House of Earth and Blood
By Sarah J. Maas (2020) Crescent City Series #1
Fantasy Romance
★★★☆ ☆ 3 Star Review
House of Earth and Blood is set in Lunathion, otherwise known as Crescent City. The high-fantasy modern city of Lunathion is made up of a community including humans, fae, shifters, vampires, angels, demons and much more all living together. While there are seven heads of the Crescent City council, representing the different supernatural beings, they all answer to the Archangel, who in turn answers to the Asteri.
Bryce, a half-fae and half-mortal, lives the perfect party girl life until one devastating night turns her world upside down and leaves her in search of answers, and she will do whatever it takes to find who is responsible. Even if it means completing the investigation herself, along with the help of the Governor's personal assassin.
“You’re the person I don’t need to explain myself to - not when it matters. You see everything I am, and you don’t run away from it.”
This was a monster of a book, not a casual read. I truly had no idea what direction the story was going to lead at any point. Definitely not an obvious ending by any means. The combination of magic and modern technology with the atmosphere of mystery, parties, drugs, and war was slightly jarring at first, but created such a unique vibe for a book that it was fun to keep reading and learn more about the world created. The language used matches the theme of the book and the personality of the characters. I think the way cursing, talking about sex, drugs, partying, and drinking is brought up in this book is pretty realistic to the society we live in today. Which makes it relatable, as relatable as we can get when talking about angels, witches, and fae.
“Then let the world know that my first act of freedom was to help my friends.”
First couple chapters are a major info-dump to set the scene of the worldbuilding landscape, it adds value to the story that follows, but definitely could have been more succinct. This book is very detailed in terms of political hierarchy and the particulars of seemingly everything to do with these fantastical beings. I don’t think the large amount of the beginning of the book dedicated to world building and character introduction was entirely worth it, especially since it took a while for the romance to get going so there wasn’t really anything to latch onto in the first 500 pages or so. The first 2/3 of the book really should have been edited down in terms of wordy descriptions and unnecessarily lengthy passages. However, the time devoted to the world-building allowed the introduction of many characters with their own storylines, allowing the reader to build a relationship with all of them. While I don’t think we saw the payoff in this book, I am hoping that the next book in the series takes advantage of the foundation laid down and picks up the pace a little bit. If you are someone who prioritizes their love for world-building and wants to fully immerse themselves into the world, you might like this better than I did.
“Because she loved him that much more than she hated you.”
One thing that I like a lot is that SJM intersperses intense, dark, and emotional scenes with lighter, more everyday moments between characters. I think this serves to develop the characters, allow their relationships to breathe, and creates a sense of concreteness that can be lacking in very fast-paced fantasy. It also feels important for organically developing a romantic relationship between characters with a lot of walls and a lot of trauma. You get plenty of that here, characters hanging out on the couch eating takeout, showering and sleeping in between perilous moments, engaging in silly banter and taking pictures on their phones, having a heart to heart, etc. I really loved that element, but I can see why some readers might find those scenes dull or unnecessary.
“It’s easier for me, when people assume the worst about what I am. It lets me see who they really are.”
I love Bryce, she has perfected the party girl idgaf exterior, while being very sensitive and caring on the inside. She has flaws and makes a few mistakes, making some deem her an unlikeable character. But they could never make me hate her. Hunt just screams loss and loneliness. Embodiment of a fallen angel. Special shout out to Ruhn, Danika, and Lehabah, who helped make the story interesting when it was dragging on. I think the friends to lovers story was a great choice, especially since they both really needed a friend more than anything else at the time. He’s as broken and lonely as she is and this is what makes them fall in love so fiercely and deeply. They feel right for each other.
2.5/5 Spice Scale Rating
