#still really missing my hoeab bryce

[ladyelain]

What are your expectations from's elain character? I mean what kind of role do you think will she play in the upcoming books especially with the crossover now and is there anything you're hoping from feyre in the future? Because I really do miss her in the series

Okayy, so, first off, I still haven’t finished hoeab lol so I’m not that deep into the crossover subject. To me it's mostly marketing, I don’t hate it, but also didn't really need it, considering we're barely halfway through the CC series, plus have so many unexplored places in Prythian.

Elain, I don’t think will be too involved with Bryce. As an Elucien shipper through and through I obviously see her path aligning with Lucien's sooner or later. Her set up is very clear, has been for several books, which is why sjm keeps her on stand by mode. At the same time Elain is connected to so many different plot lines, it’ll be difficult enough to wrap that all up in one book.

She’s definitely going to play a major part in Vassa's rescue. She’s very likeable and a great mediator, when given the chance to, so I can definitely see her take over more responsibility when it comes to building alliances between the courts. It’s also what sets her apart from other characters because, respectfully, most of them don’t necessarily excel at making friends. I’m pretty certain Elain’s going to visit Autumn, obviously Day Court, maybe Spring, and the way she got introduced to Eris at the ball makes me hope for some supreme brother/sister-in-law content.

As for my darling Feyre… I miss her too and cried with her when she thought she was going to die, not because of the actual information but because I had missed her that much. Since I’m a nerd for Prythian politics, I'd love to see more of ✨High Lady✨ Feyre, apart from the dresses and drinks. However, we all need to accept Feyre's story is told. Can we stop bashing the mommy content? I never would have said this after finishing acosf, but I grew very fond of milf!feyre. She didn’t get to experience a happy childhood herself, let alone youth, so I'm sure it’s her biggest goal to give all of that to Nyx.

#asks <3 #elain archeron #feyre archeron #elucien

[houseofhurricane]

HOSAB SPOILERS

I want to take a minute to talk about why I think Bryce's time in Prythian and with the Inner Circle will be short, and why I don't think we'll be getting a full-scale Avengers Assemble crossover in CC3.

Let's start with precedent.

First, the last book in an SJM series has always started with the protagonist in a location they have to escape. In ACOTAR, this is Feyre at the Spring Court in ACOWAR, which takes up about 15% of that book. In TOG, this is Aelin in the coffin in KOA, which takes up approximately the first third of that book. I'm noting percentages because I think they're useful to consider. While Feyre's stint in the Spring Court is shorter, hers is the only perspective in ACOWAR, so to move the action forward, SJM had to get her out of the Spring Court quicker. In contrast, TOG's multiple perspectives meant that Aelin in the coffin wasn't necessarily holding back the story.

As a result, it seems likely that Bryce will spend up to a third of CC3 out of Midgard. Keep in mind, though, that Bryce's ultimate destination is Hel, so that time will likely be split between Prythian and at least one other location.

Second on precedent, let's consider SJM's previous crossover: Aelin falling through Velaris, as well as Crescent City. This is a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, but it's actually really effective for readers of both series. We get to see Feyre and Rhys, find out that Feyre is pregnant (moving that plot forward slightly!), we confirm that the ACOTAR world is distinct from the TOG world, and Rhys helps ensure that Aelin reaches her world intact. It's quick, it's satisfying, and, perhaps most impressively, it achieves all of that without impeding the ongoing plot of KOA.

Which brings me to my next point: SJM has truly not set up the Crescent City universe for a full-on crossover.

In my opinion, part of what makes the Avengers crossovers work is that the individual heroes' movies have pretty trimmed-down casts, and the hero is always the star of the show. For example, you're not going to watch Iron Man for more of Pepper Potts, and as great as Zendaya is, I don't know that people are watching Spiderman just for her. When the heroes all come together, the rest of the world falls away.

If this were what SJM was going for, I think that we would've seen her trimming away at the characters in HOSAB. We would have focused on a core group, perhaps even just Bryce and Hunt, so that there would be space for all the new characters. Instead, SJM does the opposite: she introduces a ton of characters who are not only compelling, but capable of moving the plot forward. Don't believe me? Here's an incomplete list: Lidia, Baxian, Celestina, the Ocean Queen, Ariadne, and Cormac.

Plus, SJM spends a lot of time developing characters she introduced in HOEAB, giving them arcs and backstories and complexity we didn't see before. Ruhn, Ithan, and Tharion are the primary characters who receive this treatment, but Flynn and Declan get extra attention, too.

With all these characters and arcs, there literally isn't page time for the Inner Circle (or the High Lords, etc) to inhabit this book as fully-realized characters with arcs. It would be a disservice to the Crescent City characters, and rather than worrying that SJM doesn't realize that, I think she's made it pretty clear that she will do the Crescent City characters justice, and give them a book that primarily resolves their stories and arcs.

On a plot level, the Crescent City crew doesn't need the Inner Circle to save them, or even to advise them. They will likely benefit from having Truth Teller (I've written a bit more on that here), and of course if Rhys or the other High Lords could spare armies, I'm sure nobody would object, but is Rhys even in a position to offer the Illyrian or Darkbringer armies at this point? Bryce very likely still needs to go to Hel.

And this brings me to the main reason why I think this crossover is going to be short: SJM is always driving after the emotional stakes for the characters. There are emotional stakes to Bryce's being in another world when her mate and her brother are captive. There are emotional stakes for Bryce going to Hel. As fun and shocking as it is to see Bryce in Prythian, the only stakes for her revolve around Truth Teller.

Let's talk about object quests for a minute. SJM, up to this point, has always treated them as secondary to character arcs. Consider Nesta looking for the Mask and the Harp in ACOSF. Once she feels ready to find those objects, she finds them quite easily -- she doesn't need to go to secondary locations, for example, or fight enemies to keep the Trove in her possession. The point is Nesta's character arc, not the Dread Trove. SJM's mythology is always treated similarly, as information that drives the plot and character arcs, rather than an end in itself.

If SJM wanted to, she could have set this crossover up with emotional stakes for the characters. Instead, she set us up with information, mythology and objects. While these are cool and I think will have implications across both ACOTAR and CC, I believe that she purposefully made sure there wasn't a character or plot arc that required the crossover. These characters will exchange information and likely Azriel will have to give Bryce Truth Teller, but I think that most of their time will be occupied by trying to help Bryce get out of Prythian. (I think it's possible that 1-2 ACOTAR characters might travel with her, but overall it seems likelier that these characters stay in the Night Court.)

Finally, keep in mind that there is only one book left in the Crescent City series. SJM has said as recently as the HOSAB tour that her contract for this series is three books. While Bloomsbury did extend her contract for TOG, SJM was a brand-new author then. Signing her for a seven book series was a huge risk. She's now incredibly successful. If she had wanted to write a longer series, I have no doubt that Bloomsbury would have given her that contract with their blessing. With one more book, with so many character arcs to resolve, with SJM's commitment to character over object quests or mythology, and with her precedent for protagonists in the last books of her series, I think that we're going to spend some brief but quality time in Prythian before Bryce continues her journey.

Of course, SJM is the queen of satisfying plot twists, so if I'm wrong about this, I'm sure I'm going to enjoy the journey.

#house of sky and breath #house of sky and breath spoilers #hosab #hosab spoilers #cc2 #sjm #acosf #house of sky and breath theory #bryce quinlan #hoeab #i love talking about structure so this was really fun #putting my english major to good use

[bookofmirth]

Hi Lele! I’m seeking your advice if I should read the crescent city series or not. So I prefer tog over acotar because I enjoy more plot driven fantasy novels with romance side plots, rather than a romance novel that takes place in a fantasy setting. I enjoyed acomaf the most in the acotar series and I’m still reading the series because I care about the characters, but if it wasn’t for loving tog I probably wouldn’t have gone out of my way to read acotar. I wasn’t really a fan of the way acosf was written as an adult romance either. I know the og trilogy was also adult romance but it did feel less explicit, which I preferred. I skipped most of the explicit nessian scenes and felt like I missed out on a decent amount of the book, so I wouldn’t want the same to happy with Hunt and Bryce. My favorite SJM couple is definitely rowaelin, idk if any of the cc couples have a similar relationship. What do you think, should I go for it??

Hello friend!

I think that if you like plot, and if you like rowaelin, then you would like CC.

Crescent City definitely focuses on plot way, way more than acotar, and maybe even more than ToG. It's more complex in terms of the world also, which can be a mixed bag. There is a bit more infodumping in CC.

The romance isn't the focus either. She still has that balance between the importance of romantic and platonic love, and I'd argue that friendship is more important in CC than romantic relationships. There are great ships, but they aren't the reason the story is moving forward.

The main ship in CC reminds me of rowaelin a bit. There isn't quite the same emotional journey, rowaelin will always be my sjm OTP, but I do see some similarities between them. @tangledraysofsunshine just read HOEAB for the first time and I could tell she was LOVING the similarities between them, and she adores rowaelin too. It's a slower burn, and they become friends first, like rowaelin do.

If you read it, I hope you enjoy!

#crescent city #hoeab #ask #anon