This book was amazing from the writing, setting, plot, and characters. The writing was beautiful and so detailed that once you figure out everything in the end it all makes sense. The settings were amazing, and I hope we get to see a lot of them again. This book I didn’t know anything about until I read the first five chapters from Netgalley and I was surprised in a great way in how the book was set up. Because I thought everything was going to start right after the death of Bryce’s friend but I was surprised by what happened after it. This book was so good at showing the good, the bad, and the dirty because nothing is as perfect as it seems. And the characters were phenomenal, I loved them so much and I need the second book. Bryce and Hunt were great, and the side characters were amazing and I can’t wait to see them developed more in the next book. This was overall one of my favorite books that I have read this year.

Sarah J. Maas has done it again with this new book! The story building of the vast world, along with the characters, is absolutely fantastic! I read this excerpt and loved it so much that I went and ordered the book!

As a back-and-forth fan of SJM, I was delightfully invested in this excerpt! I didn't like her Throne of Glass series too much, but ACOTAR is one of my favorites. I definitely see this book being something I enjoy!

I love the books of Sarah J. Maas and of course I had to have a first look at her new series. And there was a spark between the story and me. I am also very happy that the book will soon be published in Germany, I have already pre-ordered it.

Conclusion: A real Maas: Magical, enchanting, deep, with wonderful and very engaging characters. I will surely devour this book as soon as it arrives at my home! Thank you very much for letting me have a look at it for a little longer!

I am a huge fan of Sarah J Maas, and House of Earth and Blood was no exception. The excerpt that I was given intrigued me 2 pages in, so much so that I stopped reading, went online and bought the book. While I waited for it to arrive, I finished reading the sample and it was a little slow to rev up but the world building is excellent and I can't wait to read this story in its entirety!

While this was only an excerpt, I did end up reading the entire book. I have only read her series "A Court of Thorns and Roses" recently and in the last few months but I loved that. I was hoping to not be let down by House of Earth and Blood and I was not! It is a bit of a slow burn in the beginning but it quickly picks up to being a page turner. I honestly thought with the size of the book I would be reading it for the whole month and I finished it within a few days. I may have sacrificed a bit of sleep because of my daytime not being free but it was worth it. I loved it and look forward to the next book.

I enjoyed this excerpt and am looking forward to finishing the book. S.J. Maas is one of my faves and this did not disappoint. I have high hopes for what she can do with a more mature audience and with this new series.

This was such an amazing book! There was a lot to take in but Sarah J Maas absolutely did not disappoint!!! Bryce is the strong female character that Maas is known to write so well, and Hunt is the swoon worthy man we all knew to expect! Can not wait for more in this series!

This book has been hyped up for so long. Thank you NetGalley for the excerpt. I probably won't read this full book as it just isn't my style with the overdone explicit language on just about every page. If that is your thing, you'll probably love it.

My rating: 5/5 (The beginning is an infodump but 100% worth wading through it)

Extremely well executed and engaging, Mass has created a rich world by merging modern technology with a smorgasbord of fantasy elements. Readers will notice Mass painstakingly planned each element of this novel/series -- each detail is expertly planted and cleverly revealed. <i>House of Earth and Blood</i> had me guessing until the end.

Also must mention the rollercoaster of feels. Pages 703 and 734-736 had me sobbing.

I hate that I'll need to wait 1.5-2 years for the next installment. :'(

Honestly this excerpt did not draw me in. Heavy exposition and awkward prose. I am still curious though because it has received good reviews. I'm not optimistic enough to buy it, but I do have a hold on the library to satisfy my curiosity.

This exceedingly me instantly hooked into the story and since purchased a complete copy that I'm very excited to read as soon as it gets here.

I've finished the entire book by now, and it was a roller coster! I really loved it! BUT, I was not so sure about this book after reading just the excerpt because I think that the beginning was the most slowpart of the book. But overall from finishing the book, I loved it very much.

It was okay and I will finish the book but I was disappointed with what I read. I wanted more from the characters but hopefully the full book will be better.

Fans of SJM will not be disappointed! Even though this was just an excerpt it was engaging and intriguing. Much like her other works, Maas has built a complex, layered world with characters to match. I can't wait to read the whole book entirely. I'm dying to know what becomes of Bryce and how she will overcome such loss, I highly recommend this one and all of Maas' books!

House of Earth and Blood is Sarah J Maas’ new Adult Fantasy novel and was definitely my most-anticipated new release of the year! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and read it. I will say it was a rough start and I almost gave up on it but I am SO glad I kept with it. This book was definitely a guilty pleasure but then again most of her books are and I fully appreciate them for everything they are!

I actually think that the characters weren’t the best thing in this book and I think that is one of the big reasons why this didn’t get the usual 5-stars. I found myself hating Bryce for a lot of the book. I understand why she had the attitude about “Alpha-holes” but because the reasoning was never actually fully explained the book felt stilted and the conversations surrounding this felt more than a little annoying and painted Bryce in a horrible light that made it hard to root for her. I kinda wish that we would have had a proper explanation for her feelings it would have made me understand her more. I did love her friendships with everyone around her, the dialogue seemed natural and without shyness and I LOVED that.

I think the best bit of House of Earth and Blood was the fact that it has all the best bits of Sarah J Maas’ writing. There are great characters in a great world that have a great system. All of the things that make Maas an auto-buy author, I think I love the fact that she doesn’t shy away from a steamy romance and just adds to it with the fantasy elements and makes something so wonderfully fantastic. I love a good romance but I love it even more when there is something more about the characters and the story.

The worst bits about House of Earth and Blood would have to be the beginning. I felt a complete disconnect from the characters and the events that were happening. I don’t know whether it was because there was a lot of information packed into that short space of time or whether none of that information was actually explained. I really struggled to understand everything about this new world and the way that the story was told was almost as though we were supposed to know all of this in advance. It was a little discombobulating and I wasn’t sure I was going to get past it!

I was so happy to know that Sarah J Maas had written another book and series, I finally feel as though I’m ready to read Kingdom of Ash and I would definitely be recommending this series to anyone who loves any of Maas’ other works. This book was amazing and everything that I ended up hoping for, I did think the beginning was a little disappointing and I was considering DNF’ing a Sarah J Maas book for the first time ever. But I’m so glad I persevered because this book was everything I ever wanted.

Title: House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Release Date: 03 March 2020

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

Okay.

So, somehow I’ve got to write a review for a book that gave me all the feels. Somehow I’ve got to convey these feelings through words so that I can convince you to read this book if you haven’t already, and I don’t know if I’m capable of that. If this review seems a bit all over the place and doesn’t necessarily make sense, you know why.

This book reminded me why we all love Sarah J. Maas so much. Her words have so much feeling behind them and pack such an emotional punch that it’s impossible to not be drawn in.

Every single character is fleshed out and well-developed. There is no unnecessary dialogue and each character grows throughout the story. The world building is done with attention to the small details – details that really bring Crescent City to life.

"Remember that you will die, and enjoy each pleasure the world has to offer."

The story is a little slow at the beginning, with more time spent on much-needed world building, but once you reach the middle, the pages start turning themselves as you can’t stop reading.

If you have been wanting to read a Sarah J. Maas book and you just don’t know where to begin or you don’t want to commit to reading the entire series, this book is for you!


Good Underlying Themes/Messages:

-Love is a powerful force.
-People are always more than a stereotype.
-Everyone deserves equality, no matter who they are or how they look.

There are so many more in the book, but these stood out the most to me! A whole star for this category!


Realistic Characters and Growth:

I mentioned once in my Goodreads status update that Sarah J. Maas is the queen of turning normal, everyday moments into something special and this book was no exception.

Bryce is such a complex character. She’s a wild party girl who loves nothing more than going out with her friends, but underneath that free-spirit exterior is a kind woman who has no clue what to do with the rest of her life. I think many of us share that same fear of not knowing what we’re going to do in the future. Her relationships with her friends and family were so fun to read about! She’s sassy, she’s smart, and she’s caring. I love her so much!

Hunt’s progression bothered me a bit in the beginning. He was made out to be this broody, dark guy who felt nothing, but then halfway through he did a complete 360 and actually became someone I liked. I’m not complaining about who he was after the change, but rather about how sudden the change came out of nowhere. Did you feel that sudden change or was it just me? Apart from that, I really liked him! I love how SJM’s couples all challenge each other in the sense that they push each other to be the best versions of themselves!

"That’s the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious."

I really loved the relationship between Ruhn and Bryce. It’s complicated, it’s messy, and they’re still at each other’s throats over something that happened years ago. But they still love each other, and if that’s not a real sibling relationship, then I don’t know what is. They fight a lot, but at the end of the day, Runh really is a loyal brother who loves his sister.

Lehabah is a sweetie-pie who made me giggle out loud. She is adorable and I loved her to bits! While reading about Syrinx, I couldn’t help imagining him as the grumpy cat/ a golden retriever puppy! He was so cute, but I still have no idea how he really looks like.

I find it fascinating how SJM made us all care about a character when we’ve only known her for like 5 chapters. The arcs in this book are beautiful and the growth all these wonderful characters go through gives me all the feels!

0.75 stars for this category, since that Hunt change really bothered me. Still good though!


Interesting Story:

In the first 300 pages, the story is sacrificed a bit to make way for the world building, which I understand. It’s a whole new world; we need some context.

But once the story got going, I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Hours flew by and suddenly I was only a hundred pages away from the ending. Punches after punches are thrown at you, twisting your heart and making you cry. It doesn’t let up for a second and you become so invested that you just need to know.

There is little I can tell you about the story without spoiling it, but this is definitely a mystery worth reading.

A whole star for this category!


Fantastic World Building:

As I mentioned before, the story is sacrificed in the beginning to focus on the world building.

As you’re reading through it, you might complain that it’s slooooow but it’s definitely worth pushing through it. The world building pays off in the end in ways you can’t believe.

The attention to small details bring Crescent City to life and makes it an excellent setting for the mystery. The history is bloody and brutal, but wildly interesting. I’m still not sure where most of the places are, but that’s okay. I’ve got a general sense of where everything is.

A whole star for this category!


Emotion:

This book is a gigantic wave of feels ready to hit you full on.

You get attached to these characters and you want to know that they’re going to be okay. You need to know that they’re going to be okay. But it’s a SJM book; there is no way that they’re going to get through unscathed.

"Memento Mori. Remember that you will die."

But that’s what it’s all about, right?

A whole star for this category!


That’s it!

I’m so happy I finally read this book and that I was able to form coherent sentences! Have you read this book? What did you think about it?

Till we meet again!

Xx Alexia

I've read all of Maas's other works. I was very excited to hear that she had an adult fantasy book coming out. I was looking forward to reading this excerpt to see if I was going to be interested in buying the book and unfortunately, it's going to be a pass. I might check out the audiobook from the library if my library gets it.

I am really looking forward to more of Bryce's story, this opening didn't really let up the gas and ends with a big old gut punch.

It's definitely the grown-up version of Maas' work, lots more f-words, and general adult behavior. Bryce seems to be just out of college and single and running around her city with her best friend. A lot about how the world functions is set up in this excerpt. And there seem to be quite a few different fantastical species running around.

I really wanted to like this book. It is urban fantasy which is one of my favourite genres. I liked the different species. I did not like any of the characters, they seemed pretentious, annyoying. I think the author wanted to make them cunning but it did not make the desired effect on me. I have this issue with her other books too: instead of finding her characters smart or resourceful, I find them incredibly annoying, it is hard for me to believe all the amazing things they "can" do, they are so off-putting. There was a lot of info-dump at the first few pages in, which made it confusing. I have also heard that the world is not very detailed.