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House of Earth and Blood

Book 1 in the series:Crescent City

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In "House of Earth and Blood" by Sarah J. Maas, readers are taken on a rollercoaster journey through Crescent City, where the nights are as dark as the secrets lurking in the shadows. The story follows Bryce Quinlan, a young woman living the dream until a demon crashes into her life, leading her on a path of determination and revenge in the supernatural world. Alongside the fallen angel, Hunt, Bryce dives into the underbelly of Crescent City, uncovering dark powers and unraveling a suspenseful tale tighter than a dragon's grip.

The book is a fantasy feast for the senses, filled with magic, mystery, and mayhem that leaves readers spellbound. Sarah J. Maas weaves a tale of unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and a twisted plot that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The story is a wild ride of demon slaying, angel enslaving, and heart-throbbing proportions, where love and darkness collide in a passionate struggle for salvation.

Characters:

The characters are multifaceted, with Bryce being a dynamic lead and Hunt a tortured hero, complemented by a rich cast of supporting characters.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is immersive and engaging, marked by smooth prose and realistic dialogues that enhance the fantasy world-building.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot intricately weaves together a murder investigation with themes of friendship, love, and betrayal in a fantastical urban setting.

Setting:

The setting is a modern urban fantasy world, rich with a variety of supernatural beings and factions, blending contemporary elements with fantastical lore.

Pacing:

The pacing is slow at first due to extensive world-building but accelerates dramatically towards the end, keeping readers engaged.
The heavy metal door to Griffin Antiquities thudded with the impact of the wolf’s fist—a fist that Bryce knew ended in metallic-purple painted nails in dire need of a manicure. A heartbeat later, a fe...

Notes:

The book is titled "House of Earth and Blood" and is the first in the Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas.
It features a mix of urban fantasy, murder mystery, and romance, set in a contemporary-like world.
The main character, Bryce Quinlan, is half Fae and half human, dealing with her grief and traumas from a friend’s murder.
Hunt Athalar, the male protagonist, is an enslaved fallen angel, adding a dark twist to the romance.
The narrative explores themes of friendship, loss, and personal growth amidst fantastical elements like magic and various creature species.
Readers note a significant amount of world-building and character development, but some found it slow to start due to info dumping.
The book has a lot of emotional highs and lows, with many readers expressing that it made them cry, especially towards the end.
The dialogue is lauded as organic and relatable, immersing listeners/readers into the world even when using the audiobook.
The romantic tension between Hunt and Bryce is intense and layered, described as a slow-burn leading to passionate moments later in the story.
The emotional stakes rise significantly in the last 200 pages, making it a gripping read for many fans.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include drug abuse, violence, gore, themes of grief, and mentions of suicide.

Has Romance?

The book includes a significant romantic subplot that evolves throughout the story.

From The Publisher:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas launches her brand-new CRESCENT CITY series with House of Earth and Blood: the story of half-Fae and half-human Bryce Quinlan as she seeks revenge in a contemporary fantasy world of magic, danger, and searing romance.

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. more

Ratings (370)

Incredible (89)
Loved It (149)
Liked It (71)
It Was OK (25)
Did Not Like (21)
Hated It (15)

Reader Stats (759):

Read It (373)
Currently Reading (11)
Want To Read (280)
Did Not Finish (18)
Not Interested (77)

13 comment(s)

Hated It
1 week

I do not like SJM.

 
2 weeks

1/2025: Hmmmm, my mood or the writing? Couldn't tell, so I stopped this one ~ 10% in; may return to it, eventually

 
Loved It
4 weeks

Two dumb detectives, one great book

 
Did Not Like
1 month

My original thought was taking this out of the library, because I didn’t know if I’d like it. I have problems with SJM’s books in general—they tend to be loquacious and riddled with cookie-cutter characters. The characters I like end up sidelined or written off entirely and I abandoned the Throne of Glass series when she decided there’s no such thing as platonic soulmates. That was the last straw.

I was right, in that I disliked it and would have been better served hoping to take it out of the library.

The world-building is some sort of urban fantasy/sci fi mash-up that left me more confused than anything. So...the supernatural creatures landed on “Midgard” (seriously, Midgard?) after leaving their planet. So, either there was a cosmic event that permitted them to access other realms or they have interstellar flight capabilities. This was not explained, at least not by the point where I gave up on the book. (I read 200 pages out of an 800 page book, leave me alone).

She might as well have called it Earth. It would’ve been better, world-building wise, to have done so. I have a nebulous view of the planet in my mind (I never consult the in-book map, anyway), but the way the novel is written, Pangera and Crescent City are, like, the only important features on the entire planet. That doesn’t sit well with me.

You know what else doesn’t sit well with me? Stupid protagonist party girls. I get that this is a whodunit, but if I can’t find the main characters at least somewhat interesting/appealing in some fashion, no matter how execrable they are, that’s it. For example, Joe Abercrombie’s protagonists, some of them wouldn’t know morality if it hit them in the face with a frying pan. But they’re still interesting and likable despite that. Bryce is not. Hunt is...not really.

The overuse of profanity was like reading Gamzee Makara from Homestuck attempt to write a novel. We get it, your book is for adults. Now kindly stop with the excessive drug references and profanity. You sound like a teenager trying to fit in.

The names made no sense. What influence, exactly, pervades the supernatural creatures? The, uh...what were they called again? V something. Oh well. Doesn’t matter. Is it influenced by the Romans? The Greeks? The Middle East? It’s a mess. Please pick a particular area and stick with it. Please.

I’ve tried reading this book for the past three days and gave up on it twice already. This is the last time. I have enough crap going on in my life that I don’t need to add bad books to the mix.

I wanted to mention the humans, because I see them as the downtrodden. In any other series, they’d be the protagonists and the supernatural creatures would be seen as the antagonists. That’s not the case here and there’s no real way to justify the supernatural creatures wielding all that power beyond “divine right”. I’m not too keen on that, as “divine right’ in real life has been used to justify a lot of wrongdoing.

I apologize for this review being overly negative. This book was just not to my liking. I need to avoid authors I stopped reading and not return to them. There are reasons why I give up on them.

EDIT: Second take. Yes, I tried reading this *again* because, one, I am a glutton for punishment, and two, I thought perhaps it was my mood.

The book doesn't get much better, even if I finished more of it this time. (I reached about page 400 this time). The characters remain cookie-cutter, Bryce still gets on my nerves, and I still think Maas is overhyped. I'm sorry.

 
It Was OK
1 month

I prefer non modern settings

 
Loved It
3 months

even though it starts off pretty slow, it is not boring… liked the story and characters… at some point it gets overwhelming emotionally but it makes the reading experience more enjoyable

 
Incredible
4 months

1/6/24 - 2nd read

LIKE: *Bryce and Hunt. I 100% believe that they are SJM's most likeable main characters. *This world. The city, the technology, the politics, the melting pot of so many different fantastical beings. *Adorable otters. *The murder mystery aspect of it. Very different from her other books and so so fun to read. *Lehabah

DISLIKE: *I've got nothing

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars

 
Loved It
5 months

How could I forget that SJM is one of my favorite authors? I will not accept slander. She writes amazing work - the conversations between two people that make them fall in love with each other, the relationships between friends, lovers, and family, really sweet romance scenes and really hot sex scenes. I was surprised to find that this was a murder mystery book and it was a good one. The way the clues fit together and the way they figured them out flowed so nicely together. It's the kind of mystery that you can try to solve alongside the characters. I love the characters and I love the world.

I struggled in the beginning because there was information overload for the first few chapters. There is a map, which I love, but the explanation of the city in the first chapters is hard to follow and there are so many different races it's hard to keep track of them all. But it's so worth getting through it, it will all make sense later. Just skim through it and move on. There are a lot of characters but if they're important you'll eventually learn their names. Maybe I should give it 4 stars because of that but I enjoyed it so much it was still a 5. I loved guessing what was gonna happen next or trying to figure out clues on my own. This book so so enjoyable to read. I'm so excited to continue the series.

I literally did not believe what was happening when Bryce caught Hunt, Jus, and Vik with the Synth. I was trying to figure out what was going on, I didn't believe anything that anyone was saying. I thought it was a shapeshifter for a while. Then I thought he was lying to protect her for some reason. I was almost as distraught as Bryce. It seemed like it came out of nowhere, which I guess is what I'm supposed to think. I'm surprised she got over it so quickly and was even going to sacrifice herself for him, that was crazy. I really liked all the characters, from Bryce and Hunt to Thorn and Declan. I like the world, the mix between tech and magic.

 
Loved It
6 months

I've read this whole series and WOW!!!

 
Loved It
6 months

Plot twists, strong women

 
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