Add Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood to your Goodreads TBR:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44778083-house-of-earth-and-blood
Purchase Links:
Booktopia:
https://www.booktopia.com.au/house-of-earth-and-blood-sarah-j-maas/book/9781408884416.html
Dymocks:
https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/house-of-earth-and-blood-by-sarah-j-maas-9781408884416
Big W:
https://www.bigw.com.au/product/house-of-earth-and-blood/p/81064/
Amazon AU:
Genre: Adult Fantasy Fiction.
Trigger Warnings: loss of a loved one, alcohol use (excessively), drugs, murder, violence, depression, grief, suicidal contemplation (flashback also depicts an attempt).
Page Count: 799
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Sypnosis from Goodreads:
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.
My Review:
Like many others, I was completely hyped for Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood. Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses are among my favourite series, so I definitely had all the hyped expectations for this one! I know there’s been a lot of mixed reactions across the Sarah J Maas fanbase for this one, but oh I absolutely loved it!
It’s funny though, I know Crescent City is targeted towards an Adult audience, but truthfully I feel like it could’ve equally be benchmarked as Young Adult, I mean I honestly felt A Court of Mist and Fury was a lot more smutty, there was just a whole lot of swearing in Crescent City, borderline excessive almost and one specific steamy scene which comes to mind, but aside from that it didn’t feel too hugely adult, to me.
Slight trepidation aside though, I absolutely couldn’t fault this! I’m low-key itching for the sequel too, I absolutely adored Bryce Quinlan, she’s such a sass Queen, completely unfiltered and unafraid to be herself, but she’s completely hurting too, after suffering a huge loss in the early stages of the book, one that stays with her throughout the book, one that completely sets the foundation of the books’ mystery!
Now, my fellow Sarah J Maas enthusiasts will completely know that Maas has the habit of creating absolutely fiercely brilliant characters that we instantly adore, then proceeds to kill them off! Of course, I’m not going to be a cruel potato and say who, but let me just say that I was absolutely devastated throughout Crescent City!
For a book that sits at 799 pages, I found House of Earth and Blood to be exceptionally fast paced, honestly I didn’t think there was a dull moment at any one point! Bryce, as I mentioned, was an absolutely fabulous main character and there’s just a fantastic array of supporting characters too, my favourites easily being Syrinx, Lehabah and Danika. Lehabah was just so cute, a fire sprite who guarded Griffin Antiques, where Bryce worked (such a fascinating job, I think, I loved the scenes where Bryce was at work, surrounded by art, antiques and whatnot!). Though, what I loved even more was Lele’s friendship with Bryce, honestly it was the sweetest thing! The sprite was so brave too and would honestly do anything for her friends, who she valued above all! I absolutely adored all of Lele’s page time, it was just so endearingly amusing reading about the Fire Sprite chill on the couch, watching a soapie type show and completely enjoying every moment!
Now, I must admit that Hunt’s character didn’t particularly grow on me as rapidly as say Sam Cortland or Dorian Havillard from Throne of Glass or Lucien or Rhys, Azriel and Cassian from A Court of Thorns and Roses. Honestly, I was secretly low-key shipping Bryce and Danika, but I must admit I was absolutely loving Hunt and Bryce’s banter throughout, how she dubbed him an Alpha Hole and wouldn’t listen to him at all, it was just completely entertaining! Their chemistry was completely flying though, with Hunt’s lustful thoughts frequently being depicted, along with his increasing fondness for her! I must admit, Hunt started to tire on me quickly, however as their bond developed from banter to fierce loyalty, I just found myself itching for them to kiss!
Sarah J Maas does know how to completely brilliantly write a brooding Prince, as we know from Throne of Glass with her lovely Dorian. I was quite chuffed at her creation of Prince Ruhn in Crescent City and I’m definitely curious to see what would be in store for him in the next installment of this series, especially after the Oracle’s deceleration about the Royal Bloodline, as far as Ruhn is concerned! I love how Sarah J Maas illustrated his fae powers too, from telepathy to heightened senses, but what I think I enjoyed the most was his fractured relationship with Bryce and their dynamic throughout this book!
It’s completely safe to say that Sarah J Maas is a longtime favourite Author of mine and as I’ve often found myself doing when I nearly reach the ending of any favourite novel, anything that I know will end on a completely epic scale, leaving one hanging for the next installment, I found myself procrastinating the last 100ish pages, well, until I binged it! I can’t wait for the second installment, I feel like there’s so much more that could be written about the various Houses and the powers within each one, the world of Crescent City seems so endlessly immersive and engaging, which I love!
Crescent City, to me, was more than completely worth the hype that surrounded it! I’m so, so happy that I’ve finally read it and since I finished it, the characters and various points throughout the nail biting plot have definitely been replaying on my mind! There was one reveal quite early on in the novel where I had to pop the book down and sadly pace around, hoping that maybe if I picked it up again, what I read might not be true! Alas, it sadly wasn’t the case and I was low-key irritated with myself for not picking up on Sarah J Maas’s notorious ability to give us all the feels!
I can’t wait to eventually reread Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood and I completely recommend it to anyone who’s looking for an epic fantasy novel to immerse oneself in, with completely sassy, memorable characters, wicked quips and dialogue and menacing villains, the book will certainly leave you completely hanging, it definitely joined my favourites alongside Maas’ other books!
Happy Reading,
Brookly
Brooklyn.the.bookworm 