House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) | Sarah J. Maas |Book Review
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Title- House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)
Author- Sarah J. Maas
Publisher- Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre- Urban Fantasy
Links- Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
My Rating- ★★★★★
“Bound by blood.
Tempted by desire.
Unleashed by destiny.”
Contents
Book Blurb
My Review
About the Author
Book Blurb
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.
As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.
With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.
“...There’s nothing wrong with a party girl. I don’t get why the world thinks there is...Its easier for me—-when people assume the worst about what I am. It lets me see who they really are -”
My Review
This was my favourite book of 2020, even after a whopping 803 pages, I didn’t want it to end. I don’t even know where to start, or how to describe how much I loved this book. I had a book hangover for weeks after reading it and couldn’t face picking another book up.
House of Earth and Blood is the first instalment in the Crescent City series. I’d describe it as an epic urban fantasy/ murder mystery/romance. It has an extremely complex world, with a complex plot, and wonderfully flawed characters. I’m just going to list some highlights for me, otherwise this review will go on forever.
Things I loved most about this book;
The complex urban fantasy setting with crazy amounts of background world building.
All these things mixed together- magic, murder, drugs, partying, secrets, sex, mysteries, modern technology, cool weapons, adorable creatures (Syrinx and the Otter messengers!).
Murder mystery plot with so many good twists
All the different supernatural beings-Archangels, wolf shifter, Fae, demons, half-fae half-humans, witches, mer people, vampires- it’s got it all.
The characters- wonderfully flawed main characters, and a huge cast of fun and interesting side characters.
The romance- slow-burn, hate to love romance with so many good moments!
How big the books is- 803 pages! I really didn’t want to put it down and was happy when it just kept going
Complex relationships- The relationship between Danika and Bryce especially, this felt very raw and real.
Mixing magic and technology- the weapons, drugs, and everyday tech infused with magical enhancements.
Strong sibling relationship- I love reading about strong family relationships, especially siblings who love/ hate each other.
Setting, World building and Magic
This urban city setting is gritty, wild, and melds both fantasy and realism really well. The first half of the book has dense world building, but it needs it. This world is vibrant, detailed, complicated and needs a great deal of explaining. It is worth it!
There are so many districts, levels of government, monarchies, houses and factions of whatever supernatural beings, it is a lot to take in. I didn’t try too hard to understand it all and did get lost trying to keep up. But it indicates it is a very large, complicated world that we are sure to learn more about in future books.
To make it a little clearer these are the districts and their rulers.
The Fae Autumn King in Five Roses (FiRo)
The Prime of Wolves in Moonwood
The Viper Queen in the Meat Market
The Oracle in Old Square
The River Queen in the Istros River
Asphodel Meadows is the human district with no Head.
The Under-King in the Bone Quarter
See the photo below for a map and list of the Four Houses
Map of Crescent City from the paperback version of House of Earth and Blood. Photo by Jenny Sandiford.
Four Houses represented in Crescent City, list at the front of paperback version of House of Earth and Blood.
Magic- It was an interesting magic system. I liked the concept of ‘making the drop.’ But overall the magic is largely unexplained and soft, but it works for the story.
Characters
The main character Bryce is a party girl, with all the appearances of someone who doesn’t care about much. But inside is a different story. The story follows Bryce’s internal struggle with grief and guilt, and we see her grow a lot as a character. She is a complex and fun with lots of flaws, which makes her really interesting to follow. Her redeeming quality is how much she cares for others, and the main thing I liked about her.
Bryce is pretty annoying at times, but she has tons of motivation, which made her a wonderful protagonist. She is by far my favourite of Sarah J. Maas’s MCs, I had a strong hatred for Feyre and I only liked Aelin in certain books.
Bryce’s relationships are what really made her. The themes of love and sacrifice are strong. And the relationship between Bryce and Danika is the embodiment of this concept. Though their relationship is platonic, it far outshines the romance and is powerfully written.
There are so many wonderful side characters as well. It would take forever to talk about them all. My favourites by far was Ruhn and Lehabah.
Hunt, the other main character was just okay. He worked well as the love interest and there were lots of great moments of sexual tension and it was fun watching the relationship change from hate to something else.
Also a special mention to Syrinx, Bryce’s adorable pet chimera. He brings such a playful, cheerful element to the story, even when things get serious. I want to take him home!
Plot
I have no idea how Sarah J. Maas kept track of everything that was going on writing this. There was so much to this plot, so many details, so many mysteries, secrets, relationships, multiple character arcs, romance subplots, backstory, and plot twists to keep track of.
I was constantly surprised by changes in the direction of the plot. Somehow it was all tied up together at the end, and seemingly meaningless things we discovered earlier in the plot suddenly had new meanings. The last 200 or so pages of this book are amazing, this is where you will not be able to put the book down.
Things I didn’t like
Was a little slow to get into. There is a lot of world building and backstory. It can feel a little info-dumpy at times, but it was all there for a reason. You need all the info to understand the world, and I think it will be a good set up for future books in the series.
Unreliable narration- no spoilers here, but I will mention that toward the end we find out there were a few happened during the course of the story that the reader wasn’t let in on. This is more of a pet peeve. I wish there were a few more clues so I could have worked out more by myself, rather than be surprised/ disappointed by some of these twists.
Fae that are old, acting like teenagers. This is a personal annoyance, and I guess a normal trope amongst old beings such as fae or vampires. But I hate it when I learn that their true age is is 60, or 80 or something, and they are acting like partying teenagers. I can’t help but think about their true age and wonder why they are acting like that. I guess it’s because they are so hot?? That seems to be a thing… And saying that, Ruhn was my favourite character…
Why read this?
I recommended reading this if you are looking for a giant book urban fantasy book that you won’t be able to put down. If you want to immerse yourself in a new world of exciting magical mystery and getting attached to some amazing characters, you should read this!
All the things- magic, murder, drugs, supernatural beings, partying, secrets, sex, mysteries, modern technology with magic, cool weapons, and adorable creatures.
Six out of five stars from me!
“She swallowed, looking at the ground that was not earth, but the very base of Self, of the world. She whispered, “I’m scared.”
Danika grabbed her hand again. “That’s the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious.” She took Bryce’s face in her hands and pressed their brows together.”
About the Author- Sarah J. Maas
Sarah J. Maas Author of House of Earth and Blood
Sarah J. Maas is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series and A Court of Thorns and Roses series, as well as a USA Today and international bestselling author. Sarah wrote the first incarnation of the Throne of Glass series when she was just sixteen, and it has now sold in thirty-five languages. A New York native, Sarah currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and dog. Empire of Storms, the fifth Throne of Glass novel,is available now.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hamilton College in 2008 with a degree in Creative Writing and a minor in Religious Studies.
Check out Sarah J. Maas’s Website
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About the reviewer- Jenny sandiford
Hi I’m Jenny. I am passionate about promoting new authors and sharing any amazing books I find with the world. I am a book blogger, bookstagrammer, YA fantasy writer and travel writer.
I’m also a lover of nature, hiking, Harry Potter, cats, fantasy lands and quiet places.
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