House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, 1)

This book was a roller coaster. I loved every second of it. It started out immediately intense and didn’t slow. It pulled me in so fast that I finished it in two days. Bryce Quinlan is the funniest half person I’ve ever met, and the best protagonist. Her flirting had me giggling all night. She is a total badass and I love her so much. She is witty, sarcastic, clever, and amazing. I just genuinely loved the characters in this book, ROTFLOL! But, even loving the characters, a book still has to have a good storyline, and Crescent City sure did. It has me up at 2 am reading. It was so action packed; it was intense and made me cry at times. There wa romance, action, fantasy, fighting, and there is not a strong enough word to describe how good this book is. It’s funny. It’s painful. It had me sweating and my toes curling. It was a sexy fantasy and you should definitely read it.

🌆 House of Earth and Blood 🌆 By @sarahjmass ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌶🌶 I have no idea why I was postponing reading Crescent City series!!! I absolutely shouldn't have doubted Sarah J.Mass! Immediately the reader is thrown into a complex magical world, with many different magical beings, and at the beginning I was wondering how am I going to follow the story and remember all the species! However, once the story actually starts plotting, it simply enchants you and immerses you into it! All I know is I could not stop reading! This was, again, just perfect! Amazing murder mystery as a center of the story with political and social intrigue entwined with it, and many secrets and characters that made this story so rich! Bryce and Hunt, two main characters, both very much flawed and damaged, with immense trauma package, find themselves within each other's company, not realizing at first that they are actualy healing each other! The beautiful love story between them is so nicely interlaced into the story, it seemed so natural and inevitable! And, I honestly really liked the fact that they both had a bad side to them and were real and complicated! My mind is absolutely blowed by this, I did not expect the twists, and I am trily amazed by the impeccable writing and absolutely brilliant mind of Sarah J.Mass!! Now, I am onto book two, and can't wait!! What to expect: ▪️reluctant allies to lovers ▪️grumpy/sunshine dinamics ▪️forced proximity ▪️broody hero with a softer side ▪️urban fantasy ▪️mystery elements ▪️complex magical world

Spoiler Free Part: I'm going to start off by saying that I am a moderate SJM fan. I tried but failed to ever get into her Throne of Glass series (particularly thrown off by the multiple love interest changes) and really only got truly into ACoTR series towards the end of the first book. While I liked her writing style, I just couldn't connect with the characters. The last third of ACoTR was the first time I felt like the characters were interesting and the plot became engaging. So, I say this without rose colored glasses- I liked House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City Book 1). I thought it was well written, interesting and I connected with the characters. My biggest love of the book was the deep and real feeling of unquestioning love between the two best friends, Bryce and Danika. It's not a spoiler to say that Danika is murdered, as its in the book blurb, but I had totally forgotten and was absolutely gutted when it happened. Bryce's grief for her friend felt so real throughout the books. I think that was what made me empathize with and like her beyond her sassiness. Also, I for one didnt mind the partying and drug use specifically because its depicted that she realized she was basically wasted her life chasing stupid pleasures and not doing anything meaningful. However, this book has a TON of info dump and exposition. I'll go into it more below in the spoiler section, but there is a LOT of information for the reader to process constantly, and new characters are introduced constantly as well making it feel like there are just too many cast to keep track of. The relationship between Hunt & Bryce feels organic to me and I didn't feel that it was "insta-love" as some others have complained. It made sense to me that they were the only two people who saw each other as they really were. My biggest gripe is that the very last bit of the book feels like it was supposed to be part of one of her other series compared to the rest of the story. Overall I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars, it was far from perfect but it was highly enjoyable and I'm anticipating the next book in the series. ********SPOILERS********** DO NOT READ BELOW UNLESS YOU WANT SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!! I really loved the relationship between Bryce and her friends throughout the book. They felt very real and genuine. Even the relationship with Rhun felt nicely done. The friend characters were well fleshed out and didnt feel too two dimensional. I really like the world building. I think the caste system and the way the Vanir reign is well explained and makes sense. I thought the concept of "The Drop" was unique and interesting. And of course, I loved Danika. Oh boy did I love Danika, and I was heartbroken when she died, because I had forgotten it was coming. When Lele died, I was also genuinely saddened. I felt like the emotions in the book were really well done. Although some people complained about the multiple dead-end leads, I enjoyed them (at one point I was certain Sabine was the killer) because it would have been really boring if they just easily figured it out right away. The Kristillos demon was kind of a disappointment. I mean, it took down Micah but really didn't seem that dangerous overall. I liked Aidas and am intrigued to see him return in future books. I also liked the war between Humans & Vanir. That was something that ACoTR hinted at being a possibility but I think the concept of rebelling against their masters and finding a way to fight back was a good plotline; however I also think Bryce doesn't seem to care too much about their cause. She is always befriending and trying to free slaves, her parents are humans, but she doesn't seem to care all that much about the overall subjugation of multiple species. It kind of gets treated like "thats the way it is" without any sense of outrage or hatred about it. Alright now for some gripes: Fury is just a carbon copy of Amren. What is the point of her whole character? Bryce could have been partying with June that night; Rhun could have put a gun to Hunts head and rode Bryce off on the wave runner; Rhun also could have been the one with a helicopter stashed off site. What did Fury actually do for the plot? Everyone is soooooooooooo super crazy off the charts perfectly hot, and also, everyone is insanely deadly. Now I get it, they are Vanir and Angels, but come on. Is there no such thing as an ugly werewolf or an unattractive mermaid? And everyone is a super honed amazing assassin. Fury, Bryce's adopted dad, Rhun and his friends, Hunt, every werewolf, etc. Everyone is stunningly hot and dangerous. To us, they might be, but if that was your entire world your entire life wouldnt it seem a little trite? If everyone is hot, does it mean anything anymore? Also like others have said, jesus with the overkill about Bryce being scorch-the-earth-hot. I get it if Conner & Hunt are super attracted to her, and if she gets hit on occasionally. But it is literally like every male she meets throughout the book can't bear to keep their hands off her. Every time she walks down the street every male is just falling all over themselves to look at her. It definitely feels slathered on a little thick. One of the biggest things that bugs me though is this: The last third of the book. Oh my god. Everything happening on screen, Micah going all Bond Villain and giving a long monologue explaining everything he did and why and just happened to be on camera for everyone important to see. Eye roll. We weren't even with Bryce during most of the action but rather watching it alongside the other secondary characters. The whole scene with the Nok was absolutely unnecessary and just felt like it was dragging out the ending of the book. Micah could have slammed Bryce into the tank, resulting in it cracking and her being severely injured, and Lele still could have broken the glass without the whole Syrinx-Rescue/Nok-Fight even needing to happen. In fact, it would have felt more believable that the Nok fought Micah and occupied him long enough for Bryce to escape than for Micah, the Archangel, the immensely powerful Governor, to have been....conveniently locked in a magically warded bathroom while a whole other scene got played out. It just felt totally unnecessary. Okay- now- last major gripe: THE LAST 50 PAGES OF THE BOOK. What the hell? Did we suddenly get transported into A Court of Thorn and Roses? Portals to Hel opening up all over the city, the lead character running around fighting in hand-to hand combat to protect helpless citizens, the magical companions fighting demons with her.......it felt like I was suddenly watching Feyre, not Bryce. On top of that, while I appreciate the symbolism of Bryce using Danika's sword, it felt totally unrealistic to see a woman who spent the last five years of her life first partying and being a college student then an antiquities desk clerk suddenly is an amazing sword wielding killer. The gun thing is believable due to her Stepfather and the scene at the gun range. But we never once see Bryce mention ever knowing how to use a sword or pick one up, but suddenly she's single handedly taking on an army of demons with flawless sword fighting? I really enjoyed the ending bit with her making the Drop and Danika being there (so touching) but other than that the very last part of the book suddenly felt like it was just a rehashing of the battle scene from A Court of Mist & Fury. The ending of the book wrapped everything up pretty well, but it also leaves a lot unanswered. Bryce admits that the entire city saw her use her Starborn powers and that she is now more powerful than any other mixed-species has ever been before. She even says the Fae & Angels can't let it stand that she showed their caste system was invalid. And yet, the highest Angels told her just to lay low and they would leave them alone. Obviously, we know that they probably don't, but I feel like a cliffhanger as to what would happen now in the fate of humans Vs Vanir/Angels and what that revelation was going to mean for Bryce would have worked better than just wrapping it up in a neat but not really logical bow. I still liked the books, I still like the characters and I am excited for the next one, but hopefully some of these issues will be corrected going forwards. Anyway that concludes my long as heck summary, thanks for reading!!!

This was really good. It was very high fantasy. A lot of world building, riddles, characters, and monsters. Political intrigue and vast magic system. My brain was working extra hard to get through this. You definitely have to be willing to lock in to enjoy this book. But I think I enjoy urban fantasy. The inclusion of phones, cars, and other modern city life was fun. I really like Bryce Quinlin. She definitely reminded me of Celaena Sardothien before she had to claim her rightful name as Aelin. Bryce's party girl vibes was fun. It sucked that she lost her friend so soon. I think that we really got see the emotional turmoil of grief. Not just losing some but also not having people in your life that are alive too. She had deal with so many different dynamics. But my girl made sure to look good doing it! Okay! I also enjoyed Hunt. I think there should of been a little more depth added to his character. It felt like parts of him was skated over. Like the transition from killer, to brooding Angel, to guy wearing a backwards cap wasn't flushed well. I also wasn't really sold on revelations about him. It didn't make sense. But as an MMC he might be up there. There was a lot happening in this book. At one point I was just reading for the ride. I felt like every sentence was important and eventually it all was. A lot of call backs. Even instances where I definitely felt like Throne of Glass was being mentioned or called out. Filled with Easter eggs! There was a lot funny scenes and also great scenes with characters together. I especially enjoyed the shock vacuuming. Or when everyone is in the library together. Seeing different characters interact was great. I enjoyed all the side characters too. Especially Ruhn. The whole brother/cousin secret was interesting. Even the Autumn King relationship. Her boss being mysterious but also aggressive was great too. About 70% in the book became shaky. I felt like I slipped into an anime somehow. That lasted a long time. And Bryce almost died several times which was a lot going on. The video feed part was strange to me. It felt a little cheesy. Of course the bad guy has a monologue. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I was hesitant to read this mammoth size book but I'm glad I did. It wasn't a perfect 5 star but it was really close. That ending sets up the anticipation for the next book very nicely.

I’ve had House of Earth and Blood on my bookshelves since it was released in 2020. Sarah J. Maas became an automatic buy author for me when I read ACOTAR and Throne of Glass. I didn’t even read the first book’s synopsis in her new series Crescent City. I knew anything she wrote; I would be sucked into the world and never want to come out of it. Someone should have warned me about the first dang chapters, though. (I stayed away from reviews for this book, so nothing was spoiled. I’m glad I did. Just like I’m staying away from the reviews of the second book.) Seriously, I should have read the synopsis of this book. I just finished reading a tearjerker of a Romantic Suspense trilogy, and then Sarah J. Maas had to do the unthinkable in this book. Dang it, woman! I still adore you, Sarah J. Maas, even when you continuously break my heart. Storyline/My Thoughts: Sarah J. Maas is a master of writing characters that automatically become your favorites that you can’t stop thinking about them. She writes the kickass female characters that I love in my fantasy books. Bryce Quinlan has become my favorite female MC over Aelin and Feyra. (Sorry, not sorry. I still love those two, though.) Now Bryce has her faults. She’s a party girl who loves to have fun. She’s Half-Fey and Half-Human. She’s treated like crap by the other full-blooded fey; even her biological father treats her horribly. (Don’t even get me started with that male. Grrrr!!). She holds her own, though, and doesn’t take any crap. Her best friend Danika has been there for her since day one, and they get in trouble with each other often. Everyone knows that Bryce and Danika are inseparable until something happens. One night, Bryce’s life is turned upside down when she finds her friends brutally murdered by a demon, and she’s left alone without her friends. Two years later, Bryce, after the murders of her friends, the demon is killing again, and the Archangel Micah needs her help finding the demon since she had a close look at it. Micah will have his enslaved assassin, Hunt Athalar watching over her and assisting in the investigation. Hunt Athalar, what can I say about this bad (boy) fallen angel who is forced to kill whoever his boss says because he has a debt hanging over him for trying to overthrow the Archangels. He is forced to watch over Bryce, and Bryce makes it difficult for him at first. I loved how they had a hate/love relationship first. Hunt, though, starts to realize that Bryce is not what everyone thinks. He finds out who Bryce is and why she acts the way she does. Bryce finds out what happened to Hunt to have become enslaved by Micah. She also finds out who Hunt fears the most and how he lost his first love in battle when they fought the archangels. There are some other characters in this book that caught my eye immediately. Ruhn Danaan. He’s there for Bryce even when she doesn’t want him there. Everyone knows Ruhn as her cousin, but there’s a massive secret that Bryce and Ruhn are keeping from everyone due to Bryce’s birth father. If you haven’t read this book, I won’t spoil it. I enjoyed getting to know Ruhn and can see why readers have an infatuation with him, but Hunt is who I focused more on in this book. I loved his dark past and how he changed at the end with Bryce. Oh, boy, did he change a lot. There was a blip in the book (yes, a blip) where I questioned him. Oh, he almost had me going through the book wanting to yell at him for what he did. When Bryce and Hunt unravel what truly happened the night a demon killed her friends, Bryce will realize her closest friend was keeping secrets from her that may have caused her to be killed. Bryce will question everything and everyone. I felt for her when she uncovered the truth and who was actually behind everything. I was shocked by the twists and turns at the end of this book on who was behind everything. Sarah J. Maas knows how to mess with readers’ heads, as she did in this book. I loved every minute of it. Once the truth came to light, I screamed and yelled at the book. That friggin' epic ending!! I’m still thinking about it. This is why Bryce Quinlan has become the most prominent kickass female heroine that (in my opinion) that Sarah J. Maas has ever written. Another character that I loved in this book was Bryce’s mom. She handled a specific person when they called her. Now, I know where Bryce gets some of her qualities from, and I hope to see more of Bryce’s mom in this book. This book was a tearjerker for me. I cried so many times that I had to step away to recover. I had just finished reading a trilogy that had me in tears, and now this book had to make it worse. I loved reading about this world that Sarah J. Maas has crafted for her readers, and I can’t wait to dive more into soon. Before I read the second book, I will reread ACOTAR since it’s been a while. I’m going to stay away from spoilers. Overall, the first book in the Crescent City series receives five stars. Why am I so addicted to FAE? It’s all due to the lovely and talented Sarah J. Maas. Standalone of Part of Series: It’s part of the Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas, and I would recommend reading in order. Cliffhanger: Yes. Would I recommend this book? Yes. This book is for you if you are a fan of New Adult Fantasy books with Fae, Fallen Angels, Shifters, Archangels, Witches, Mermaids/Mermen, and Demons. I’ve read Sarah J. Maas’s other series, and I highly recommend this one.

The first 10% of this book took me 10x longer to read than the remaining 90% because that is HOW SLOW and difficult to follow the beginning is!!! But then you get to “the scene” (iykyk) and the ride only goes up from here. Endearing protagonist who is independent and self driven and unlike any other fantasy protagonist. Smart, wild plot twists that I didn’t see coming. Unrequited love, instances skirting too close to death and beyond. This book had it all. I required a stupid amount of convincing to read beyond the slow beginning and I’m so glad I did!

Being the fan of an author's work is both a blessing and a curse. You count down the days until their next—usually hyped up—release is to be published. You talk about it more and more the closer that said release day approaches. You try to enter any possible pre-order special is available, in the hope of getting a lovely exclusive pin, or a poster, or a print. And then the book releases... I don't know about you, but once that book hits shelves, I am violently torn between a crazed eagerness to read it, and a nearly crippling fear that I am going to hate the book no matter how much I have loved this author's stories in the past. Which, let's face it, is one of the worst things to happen in a reader's life. Thank you, Maas, for delivering the goods once again. House of Earth and Blood is not a perfect novel. I'm not even sure that such a thing is possible, to be frank, because our love of books is a very personal thing. But, this novel is a punch to the heart, in the best possible way. I absolutely fell in love with the story, with the characters, with the world that was created. And it is definitely a complex and intricate world of which we get a glimpse, but that is sure to open up to us even more, and I cannot wait to continue exploring it as the series progresses. I'm a huge fan of badass female leads in novels. What can I say, I live vicariously through them. Ironically, I usually don't like so-called “badass” female leads in novels, because most of the time what we're given are annoying females that try too hard. I initially read the sample for HoEaB that NetGalley provided, and I was a bit unsure about Bryce. She came off a tad strong for me, and I was instantly worried that this meant negativity throughout the rest of the novel. Maybe my mindset was not in its proper place then, but I am so glad that I decided to read the full novel from the first chapter again, because my opinion of Bryce completely changed. I love this woman. Despite the fact that we are reading a fantasy, despite the fact that Bryce is half-Fae, she is very human in her actions and emotions. She makes her mistakes, she suffers through them, she learns, she picks herself back up, puts on a new pair of teal-colored panties, and she keeps going. She's believable and realistic in who she is, and it's very easy to become connected to her. This is actually true of the rest of the characters. They don't always connect right away—I was unsure of Hunt at first, of Ruhn, of Jesiba even—but once they do, they stick and you root for these people. You suffer with them, you are excited alongside them, you want them to kick ass and come out winning on the other side. Hunt—or as I like to think of him in my head, Orion...such a gorgeous name—had one of the best evolutions. I can see that Maas wanted to make him this dark, introverted being at the beginning, and I saw hints of it, but I couldn't quite see him that way full-force. I think that's one of the things that made me question him for those first few chapters of his appearance in-story. I see what you want me to see, because you're telling me what to see, but that's not really who he is, and that's coming out more so than the facade he's portraying. Athie is a deep, tortured, sweet and loving male who slowly opens up to the reader, and he swept me right off my feet. That's probably why the sudden twist at the end of the novel's third part was such a slap to the face, and the biggest problem that I had with this book. We're navigating a story that's centered around the death of Bryce's best friend, Danika, and her pack of shape-shifting wolves—one of the most heartbreaking moments of the book, by the way, even if the synopsis warns us about it (the writing in this piece, at the start, was wonderfully done and it tore through me). Eventually, we know that Danika's death, and that of the pack, is surrounded by the use of a drug called synth, which makes people—both human and non—have strength and violence to such a degree that they can tear others apart. And the culmination of that is that Hunt is involved in this so that he, and those with him, can use this drug to help themselves be freed from those who have enslaved them. It did not fit with his character. Hunt, who strives to keep others safe, who works and does the horrible things that his handler, Micah, tells him to do so that he can keeps streets safe? Hunt, who deals in killing demons that come through rifts? Yes, he has been suffering for over two hundred years, and he has been tortured within an inch of his life, and the love of his life was killed in the midst of this. But to make him be a buyer, when he comes to know the consequences of the usage of synth, did not fit in with who he is. As the last part of the novel progressed, things were smoothed out a bit and it sort of fit in. But this nagged at me so much that I was not able to let it go. I did, as a matter of fact, stop reading for the day once I hit this point, and had to force myself to pick up the book again the next day so that I could continue. It doesn't take away from the story, mind you. I said it once, and I say it again, I love this book. I felt every single emotion that was in here, and that's one of the best things that I can ever ask for in a story: make me feel. And you certainly feel. You feel to the point of tears sometimes. Lehabah's end did it for me, that little fire sprite was one of the good ones. Bryce's phone call to Hunt when she's in the middle of taking out demons after the Gates open and knows she might very well die, did it for me again. Danika and Bryce's reunion after Bryce makes her Drop did it for me a third time. And then that bittersweet moment, near the end of the book, when Bryce gets just a glimpse of the pack and Connor waves to her, brought tears to my eyes once again. But I still think that there is, and was, so much to explore. And while we're taken to the brink of those moments that can be darker, like the ones that Hunt described having experienced during his years with Sandriel alongside Pollux, we're not taken there. It's not that I want to see my beloved characters suffer, it's that sometimes that suffering can have room for that much more growth. Sometimes when we bypass that, things appear a little too easy. At the end of the day, though, this was stellar. My worry was for nothing, and I am going to be suffering until the second book is so much as announced. I'm still not over the losses in this first installment, I still remember the epic scene of Bryce against Micah, of Hunt's plummet over that helicopter, of Lehabah's sacrifice. I am so curious to see how the obscure Aidas ties in with this story and what more he has to offer, and I can't even imagine how the Asteri will likely play a part in the future of this world. Bring it on, Crescent City. I'm waiting.

"Through love all is possible" This is my first Sarah J. Maas book, so the criticism I've been hearing saying the story and characters are a repeat of her previous series' will be void here. I don't read fantasy adult romance (not unless specific conditions are met), but I decided to pick this book up solely because the world sounded interesting (a big, modern-day city set on a planet inhabited by nearly every mythical being or creature imaginable, with hints of other planets of similar nature and a friggin' multiverse? It sounds bonkers, count me in!). It took a few attempts for me to finally get into the story and what did I think? Well, I'll go over the problems first, cause unfortunately there were a lot. It took a long time for the story to get going. In fact, I don't think it really picked up until the 375 to 400 page mark. I swear I love enormous books like this, but the pacing has to be right in order to justify the length. House of Earth and Blood sadly did not have this justification. The writing also wavers here and there. While the overly long and descriptive sentences don't bother me much (its something I'm guilty of), for a book that's tagged as an adult fantasy, it reads like it was written by an edgy, hormone-crazed teenager. With everyone cussing and swearing nearly every few sentences, to the countless mentions of certain desires, appearances, drugs, and sex, what is this, Hazbin Hotel? I get people curse all the time, but it was just gratuitous here. Thankfully this gets toned down a bit as the book goes on. Finally, Bryce and Hunt weren't exactly the most likable or interesting main characters, which made it hard to get behind them at first. On that note, while their romance wasn't bad, and their more tender and meaningful moments were tear-jerking, it felt a bit rushed in my eyes. One page they're bickering and insulting each other with hateful resolve, and then the next Hunt suddenly truly cares for Bryce's well-being. What just happened there? That's all I have to say for the negatives, time for the positives! While the book had a shaky start in terms of, well, everything, it slowly got better and better as the story went on, to the point where the entire third-act was downright amazing and heart-wrenching. Speaking of which, the friendship between Danika and Bryce is the heart and soul of this story, which I'm very thankful for. Despite Danika's tragic passing (its in the book description, and it happens within the first 100 pages or so of the story, its not exactly a spoiler), her presence is still felt throughout the story in more ways than one, and her death is the sole driving force for Bryce. The reason why she goes on despite suffering so much from the loss. On that note, while it took a long time for me to warm up to Bryce (and she comes off as a bit of a Mary Sue at the end), her character growth, journey, and all she was forced to endure throughout the book made me admire her. The sheer, raw pain and guilt she goes through was executed so well my own heart ached reading about it, to the point where the ending nearly brought me to tears. Despite the questionable writing, I think Maas did a fantastic job displaying depression and trauma. I sadly can't say the same for Hunt. While his character grew on me overtime, his own character arc wasn't as interesting to me (not to mention I had to envision him and the angels differently in order to tolerate his romance with Bryce more. I sincerely apologize to the Hunt fangirls out there). Even the side characters, like Jesiba, Lehabah, and Ruhn were more interesting than him. Moving on, the world Maas created was imaginative, and while the world-building was a bit bloated, it was intriguing enough to keep me engaged and wanting to see more. I've seen people complain about the fact the entire book takes place within Crescent City and nowhere else, but honestly, the city is so large and fascinating that I didn't mind. Anyway, the plot twists and turns, despite coming out of nowhere in some areas, were excellent overall, the magic system and the concept of the Drop is interesting, and finally, the battle and resolution at the end was epic. It does leave off on a cliff-hanger, and while a part of me thinks this story doesn't need a sequel, the world is so massive and there's so much that hasn't been explored yet that a second book is warranted. So overall, is House of Earth and Blood the best fantasy book of the decade like so many claim? No, definitely not. Is it a really good story regardless despite some weak writing? Absolutely, although its not for everyone. I definitely plan on looking into the sequels down the line.

I loved this book! It was full of twists and turns and the twists really took me by surprise! I enjoyed the romance, I enjoyed the story it was so good! Yes, the first 100 pages are a bit confusing but it's because the author just throws you into the story without giving you the details, but get through that and you are in for an addictive, captivating read!

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

This book in one word... Epic! And I wholeheartedly mean that! Read it and then tell everyone you know, and their Granny, to read it too! It's just that good! Crescent City is a murder mystery with an urban fantasy twist. Honestly, from page 1 this played out in my head as a top class, big city, detective drama with mythological creatures - compareable to those you'd watch on HBO. It's literally shock-after-shock twists (page 599 anyone?) but, particularly in the last 200 pages, it has a way of going from 0-100 in seconds! It plays with your emotions, in pure Sarah J Maas fashion - one minute you're crying, hysterically I might add, body wrecking sobs and all (those photos and that phone call), and the next minute you're laughing at something that's been said or done. And Gods, the slow-burn romance! I love and hate it in equal measures. It's amazingly written and I adored seeing their story develop but I wanted more action, especially as this is an adult book and ACOTAR had more, even in the first book. I'm assuming SJM has this up her sleeve for book 2 and she's purposefully left us hot and bothered, longing for more. We see our main character, Bryce Quinlan, as the ultimate party girl, enjoying life to the full, before it is ripped from her by the brutal murders of her closest friends. Over the span of two years she coasts along, a ghost of her former self, while she battles on a daily basis to cope with her grief and come to terms with her devestating loss. But soon up pop similar murders, despite the original suspect being behind bars. In order to solve the mystery Bryce is thrown together with dangerous fallen angel, Hunt Athalar, the Governor of Crescent City's very own top assassin. The two must work against the clock to find out what is going on but in the process they unravel a fifteen thousand year old secret that many had assumed was lost forever. Their bond deepens and blossoms into friendship, helping each other heal from their own tragic pasts but their passion can't be denied. This is Sarah J Maas' first adult book and it dives in covering a range of themes, from grief, loss and suicidal thoughts to sexism, discrimination and body image. It focuses strongly on the bonds of friendship and loyalty, with Bryce and Danika's story played out with just as much emphasis and importance as Bryce and Hunt's. The character development, especially in the last 200 pages and particularly with Bryce, is immense and the world building is fantastic, albeit a bit heavy in the beginning but, like any good fantasy or detective story, as long as you're paying attention none of it will go over your head. The side characters are as alluring at those in other SJM series and I find myself hoping their stories will be expanded on in coming books. I really want to see more of Ruhn but also Aidas, Queen Hypaxia, Tharion, Jesiba, Ithan, Flynn and Declan. Bryce, as a main character, has now become my favourite leading lady. She is smart and sassy, caring, loyal to a tee and she is as fierce as they come - you definitely want her in your corner. Not to mention she's drop dead gorgeous and curvaceous with stunning long red hair (check out the fanart). I love how she is not afraid to be herself, in all he glory. She curses and speaks her mind. But there's a strong vulnerability there although she does allow those close to her to see. Hunt is a breath of fresh air in the respect that he's a non-toxic male. He's the poster-boy for soft (but still sexy as Hel). He's there for her when she needs it. And he has easily joined the ranks of my favourite SJM winged males. I am well aware of the pattern that her other books follow but I'm hoping that this time things will be different. When reading it I felt a lot of similarities with the behaviour between another certain revered couple from the ACOTAR series and I hope, with all hope, he's endgame! (I'll admit to having over 50 tags from the book, where the wording is similar to the 'mate' descriptions used in the other two series, in my desperate attempt to decode some of the foreshadowing for book 2) Be prepared to go through the motions with this book. You will laugh, you will cry and you will freeze with shock, curse at the book and be half afraid to read on. But you will love it! You will love it so much that, like me, you'll have already started a countdown to November 2021, anticipating book 2. Pros: Immense character development Fantastic world building Extremely well written Lovable and interesting characters - main and side A strong and relatable female lead A non-toxic male love interest Relatable (despite being in a fantasy world) Cons: World building can be a bit heavy, especially at the start More action needed between Bryce and Hunt Noteworthy quotes: 'Light it up!' 'I see you, Quinlan. And I like all of it' 'Through love, all is possible' 'You're the person I don't need to explain myself to - not when it matters. You see everything I am, and you don't run away from it' 'That's the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that more precious' 'He'd been waiting for her form the moment he'd been born'

I don't even know what to say. Every time the author publishes a book, I'm useless after that. Life after a Sarah J. Maas book is just plain boring and meaningless. I love her books, her writing style, how she manages to draw the reader into her created worlds and not let him or her flee. I love her characters and the way she breathes life into them, giving them depth, emotions and values with which one can identify. I love the relationship structures that she creates and that are authentic and credible. I love the fact that she lets us characters grow to our hearts so quickly and that she can take them away from us at any time. I love the way she manages to make us as readers sympathize, cheer and forget everything around us, if only we can get our hands on a new story from her. I love the worlds and the creatures she creates, the many details that breathe life into her worlds and the way she makes us, as readers, jump over the cliff again and again when another plot twist comes up, because we never saw it coming like this. We think we know what is going to happen, but we are taught better every time. And we aren't even talking about the immense tension and action, which especially takes place in the last third of the novel and which makes all of us hold our breath. "House of Earth and Blood" may not have been her best story, may not have been flawless, may not have been well thought out, and may not have been as profound in terms of the characters when compared to the other characters in her other two series, but - Sarah J. Maas simply writes on a level that few writers can match, and so we are b**ching at a very high level here. I am already looking forward to the next volume and take nothing for granted.

I just finished reading this book, and it's one of the best books I have ever read. Sarah J. Maas has truly done it again. It’s an amazing story that is so involving and captivating. I love how she writes, effortlessly pulling you into the world she’s created. The way she describes the characters, their deepest feelings, and the challenging situations they face is simply brilliant. She is, without a doubt, my favourite writer and one of the greatest storytellers.