child. But it also made me think of the saying in sickness and in health, and if Bryce isn’t the prime example of that, I don’t know what is. And when he held her wrist, asking her to stay, I just couldn’t. He needed someone. And she stayed.
You cannot say that Bryce Quinlan isn’t a good friend.
You truly can’t.
When Hunt woke up and wasn’t as dazed with his sadness, he carried Bryce back to her room, but I was like, honey, keep her there! Because at this point, I don’t know about you, but I JUST LOVED them together 😆. They just got each other, you know. The pain, the sorrow, the loss, the love. It was those intimate conversations and moments they shared that made me fall in love with their love ❣️.
After that, it was like the tension between them was at an all time high. And if you’re like me, you come to the Sarah J. Maas for the action, the Fae, the fantasy. But you also come for the romance SMUT!!!
I mean, the whole 500 or so pages, I was like, “Sarah J. Maas, when are they going to kiss? When are they going to get together?” And I swear, each time we even came remotely close to them kissing and finally giving in to liking each other, they get interrupted. Once, I was like, Darn. Twice? I was like, Are you kidding me? Then a third time, I was like, OOOOOOH THEY BETTER NOT GET INTERRUPTED AGAIN or I’m going to sue! I mean, it was the Kristallos that jumped out of nowhere and attacked Hunt when they were about to kiss; then Sabine came through the door; and then when we were finally going to get somewhere with them, the freaking eggs burned!!! Darn eggs! 😆 You know the scene, the morning after she washed him and they were staring at each other, ready to pounce on each other because apparently Hunt has good male sense to feel what Bryce wanted. I don’t know why I was laughing so hard at that. I mean, what kind of intuition do you have to feel her body react in such a way 😂.
“This afternoon, she’d been rising up onto her toes, arm straining to grab some book on a high shelf in the library, and it was like that color pink was the f******* Horn, and he was a kristallos demon.”
(pg. 514)
I think you could say he was “Horny.” 😉
And, yes I made a joke. But seriously, it was funny how much they both knew they liked each other but yet did nothing about it and how he seemed ready to fall on his knees in front of her or how he would jump at any chance to be around her. He was truly losing it.
Another cute moment between them was when Bryce’s mom and the dad met Hunt through video chat. I also enjoyed the conversation where we learned about Hunt’s upbringing with a strong woman figure he had. It matched nicely with how Bryce was brought up too. But it also meant a lot that Hunt opened up to her about his childhood, and when Bryce wasn’t going to FaceTime here mom, he convinced her because he couldn’t do that. You always have to put the people you love first, no matter what. I loved how Bryce knew he was right about that. Him blurted out that Bryce’s leg was hurting her, was a big tattletale if there ever was one. I mean, seriously Hunt? 😅 But he was just looking out for her and I would just like to say, I give this girl a lot of credit for going more than half-way through the book, in fact, about two years with this Kristallos poison in her, making it hard for her to walk. And yet, Bryce found herself running most of the time. She truly is a strong woman. What I loved was how Hunt was there when she got the venom extraction out from that mysterious medwitch who told Ruhn about the makings of Synth and how the medwitch was going to use the venom to create an antidote. It really worked out well that Bryce had venom in her to even make the antidote. I guess, everything happens for a reason, kind of thing; also such good writing with everything coming together 👌🏼.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured. “Sweetheart, I’ve got you.”
(pg. 567)
I mean, Sarah J. Maas really is out here bringing back all these cute nicknames like Feyre, darling; mate, sweetheart. What’s next? 🤪
When Hunt was going through a painful moment, she was there for him. And now he was there for her, and I loved how he was there for her! They got each other no matter what! 🥺 It was beyond cute how he held her hand the whole way through and didn’t even flinch and how hard she was grasping him. I mean, what a rock for her. I don’t know if your mind felt this way, but I kept thinking if Bryce were giving birth, Hunt would be very supportive in the delivery room 😅. But that’s just my mind getting ahead of itself! I mean, wouldn’t he though? And when he said, “Breathe, you can do it. We can get through it.” It gave me birth vibes 😂.
There’s a lot of painful moments to read towards the end of the book, but the first in a series of it-only-gets-harder-from-here, was when Hunt got his wings chopped off. My heart just dropped for him. Because you know how Hunt threatened Amelie and I said he was going to get it. . . well he got it alright. And Sabine is a sick,sadistic, witch to have watched with a FREAKING grin when Hunt got his wings cut off. SHE DISGUSTS ME 🤮. At first, when Micah said the Living Death, I was like that’s counterproductive 🤪. Then I thought, is he going to get his back whipped like every male character I’ve ever read. No, worse. Heck, getting his wings cut off was the living death indeed. It was BEYOND painful to read how he blacked out and all the blood spurted from his back. Then there were the stumps on his back and the graphicness of that, brought me Chills with a capital C, because my gosh. And Bryce, her screaming and pleading and saying how she would never forgive any of them, made me want to hug her! The girl literally got some venom out her leg five minutes ago and they wanted to put her through the freaking pain of watching someone she loved get his wings chopped off like tree trunks?! I was sick. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact his wings could grow back, I would have been more upset, but because they were going to regrow, I was like, oh, that’s not as bad. Still bad, though. And while I’m on it, it’s such a weird concept how Sarah J. Maas talked about how people could regrow body parts, even private parts. What kept going through my mind was that Spongebob episode where he kept regrowing arms 😂. I mean, that’s kind of cool and weird.
The revelation that came out of that scene really surprised me, but not really. Bryce again, is selfless, so it didn’t surprise me that she literally gave up something for her best friend, I just was surprised at what. Maybe Bryce giving up her space at the Bone Quarter was done out of a place of grief, but I highly respect her for everything she’s ever done for those she loved. Bryce went to the Bone Quarter and said “I wish to trade my place,” so that Danika would have a secure place there. The whole ritual is that if the boat tips on it’s way to the Bone Quarter, which is basically like an afterlife across the river, that person wasn’t worthy and would be lost to the monsters in the river. But if the boat sailed through, the person’s soul would live there. It wasn’t that Bryce didn’t believe Danika wasn’t worthy, but she wanted to ensure her friend had a peaceful resting and that she was considered worthy in front of everyone. Because Bryce traded her place, if she ever passed, she would drift in the ether because trading her place meant forfeiting her place in any afterlife world, which is kind of complicated if you ask me. And sad. But again, the way Bryce did it—with such austerity and assurance—-was some might say, dumb, but I say selfless. Completely selfless.
“It sucked. This stupid f****** world they lived in.
It sucked, and it was full of awful people. And the good ones always paid for it.”
(pg. 579)
After Hunt had his wings cut off, I kept thinking along with Bryce that we needed to find a way for Hunt to be free because being under Micah’s rule, or anyone’s rule wasn’t going to get them a life together or a life they wanted. Because the more I thought about it, after the case, what would happen to them? It wasn’t like Hunt could live with her forever and be with her? And I wanted them to be. So we needed to free him like we need to free Brittney Spears.
Anyway, with the whole Bryce and Hunt thing, the case also had developments. They found out about Synth—synthetic magic that could make anyone turn powerful. Too much of it could make a person go rabid and kill everyone, even the toughest people, and it could make a person turn on themselves to rip themselves to pieces. It was said that as a product of using Synth it could summon a k]Kristallos demon and that was why the demons were attacking people because those who were attacked used synth. It made Bryce question whether or not Danika used or sold Synth. I will admit, I wondered if Danika used or sold synth because I wouldn’t put it past her. But I didn’t think she used it to harm other people because based on what Bryce knew of her friend, it didn’t fit who Danika was. And no matter what evidence came up that connected Danika, the Horn, and synth, I highly admired how Bryce never wavered in the good she knew of her friend. That’s admirable—the faith she had in her. Then when trying to figure things out, Bryce found a flash drive hidden in Danika’s jacket in one of the letters and on that flash drive were videos of test trials of Synth and how people would ruthlessly kill each other. And when Ruhn, Hunt, and Bryce watched those videos and it was described how some of the subjects would kill people and leave them in piles and how the person would turn feral and kill themselves, my heart plummeted.
Please tell me Danika didn’t . . . that she didn’t over use synth. . . . that she lost her life, lost her pack. . . . because of it.
no.
I wouldn’t believe it. But I kind of felt it.
Now, let’s talk about how everything went to heck in the last 200 pages as I mentioned before. Everything from page 500 onward was like one big domino track with everything falling after another and my eyes kept racing across the page, trying to keep up with everything going on 🤪. Before that, if I’m being honest, the story was interesting and the mystery and romance intrigued me, but it was somewhat slower to get into, which was understandable given the world-building and the clues that needed to be put together to get to where everything was going. But the end just came out of nowhere and hit me like a truck and I wasn’t prepared. Sarah J. Maas, truly was holding out on us—-saving the best for the last parts of the book.
But my mind FREAKING did a backflip, a summer salt, an aerial,, when Bryce saw Hunt on that boat in the middle of the night. I COULD NOT.
Hold up, let’s talk about how after THREE times, they finally got to kiss and do something without interruption and it took 590 pages for us to get the Sarah J. Maas romance smut we were looking for. But at the same time, it had to be his darn stump wings that started to bleed to interrupt them 😅. It’s always something! But then after they tried to get it on, Bryce was going to go to their old apartment to look for more clues, but when she got there, the apartment was on fire and Tharion (the mermaid man person) sent a message to her of a synth deal going down on the river, which brings me to what I was talking about.
I mean, HUNT? REALLY? I COULD NOT. All the negative scenarios ran in my mind. Was this going to be the part where she would never trust him again and then for the rest of the series he has to win her trust/love back? Did Hunt have a twin? It wasn’t Hunt?!
I was truly hoping he had a twin and that that would be the ultimate plot twist. 😂
No. He was just being a dumb, mistaken fae-male 😅. This dummy was rebelling! I mean, haven’t you learned your lesson, bro? I mean, couldn’t you just wait it out for a while and solve the case, do your ten deeds, then be free. Because honey, rebelling like that was dumb as heck, especially with the Viper Queen, because you never trust a snake because she’s going to back stab you. So I didn’t know what he was thinking! Use synth to overtake the archangels and be free?! But I get it because he wanted to live a life with Bryce—to be free— and would do anything to do that. But man, I was SHOCKED. I didn’t think this whole time he already solved the case—-or he thought he did—–and that he was working on this behind the scenes. ***Shakes head**** And to think he was going to get some that same night 😅. I was happy they didn’t. Disappointed in him. Tsk tsk.
I mean, HE LIED TO HER. He LIED knowing her history with men and her grief. TSK TSK. She should marry Tharion, she deserved better! And Hunt gave her all the excuses that he was going to back out of the revolt with them after he saw the video and how it could make a person mad. He realized too late. He had the audacity to sweet talk her with all these platitudes of how “you’re my path.” Give me a break, Hunt, you should have chosen her or told her in the first place! When Bryce threw the white opal that he bought her at the Meat Market (the white to symbolize joy), I was like, OOOOOH, it’s O-V-E-R, Bryce was no longer happy because you took that away from her!!! Tsk tsk.
Oh, but when Fury showed up to protect Bryce, I was like, oooooh! We love that! After all these years, I loved how Fury was there. We love a friend who could boat her away from a lying man. When Bryce drifted away with Fury and Tharion, and said “I never want to see you again,” my heart drifted with her.
I was surprised that Ruhn didn’t want to rage on Hunt for hurting his sister’s heart. I really thought he was going to beat down on Hunt. But he didn’t, he was more concerned over his sister’s well-being and what would happen to Hunt. And I wondered the same thing. It’s not like Micah was going to cut off his wings again. He had no wings. And he better not to kill Hunt at all. But I knew that the worst punishment he could get was the one Micah threatened to him already: to sell him to Sandriel. I knew he was going to be.
At first, Bryce was angry. She was angry at Hunt for lying to her. I also felt like her anger came from all these assumptions being tossed about Danika because it was what I feared—–that Danika wasn’t the innocent image who Bryce thought she was. Bryce also felt bad because she gave her spot to Danika in the Bone Quarter, knowing now that Danika took and sold Synth and that she killed the pack and herself. I’ll admit, I believed Hunt’s ideas of Danika, but again, Bryce couldn’t believe it to be true. Things did add up, but later the truth came free.
During her anger period, the Autumn King, her birth father came to see her. And let me say one thing about him, he”s still trash. Like royal trash. It’s complicated though because I think the Autumn King—does he have a real name?—seems like he has good intentions and that he was good, but there’s other parts of him that screams insecurity or like he doesn’t know how to be a decent human being. I think maybe the Autumn King acts out of a lot of fear in wanting to be respected by the other Governors so he acts rude to Ruhn and Bryce. I mean, I give Ruhn beyond credit for defending Bryce anytime the Autumn King bashes her/talks lowly of her. I also respect Ruhn for trying to keep Bryce away from the Autumn King because Ruhn knows first hand what it’s like to be treated so poorly by his father. The father’s also insecure because people say Ruhn’s going to take his place. And I think it makes him scared because who would he be if he wasn’t a Governor? A nobody, that’s who I think he would be. But it also makes me question what his upbringing was like because you know what they say, bad parenting 😂. Or the cycle of bad parenting—-who hurt the Autumn King for him to be the person he is today? I don’t know. But the good part of the Autumn King was the one who loved Ember and who would have made her his queen. I’m still curious why he abused/hit her. What triggered that if he was going to make her his queen? I mean, he had to have been a good person at one point if Ember loved him? 🤔
This was the only conversation I kind of liked between Bryce and her dad where he told her that she’s a lot like her mother, but also a lot like him. And I could see it. Bryce is very strong-headed, compassionate, honest, and brazen. But she’s also very stubborn and angry. To me, him actually taking the time to go to her—no matter how late it was—-showed in his way how he cared about her enough to warn her to not be her own worst enemy.
I’m a good lengths into this review and I never properly talked about Ruhn. He’s SUCH a dynamic character and I love love love him ♥️. At first, I thought he was very overprotective of Bryce, which you know, all older brothers/brothers in general are. He was always there, I MEAN ALWAYS THERE, and always seemed to know where Bryce was. And he watched over her—at the bar, outside, etc. Because he cared about her. They had a closer relationship before this big argument they had where Ruhn said words he absolutely shouldn’t have said. I would like to know more about what their relationship was like before that argument and how close they were. It was alluded to, but I think it would help to understand what they had and what even led up to Ruhn calling her a half-breed slut or something. Again, everyone slut shamed Bryce, even her own brother. When family tells you something that horrible, it hits differently because random people don’t know you, but family does. And Ruhn thought she was a slut. A half-breed. That stung. I don’t know why it got to the point where he would call her such a thing, but I do know he regretted it ever since and was trying to make up for it. I admired his efforts to make things right—-to continuously reach out to Bryce no matter how much she told him to leave her alone or how much she ignored him. Because deep down, Bryce loved Ruhn and I think she was using that argument to hold Ruhn at a distance to not hurt those she loved about.
Because they really are good siblings and do so many things behind the scenes that the other doesn’t know. They both thought they were protecting each other. He also kept Bryce a secret from all his friends because he was scared that the Oracle’s prophecy might mean for Bryce. Like all fae at 13, he went to the Oracle who told him the royal bloodline ends with him, which I mean, there’s so much to unpack with that. Is Ruhn going to die in this series? 😰 HE BETTER NOT!! Maybe he’s going to pull a name change and that’s why the bloodline ends with him? Or maybe Bryce is going to marry Hunt and her last name will be changed and then she’ll rule but with a last name? I don’t know. But Ruhn thought if he was the last bloodline, then Bryce wouldn’t be alive if the fate is true. So he never mentioned it. So he was protecting her. But Bryce also gave up a lot for him also. She knew how badly the Autumn King treated Ruhn and how much the Autumn King made Ruhn feel respected just because he was the “Chosen One.” In actuality, Bryce was. She didn’t want to take Ruhn’s title or the only way he was respected by their father. They were always there for each other. Even when Bryce said she would never forgive him, I knew she would–that she did.
Another interesting character was Fury. Fury and Bryce hadn’t talked in two years. I don’t blame Fury for not talking to Bryce because everyone handles their grief in their own way, and Fury’s was taking off and distancing herself from people she loved. From Fury’s perspective, she felt like doing that was best to save those she loved because she already lost her friend too, and she didn’t want to put them in harms’-way. Fury was the person who gave Bryce the drugs and knew that Danika was involved with Synth. So a lot like Bryce, she had a lot on her chest and felt responsible/like it was her fault that she didn’t do more. I still want to know more about Fury—-her backstory, what she was doing in Pangera, and more of her personality—-because we only see her towards the end of the book. She just seems like an interesting character. I mean, what has Fury been through to know such pain? Why was she a respected assassin of sorts? It made sense why Fury talked to Juniper more than Bryce—they were seeing each other, which I thought was cute. Either way, my thoughts on their friendship is they both had every right to grieve in their own way, to take the time and space for themselves—but I think they should have reached out to each other to talk about their feelings. They could have grieved together because what they felt was similar. Bryce needed a friend and I think Fury needed to know she had friends who weren’t blaming her because they truly weren’t.
They way they left things after the argument, was still very up in the air. But I could tell Fury cared about her and was just worried and hurt herself. In the future, I hope to see more of their relationship and Fury.
After a few days, I was kind of shocked at how easily she seemed to forgive him, or how much she wanted to. But I guess in the heat of the moment, she was hurt, angry, and confused. So she reacted in that way. When she processed it days later, I think she knew Hunt was trying to change and that he was going to back out of it. She still cared for him. And when you love someone and care for them, it doesn’t matter if they make a mistake, you’ll still care. Bryce did.
During those days Bryce was angry, Hunt was in his cell, awaiting his fate. Justinian and Viktoria honestly got a brutal fate. Like BRUTAL. Like GROSS too. Justinian was crucified and his wings cut off. Now, Viktoria’s one was CREATIVE 😅. I mean, how does one rip someone’s essence from their body? 😂 I’m perplexed. And they put her in a glass box like a Jack in the box and put her on the bottom of an ocean so she could go insane with her thoughts for years down there. I mean, that’s BONKERS. Bonkers, but creative.
Hunt got off easy because it was known he was going to back out of the rebellion they were pulling. One of the harder conversations Hunt had was with Isaih. Honestly, Hunt didn’t have a lot of friends. Through the book, as Hunt saw the love Danika and Bryce had for each other—such a strong friendship—-I felt him wanting something like that. A bond so strong to believe in, to die for, to hope for. It was cute when he took that night off and went drinking with his “friends” because I knew he wanted to find a friendship like Bryce had. Then Bryce went and wandered off that night instead 😂. But Hunt’s a person and he needed human connection. His closest friend, I would say was, Isaiah. So when Isaiah came to see him and was angry at him, disappointed in him. It made my heart hurt. And the way Isaiah said goodbye? I was tearing up. He cared for Hunt.
Then came the moment with Sandirel, because we had to have Hunt and Sandriel be in the same room at one point. And there was. The whole photo reel just made my heart clench. Because throughout the entire book, Bryce and Hunt took mundane, random photos of each other as their running joke to how Hunt had his phone for however many years and all he had on his camera roll were pictures of crime scene cases—-pretty morbid pictures. Bryce teased him about it and took a picture of herself. And so they started taking pictures of all these things from the moment where Bryce looked terrible after having come out of a sewer. I loved the little moments where Hunt would take photos because it highlighted how she was rubbing off on him that he would take those kinds of everyday photos to capture everything that happened between them. There were even photos we didn’t know about like where Bryce used her phone to take a photo of her Jelly Jubilee and other dolls on his bed and when they were by a river and tourists took photos of them in succession. The last photo was where they looked at each other with the look only those in love have—-looking at each other like they were the only two people in the world. Reading that, made me clutch my heart. It was special because we didn’t even read about that moment, but there was a photo to capture what they obviously felt for each other.
“And he could see it, this time. How her eyes—they had been so cold at the start. How even with her ridiculous pictures and poses, that smile hadn’t reached her eyes. But with each photo, more light had crept into them. Brightened them. Brightened his eyes, too. Until those last photos. When Bryce was near-glowing with joy.
She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.”
(pg. 626)
That really did it for me 🥺. Because Bryce was sad and harboring a lot. On the outside, she might have seemed fine and happy, but she truly wasn’t until she meant Hunt, someone who understood her pain and sorrow and helped her heal. I loved them together even if Hunt messed up.
Sandriel just had to rub their love in her face. And when people say love is a blessing and a weapon, they mean it in the way people can turn your love against you to hurt you. Sandriel did that with the photos. And I couldn’t stand how she put a TV monitor right in front of his cell where the photos played on a loop. LIKE HOW SAD. She was teasing him with the love he felt for Bryce, and the love he knew he messed up on. TORTURE INDEED.
When Hunt was leaving with Sandriel, Bryce went to go do something dumb, sorry selfless. No I mean dumb 😂.
She PULLED THE TAKE ME INSTEAD trope!!! 😰
BRYCE!! NOOOO!
I mean, WOW! BUT NO!
Honestly, my ideas of the end kept switching and I will say, Sarah J. Maas no matter how hard I tried to guess the ending, I truly did not get it right. At all.
At first, Bryce bursted in, saying she could buy Hunt off of her. When Sandriel laughed, I was like, how was Bryce, who was in debt to Jesiba already for Synrix, going to buy Hunt from an Archangel. It was laughable. But then she pulled out a check from Jesiba with more money than I could ever thought possible and I was like, she didn’t. She was already indebted to her and now Bryce was probably going to FOREVER be indebted to her for the amount she borrowed or took. I’m still wondering if Bryce took the money with Jesiba’s knowledge? Because Bryce borrowed from Jesiba before without her knowing that there was a dent in her money, so did Bryce just take from her again? It’s hard to believe Jesiba wouldn’t have noticed so much money gone from her account. Then when money wasn’t going to work, I couldn’t believe it when Bryce handed over her protective amulet to Sandriel—the amulet Jesiba gave her. Like. Bryce, no!!!! What are you doing?! That’s the thing that was protecting you from the Kristallos! 😰 And when Sandriel just crushed it to pieces? I was like, well there goes Bryce’s protection. Bryce literally gave up everything for him. And she then had to take it a step further and exchange herself. My mind ran through all the ideas of how now maybe this book would be a rescue mission to get her back or free her all the while Ruhn and Hunt worked towards that. But thank goodness, Ruhn came and stopped her from the exchange. It also meant having to reveal her true identity as the daughter of the Autumn King. And I would like to say, Hunt feeling lied to about Bryce not telling him she was the daughter of the Autumn King, was ridiculous. Bro, you had your secrets, you shouldn’t be judging her. But Ruhn claimed her to the court, so she couldn’t trade herself in. So the exchange never happened, which I was relieved about. But when Hunt walked past her and he was like:
“I owe you nothing, and you owe me nothing. Don’t ever come looking for me again.”
(pg. 643)
I knew he was just saying that to protect her—-to save her for sacrificing everything for him. So it was better to hurt her with the idea that he didn’t want her to save him. Boy, we knew he secretly did. And he couldn’t shake Bryce off that easily. If there’s one thing Bryce Quinlan is, is determined. She doesn’t quit.
Then the Summit happened and all things kept hitting the fan. Honestly, the Summit was a dull governmental meeting just for show if there ever was one. The only exciting thing that happened during the Summit before Bryce was when the new Queen of Valbaran—-Queen Hypaxia—– was revealed to be the medwtich that secretly worked with Ruhn and Hunt on the Synth and the antidote. That, I did not see coming. But I respected how she wanted to have a sense of normalcy and to know her people before being queen. I think there’s a HUGE future for her and Ruhn and I would love to explore that in the upcoming books.
But MY GOODNESS, MY GOSH!!! What happened between Micah and Bryce was the MOST EXCITING, TERRIFYING, AND CHILLING part of the book.
My mind was on OVERDRIVE.
I mean, when Jesiba got a call from her to open up the streaming at the library, I was like, this isn’t going to be good. And then Micah showed up. I was like, NOOOOOOOO 😰
That SICKO tried to come at her for what?! I still don’t fully comprehend his stupidity. Like are you an idiot? Yes. Yes he is. This sicko went to her in Jesiba’s library, trying to cop a feel and then he wants to reveal his whole I’m-a-killer-spiel to her and I WAS SHOOK. Because I thought we said this case was connected to Danika and the synth, but it was connected to him this whole time because he wanted the freaking Horn and to speed up the case, he enlisted Bryce to find it because he knew how close Danika and Bryce was. Before that Micah was behind everything with the Synth and Danika knew what Micah was up to and so he killed her for it. He waited for Phillip Briggs to be released so he could pin Danika’s murder on her, but he injected the pack and Danika with Synth, which explained how they ended up in piles. It also made more sense then Danika killing the pack and herself because she overdoesed on Synth because it made no sense why Danika would plead to herself (in the videos she pleaded before she passed away). But it was said the pleading was her pleading for herself to stop it, but I didn’t buy that because I would think eh pleading would have to come from a genuine sense of fear. So it didn’t make sense how she was the one who did everything. Now with Micah behind everything, it made more sense. I’m still curious what will happen to Phillip Briggs and if they will let him out of prison now that the truth is out. Then Micah revealed how he knew Bryce was the Horn and how Bryce had her suspicions. I find it kind of bonkers in the best way how the Horn was the tattoo on her back, just crushed in a fine powder to tattoo it on her. I laughed when Bryce was like “Blow me,” to him. We gotta love Horn humor 😅. It also made sense because I knew something was up with all the attacks. I always wondered how Bryce—-a person who never made the Drop and who was half Fae—was able to survive all those attacks. I thought it was the amulet, but it was also because she was the Horn. She drew the Kristallos, but the amulet protected her against it when she had it on, so I guess I was right about that. But Danika went above and beyond with setting up all these protections for Bryce early on with the apartment and everything—-Danika was always looking out for Bryce. The way he came onto her after that, trying to attack her and get to the Horn to “blow/use” it was so overwhelmingly terrifying and scary. And my gosh, my utmost respect went to Bryce because no matter how much she was tossed around like a bag of potatoes, she was fighting. Then Micah had the audacity to throw Syrinx in the glass tank with the nøk, and Bryce had to battle the nøk to get to her dog, just made my heart beat so fast. I mean, not only was she fighting against a supreme Archangel, but this weird creature in a tank that was out to get her. And it banged her head against a tank or something. I kept screaming at the head, where’s this darn Auxiliary and why weren’t they there?!!!???!!! 😰 I’m sorry, did they not have FREAKING WINGS? Did some of them not have FREAKING BROOMSTICKS to fly on? What are you doing!!!!? They were slacking and I would like to write a hefty, angered, bad Yelp review because my gosh, they were slow!!!!! This girl was being attacked and they thought out of all days, let’s take our freaking time!!!! I could not. And don’t get me started on how everyone at the summit just just WATCHED. Like this was reality TV. Excuse me, someone get off your butt, fly over there, and HELP HER. I don’t CARE if it takes you an hour and a half to fly your BUTT over to Crescent City, do it!!!! Sitting there, watching Bryce be attacked while you wait for someone else to help her, isn’t going to do anything but waste time, time they could have spent flying their butts to help her. I was UPSET. 😆
Oh, but Lehabah.
Lehabah, Lehabah, Lehabah.
Our sprite who loved fangs and bangs. Our sprite who loved gossip. Our sprite who gave her life for Bryce to make it up the stairs to escape Micah.
My heart 💔. I just couldn’t.
Bryce knew that it couldn’t be the both of them who made it up the stairs together when Micah was coming out. Bryce had a limp. But when Bryce told Lehabah that she bought her freedom, my heart just continued to break. Because out of all Bryce’s friends who were alive, Lehabah had been by her side through the good and the bad and never judged her for it. I loved that. And now she was going to give her life for her. When they said I love you? My is heart in pieces. Pieces I tell you.
“My friends are with me and I am not afraid.”
(pg. 703)
Chills. CHILLS.
Lehabah repeating that just gave me goosebumps, duck bumps, giraffe bumps. All kinds of bumps because my gosh the utter power of her words. Friendship is empowering and is something people would give their lives over. This book wasn’t about romance if you ask me, it was about the strength of friendship. Danika, Lehabah, Fury, Juniper—- all of them were there for each other. Friendship can help you face life unafraid. I loved that. I loved when everyone at the Summit stood up and did a little Katniss Everdeen salute to honor Lehabah and what she did for Bryce. It was deserved and heart-breaking. I was crying. 😢
Such a devastating scene. Yet it was followed by a horrific honor for Lehabah and Danika. Bryce took that antidote for the Synth because Micah injected her with Synth to give power to the Horn to open up a portal to another world. But nothing happened, so they thought it didn’t work. But the antidote ensured Bryce didn’t go crazy—-I’m so thankful she saved it and that it existed to help her. Because if Bryce went crazy from Synth . . . I could not. But MY GOSH, when Bryce took the gun and shot Micah through his head—-straight and steady. I was like, NO ONE, NO ONE, better be calling her trash after this 👏🏼!
She was fierce and lethal. And Micah deserved it. And when she vacuumed him up? ICONIC 😂.
Honestly, everyone at the Summit was getting Avengers: Endgame level of entertainment 😂. And everyone was flipping because a half-face killed a powerful Archangel. I couldn’t believe that people were saying they were going to kill Bryce because of what she did. I’m sorry, she was defending herself against a killer who was going to “blow/use” the Horn. She had every right to do what she did. And vacuum that piece of filth!
But then, the portal apparently did open and demons are running loose and I just think to myself, man, someone cut this girl a break. I mean, her life has just been one big garbage dump after another. She needs a vacation 😅.
I was still highly upset and curious at this point why NO ONE at the Summit moved their butt. I swear, they would be there by now if they just left. And they still waited until Hunt was like, no we’re going, because they were waiting for a freaking helicopter. **Shakes head*** Should have left sooner. Why need a helicopter when you are POWERFUL FREAKING BEINGS. I DIGRESS.
Bryce has so much character in her. The fact that she only had a nearly empty gun, Danika’s sword (which Sabine was having a field day over, I bet 😂), no powers, no immortality, and she was putting her life at risk to help those get to shelter, including prioritizing the mortals? She’s a true warrior. A true fighter. Nothing but admiration here.
I loved the moment when Ithan came to help her. That made my heart happy because it emphasized how much he was trying to make things right— how much he knew he was wrong for misjudging Bryce. They were going to make it to a shelter door, racing towards it, but when it was about to close. . . I knew what Bryce was going to do. It’s the type of person she was. She made sure Ithan got through, while she was left stuck outside. I can’t say this enough, she’s just selfless. Completely and utterly.
Bryce was alone and being attacked left and right. She was out of ammunition. And my gosh, I couldn’t imagine how tired she was after being attacked by Micah, losing a friend, killing Micah, running to get people to safety, and now being by herself. My goodness. So it made sense when she was on the ground and she called someone. And you know who she called? Not Ghostbusters.
She called Hunt! 😫
I loved how everyone in the room looked to Sandirel when the phone rang and they were all telling her to give the phone to Hunt 😰.
And he answered and was like “Help is coming soon . . . and go to your apartment.” But Bryce was so resigned and felt defeated and alone and this was the part where I bawled my eyes out. Like a baby 😭. Bryce told Hunt to call her mom and say that she was sorry, to call Randall and tell him he was proud to call him her father, to tell Fury she was sorry, Juniper thank you for being that day on the roof, and Ruhn that she forgave him. Let’s backtrack, because when she says the part about Juniper and the roof, I could feel Ruhn and Hunt’s heart break because they never knew it had gotten that bad with her sadness and to them it felt like they weren’t there to help her through that pain. And when she said she forgave Ruhn and Ruhn started crying, I cried MORE. But wow, when she said to Hunt:
“Hunt.” The entire world went quiet. “I was waiting for you.”. . .She put a hand on her chest. Over her heart. “I was waiting for you—-in here.”
(pg. 736)
I needed my 1,000 pack tissues! 🤧
BRYCE!
Then this freaking girl point blank runs into one of the gates.
Because you know, she had starborn light in her—-she was the heir to the starborn fae. It was the secret she kept this whole time. I genuinely didn’t see this coming. The whole story alluded to this day where Danika and Bryce were almost killed by these two people at gunpoint and how later that day when they were injured, they said I love you to each other. When Bryce runs into the gate, there’s the flashback of that day and how Bryce used her Starborn power to blind them to save her and Danika. So Danika knew about Bryce’s power, one of the only people who did beside Bryce’s family. It also made sense now why Danika would put the Horn’s power in Bryce, because the Horn could only be wielded by someone who was Starborn, so her. To me it was a beautiful scene because here were two young women who loved each other so much and trusted each other with their secrets. She was able to close one gate and if she wanted to save the city, she would have had to use her light at all the gates. But just the one alone drained her.
Hunt, Ruhn, and everyone watched Bryce from the feeds and the Asteri were going to move in and attack the city. I’m still curious, what’s the difference between an Asterii and the Asterian Guard people?
During all the chaos, Hypaxia was able to dissolve the halo around Hunt’s forehead. I still want to understand how she was able to do that? Could she do it for the other enslaved? But when that tattoo came out, the lightning came out. Hunt truly had his Thor moment where he literally snapped the life out of Sandriel with his bolts 😅. And when he had her head in his hands? My goodness, wasn’t Bryce and Hunt a perfect match?! 😂 I mean, one vacuumed up her kill, the other said off with her head 🤪! This begs the question now, who would rule in her place? Obviously, I think it’s Pollux and the rest of Sandriel’s legion. So I’m interested to see that dynamic against Hunt in the future. With Sandriel gone, everyone finally got the common sense to go there and help Bryce so they did. I loved how they all did what Hunt said and how much of a natural leader Hunt was in the situation. No one was going to mess with his woman.
As they were nearing Crescent City in the helicopter, the Asterian Guard had their bombs ready to rain down chaos. They were really going to blow the whole city to pieces, not caring who got hurt, especially if that person was Bryce too. But Hunt, he freaking sky dived out of the helicopter with his newly grown wings to protect her from the blast of the bombs because goodness knows Bryce wouldn’t have survived that. Even Hunt might not because those bombs were inhumane and lethal. When Hunt wasn’t moving or seemed lost, I lost it. First Bryce, then him 😫. And this bro jumped out of a plane to save her! Help was on the way honey—-he was on the way! 😰
So came the awaited moment of the Drop. The thing we were all waiting for Bryce to do. She chose to do it in the moment because it could generate the first light and because she had the Horn power, it could close the gates and save Hunt. And when Bryce said “I believe it happened for a reason. I believe it all happened for a reason,” I felt that. She hadn’t done the Drop until now just for this moment. It’s CRAZY good planning and plot writing 👌🏼.
So, you probably don’t know, but when I read books, I take notes. And in my notes, from the very beginning, I wrote, we’re going to see Danika again. I bet. Because Sarah J. Maas mentioned the Bone Quarter and the Crossing and I kept thinking at one point I think Bryce will either see Danika by going to the Bone Quarter or they will meet halfway or something. But I felt that we needed to see Danika again to get that closure. So when Bryce was looking for an Anchor in the Drop, she called into the ether, for anyone to be there and then when all hope seemed lost, Danika’s voice came through and I was like, IT’S HERE! IT’S TIME! This is their moment and it was everything and more ❣️. I have to say out of all of Sarah J. Maa’s friendships so far, this by far is the most well-written and best. The best. Truly. I mean, Dorian and Chaol who? 😆 I’m joking. But not really, because they got nothing on Bryce and Danika. Nothing.
This was probably, hands-down, one of my favorite scenes of the book. Where Danika told Bryce to light it up and kept encouraging her to do so. Everyone at the Summit was watching her still and Declan, one of Ruhn’s friends (who’s really good with technology, I must say), were shocked that she was making the Drop with a dead soul as an Anchor because it shouldn’t be possible. They watched as Bryce shone and they couldn’t believe that she was surpassing even the Autumn King’s level, but you know, her father was too ego filled and doubted his own daughter would make the ascension part of the Drop. I tell you, I didn’t doubt for a SECOND that Bryce wouldn’t Ascend. You know, if she could fight an Archangel, kill a Kristallos, bear the Horn, and do all these things before the Drop, she could make the Drop.
They were counting down the seconds for Bryce to Ascend. Bryce was in this limbo area where she could see Danika and it was such a beautiful moment. Like chef kisses 😘👌🏼.
“Bryce’s voice broke as she said, “We were supposed to do this together. We were supposed to live out our lives together.”
Danika’s face softened. “I know, B.” She took her hand. “But that’s not how it turned out.”
Bryce bowed her head, thinking she’d crack apart. “I miss you. Every moment of every day.”
“I know,” Danika said again, and put a hand over her heart. “And I’ve felt it. I’ve seen it.”
(pg. 771)
Honestly, who cares about Hunt anymore?! I just LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP 😭.
“She swallowed, looking at the ground that was not earth, but the very base of Self, of the world. She whispered, “I’m scared.”
Danika grabbed her hand again. “That’s the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious.” She took Bryce’s face in her hands and pressed their brows together.
Bryce closed her eyes and inhaled Danika’s scent, somehow still present in this form. “I don’t think I can make it back up.”
. . .”Just try, Bryce. One try. I’ll be with you every step of the way. Even if you can’t see me. I will always be with you.”
Bryce didn’t look at that too-short runway. The endless ocean above them, separating her from life. She just memorized the lines of Danika’s face, as she had not had the chance to do before. “I love you Danika,” she whispered.
(pg. 773)
Bryce just really needed closure with her friends and I’m happy she got it. Because even in the afterlife, her friend was there for her and supported her. Danika was her light, her rock, her love, her home. And Danika reminded Bryce why there were so many reasons for her to keep living and to keep trying. When Danika said she could feel how much Bryce missed her, that hurt my heart because I’m thinking that Bryce and everyone in the Bone Quarter are like Declan and everyone at the Summit—-watching people’s lives play out—-and if Danika was watching Bryce’s life play out for the last two years—–Bryce not dancing, her not drinking, her still working with Jesiba, Bryce almost jumping off the roof—-then Danika knew what Bryce felt. She really did know. And that has got to hurt knowing that and seeing her friend suffer and not being able to be there to support her, to know she wasn’t alone. When Danika said that she would always be with Bryce even if Bryce couldn’t see her, my heart was crying happy tears. Because Bryce also needed to know Danika loved her and was there. When you lose someone, it’s beyond hard and you want that person to be with you physically. Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that they are because they aren’t there in person, so I liked the closure and reminder Bryce got. To know that no matter what, Danika was there and would always be there to cheer her on. Her love, her rock, her home, her friend. And when Bryce said she was scared to Danika, I felt Bryce finally alleviate a weight ever since Danika passed away. She’s been scared—-to let herself live fully and to be happy—-because her friend wasn’t there. But I hope Bryce can go forth and do what Danika would have wanted her to do—-to live. And I must say, I loved how they played to do the Drop together and how they still did it together!
I also loved the tidbit of how the pack all made it to the Bone Quarter and how Connor was there. I really would have loved to seen more of Conor when he was live because he was such a good character too, gone too soon 😪.
For Danika, for Connor, for Hunt, and herself, Bryce leaped to make the Ascent at the very last seconds and I was just like YES, BRYCE!!!! 👏🏼👏🏼
And when the Autumn King was like:
“How,” the Autumn King asked no one in particular. “How?”
(pg. 775)
My mind already knew the answer. And it all just made so much sense and it was BEYOND good writing, I mean bow down to Sarah J. Maas!
I screamed, and say it with me now, THROUGH LOVE, ALL IS POSSIBLE ❣️.
I mean, what a beautiful, beautiful, stunning moment. And the saying that I thought was a cliché in some ways, took on a WHOLE new meaning and I LOVED it. Because no one thought she could make it (I thought she could) because it seemed impossible, but Danika’s fate from the very beginning was that quote and it didn’t mean a lot except to Bryce and the bond she had with Danika. But it truly was the fate the Oracle saw because Bryce made it, she made it with Danika because through love all is possible. And again, I will say this, this book does friendship to a beautiful, WHOLE new level, and I LOVED it.
When Bryce came back into the world, Hunt was healed and the doors closed, which I still want to understand more about how her Drop powers were able to do that? Was it because she had the Horn power in her and it generated more first light? I’m not sure, if you know, let me know because I get confused sometimes 😅. But I laughed when Hunt came back to life and he made a joke of how she called him a coward when she was telling him to come back to life before she made the Drop 😂. It was cute. He was fine.
I would just like to say, they had a HECK of day, and I don’t understand how they had the ENERGY to go back to her apartment after EVERYTHING and start to get it on 😂. Like they kind of saved the world and they were heroes to everyone and they wanted to do the dirty 😆. Their priorities amaze me. But now, thank goodness, the Mom interrupted them 😂. Gotta love Ember.
After everything, things were trying to clean itself up. People were coming out of their hiding places. Juniper was okay and so was Fury who raced to her girlfriend. I wondered what happened to the people at the Summit and what was going on. Isiah was now in charge of Micah’s place (for now) and he needed Hunt’s help to sort things out. But then they get this call from this Rigelus dude, the Bright Hand of the Asteri, which I’m still confused about who he is and why he’s so powerful. But he basically threatened Hunt and Bryce to live a “normal and quiet life,” or else he would hurt Bryce’s parents . He also told her to make sure no one knew she and Hunt killed prime supreme beings like Governors or Archangels because if word got out, it would make their power seem inferior—-that if a half-face like her had that immense power to cause that much damage, others could too. And there were revolutions coming left and right and they didn’t want their power being questioned. So they were scared of Bryce’s power and saw her as a threat. It makes me wonder what’s going to happen in the next books. I think Phillip Briggs will become free and he will be the leader of a revolution against Pollux and Sandriel’s triarii. I think Hunt will also lead a revolution in the name of his friends because the world they live in still isn’t fair or right, so I still think a part of him wants to fight for a better world and I think he will along with everyone else, but we just have to work our way towards that. I think Queen Hypaxia might be part of the revolution because they are already on good terms with her. But something’s going to happen with the world being changed, I feel it.
I really enjoyed the moment between Ruhn and Bryce after everything where they talk about how much they loved and forgave each other. They truly do care for one another and I hope to see their relationship build with the upcoming books. Oh, and I would also like to see where Ruhn’s mind reading and talking power goes in the future.
The final moments of the book were pure sweetness. Bryce sat on a bench near the Bone quarter, long at her texts. She was going to try dancing again. But she also looked at Connor’s last text to her.
“Message me when you’re home safe.
Bryce began typing. The answer had taken her two years, nearly to the day, to write.
I’m home.”
(pg. 797)
I just couldn’t stop smiling 🥺. After all she’d been through, she finally felt free and like she was home again. Or she had a home. Or she was finishing herself again, knowing she had closure and so much love and support around her. She let go of the messages from him and Danika, and to me it felt like her goodbye to them—-that she was finally ready to move on and heal. Then she looked across the Bone Quarter and it was alluded that Connor and the pack were there. Danika wasn’t there because her soul moved on because she visited Bryce in the Drop. But seeing Connor, even if he wasn’t specifically named, made my heart clench.
The epilogue had me like what the BONKERS.
So let’s talk about Aidas, Prince of the Chasm. Someone we met. When Bryce went to see the Oracle when she was thirteen, the Oracle was blinded by Bryce’s fate, which now makes a lot of sense 😂. Honey had Starborn light in her. That day, Aidas came to her in the from of a white cat because some princes can sneak through the rift as animals. And he told her to stop crying and asked her what blinds an Oracle? And she said what sort of cat visits an Oracle? Years later, this is why Bryce summoned Aidas to get quicker answers on the Kristallos; she wasn’t scared of him excuse she talked to him once. I had so many questions like why did he visit her that day? How did she know where she was? Why was she so nice to her? And why did he say when he summoned her, to come find him after she made the Drop? Like what is his plan. He seems like a smooth-talker and it’s interesting. He gives me Sabrina the Teenage Witch vibes, you know the guy in season three with the long golden hair. I forget his name. But we’re seeing him in the next book, for sure.
Then there’s Jesiba. Jesiba is Bryce’s boss, who we don’t see much of throughout the book. She’s always in her office or yelling at Bryce, but I thought it was strange we just never saw her or that she never visited Bryce. Was that strange to you? Jesbia also used to be a different house before she switched, so why the switch? What happened with that? I’m also curious as to why she has the Great Library of Parthos (has all the knowledge of the ancient world)? And all these books? Like who is Jesiba? She seems like a complete enigma and I’m wondering what her secret is. Is she good or bad? 🤔 What are your thoughts on Aidas and/or Jesiba? Theories?
At the end it seems like they are working together on something and I’m not sure what. They kept talking about Bryce’s light and how it was similar to Princess Theia’s. And I said in my notes since they read about Princess The and Prince Pelias in the books, that Bryce is a descendent of the mysterious unknown younger daughter of the two. She has to be to bear such light. It just makes me curious as to how that works. I’m also interested to know who Hunt’s dad is and why he would be proud? Who is his dad? We heard about Hunt’s mom being a regular, hard-working woman and the dad not in the picture, but if Hunt has all these unique lightning powers, he had to get it from someone. His dad? Who is his dad? How did Hunt get his powers?
And I’m still curious if the portals will stay closed? Will they open again? Or were they completely destroyed after everything? You know something I thought was kind of oddly funny, was how Crescent City was a tourist town 😂. I would think with everything going on, that’s the last thing it would be, but I guess all cities need tourist.
The one thing I think doesn’t makes sense is why Jesiba says “Don’t f*** us over this time, Aidas.” Did they plan for everything to happen? Did they know? Why are they working together? What are they working on? Why are they hiding the library? What’s about to get interesting? When I read that, I was like Darn. So much for Bryce’s vacation and their normal life 😅.
In addition to all my other questions, here are some other theories on what I hope to see or are curious about in the upcoming books. I wonder what the Autumn King will react to Bryce’s newfound power being more than his. Is Sabine going to want her sword back? 😂 Is Bryce still going to work with Jesiba or not? Is Bryce still indebted to her? Did Jesiba hire her because of this plan she has with Aidas? What of Ruhn’s fate?
I hope we see Pollux and Hunt interact in the next book. I also want to know more about the great Asterian Guard and the higher Asteri and what their power is like. I also want to explore the world outside of Crescent City. I also know we’re going to have to see Bryce and Aidas in the future because she made the Drop now and should go see him.
What are questions you still have? What are your theories? Let me know and we can discuss below! ❣️.
I would say my top favorite moments were the Danika and Bryce Drop moment and when Hunt and Bryce bathed each other.
My top favorite hard-to-read-because-it-was-so-sad-and-hard moments were Bryce’s giving up/goodbye scene, Lehabah’s sacrifice, Hunt’s betrayal, Danika and the pack being shredded to pieces, and Danika’s birthday.
All the moments were good 😊.
Well, this review is long enough, but I just want to say no one writes books like Sarah J. Maas and writing books is never easy, so I would just like to say a massive thank you to Sarah J. Maas and anyone and everyone who helped her or supported her along the way. Because it takes a great amount of creativity, time, finesse, quality, patience, passion and love to create such a beautiful work of fantasy. And I would just like to voice my utmost appreciation. Thank you for writing a story that had taken me out of this world and into a world even more complex, but still full of so much love, passion, and light. It highlights how even in the hardest, darkest, loneliest, most painful times, there is still life to live and to find the light in it. It’s such a great reminder. And I don’t know if Sarah J. Maas is going to read this, gosh knows this review is as long as her book 😂, but THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart thank your whole team ❣️.
Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? Anything I mentioned that you want to discuss more about? What Midgard house would you be in? I think I would be House of Many Waters because I love the ocean, but I think it would be cool to be House of Sky and Breath. Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕
I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this.
And as always, with love,
Rating
5+ Full Bloom Flowers
Characters: You genuinely love all the characters (except maybe some characters), but you love all of them. They all have such beautiful arcs and complexities. Bryce, is such selfless woman with a humongous heart. And Hunt, such a beautiful specimen with humongous wings 😂. My favorite character besides Bryce, probably had to be Lehabah and Ruhn—gosh I can’t even choose just one!
Plot: I just LOVED it. Plain and simple. It’s not just a fantasy, it’s not just a mystery. It’s a friendship book. It’s a love book. It’s empowering. It’s beautiful.
Writing: Sarah J. Maas needs a throne she can sit on so I can bow down to her authorship. She treats stories like no other, and House of Earth and Blood really outdid itself ❣️
Action: I will admit the beginning was kind of slow in terms of HUGE mega action, but there were a lot of exciting points when they were solving the mystery, but the last 200 pages unleashed everything with nothing being held back. It’s sooooo good!!
Romance: Hunt and Bryce have such a complex relationship, but I loved how they learned to see each other once they had those intimate moments. I also loved how Sarah J. Maas created such a beautiful relationship between Connor and Bryce in the span of 100 or so pages. So well done. But the romance I love most, was Danika’s and Bryce. Friendship is love, and through love, all is possible.