I really wanted to like this sequel more. It wasn't bad, but I feel like it could have been better.

First of all, let's talk about what I liked. I loved the addition of more POVs. I love multiple POVs for fantasy books, especially those when the main characters end up separated from each other. I feel like it lets the reader explore so much more of the world. So, that was a welcome addition.

Next, I love a villain redemption arc. I'm a sucker for a HEA so I love it when a misunderstood villain gets a chance to redeem themselves and get that happy ending.

Now, on to the things I didn't love. Love triangle. I didn't love the conclusion of the love triangle. Perhaps part of the reason I love a villain redemption arc is because because I usually root for the bad boy in the love triangle. And that's exactly what happened here. I shipped the enemies to lovers couple and was BETRAYED.

This book was pretty good, but not great.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is the second book in a gender-bent Hunchback of Notre Dame. The first one was good enough to make me want to read the second one. But this one was a series killer. It was too full of clichés to make it seem original. With it being a retelling the standards are really high for me and this one fell short.

Sky Breaker is the much awaited conclusion of Night Spinner and I wish it had been better. Let me start by saying that the world building was fantastic and the conclusion was somewhat satisfying, but the majority of the book was difficult to get through and these are the reasons why. First, the book alternates between Enebish and Ghoa, adoptive sisters who are on opposing sides of a needless war. These two characters are just plain awful in this book. In Night Spinner, Enebish is a very sympathetic character and readers are drawn to her. She takes a lot of crap, but still picks herself up each day and carries on (and drags her damaged leg behind her) without complaint. That Enebish is missing from this novel and it is glaringly obvious. This new Enebish is hardened and is suspicious of everyone around her. I can understand this a little bit because in the first book this poor girl is used and betrayed continuously, but I felt that her personality in the second novel was too much of a downer. This was not the Enebish readers loved in the first book. She's unrecognizable. Secondly, no one cares about Ghoa. No one. She is an awful, selfish character, and all the sacrifices she finally makes in this book do not change that she's a terrible person. Too little, too late IMO. This was hard to get through because by the end I really just didn't care what happened to either of them. I did enjoy the addition of Ziva and Ivander. I would have loved to have gotten to know them more and would have gladly read a story through their perspectives. Thank you to NetGalley, Page Street Publishing, and Addie Thorley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Not as good as the first book in the duology, largely slow paced for most of the book and involves a lot of "journeying" which is never my favourite. Enebish also annoyed me for a large portion of the book, she's super paranoid and controlling which yes makes sense after the events of the last book but is also frustrating as a reader. Ghoa also underwent a complete 180 which made her development almost unbelievable as she goes from being this ruthless, pride driven warrior to suddenly being totally onboard with all of Enebish's plans? It didn't really make sense. I also wasn't 100% satisfied with the ending, for reasons that would be very spoilery. It does on the whole wrap up well, and the characters' endings are fitting but there's one part of it that I was kind of annoyed by.

SKY BREAKER was one of my most anticipated reads of this year, and I was not disappointed! I won't lie, it took me a minute to readjust myself to Enebish's world and her story simply because it has been so long since I read Night Spinner, and that did slow me down at first, but once I was feeling familiar with this story again, I remembered why I love anything that Addie Thorley writes. As with Night Spinner, Sky Breaker's world building is expansive and unparalleled. I'm amazed that Thorley created such a wide variety of cultures and people and still managed to keep everything straight. I also appreciated how Thorley depicted the effects of how deep betrayal from loved ones can deeply wound someone, and I could really relate to Enebish in that regard. I also really enjoyed seeing lighter moments with Serik and Enebish and forgot how much I loved that romance. I love that Thorley included Ghoa's POV in this story and thought that it was a daring move that paid off in spades. Ghoa is such a complicated character who is so entrenched in what she believes, and watching her struggle with expanding her worldview and with her complicated dynamic with Enebish was really interesting. I love a good morally grey character arc and Ghoa is most certainly that. I am satisfied with the way that this duology ended and can't wait to see what Thorley writes next. SKY BREAKER is a story about family, betrayal and sacrifice that is a fantasy lover's dream.

I wanted to love this one because I absolutely loved the first one but this just fell flat for me and I ended up dnf-ing it.

Whilst I loved being back in this world I struggled to find myself enjoying it. I felt like it started off quite slow and at points our main character began to frustrate me which confuses me as she was my absolutely favourite in the first book.

I'm gutted.

I received this and as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Page Street Kids for giving me access.

3.5 rounded up.

I did not enjoy this one as much as I did the first. The story was slightly confusing and I was not a fan of a particular character being redeemed in the end. I did enjoy the world that Thorley created and would love more of that and the magic system.

Thank you to Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to review this title.

This was a great conclusion to the duology!
This book has great worldbuilding and fully fleshed-out characters. It is also full of action and intrigue and will keep you hooked!

I loved book 1 so much I couldn't wait to read book 2

This one was a love hate relationship. I loved the first book but this one just didn't hold up to what I was looking for. I wanted to love the story and finish out this tale but it just didn't work out. I loved the setting and the conclusion but overall it just didn't work out at all.

I was excited to be able to pick up book two of the Night Spinner series by Addie Thorley. I will admit that I had to go back to book one to get caught up on where things left off before diving in and I'm glad I did as it was a great reminder of Enebish's story and how things wrapped in that book.

Enebish is in a tough spot with taking a stand against the Sky King and when her only allies, the shepherds, begin to doubt her, things become more difficult than they already are. I loved how Serik was the one person who helped Enebish keep her balance and the development of their relationship was really well done.

We also got to see how things are going for Commander Ghoa and when she is abandoned by her fellow warriors, she ends up being held captive by the Zemyan sorcerer Kartok where she learns more about his ambitions and what he is truly up to.

As Ghoa and Enebish cross paths again, they come to realize they need to work together to save their people and themselves. I enjoyed this book and thought Thorley did a great job with wrapping this series up. If you're looking for a YA Fantasy to pick up, grab this series.

The sequel to Night Spinner, Sky Breaker picks up where we left off with Enebish after she was betrayed by everyone she knew. On the run with the shepherds and hiding out as they try to find King Minoak and take back the kingdom. 

In the first book, Enebish is a disgraced warrior after she used her powers to kill innocent people during a battle. That is, until we find out she didn't kill anybody, her adoptive sister, Ghoa, did. Enebish tries to take down the Sky King and release the nation from his clutches, but is betrayed by her partner and outlaw, Temujin. Now, she has to find King Minoak, the rightful king, to bring balance back into the world. 

To start off this book, I do not like Enebish as a character. At all. I didn't like her in book 1 and I liked her even less in book 2. In book 1, she went from being this fierce warrior, a girl who took no crap, to a sniffling, cry baby. Like she just turns into a puddle at any inconvenience, and it was annoying. And she compared her current self to her old self so much it made it even more dramatic and even worse. Then you add that she becomes this paranoid, controlling person in the sequel and I had to tap out. I was not interested in listening to her anxious thoughts or constantly undermining everyone around her. If it wasn't for Serik, her best friend, I'm sure everyone would have left her by now and she would be in big trouble. 

Then we add in Ghoa's point of view, which was interesting, but she's also a character I do not like and can't relate with. Getting into her head made the book even worse, even though it did give insight on what was going on in the city. I only got 34% into the book and I didn't want to read further, at all. I've noticed my tolerance for books I don't like is going down and I'm becoming less afraid to DNF books recently, which is probably why I just couldn't find the motivation to finish this, even though I probably would have a year ago. 

Based on other reviews I've read, a lot of people have had similar issues with the characters. Enebish and Ghoa are not interesting characters to read, in my opinion. And they're not great anti-heroes in my opinion either. One is bossy, controlling, paranoid, and the other is a ruthless jerk, who is obsessed with pride and revenge. And while I am a bossy and controlling person, I also know when to trust people and hand over the reins, unlike Enebish. 

Plus, the book took a HUGE turn in the beginning that I was not expecting and I wasn't a fan. It just seemed like a convenient way to change the plot instead of going with the original storyline. I won't spoil anything, but the original villain is just tossed aside for a new villain who we kind of know a little bit about, but also not really, because they weren't the focus in the first book. And the way the original villain was disposed of was so ... not original. 

I just have a lot of issues with this book and ultimately, I couldn't bring myself to read anymore. I had to fight myself to pick up the book and continue reading, which I'm not going to force myself to do. If I'm resisting a book that much, then it's not one worth reading. 

All in all, the writing wasn't bad, it was the characters and the direction the plot was going that were my biggest issues. Maybe in the future I'll try to pick this book up again to find out what happens, but as of right now, I can't finish it.

A great end to a great duology.

This second installment of the Night Spinner duology focused more on overcoming who you think you are versus who people tell you that you are, as well as religion. I thought they were both powerful aspects and make the story develop in ways that I didn't expect.

The religion in this world wasn't touched on as much in the first installment, but we definitely get a bigger sense and feeling for their gods and the importance of them.

I'm glad that we also got to know more about the different powers the Kalima have as well as their world as a whole.

Don't miss out on this amazing duology!

Upon finishing Night Spinner, I had a pretty good idea of how I expected Sky Breaker to go but I was wrong on pretty much every plot point and I couldn’t be happier about it. For starters, the fierce Ghoa gets her own point-of-view which sent me swooning as soon as I saw it. She was such an interesting character in Night Spinner and I had a lot of questions for her. Adding the second point-of-view created a lot more depth to the story than if it had just been told from Enebish’s side and gave me two strong female characters to root for instead of just one. Ghoa grows a lot throughout Sky Breaker and her journey surprised me more than anything else.

Serik is also involved more in Sky Breaker than he was in Night Spinner and tends to be the voice of reason for Enebish while she is still reeling from the events that occurred at the end of Night Spinner. Everything would have fallen apart pretty quickly without him and he had to become the leader of this motley group of shepherds and Enebish the Destroyer.

Enebish really struggles with trusting others and paranoia for awhile so it takes some time for the En we all know and love to reemerge but once she does, there’s no standing in her way. She is willing to sacrifice all to stop the Zemyans and Sky King, even if it means accepting the help of some unlikely allies.

Because this is a duology, Sky Breaker is unsurprisingly a slower read than Night Spinner. A lot of growth and development had to happen for any kind of resolution to occur, not to mention the amount of traveling on foot. I loved the light romance throughout the book and was glad that it didn’t end up overshadowing the greater dangers that were looming.

The themes of forgiveness and redemption run strongly throughout the book and we are left with a somewhat bittersweet ending which I greatly prefer to a saccharine ending. I didn’t love Sky Breaker quite as much as Night Spinner but I still really liked it. An excellent conclusion to a phenomenal duology!

A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Sky Breaker is the satisfying continuation and completion of the night spinner duology. Serik and Enebish are on the grasslands leading the Shepards in search of a displaced king. Much of the novel centered around the Shepard's having no trust in Enebish and her night spinning ways but have total faith in Serik, who has discovered the first gods have no forsaken him as he thought they did. Ghoa has some eye-opening experiences in this sequel, and the ending, while eluded throughout the whole novel, did not play out quite as I expected it to play out. I have to say I enjoyed Night Spinner more than the sequel, but the two together make for quite a compelling retelling.

This was a great conclusion to the duology!
This book has great worldbuilding and fully fleshed-out characters. It is also full of action and intrigue and will keep you hooked!

This is the second book in the Night Spinner duology. This is a retelling of Hunchback of Notre Dame but just gender-swapped. I liked this book and it picks off right where it ended in Night Spinner. In this book, I didn't enjoy the writing as much. I felt that the pacing was off and it didn't have the same vibe as the first book. This book did have action but it just wasn't the same. I did enjoy the traveling in this book where the characters had to get to their final destination in order to get aid. The world-building was still amazing and I did enjoy the plot structure of this book. Also, this book is written in two POVs which I loved reading since we got two different perspectives of what was going on.

The characters in this book changed and weren't the same as from book one. In this book, Enebish was annoying and had little trust in her friends. She had a great development in book one but in book two it just went downhill for her. Ghoa was the other main character in this book and I enjoyed her more than Enebish. This book has some great side characters and I enjoyed their involvement in the book. Though for the antagonist, I felt was a little weak and that he was better in book one.

This book did have a good ending and it was great to see the duology end. In my opinion, I thought that book one was amazing and more enjoyable than book two. It felt a little different and didn't give the same vibe as Night Spinner. Don't let this review discourage you from reading the duology as the book was still great but just has some small problems. I still recommend reading this book to those who are fans of Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Thank you so much to Addie Thorley and Page Street Kids for allowing me to read this wonderful conclusion ahead of time! All my opinions are my own. 🖤

Yall, this series is SO WORTH IT. I read both books back to back and absolutely fell in love with these characters. Enebish was already a favorite from the first book (The Night Spinner), but I actually fell in love with Ghoa too even halfway through this one! She absolutely redeems herself, but still stays true to her character and I find that so hard to do. Addie is a wizard with words. A fresh magic system, an enticing world of magic and even a few monsters, I would recommend this series to anyone. Just read it!

Sky Breaker has been one of my most anticipated sequels after being captivated by Night Spinner and even with high expectations Addie Thorley delivered a brilliant book and thrilling sequel and conclusion to Enebish's story.

A power struggle, a new Night spinner apprentice, titles stripped, love and forgiveness. Faith and hope with heartbreak and betrayal in between. The plot is perfectly paced and will keep you hooked from page one. The switching between characters lends new insight and it's a beautiful thing.

My favourite thing about Thorley's writing is the complexity and realness of her characters. It is never clear cut and there are so many shades of grey and she never strays from even the more difficult emotional complications of trauma, love, loss and power.

5 star read and a must read.

Review will be live on all socials later in April.

This was such a satisfying sequel. I really loved the first book in this series and was not disappointed by this one either. It was great seeing our characters continue to grow and the pacing felt strong as well.

I enjoyed the first book better. It seemed to have more depth to the characters and a better pace.

Book two was all about En's distrust, though it made sense. I relate En in this book to Harry yelling "Draco Draco Draco" in HBP. I did feel sympathetic toward her though. She felt like a real person, even while I was annoyed with her.

Ghoa had her mystical turnaround, which felt forced and false to me. I think it would have made more sense for Serik to be the one that saved the Gods after he harbored ill feelings for them for so long. Ghoa was so cold hearted throughout book one injuring En, framing her, almost killing Orbai.. it's hard to picture a sudden change of heart, even after being betrayed. I feel like her killing the Kalima who betrayed her and taking over would make more sense. That, or turning En over to them and then taking over to gain favor. Why should she care now when she's already done irreparable damage? It wasn't loneliness, for sure.

I would have loved to have more on Ziva and her country. I hate that she and Serik gained these powers only to lose them so quickly.