I Went From DNF to Emotional Breakdown (Cresent City)

This week I finally forced myself to read House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas…after attempting it FOUR separate times.

Did I understand everything? No.
 Did I spend most of the book confused? Absolutely.
 Did I end up emotionally devastated anyway? Unfortunately, yes.

We’re talking murder, demons, magical drugs, broody fallen angels, friendship trauma, portals to hell, and me literally crying in traffic towards the end.

https://www.threads.com/@dwrtsbpodcast?xmt=AQF0Fkz9eLEVexsjff3_t2GBl6-AoOmx3XFc_iip9YNQTpM

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi everyone, it's Sadie. Welcome to Did We Read the Same Book? Okay, so I want to just start by saying I'm sick right now, so I'm so sorry if I sound a little weird or congested. I'm not feeling congested, it's just my throat hurts really bad, and I'm kind of losing my voice here and there. But bear with me, hopefully I feel better like tomorrow or something. Okay, so this week I have decided to try to get through the Crescent City series. I have picked this book up, the first book, House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Moss. I've picked this book up, I think like maybe four times. I've tried doing the like actually reading it, the physical copy. I've tried listening to it. I just can't get into it for some reason. I don't know why. I hear it so good and to push through and that it's you know a favorite. So I'm really, really trying here. I have made it farther than I usually do. I'm actually almost done with part one. But anyways, I'm on chapter six right now, and I've got to tell you as many times as I have reread the first couple chapters, usually up to like chapter two, maybe I think I've gotten to three a little bit before, but I never remember what the heck is going on in this book. And I'm gonna say again, like, I still don't know what's going on in this book. I don't think it's complicated, I think it's just not interesting to me right now. So I just keep like, I'm reading the words, but I'm not, it's not sticking. So what I can say, what I do remember, um, let me get into that right now, is the main character right now is Bryce. It's it's shifting a lot for me for like point of views. So I I don't know if the book is gonna continue being like about Bryce. I don't really know, but as of right now, we learn about Bryce. She is like a partier, she's kind of wild, she has like her two best friends. Um so sorry, I'm just like I'm really not feeling good. Holy moly, anyway. She has two best friends, Danica and I don't remember the boy's name. It starts with the C. But, anyways, so she's out partying, she's at a club, and then I got to the part that I hear I hear people, you know, this is where it sticks for people, and then the story just gets better afterwards. But I got to the part where her best friend is murdered, like she goes back to her apartment after, you know, coming back from the clubs, and she finds that anyway, she finds that Danica and then her other friend are both like murdered in the most gruesome way possible, they're like torn to pieces, and it's a bloodbath in the apartment, and then she also uh realizes that the killer is still in the area, so she is panicked, but she's also on a lot of drugs, so she's not sure what's reality and what's not, but then she realizes like no, this is real, this is happening, so she leaves and she catches sight of the killer, and she thinks it's a wolf, and so she like starts chasing him, and then she finds him in like an alleyway tearing apart an angel. Um, so she tries to save the angel. I'm not sure I might have missed it, but I don't know if the angel survives or not, because she kind of like blacks out a little bit because of so much like trauma and then the drugs and everything happening, right? There's a lot going on, and so when the they're not, I mean they're police, yeah, but they're for like the magical world, so she lives in modern times in like the modern world, but magical beings are like you know, they're everywhere, so she's half fe half human, and there's angels and like wolves and demons and stuff like that. It's pretty cool actually. Um I am looking forward to getting into the book more because I think the world building is is decent, so yeah. So she goes in and she's like catatonic, she's not talking, she's just sitting there, and then now it shifts to a different point of view where they're just observing her and they're trying to get answers. Like, what did you see? What happened, you know? Um, so obviously they're investigating the murder and everything else. They're they have footage of the attack in the alley, but they don't have footage of what happened in the apartment, so that's what they're trying to get out of her. So I just ended at a part where they play the audio because they can't see in the apartment, but they have surveillance audio from a camera that was on but didn't capture any images. And then you could just hear like this gruesome attack, and you hear Danica being, you know, ripped apart and screaming and crying and asking for mercy and for help pretty much. And then Bryce starts, she's still in like her stupor, but she starts throwing up and she's obviously not doing well, and that is where I'm at right now. Yes, it is an interesting book, yeah, and it's really long, so I'm really hoping that it picks up a little bit more because, like I said, I'm not into it really right now, but I heard to just keep going and push through because it gets so much better, and that a lot of people like it actually better than Aquatar. So I will see. I'll be back hopefully tomorrow when I do another update. My voice is back and I don't sound like a dying cat. I'm so sorry. All right, I'll talk to you guys in a little bit. Okay, hi everybody. I am feeling a little bit better. I'm still a little congested, so I'm so sorry. I don't mean to be super sniffly during this episode. I'm gonna try to like keep it to a minimum, but I can't promise anything. So, anyways, it's been a few days, okay, since my last recording, and a lot has happened in the book. Like, I am almost on part three. I've already read all part one, and I've already read part two, I think almost entirely part two. I I don't have much left really of the book, to be honest. Okay, so where do I even start? I feel like there's so much going on in this book, and I'm having a hard time keeping up, to be honest. I don't feel like I mean, maybe I'm just like not super smart right now. I don't know. Like I've lost brain cells being sick, who knows? But I just feel like I can't remember what is happening in this story for some reason. And I actually really do like this genre a lot, and I usually get into it, but I'm just not really into this book for some reason. I don't know why. It's not bad, so please like don't let don't let me stop you from picking this book up if you're just listening to me talk about it now and you haven't like read it.

unknown 8:11

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

I think it's just really the story and the fact that there's so many characters, and I'm keep I'm forgetting who's who, but anyhow, so what I do remember of the book is that so Bryce, you know, part two is like a few years later, and Bryce is, you know, she's not partying anymore, she doesn't dance anymore, she doesn't drink anymore, she's not doing drugs, like her party life, her party lifestyle is done. She holds a lot of guilt about what happened to her friends, and she's still mourning them deeply, and it's affecting like her day-to-day life. She ends up getting put on like um, I guess a mission to find what the like what entity, I guess, what being was responsible for her friend's death in the first place, because turns out there have been other deaths similar, and people are getting really worried, you know, and they think like, well, she's the only one that encountered it and saw it, so maybe she would be able to help the most. I don't know. Anyway, so she is paired up with our, of course, you know, there's always like the handsome, broody male character. So in this case, his name is Hunt, and he's a fallen angel. He was actually in the first part of the story where you know, like where she's being interrogated, I guess, kind of, and he's there, and he ends up like patching one of her injuries, but leaves like a nasty scar. And anyhow, he remembers her, and so he's like, Oh, I don't really want to work with her because she's kind of a spoiled entitled brat who just likes to party. But, anyways, as we know, with these books, and this is like a romance, also, they end up kind of catching feels for each other, they get along, they become friends, they're pretty chill. He ends up being her like personal bodyguard kind of and like ends up living with her. So, you know, sexy broody roommates. And I actually really love not so much the chemistry because right now it's it really is more of like a friendship, I think. And yes, there's like a little bit of chemistry happening, but nothing nothing crazy has happened between them right now, and I I really like that and I respect that because I feel like you know, a lot of the books are like lusty, but this one isn't not really. So it feels a little bit more natural. Um, and they have you know good conversations, banter and trust and everything right now. And I let she like point out to, you know, like a lot of the tropes, I guess. You know, but should like she said something like, oh, okay, well, let me guess. You have you come from a dark past, and you know, you you're like you brood and you growl and make all those male noises, and I you I bet you're gonna be like super protective and won't let whoever you fall in love with like go out without having to like kick somebody's ass for them all the time for looking at them. And he's like, I don't know what you're talking about. That all sounds crazy, and she's like, Well, she's like, you know, isn't that how it goes with your type, your out the alpha male type? And he's like, uh, I think you've been reading too many books. Anyways, it is I thought that was pretty funny. I appreciated that like awareness and the author's, you know, kind of like head tilt toward to that like genre and trope. But besides that, they're trying to figure out like, you know, okay, what how did this demon thing get here? And then they did pinpoint that it is a demon, but they're not really sure like why it's there, how it was summoned, who summoned it. So that's really the kind of like the quest for the first book, I guess, or part two at least. And they're trying to do that, and I I've gotta say, so I have a few favorite characters, like side characters that are coming up right now that I really like. Like the little fire sprite. What is her name? La Haba, I think that's her name. She is like the funniest, she's so cute, and every time she comes up in the book, I'm so excited. I love it. I love her, I think she's awesome. Uh, I can't, I hope we get more of her too, because she is the cutest. But, anyways, so yeah, so she is my favorite, and she is taking care of the books that are restricted, and people don't, you know, have access to them. Not everybody has access to these books, but that's where they're trying to get their information about the demon and whatever else. Who else? There's like um, I don't remember, I don't even remember his name, but there is she's flirting with like a bunch of people in this book for some reason, but it's fine, like it's cool. Anyways, I don't know, there's like a water one, and he sends her a little a little seal or a little otter or whatever for like delivery messages, and I thought that was super cute and funny, uh, like whimsical and random, you know? But anyways, what else? I don't know. There's a lot going on. I feel like I'm missing well, I feel like I am missing a whole lot of things going on in this book, probably because I didn't wasn't paying attention, to be honest, but oh, we learned something important. So the main character Bryce, she is actually okay, guys. You're not gonna believe this, okay? She's gonna be somebody important, and I have a feeling she's gonna have some crazy hidden powers or ability, and we're gonna be so wowed by her and how strong and powerful she is, right? Because she is hiding her identity from everybody, not really because you know, like she wants to, but just you know, family dynamics, I guess. You know, it's just like that because she's a princess, okay? Right, so her brother Rune is the crown prince, um, and so her brother, right? But she like calls him her cousin because nobody knows that they're actually half siblings. Her father is the court. Oh my gosh, I don't remember. I think which court, anyways, of one of the courts, I guess. And so she's she's royalty, but not really, okay. No, it's he doesn't her father doesn't like acknowledge it or anything like that. So she's estranged, he knows about her, they have met, but she is not acknowledged as a princess at all. I don't know, but whatever. So there's that. Oh, he's the autumn king. Okay, sorry, I had my brain just turned back on, and it reminded me his title. So her dad is the autumn king, but uh they think what is going on is that there's like this horn or something, and it was powerful before it is it can open up different realms or it can close different realms, right? So they're like, why would somebody want this? And we just found out too that there were it comes with like two things. I don't remember what the other thing is. They literally just were discussing it before I stopped the book. But so there's two things that they need, and together they will be like powerful, and the horn is broken, so they're just like, okay, so even if somebody has it or wants it, it doesn't work right now. How are they gonna fix it? And even if they fix it, what are they gonna do? Right? What and who, anyways, they're just trying to figure it all out who has it, what do they want with it? Now, for the like even crazier thing is that they were suspecting that Danica, the her best friend that died in the very beginning, they're thinking that her mom was responsible for Danica's death. Okay, so we briefly meet her. She's like a super scary, slithery, snaky kind of girl, woman, and she's a little intimidating or whatever, but they think that she had something to do with her daughter's death because they when they go back on the surveillance and the fit photos and stuff or footage, they realize somebody swapped the footage. Then they realize it was Danica's mom. She swapped the footage. Why would she have done that? What is she trying to cover up? So they think she's trying to cover up stealing the horns or whatever, and then like killing Danica, but then they find out later, because they do address it, that the mom was trying to protect Danica because Danica's the one that stole it, right? And they're like, but why would she steal it? And she's like, I don't know, because she is a foolish like girl. I don't know why she stole it, but I was trying to, I need to protect her. I don't want that getting out. I don't want people to know she did that. You know, she's already dead. We don't need to tarnish her name. So, anyways, so now maybe her mom's not a bad guy. Maybe she is a good guy. But then who is the bad guy? Okay, because that's where we're at right now, and what do they want? Anyhow, that is where I'm at in the book. Those are my thoughts. They're not very coherent today. I I hope you were able to follow along and you got something out of this. I'm gonna finish the book. I'll be back tomorrow, which for you guys doesn't really matter, but I will be back soon, and hopefully I don't sound sick. All right, goodbye. Okay, so once again, there's a lot happening in this book, and I'm almost done with it. And I will say overall, it is a really good book. I am gonna finish this series mostly because I know it ties into Avatar, and I would want to, I don't know, I just want everything to be cohesive and to for it to all make sense. So I'm gonna do this series too, just so that way I can finish up, you know, her other books. But they had, okay, so if they finally had a spicy scene, it's not like in my opinion, you know, it's not like super, super spicy, it was romantic kind of, but like I won't say like you know, super slow and intimate and like anything like that. It was like passionate, and you know, we're all waiting for it. Finally happened near the end of the book. So Hunt and Bryce, you know, they finally realized, like, okay, we actually need to address this, we have feelings for each other, and yeah, so they had a spicy scene in the apartment. Also, they are like good friends, and I really like that. I like that they became pretty good support systems for each other, and that they became friends, you know, first before all of the like intimate, spicy scenes happen. Because a lot of my smut books, it's just kind of like instant attraction. Ooh, okay, let's get into it. And then they fall for each other, like, you know, on a deeper level. So I do appreciate the friendship and everything first. And then now we're getting like the smutty scenes or scene. So since the last time I checked in, I think Bryce finally got her leg looked at. I don't know if I ever mentioned it before, but she had an injury from you know, the first the night she was like, you know, trying to save her friend and everything, and she was attacked and all that stuff. So she had an injury on her leg that she wanted to keep, like she didn't want to get it fully healed ever because she wanted to like remember her friend, you know, and that she died and everything like that. So Hunt finally convinced her it was time. To get it looked at and to get it fixed and healed. So she did, and there was venom in it. And this witch lady removed it and is like, hey, I can actually use this for testing. Can I keep the venom? So she's like, yeah, all right. Now, a lot more has been discovered. There's like this drug that's being distributed that gives people like super ultra powers for a minute briefly, but it also has really negative effects. It has like salt in it, this um magical salt element that, like, you know, you can open portals with and whatever. So that's kind of how the demons are getting in. It's like through this drug that has an element that is powerful and allows other things to kind of pass through rums and portals. So that's how the demons are getting in. And dun dun dun, Bryce finds out that her friend Danica this whole time has been behind the like I guess everything. Yeah, so she's been dealing the drugs, at least that's what it seems like right now. I'm sure there's more to the story, but as of right now, you know, she's like trying to hunt down who is actually dealing and who's selling and all these things and who's buying. So she goes to this port and um Farron, the mermaid king, I and I know that's not what he actually is, but you know, in my mind, he's the mermaid king. So Farron is like, you know, hey, come here. And he's shielding her, and they're like being super sneaky agents, kind of, to bust uh a trade for these drugs. So, anyways, Danica's mom, the Slither Lady, I don't remember her name, but anyways, she is there, and then some mystery man is there. There's a lot happening. Turns out, dun dun dun, guess what, guys? Bryce's lover, you know, after they just had that like made sweet, sweet love to each other or whatever. She finds out that he is trying to buy this this drug that's like killing people and bringing demons into the world. So he's he's known about it this whole time, and he knew Danica was behind it in the first place, and he knows how she died, which by the way is horrific. So they think that Danica killed herself and her pack because she was on these on this like crazy drug, and it like makes you turn on yourself pretty much. Like you have all his power, and then like you can't control it. Anyways, so the truth is revealed. Hunt is behind, or Hunt is he when he found out about the drug, he wanted to get some so he can finish the rebellion that he was a part of like years and years ago. He wanted to have like all his strength and power to take down his like slave masters, pretty much. And then when he realized, like, okay, it's actually like a pretty bad drug, and it's not great, and it's bringing demons. And when he learned the truth of everything behind the drug, and not just that it gives you like super strength powers for a little, then he was going there to like kind of shut it down, and he was trying to pull out of the trade and not not be part of it anymore, but it's too late, so he's already there, she already caught him, and she's like, Oh, the betrayal, and she's super sad about it. Then on top of the betrayal, you know, they're like, tell her, tell her what you know, though, right? And he's like, No, that's enough. I don't want to tell her anything else. And like, no, tell her, tell her that you know exactly how her best friend died and you've known for weeks. And he's like, Oh, I wanted, I wanted to save her from that hurt and that pain. And she's like, Oh my god, Hunt, you knew? No, why would you, you know, why would you do this to me? We were friends and lovers, anyways. So it's all dramatic. That's happening. It is dramatic. I was kind of like, oh, I didn't see that coming. I really didn't, so I didn't think I knew there would be betrayals happening, right? Because why not? I did not think it would be from Hunt. I thought maybe from Danica, like they would unravel the truth, and then she'd be a little betrayed there. But I didn't, I wasn't expecting Hunt. And so now Hunt was given to somebody else. I think, I think that's where I left off. I kind of I just like I got busy. Sorry. I got busy like running errands, and so I'm gonna have to rewind because uh I totally missed an important part, and I think it's Hunt is getting a new like somebody else is in charge of him, like he's in debt to somebody else now. I think. Uh so I'm gonna finish the book so I'm like you know, everything's clear and cohesive, and maybe I have a better understanding of what's going on at the end end, but I'm gonna finish the book and then I'm gonna come back on, let you guys know how what I thought about it all overall. Um, this has been a crazy episode for me. I'm all over the place with this book and in my life. So if this isn't coherent enough, I apologize. Uh, I will finish the series and I'll continue on with the next book at some point. So, you know, thank you for listening, anyways. And let me finish the book. I'll be back. Okay, hello everybody. I am back and I'm done with the book. I finished it, and I've gotta say, as much as I've been talking about not loving the book so much, I think the ending was very redeeming and it was exciting, there's a lot happening, it was emotional. I I really I won't say I love the book. It's not like all my top favorites, but I really did enjoy it. I will finish the series. But let me tell you guys, oh my goodness. So it turns out that the big bad guy is Micah, which I feel like we kind of saw coming. He's already a bad guy, anyways. You know, he turns on Hunt. I don't know if I talked about this already, but he yeah, he turned on Hunt, he set him up, Hunt gets taken away. Um, I did talk about this. Okay, so I did talk about this already. I remember now. So the big bust, right? So, anyways, after that, they end up having like this big meeting, and they're like, you know, we have to talk about stuff, and then what's gonna happen to Hunt and blah blah blah. So while everybody's at this meeting, Micah decides he's gonna go visit Bryce in the library, and so while he does, he's like, ha ha ha, here's my here's my villainous speech. I'm gonna tell you everything. So he does. Bryce is like recording it secretly, and it's being shown in the meeting, so everybody gets to hear his confessions, and he's basically like, I wanted the horn, I've been looking for it, I killed your friend too, haha, because she found the horn and she hid it from me, and she knew things, and I've been wanting this the drugs. Sorry. Oh my gosh. Anyways, I'm trying to like speed it up and tell you guys what happened here. In my version, this is this is how it went. Yeah, so he's just telling everything, he's spilling it. He's like, I killed Danica, I gave her the synth, I think that's what the drug is, and she tore herself and her friends apart. You know, she killed them, but it was my doing. And anyways, so he is wanting to or open this portal, or yeah, open a portal, and then he wants like an army. Um and she is not having it, so she's trying her best to keep him talking, keep him busy, distract him. And what does he do? He takes her precious like pet. Oh, I forgot his name. Oh no. But anyway, she takes him and throws him into a tank with that really creepy, weird like creature that lives in the water. I don't know. Anyways, so she throws him in there and then he drowns and he like sinks to the bottom and she's freaking out. She's like, Oh no. So she eventually is able to lock him up in a bathroom, and there's just a lot going on, guys. This is the most exciting part in the whole book, I think. So she's trying to get away from the archangel, and he's trying to obviously like use her. So it turns out Danica did steal the horn, and she embedded it into Bryce. How you may ask? Well, they have matching tattoos, and she put the horn, like she ground it up or whatever she did, and she put it in the ink pretty much. So the horn now lives in Bryce, right? She is this magical horn that can open and close portals. So, anyways, Micah eventually he does like he gets when he throws the pet into the tank, he's able to like disarm her and then open up a portal. They nothing happens like in the library, so then she's thinking, like, maybe it didn't work. Um, nope. Plot twist, it did work, it did work. So while she rescues her little pet thing, the little fire sprite guys, my favorite character in the whole entire book, she sacrifices herself to buy Bryce time to get out of there, and so she's down there. And oh my god, I when I tell you, I was bawling my eyes out, like I'm not exaggerating. I was so freaking sad. I was driving to an appointment, I was on my way to an appointment that was like an hour away, and so I'm like, oh, I'll just listen to the audiobook, I'm almost done with it, let's finish it out today. And I was about maybe 15 minutes away from my the doctor's office, and then the this scene is what started playing, and I was like gripping the steering wheel and focusing, and I was just crying my little eyes out. I cannot, I can't believe it. So this the little um fire sprite, she's like, go Bryce, you know, she's telling her, like, just leave. And Bryce is like, we can leave together, come with me, please, please. I bought your freedom. You're free. She's like, I know, I've known for a while. I looked in the I looked in the desk and I saw the papers, and she's like, you know, so she thanks her for getting buying her freedom, but she's like, I'm gonna use my my free choice, I guess, to to save you and to help you so that way, you know, Bryce can like fix everything. So she sacrifices herself and she keeps chanting and like repeating to herself over and over again, my friends are with me and I am not afraid. And oh my goodness, the heart strings. I was so sad. So that was the saddest part of the book for me. I did not enjoy that, and I kept thinking, as much as I don't like the cheap out like ways, you know, how they'll be they'll bring people back to life. I was like legit hoping, like, I hope she doesn't die, I hope she's brought back somehow. But no, she was sacrificed, she sacrificed herself for the greater good, and she went out that way. Yeah, so she busted out or she bust one of the tanks filled with water and flooded the library to keep Micah like trapped in there longer. He gets out eventually, but you know, Bryce had enough time to go find a sword. Oh my gosh. I see, I was too busy crying that now I'm like, I don't remember what she used. I was so emotional. But she she breaks out, she finds a weapon that can kill an archangel, and she ends up cleaving his head and chopping it off, and he is dead, he is done, no more mica, all gone. Then she turns him to dust and she vacuums it all up. And so by the time the uh emergency services come, he's not even there. The only people that know what she did are the people that witnessed it on camera, and they don't out her, they actually kind of I don't know, not really cheer her on, but they're like, oh okay, well, we didn't see that coming. So now she has to deal with this portal or a few portals that were opened up, and they were portals to like literal hell. So the demons are coming out, people are screaming all over the streets, it's so chaotic, people are dying, and Bryce is like, holy shit, what do I do? So she decides she is gonna go to the most vulnerable part in Crescent City where like there's children, like human children and babies and stuff, and she wants to save all the all the humans, all the people that can't fend for themselves. So she starts rushing over there. Um, she's asking for help, but you know, the wolves and other people are like already spread out, and everybody's just trying to kind of save themselves and their people, you know. Nobody's worried about the most vulnerable, you know, they're just kind of like, yeah, it is what it is. Like, save yourself, get in somewhere safe, and then lock up. So Bryce is doing what she thinks is right, which is kind, you know, and she's trying to look out for the people that can't protect themselves. So then Hunt, he's like, I'm gonna go help her. He does, he ends up, he ends up in pretty bad shape, actually. Yes, so there's like I don't know, missiles coming down, all sorts of things are happening, and he's like, I have to shield them, I can't let this hit, or else they're all oblivated, and including her, including Bryce. So he uses his lightning. Oh, crucial part. He the one of the witches gets rid of his symbol, like because he's a slave, pretty much, right? He's a slave and everything, so she gets rid of that and frees him. So now he has full lightning power, and he's super cool and everything. So, anyways, he uses that to deter some of the like warfare coming down on the innocent people, and he ends up getting like torn apart and all these things, and so now he's dying. Meanwhile, Bryce ends up using her um starlight. I guess it's not power, it's just light, you know. But it's been a secret, it's been a secret. We just now find out she has this starlight, and so she uses it, and she uses the horn at the same time, and she closes one of the portals, but then there's other ones that are still open. There's like five other rifts, and so she's like, Oh my god, what am I gonna do? I don't have enough energy, I can't go. So she decides to take the fall. I got really confused at this point, so let me know if you read this book and and everything. Like, could somebody clarify what the heck was happening? Because I really I really don't know what was going on. I'm sure it was explained somewhere in the book, but like I said, I had a hard time with this one. So, anyway, she makes a descent, the fault, something, and I think I'm probably wrong, but what I what I think it is is like she's falling into different maybe not realms, but like somewhere within herself. I don't know, maybe it is realms, and then there's a point where she can't she can't or she shouldn't go further because if she does, then she can't get back out into her body. Or I don't know, anyways. Something happened, something weird happened. She goes, nobody tethers her down. She hears Danica's voice, and then she's like, I'm gonna use that as my tether. So she reunites with Danica for a little bit. Danica apologizes for keeping secrets and not telling her the truth. And then Bryce is like, Are you really here? Or she's like, No, I'm not. It's like remnants of my spirit, pretty much, but you know, I'm okay. Yeah, I'm okay. I like this conversation is still real, but I'm dead, you know. Like, I'm not coming back, I am dead. So, anyhow, they talk, they do stuff. I don't know. She does make, they're like, She's not gonna be able to come back up, she's not gonna be able to go back in her body, she's gonna die. So people are like hoping she doesn't die, she's only got a few seconds left, and then she comes back. So she does make the climb back up with Danica's help, and she goes back in her body, and then Hunt like brings her back to life. He does chest compressions and everything like that to make sure her heart is still working, and then when she does that, something she ends up getting like all the power from all the different people that have ever like helped her or pushed her up. I don't know how that works again. I'm I was really confused, I don't know what was happening, but anyway, so she comes back and she's more powerful, and she uses Starlight and everything else, and the extra power boost she has and closes all the other things, and her light spreads out everywhere, and it heals everything and everyone that was hurt, but it can't bring people back, so people are still dead. The people that didn't make it, but the people that just injured, no matter what severity, they are all healed, including Hunt. There's a lot, there's a lot happening towards the end, really. Like the whole book has a whole bunch going on, and maybe that's why I just didn't have the attention span to remember it all. But the end was pretty good. There was a lot of twists and action and things happening. What's her face? They end up, you know, telling each other how much they mean to one another, and now they're actually gonna like try to do like a real relationship, they kiss, they stay the night together. It's not explicit, you know, but we do know what's happening, and yeah, they kind of like live happily ever after. I know that there's gonna be more, so we talk, or the book has like a little epilogue, and it's about the river river king, I think he is. I always forget, I actually really like him, so I don't know why I keep forgetting who he is. But he the river dude, he has like a little excerpt, and so I'm thinking that the next book is gonna be more about him. I don't know. That is pretty much all I can remember. I'm sure I left out lots and lots of things, but oh, and Rune. Okay, so her brother, I don't really think it's super important, but I'm sure it'll be important later in the book. But we find out he has a hidden power, and then that that hidden power is that he can, he's like a telepath, so he can't read minds, but he can communicate through, you know, my I guess the mind, and that's pretty cool, I suppose. Anyhow, that is really it. That's the rest of the book, that's all I remember of it. I thought it was good overall. I would recommend it. I think I would just I do hear that the graphic audio book is really good, and so maybe I would recommend that one. And I I actually have the second one downloaded for the graphic audio, so I will definitely let you guys know if I like that better. Uh, just for like a dry read, I think it's I don't know, it was so boring to me to just read it that way. Definitely, audiobook was. A better way to go. It's hard to get into, and I think maybe after chapter six is kind of like, oh, okay. And then the story, you know, starts to unfold and you get to know the characters better. I did like it. I'm gonna carry on with the series and I'll let you guys know what I think. But in the meantime, thank you guys so much for listening to this messy podcast episode, and I will see you guys next week.