June 02, 2022

Review: House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1) by Sarah J. Maas ★★★★★

Bound by blood.
Tempted by desire.
Unleashed by destiny.

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.

Review

Mother. Forking. Shirtballs.

This was such a rollercoaster of a read. I was getting so worried at the beginning--I actually wasn't vibing with the book or Bryce very much at all in Part 1. Then by the end, I was like oh, okay, this is the best book ever and SJM reigns supreme once again.

House of Earth and Blood, book one in Sarah J. Maas' newest Fantasy series, Crescent City, is a whopping 800 pages (or 27 hours if you're an audiobook listener) of romantasy goodness. Yes, it's a long read and yes it starts a little slow and hits you with a lot of information, place names and hierarchies to memorise all at once. But, if you're anything like me, you'll go from bemoaning the pace and the unnecessary and indulgent page count, to fervently wishing it would never ever end.

Out of all of Maas' series so far, this one definitely had more of an Urban Fantasy flavour. There was a city backdrop, there was modern technology, vehicles and weaponry. And Bryce herself was a club-going party girl, at least at the start. Very different from the more historical fantasy vibes of her other two series.

Bryce, our main character, had a pretty epic transformation over the course of the book. I now think my lack of vibes at the beginning was intentional. My initial opinion of her matched Hunt's (main dude) opinion of her. Then she showed us who she really was and oh boy!

For the romance quarter, I'm not here for spoilers but can we just say slow burn deliciousness is my fave and I'm very happy.

I ended up really loving the worldbuilding once I got my head around it and got used to the change up from Maas' usual style. I will DEFINITELY be reading the next book as soon as I get my grubby little mitts on it.

I've got nothing else. It was amazing. That is all.

5 fricken stars

★★★★★