Name: Lucy Williams's review of House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
Item: House of Earth and Blood
Rating: 5
Author: Lucy Williams

Sarah J. Maas

#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. Half-Fae, half-human Bryce Quinlan loves her life. By day, she works for an antiquities dealer, selling barely legal magical artifacts, and by night, she parties with her friends, savoring every pleasure Lunathion-otherwise known as Crescent City-has to offer. But it all comes crumbling down when a ruthless murder shakes the very foundations of the city-and Bryce's world. Two years later, her job has become a dead end, and she now seeks only blissful oblivion in the city's most notorious nightclubs. But when the murderer attacks again, Bryce finds herself dragged into the investigation and paired with an infamous Fallen angel whose own brutal past haunts his every step. Hunt Athalar, personal assassin for the Archangels, wants nothing to do with Bryce Quinlan, despite being ordered to protect her. She stands for everything he once rebelled against and seems more interested in partying than solving the murder, no matter how close to home it might hit. But Hunt soon realizes there's far more to Bryce than meets the eye-and that he's going to have to find a way to work with her if they want to solve this case. As Bryce and Hunt race to untangle the mystery, they have no way of knowing the threads they tug ripple through the underbelly of the city, across warring continents, and down to the darkest levels of Hel, where things that have been sleeping for millennia are beginning to stir... With unforgettable characters 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.

House of Earth and Blood

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.

House of Earth and Blood: Crescent City

Sephirra

I think this is Sarah J. Maas best book. It's got all the things. The rest of the trilogy isn't as strong for me and it connects to some of her other series. I would read this series of hers last if you go for it. 

Urban fantasy romance/paranormal fantasy romance

Karen

Wings splaying, lightning erupting, Hunt threw himself over Bryce as the world shattered.

The guards stiffened as power, dark and mighty, pulsed from behind her. Lightning skittered over the cobblestones.

Hunt's eyes glittered as he offered her a hand. "Good thing I can keep you safe." With all that lightning in his veins, she supposed it was true.

A rain-kissed scent brushed her nose as Hunt fell into step beside her. And there he was. Another memory from that night.

Bryce was aware of every step downward, every rustle of Hunt's wings mere steps behind her. Every bit of air that he filled with his breath. his power, his will. 

The royal bloodline shall end with you, Prince.

“Hunt Athalar is experienced in hunting demons. He shall be on protection duty, guarding you during your search for the person behind this."

Hunt Athalar, however, lingered. Holding her gaze before he glanced at her collarbone. As if the feather had left a mark. The tattoo of thorns across his forehead seemed to turn darker.

"She's here," Hunt said. The scent of her still lingered on the sidewalk, lilac and nutmeg and something he couldn't quite place- like the gleam of the first stars at nightfall.

She made it a block betore she sensed Ruhn catching up, a storm of temper behind her. Not close enough for someone to know they were together, but near enough for her senses to be full of his scent, his annoyance.

"Hey'" Hunt knelt at Bryce's side. He reached for her shoulder, but lowered his hand. How many people ever saw the hands of the Umbra Mortis reach for them with no hint of violence?

I knew this Connor story was too good to be true BOO

Connor didn't move, and she halted mere inches away. Even in heels, even though she fell on the taller side of average height, he towered over her. Dominated the entire space just by breathing.

Aimee :)

Bryce's eyes stung as she smiled softly, then read through Connor's last words to her.

Bryce began typing. The answer it had taken her two years, nearly to the day, to write.

And soul to soul with the friend whom she had not forgotten, the friend who had not forgotten her, even in death, Bryce made the Drop.

Light it up, Danika whispered to her. Into her heart.

Hunt threw himself over Bryce as the world shattered.

And then a male voice panted over the speakers, "I'm coming, Bryce."

Bryce's bloodied face crumpled as she whispered, "Ithan?"

Micah's experiment with the Horn hadn't failed at all.

Bryce stared at the fire, her face still splattered with the Archangel's blood. And finally, she lifted her eyes. Right to the camera.

Vengeance incarnate. Wrath's bruised heart. She would bow for no one. Hunt's lightning sang at the sight of that brutal, beautiful face.

Lehabah had offered Bryce the two extra seconds needed to kill an Archangel.

"Then let the world know that my first act of freedom was to help my friends."

Bryce couldn't stop the sob that wrenched its way out of her.

The words rippled through the library as Bryce wept. "I traded with Jesiba for your freedom last week. I have the papers in my desk. I wanted to throw a party for it—to surprise you." The bathroom door began warping, bending. Bryce sobbed, "I bought you, and now I set you free, Lehabah."

Lehabah's smile didn't falter. "I know," she said. "I pecked in your drawer."

Mahmoud Ait Elkatab 

Truly amazing!! hook line and sinker for this book. So SO SO invested, never wanted to put it down. The action, the tension and the emotional moments 🥲🙃😊

Once again the chaotic endings and an unbelievable cleverness that goes into her books never fail to amaze me!! Loved everything, hated nothing! 

Can not wait to continue but i’m already sad i’ve finished book 1 😭😭😭😭

Lucy Williams

OMG 

Sarah J Mass how do you do it?!?

Truly amazing!! hook line and sinker for this book. So SO SO invested, never wanted to put it down. The action, the tension and the emotional moments 🥲🙃😊

Once again the chaotic endings and an unbelievable cleverness that goes into her books never fail to amaze me!! Loved everything, hated nothing! 

Can not wait to continue but i’m already sad i’ve finished book 1 😭😭😭😭

Sarah J Maas I don’t know what crack you put in those pages but I eat it up every time🤌🏽🤌🏽

Feel like it’s been a while since I’ve been so heavily invested in a story like this

As always her last 100pages are just tears & chaos but wow, so clever!!

Ella Williams

I loved this!

Sarah J Maas I don’t know what crack you put in those pages but I eat it up every time🤌🏽🤌🏽

Feel like it’s been a while since I’ve been so heavily invested in a story like this

As always her last 100pages are just tears & chaos but wow, so clever!!

🔥

Have to say I really struggled with the complexity of the world building at the start of this book. But I loved the characters and their relationships and friendships, it made me very emotional at times🥲 intrigued to see where it goes from here 

Nicole Mills

A new Sarah J. Maas series? Not going to lie, I'm scared. Who will I be when I have none of her books left? But what will this one consist of? Well, book one was thoroughly impressive. I was scared of a boring amount of world-building and only got interesting in the last 100 pages. Now, the mixtures of genres and the tie-ins of urban elements were really interesting. I loved this one, to be honest, and even when I thought it would end on a cliffhanger, I thought this ending was really nice. Definitely unlike anything I have read by Maas, and I don't know where it will go from here.

Priscilla Stanfield

4.25/5⭐️ • 1/5🌶️

A new Sarah J. Maas series? Not going to lie, I'm scared. Who will I be when I have none of her books left? But what will this one consist of? Well, book one was thoroughly impressive. I was scared of a boring amount of world-building and only got interesting in the last 100 pages. Now, the mixtures of genres and the tie-ins of urban elements were really interesting. I loved this one, to be honest, and even when I thought it would end on a cliffhanger, I thought this ending was really nice. Definitely unlike anything I have read by Maas, and I don't know where it will go from here.

Think Game of Thrones meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a drizzle of E.L. James - Telegraph Perfect for fans of Jessica Jones and True Blood, this is a blockbuster modern fantasy set in a divided world where one woman must uncover the truth to seek her revenge. Half-Fae, half-human Bryce Quinlan loves her life. Every night is a party and Bryce is going to savour all the pleasures Lunathion – also known as Crescent City – has to offer. But then a brutal murder shakes the very foundations of the city, and brings Bryce's world crashing down. Two years later, Bryce still haunts the city's most notorious nightclubs – but seeking only oblivion now. Then the murderer attacks again. And when an infamous Fallen angel, Hunt Athalar, is assigned to watch her every footstep, Bryce knows she can't forget any longer. As Bryce and Hunt fight to unravel the mystery, and their own dark pasts, the threads they tug ripple through the underbelly of the city, across warring continents, and down to the deepest levels of Hel, where things that have been sleeping for millennia are beginning to stir ... With unforgettable characters 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.

I LOVED this book. It is very different from TOG & ACOTAR, and it's so heavy on the world building, but it is such a good story. Maybe it’s just because I’m pregnant, but this book made me cry multiple times. I haven’t felt so attached to characters in a long time! I'm so excited to read the next two. 

Jillian Roberts

HOEAB is heavy on world building and plot so if you're an ACOTAR fan don't go into HOEAB with the same expectations. It's more similar to TOG. But even TOG did not have this much world building. So much info to grasp. And such a complex world..

The characters are much more fleshed out and felt real. Their emotions, trauma were all realistic. Bryce reminds me of Aelin. And the ending had me sobbing.

If you're a fan of complex world with amazing plot and romance and relations then this is for you ❤️

Edna Aviles

HOEAB is heavy on world building and plot so if you're an ACOTAR fan don't go into HOEAB with the same expectations. It's more similar to TOG. But even TOG did not have this much world building. So much info to grasp. And such a complex world..

The characters are much more fleshed out and felt real. Their emotions, trauma were all realistic. Bryce reminds me of Aelin. And the ending had me sobbing.

If you're a fan of complex world with amazing plot and romance and relations then this is for you ❤️

Holy fuck. Holy fucking fuck. This book is my favorite of all sjm books written so far. The world building, the raw emotions, the arcs… I am at a loss. Bryce was so easy to connect to and live through. I am in awe. 

Anna Barker

Hard to get into but had me crying by the end. 

Olivia Rousseau 

A slow start with some confusing world building but I liked this more than I thought I would!! 

Sydnee Morrison

Crescent City was an amazing book! I hadn’t given 5 stars on a book and felt it in such a deep level in a long time. It gave a vibe like A Court of Thorns and Roses but I found it so much better! When I read acotar it was my favorite but after reading this it has dethroned it. I loved how it focused so much on Danika and Bryce’s relationship. It was so sweet and from the heart. I loved how everyone had their own troubles and you got to know more about it through the way the book is written. You got to read the protagonists’ thoughts and understand them better and it really helped me invest in all the characters and like each of them for different reasons. Also the main couple’s relationship is very real and it gets you to really see why they likes each other. I liked that it had so many plot twists and it had me sobbing on so many chapters! Loved the first book and can’t wait to read the next ones🌙

🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕

Winner of the Goodreads Choice Best Fantasy 2020

Enjoyable romantasy with a contemporary/futuristic setting, sexual tension and a gripping finale that had me captivated until the end.

Laura Dobie

YEEEESSSSSSSS (i understood nothing of the epilog but thats okey)

big ab

the beginning of this book is bad. trust me it’s bad. we all know it’s bad. but the ending of the book is gold. it’s perfection. it’s a pure masterpiece. i can’t even comprehend everything that went down, but shit went down. and i was eating it up.

Amina

there was absolutely no reason for that book to be so fucking long. woulda rated 2.5 but rounded up bc I will probably read the next book (bc I guess I am willing to torture myself)

nany

omg guys sjm never disappoints. I've been crying for Bryce and Hunt and the pack since yesterday. I'm in love with them now

Jennifer Gosnell

I LOVED IT. The characters were so loveable (too loveable in some cases, I had a really hard time letting go), and the plot was so great and twisty. I really had no idea what to expect coming into it, but it wildly exceeded expectations. Definitely SJM’s best writing yet imo. Less of her “bloody ribbons” “half a thought” “stared and stared and stared” repeated phrases ad nauseum (love her though!). Cannot WAIT to dive into the next one. (Also the audiobook reader for this was fantastic.)

Lydia Enge

Bryce is a powerful main character in this epic novel that includes a little bit of everything. 

Kristen Savage

Words cannot describe how much I loved this book! I was looking for a book that would suck me in, and genuinely there were times I was so invested I forgot I was reading. There was a last at the near end that also had me sobbing and it has been a good long time since a book has made that happen

Emma Lechner

Mercy Jepchirchir Barno

I found HOEAB absolutely amazing. It was well-done. I'm quite impressed by the world building that SJM wrote with this series, it was well-written and well thought out, in my opinion. Characters were well done as well. Storyline left me shock, like as in. There are things I did not expect at all. All in all, really loved this book.

loren

Bria

This is my first Sarah J. Maas book and idk how I feel. I might be burnt out on this type of fantasy book.

Moonchild

Favourit book of the year, it got me so hard, I got angry, upset I cried I celebrated. Its was a rollercoaster of emotions that I didnt felt in a wile probably since January when I did the marathon of A.C.O.T.A.R. Its beautiful, how, alot of situations get you, right up on your feet, beautifully written, elementes that I love seen in books they were probably all in there, love to hate, I love Hunt and Bryce, the sweet sweet burning Lehabah, the friendships that get lost but never forgotten.... that Frase that got me crying harder and harder true the end " through love, all is possible", "light it, up bitch"....
I cant recommend this book enough. I read alot of books in my life not enough for my taste, but I can say. This was my favorite of the year, the entire life. I cant wait to read the second one.
Long story short....
Bryce loses her friends/ roommates, and years later she discovers that, the guy behind bars is not the killer, and she goes on a journey to find out who and why her best friends where killed. Despite her opinion on her self, shes not an ordinary human, shes half fae, and gets, alot of hate from ppl for that and for letting her friends death. Something that she couldn't stop. The journey, will drive us through a few courts, witches, faces wolf packs and to her self discovery. My first adult fantasy book dispute my age, 35, I blushed alot, god tham, love scenes. 
Read this book now!!!!!

arwen

what a rollercoaster omg 😭 i loved it…
i think sjm's greatest strength is her ability to craft interesting and multi-layered characters, even if they bear resemblances to characters she has written from other series, they always feel so authentic. 

what i loved most in this book was danika and bryce friendship, it's portrayed with such depth, it’s fr the heart and soul of the book. i had tears in my eyes so many times while i was reading, i really didn't expect to be so emotionally invested in them (especially when spoiler: i knew before reading that danika was going to die). but i was also invested in every bond bryce had with other people (& creatures). her relationship with her mom, her friends, her brother and hunt, they were all so well written & i loved it so much. 

also i usually don't really like when a book has multiple povs. when i read tog i skimmed so many of the povs because they bored me. this didn't happen at all here, i actually loved all the pov and thought each brought something to the story (although i did have a preference for bryce’s pov)

however the book did have a few flaws, i found the pacing a bit odd, the middle was too slow while it felt rushed near the end. it didn’t help that in the span of maybe 150 pages, we had like 5 major plot twists, and half of these plot twists felt incoherent and nonsensical. the choices made by some characters were also very questionable. this almost made me drop my 4 stars rating to a 3.5 rating. however the ending saved it.

the ending was extremely emotional, it will be unforgettable for me, i think its one of the best book ending she has written??. sjm is soo talented in evoking raw emotion from the reader and that ending is a shining example of that.

the ending was so epic, i wonder what she has in store for the rest of the series omg😭

Mahmoud Ait Elkatab &
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

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Mahmoud Ait Elkatab &House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

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Mahmoud Ait Elkatab &
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas