House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, 1)

🌆 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

Rating: ⭐️⭐️✨🤣👀😈 Narration by: Elizabeth Evans *chefs kiss 😚*; recommend getting the ebook and the audible to go along, so good. TLDR: This is such a different departure from ACOTAR and TOG. Now, if you have not read those first - PLEASE DO! I mean it, like, really, read them first. However, if you are trying to get on the craze that is Crescent City then you can read ACOTAR series first. Bryce is fun to jump into and I want to party with her. If you can annotate parts that make you go 🤔 - it will pay off. I WANT TO HEAR EVERYONE'S UNHINGED THEORIES!!! The rest of this review is meant to be entertaining without trying to spoil anything. Hold on to your heels, because House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas is a rollercoaster of demon-slaying, angel-enslaving, and heart-throbbing proportions! Buckle up, fantasy addicts, because you're in for a wild ride through Crescent City, where the nights are as dark as the secrets lurking in the shadows. Our protagonist, Bryce Quinlan, was living the dream - working hard, partying harder (amen, girl!) - until a demon decided to crash her perfect life by murdering her closest pals. Talk about a party foul! Now, armed with determination and a penchant for revenge, Bryce becomes the Nancy Drew of the supernatural world. But hold your steeds, because there's a fallen angel in the mix. 👼 Hunt Athalar, the notorious Fallen angel with a resume that screams "bad boy," is now on a leash, courtesy of the Archangels he once tried to overthrow. You know, the usual workplace drama. But guess what? Hunt gets a deal he can't refuse - help Bryce catch the murderer, and he might just earn his angelic wings back. It's like a demonic buddy cop movie, and I'm here for it! No really, I want this series turned into a movie along with the rest. As our dynamic duo dives deep into the underbelly of Crescent City, they uncover a power so dark it makes midnight look like noon. Sarah J. Maas weaves a tale of suspense that's tighter than a dragon's grip on its treasure. But amidst the chaos and danger, Bryce and Hunt discover a passion that's hotter than a dragon's breath. Will they let love be their salvation, or will the darkness consume them? The characters are so unforgettable that they'll linger in your mind like the scent of a spellbinding potion. The romance sizzles hotter than a phoenix rising from the ashes, and the suspense will keep you turning pages faster than you can say "magic spell." Enter Ruhn Danaan *cue the song people, iykyk*!!! House of Earth and Blood is a fantasy feast for the senses. Sarah J. Maas has cooked up a concoction of magic, mystery, and mayhem that'll leave you spellbound. If you're a fan of unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and a plot so twisted it could give a dragon neck cramps, this book is your golden ticket to fantasy bliss. Get ready to be enchanted! Also, get ready to spiral 🌀cause I have been throughout this book and the next. 😵‍💫

"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’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.

Well, this is my new favorite book and I'm nervous whatever I pick up next isn't going to be able to come near this book. I honestly love this book and I'm having some trouble forming my feelings into sentences. At first, it was hard to keep up with the world building but that didn't last too long for me. I was hooked into the story fairly early. The world was creative and something that held my attention even when I was trying to remember who was who. I think Sarah J. Maas did a great job on her characters for this book. The main and side characters kept me interested and I was never disappointed by a new point of view. I hope we get more of them in the next book, because honestly near the end I was scared with who we may lose. Obviously, Danika and the Pack of Devils will always have a special place in my heart and wish our time with them wasn't so short. I'll admit I cried a few times (the hardest was the part in the library). I was happy to see the emotions displayed and the power of friendship through the story. We had friends who were willing to do anything to help one another, until their last breath. This leads to the number one friendship bond between Danika and Bryce. These two were each other's ride or dies and were each others platonic soulmates. They helped each other even when they weren't together, they were wiling to sacrifice everything. I was happy that we were able to see that displayed through out the book. It's like Hunt said on the roof about how he wishes he'd have a friend like Bryce willing to defend him the way she does Danika. "Light it up!" I liked the slow forming relationship between Bryce and Hunt. They were friends that became more. They had a normal days and times when they were together, which I enjoyed. They watched tv together and just hung out like normal people. Their dynamic was phenomenal and they understood each other when they needed it the most. They were both healing from separate wounds but spending time together allowed them to heal from them. I hope they are endgame and this doesn't end poorly for them because I don't know if my heart can take it. The fourth part of this book had my heart racing. I kept skimming pages/chapters ahead because I needed to know what was happening. I had trouble putting the book down from the beginning but knew once I hit that last section finishing this story would be the only thing I was doing. There were a few things I wish we'd seen in the end that I'm hoping will be in the sequel. I wish we were able to see Bryce and Ithan's long overdue talk about everything. I also would have liked to see Bryce talked to Aidas after she made her drop to see what he'd been wanting to talk to her about. I also know this can't happen but I would have liked a few more chapters with Danika and Conner. I would have liked to see the friendship and relationship between them a little more. I'm not sure what we can expect from the sequel after that ending, but I can't wait to have it in my grasp.

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.

I just finished this book and I’m honestly sitting here with a swirl of emotions that I’m not even sure how to unpack. This ending put me through it, anger, sadness, and somehow pure happiness all at the same time. And that’s exactly why it’s a five-star read for me. Bryce is such a kick-ass character. She refuses to let anyone define her, label her, or tell her who she’s supposed to be. She feels everything so deeply, but she only lets the world see what she wants them to see. The anger, the sharp edges, the hatred she throws out at times, it’s all armor. A shield to protect the parts of herself that are still soft, still hurting, still capable of being broken. And honestly? That hit hard. Watching her slowly start to open that door to trust again only to have it slammed shut after everything that happened with Hunt and Micah absolutely wrecked me. And speaking of Hunt… wow. I have such a soft spot for him. For most of the book you’re right there with him, understanding him, rooting for him. Then there’s that brief moment where you’re just like, nope, I hate you right now. But that emotional whiplash is part of what makes the story feel so real. One thing I really loved was how the book weaves politics into the story while still keeping it firmly in the realm of fantasy. There are moments where the power struggles and systems feel eerily similar to things we deal with in our real world, the battles, the corruption, the unfairness, but it never loses that fictional magic that keeps you fully immersed in the story. And that ending? I was literally gripping the cover of the book, flipping pages faster and faster, trying to take everything in while my heart was racing. It’s one of those endings where you just sit there for a second afterward thinking, did that really just happen? Safe to say I didn’t even hesitate, I immediately grabbed the second book because I need to see what this newly powered, unstoppable Bryce is going to do next.

In terms of SJM series’ this is the one I decided to read last because the blurb didn’t sound all that interesting to me. Once I decided to start this book it took me about six or seven tries to get past the first one hundred pages, however once I did I was hooked. I’m not even sure how to summarize this book without giving away major spoilers so if you’re intrigued I’ll send you to read the blurb (but I promise the book is better than it sounds) and I’ll just give you my thoughts here. A lot happens in the first one hundred pages and the first few times I read them I couldn’t appreciate them in all their gut wrenching glory because of how dense they were. While I’m more than okay with reading heavy fantasy novels I wasn’t anticipating it after finishing ACOTAR and TOG. I don’t typically compare books or book series but I was a little blindsided and this led to me needing to read this series when I was in the correct headspace to appreciate it. Once I dived into that headspace I can honestly say the first one hundred pages of this book were exquisite and they deserve all the hype. Maas did such a beautiful job creating a world that was fantasy at its core but was empowered by modern day elements such as smart phones and technology. I really enjoyed getting to read about the different parts of the city and the details between sections were so intricate and were well thought out, Maas had a vision and she brought it to life. I also really enjoyed the character set up coming out of the first part of this book and I liked that this set up was able to expand and grow throughout the book. I felt like I was always learning something new about each character and the way their stories were intertwined in an independent way was very unique. I adore Bryce. I felt like she encompassed all of my favorite aspects of Aelin and Feyre but SJM ensured that she was still her own character. Bryce’s back story was intriguing to me because she grew up with parents and friends who loved her, she excelled at her passion, went to college and graduated, and she had everything going for her until tragedy struck. This juxtaposition from happy go lucky Bryce to one filled with anguish and trauma was heartbreakingly wonderful. I saw so much of myself in the way she handled her anguish and, as a retired dancer, I understood her agony over not doing it anymore. Despite her trauma I liked the little life she had built for herself and I enjoyed how she owned every aspect of it. She was smart and sassy and the world was hers for the taking. I also really enjoyed Hunt. I thought his trauma balanced out Bryce’s well and I enjoyed watching him break out of his shell as the story went on. We started to see glimpses of him smiling and caring for others again in a way that was timid yet strong. Both of these characters felt like two wholes that intertwined around each other to create one beautiful bond. They were still independent people but, as the story went on we were able to see them open up and lean on each other. Their bond felt natural, like they were always meant to be. My one issue with this book, hence the four stars instead of five, was the pacing. While I do think the first part of the book is well written - and I was able to enjoy it after a few tries - I do think the dense material impacted the pacing of the rest of the book. There were times where I wished more time was spent on a new area Bryce had visited or more background was given on how specific cultural phenomena came to be but it felt like there was no time. After the first portion of the book I felt like the whole thing needed to be plot to keep the story going but it felt like there was no time to stop and smell the roses. Overall I did enjoy this book and I think it was a wonderful opener to the rest of Bryce’s story. I would recommend it to those who love a good romantasy but I would also recommend it to those who love high fantasy, this book gives you the best of both worlds without one taking away from the other.

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!

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

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.

Sarah J. Maas delivers a breathtaking start to the Crescent City series with House of Earth and Blood. This book is a perfect mix of fantasy, mystery, and romance, set in the vividly detailed and magical city of Crescent City. Bryce Quinlan is a strong, relatable heroine navigating grief, danger, and love, and her story is both emotional and thrilling. The chemistry between Bryce and Hunt Athalar adds depth without overshadowing the intricate world-building and high-stakes plot. At over 800 pages, it’s a big read—but every moment is immersive, full of suspense, magic, and unforgettable characters. If you love urban fantasy with strong heroes, complex plots, and epic storytelling, this book is a must-read.

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.