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A review by savage_book_review
House of Sky and Breath (2 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation] by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This was my most anticipated adaptation in the series so far for many reasons. And as a result I found it the most disappointing one so far. It's not bad, not at all, but after so much build up there are a lot of elements that are left wanting.
I'll come straight out with it. The resolution of the UST between Bryce and Hunt was hotter in the book. Everything in the GA just felt really one sided, with the voice actor for Bryce going for it and barely a peep out of Hunt. Very much a whimper rather than a 'roar' on his part! And yet conversely, I felt Hunt's voice actor portrayed the more heartfelt, romantic elements far better than Bryce; his alphahole protection drive really came across well, as did his soft and sweet side.
I also feel like this is where the story as a whole loses its way a bit. By now, there are too many elements to keep an easy track of, and none of them seem to go into huge amounts of depth. As a result, I just don't care so much about the majority of the events. I do like all of the characters; again, this is where the audio does help, because I finally feel like I'm relating to them all properly. But what they're up to and their motives? Not so much. On this point, it clicked what my main issue is - a lot of the plot hinges on Danika's secrets. But there are so many, it starts yo come across as a bit of a crutch, like "oops, I've written myself into a corner. I know! I'll have the resolution be another secret Danika wad keeping!".
And ah, the ending. I did wonder how they were going to deal with certain elements, but they did it fantastically well! But I totally forgot about the epilogue, which in the audio version really crashes the party! Those two chapters should have been the other way around IMO...
I am really looking forward to the Flame and Shadow GA, but part one isn't out until December. And as much as I don't like leaving a series mid way through, I don't think I'd cope with switching back to the 'straight' audiobook. Ah well, plenty of other stuff to listen to between now and then!
I'll come straight out with it. The resolution of the UST between Bryce and Hunt was hotter in the book. Everything in the GA just felt really one sided, with the voice actor for Bryce going for it and barely a peep out of Hunt. Very much a whimper rather than a 'roar' on his part! And yet conversely, I felt Hunt's voice actor portrayed the more heartfelt, romantic elements far better than Bryce; his alphahole protection drive really came across well, as did his soft and sweet side.
I also feel like this is where the story as a whole loses its way a bit. By now, there are too many elements to keep an easy track of, and none of them seem to go into huge amounts of depth. As a result, I just don't care so much about the majority of the events. I do like all of the characters; again, this is where the audio does help, because I finally feel like I'm relating to them all properly. But what they're up to and their motives? Not so much. On this point, it clicked what my main issue is - a lot of the plot hinges on Danika's secrets. But there are so many, it starts yo come across as a bit of a crutch, like "oops, I've written myself into a corner. I know! I'll have the resolution be another secret Danika wad keeping!".
And ah, the ending. I did wonder how they were going to deal with certain elements, but they did it fantastically well! But I totally forgot about the epilogue, which in the audio version really crashes the party! Those two chapters should have been the other way around IMO...
I am really looking forward to the Flame and Shadow GA, but part one isn't out until December. And as much as I don't like leaving a series mid way through, I don't think I'd cope with switching back to the 'straight' audiobook. Ah well, plenty of other stuff to listen to between now and then!