BOOK REVIEW: HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD BY SARAH J. MAAS

• STAR RATING: 5 big stars
• PAGE LENGTH: 807
• WHAT SERIES? The Crescent City Series
• WHAT BOOK DO I START WITH? House of Earth and Blood
• HOW MANY BOOKS IN THE SERIES? Unknown, but I’m willing to bet its 4
• CW: death, violence, gore, drug use, slavery
• IF YOU LIKED THIS, TRY: A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, or the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

SYNOPSIS

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.

I will be the first to admit that it took me a good chunk of this book to really be interested in it. The only thing that really kept me going is that I have never hated a Sarah J. Maas book. I know I like her work — I’ve read just about all that she’s put out there. That’s why I pushed through the beginning of House of Earth and Blood.

I think my biggest issue with this book is that it takes place in a modern day setting. Not our world, mind, but a world with something akin to electricity, the internet, with cars and cell phones. It threw me off, because none of Maas’s other books have ever taken place in this sort of setting. HOWEVER, once I got over myself, and adjusted to the world, I loved it. I’m a huge fan of the Mercy Thompson books, and while those take place in our world, that’s what House of Earth and Blood reminded me of the most. Creatures like werewolves, angels, vampires, witches, all of them call Crescent City home. I love a paranormal novel, so I was all for this.

The plot was fascinating — Bryce’s best friend, Danika (and her pack) are killed in a horribly violent way. Around the same time, an ancient Fae artifact is stolen. It’s up to Bryce, and her bodyguard/partner/friend, Hunt, to figure out how the two are connected. If they are. The whole thing is very twisty-turny, explain at the last second things that had been whispered throughout the book. I admit I did not see some of the twists coming, but they had been hinted at before. I was just blind!

The villains were terrifying. I spent the whole book dreading what they were finally going to do, what they were going to make Hunt do, what they were going to do to Bryce to put her through even more pain. The ending of this book is so satisfying!

If you’re a Maas fan, then you’ll like this book. I do not, however, recommend this as a good place to start her work. Go with ACOTAR or Throne of Glass, for a starting point. BUT EITHER WAY — I enjoyed House of Earth and Blood. Now to go track down a copy of the next book!!

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

Sidenote — how is the new review format working for you guys? Any other information I should include up top for you? Let me know!