House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Book 1 in Crescent City Series
Rating:
Synopsis
Bryce is half-Fae, half-human. She’s happy with her life until a murder rocks her city.
Two years later, when the murderer strikes again she is brought in to help the investigation and paired with Hunt Athalar.
Hunt Athalar, is an assassin for the Archangels and does not want to work with Bryce Quinlan. But they will have to work together to solve the murders.
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Review
I have mixed feelings about Sarah J. Maas, I loved the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, but could not get through the Throne of Glass series. So there was a chance that I would not like House of Earth and Blood. As you can see from my 5 star rating I loved it.
One thing that I do like about all of Mass’s books are her strong female characters. Bryce was no exception. She was extremely strong, a little stubborn, and a great main character. Hunt was also fairly typical of Maas Male leads. Strong, brooding, and broken. I enjoyed seeing these two grow to love each other. Let me go on record, and say if this turns out like a typical Maas story, where book two brings a new male love interest I’m going to be upset. I’m team Hunt. There were a lot of great side characters and I am excited to possibly get to know them more in future books.
The story was very interesting, a little bit of murder mystery and a little bit fantasy quest. There were quite a few twists and turns. I have to admit I was a little unsure at first, but once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. Between the mystery and the slow burn romance I was hooked. This book kept me guessing the whole time. I don’t think I predicted one thing.
As much as I loved it, this book was not perfect. The world-building while off to a good start was not fully fleshed out. I still have a lot of questions, what the deal with the houses, who really runs this show? There were also a lot of mythical creatures, some I was not as familiar with so I struggled there. However, I do think many of my questions will be answered in future books so I will certainly give Maas the benefit of the doubt. My other complaint is probably more specific to me, but I was expecting a few chapter 55 type scenes and I don’t feel like I got that. There were some adult situations, but not to the level I was expecting. I really enjoyed this story and the characters were wonderful. I am already excited and nervous about the second book.
