Well, Sarah J. Maas did it again with House of Earth and Blood, the first book in the Crescent City series. Sarah J. Maas is my favorite author, and I have loved every book that I have read by her. So, there is no surprise that I had to get House of Earth and Blood the second that it came out. I actually preordered it so that I could get it as soon as possible. Thankfully I was able to get it before all this quarantine stuff happened and I dived right into the 800 page beast that is House of Earth and Blood. It is good to note that this is an adult fantasy, not for younger readers.
Plot
Bryce Quinlan: hard worker by day, party girl at night. That is, until a demon barrels into her life, murders her closest friends, and leaves her wounded and devastated. Even though there is some comfort when the accused murderer is in prison, Bryce’s comfort is shattered when the attacks start 2 years later throwing her into the thick of the case.
Bryce will do anything to ensure her friends’ murderer is brought to justice. Which includes working with Hunt Athalar, Fallen angel turned slave for the Archangels. Hunt has destructive powers and incredible strength, that are used to kill his owner’s enemies without question. Used to working alone, Hunt begrudgingly agrees to working with Bryce for one reason only. The freedom that used to be so far away, is now within reach if the case is solved quickly.
Together, Bryce and Hunt discover a dark and dangerous threat in the city that puts everything and everyone they love at risk. In each other, they discover a bright passion that has the possibility of setting them free, if only Bryce and Hunt would allow it.
Review
All hail the queen, Sarah J. Maas! I have been blessed by this new world and characters that I didn’t realize that I needed in my life. However, every book that I have read by Maas so far has been amazing, so I’m not surprised I needed this book. House of Earth and Blood is definitely an adult fantasy with all the different topics that are explored in the story. Everything about this book shows how much Maas’s writing style and story telling has developed and matured. I am definitely here for it.
To start, I am going to discuss the new world that is Crescent City. I love the shift from a world that is all swords and castles to a hustling city with modern technology everyone can relate to. This is not something I expected to enjoy so much in a fantasy book filled with magic, the Fae, and other beings like Angels. I really enjoy swords and less modernized worlds when I read fantasy and fiction books. So having Crescent City be the center of this new world was refreshing and made it possible to add new and exciting elements to the story. Now I want to live in Crescent City and I’m sad it doesn’t actually exist.
Next are the characters. Now, I’m only going to give my thoughts about the two main characters that are talked about in the plot. This way y’all can meet all the characters yourself since they aren’t mentioned outside of the story. So this leaves me with Bryce and Hunt. Bryce is such a deep character and so relatable. I mean, she isn’t human and lives in a world of magic, but she goes through a lot of shit that a lot of people can relate to. Mental health is just one example of a struggle Bryce has, there are good and bad days for her. My favorite aspect of Bryce’s personality is her sass, boldness, and wits. Honestly, I would love to be Bryce, or be her friend, her character is amazing.
Hunt is a Fallen angel and a slave. The skills that Hunt has are used for death and at first he appears cold and distant. Being one of the Fallen automatically made me like Hunt, because that means he’s rebellious and a warrior. I don’t know why, but I love a broody bad boy. Another thing I love is how Bryce can totally push Hunt’s buttons and weasels her way past his walls despite having walls up herself. To talk about Hunt much more might spoil certain aspects of the story for those who plan on reading the book, so I’m going to stop here before I reveal too much about his character.
The main take away from all this is that I love House of Earth and Blood. There were so many twists and turns, amazingly deep and diverse characters, and so many new questions by the end. All in all my emotions are everywhere because of this book and I desperately NEED the next one, now.
Favorite Quotes
“Through love, all is possible.”
“Memento Mori. Remember that you will die.”
“My friends are with me and I am not afraid.”
“Light it up!”
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Add it to Your List: Add to your Goodreads
Snag a Copy: I will always suggest getting the hard cover, but buy in any format on Amazon
Interested in other books that I’ve read? Check out my other book reviews here!
