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.

I absolutely loved this book! In my opinion Sarah J Maas can do no wrong. I understand that some people may complain that this book is unnecessarily long, but I completely disagree. The longer the better!

This book sounds absolutely amazing and I am so honored to have received chapters in advance before the release! The first chapters were amazing and I am so excited to read even more.

So much information in a big chunk of pages. It felt very heavy and a little confusing but I have heard from many other readers, that you just have to power through the first 100-ish pages to get to the actual story - which is then supposed to be amazing. I wasn't sold on this particular excerpt, I was in fact a little disappointed, but it's a huge book and I will definitely read it based on all the comments and reviews. I truly hope the rest of the book raises the bar.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I always get very excited for a new Sarah J. Maas and this was no exception!

I thoroughly enjoyed the new characters and world building. This excerpt made me want to keep going and read the rest of the book!

This new series from Sarah J Maas does not disappoint! The urban setting plus every fantasy cueing you can think of makes for a fantastic world. Loved the characters and can’t wait to see where Maas takes this story.

I'm...interested? I'm not sure yet, to be honest. It went kinda slowly, but I usually enjoy Maas's books and have bought the finished copy.

I was a huge fan of Sarah J Maas's <i>Throne of Glass<i> series and had been reading it since I was in high school, so years later as an adult I was very excited when she announced an adult urban fantasy with characters around my age.

Already early on in the book, the world building is strong. You're introduced to not only Bryce, who works for a magical antiquities dealer, and her best friend Danika, a alpha wolf to the Pack of Devils, but also to the social and political hierarchy of the world, and to some pinch points, such as Danika's relationship with her mother Sabine, and the unrest of the oppressed humans.

There was something familiar in the curse-word laced banter between Bryce and Danika, in that I talk to my best friend in this way, and also live with her. If the book was just about the two of them saving the world, I definitely would not have been disappointed, but as the blurb already says, we know Danika isn't long for this world unfortunately.

I was so vocal about looking forward to reading more that my real-life Danika (without the murder) got me this book for my birthday. Looking forward to move Bryce in a strange, yet familiar, world.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a chance to read and review an excerpt of "House of Earth and Blood" by Sarah J. Maas. I felt pretty indifferent about the characters and the story line so far. I am not sure if I would pick this one up to read the rest of it.

SJ Maas knows how to write the fantasy genre like no other and Crescent City is no exception. The adult characters and a fantastical world set in the 21st Century really set this novel apart from others in its genre as the author tackles mature and gripping topics while creating strong, funny, and authentic characters. Definitely looking forward to what comes next!

First off, thank you so much Bloomsbury publishing and Sarah J Maas for the opportunity to read this excerpt ahead of release. I adore all of Sarah's books so I was so excited to go on this journey with her to a new world. I adored the excerpt and cannot wait to continue reading House of Earth and Blood. I can't wait to learn all about the houses and am so excited to have all new characters to fall in love with.

This excerpt was amazing!
Sarah J. Maas honestly never disappoints and I cannot wait to read the whole book !
Her writing is so easy and captivating to read, and while the beginning of this book was full of info dumping, I could not stop reading. The worldbuilding was heavy and full of magic and different races set in an urban fantasy setting that reminded me a bit of The Shadowhunter series.
I loved this excerpt and I'm dying to read the rest of this book now !

This teaser was awesome! I absolutely love Sarah J Maas and cannot wait to pick this book up and devour it. She is a wonderful world building author and she writes multiple characters flawlessly. I love reading about unworldly characters. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read the first 3 chapters of this book. I am sure it will be one of my top 5 reads for this year.

This was just a tease reading this excerpt!! I love Sarah’s writing and imagination. Her attention to detail is fascinating as well. I can’t wait to buy this book and finish the rest! I think if you’re a fan of Sarah’s writing you won’t be disappointed with House of Earth and Blood.

Sarah is one of my absolute favorite authors! I had a hard time "getting into" this book, but once I got past the back story it was a great read. The main characters had a TON of heavy baggage - so much regret over poor decisions but of course Sarah works her magic and it all weaves together so amazingly!

Maas has completely outdone herself! This book is simply amazing and did not feel like 800 pages! Everything from the Urban setting to the characters to the story itself surpassed all of my expectations!

It was a little bit slow to start off with lots of character and world building but towards the middle it starts ramping up and then by Chapter 76, it’s a damn rollercoaster you can’t get off. I think the last time I sobbed this hard over a book was the ending of Kingdom of Ash, also by Sarah J. Maas.

I loved that the characters were slightly flawed. I loved that both Bryce and Hunt had some serious baggage and yet didn’t truly hold it against each other. I loved the interactions we had with Ruhn and Lehabah and Aidas. This book was very much centred on Bryce and Hunt but the side characters were still some of the best she’s ever written and I hope we get more of them in the books to come.

I hate know that the second book probably won’t be out for at least another year or so because I need more. I need to know if the characters get a happy ending, where does Bryce go from here, who else will we meet, what is so significant about Bryce, etc.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Review of House of Earth and Blood's first 5 chapters.

I was hooked after the 2nd chapter. After the 5th chapter, the action has me needing more.

If you have read Sarah J. Maas's other books, you will see her tall tale signs of world building, romance, Fae creatures and headstrong female leads.

This is an adult novel, so there is more adult language and content. What is different from her other novels is the setting. It feels very modern and urban. There are a slew of different creatures mashed together in this, and no royalty to speak of.

We meet Bryce, who is half-Fae, in a world where humans and many other-world creatures mix. There are wolves, daemons, vampers, and more. I don't want to give too much about the plot away, but read a summary on Goodreads if you want to know more. I didn't know anymore than this and was surprised by what happened and definitely want to keep reading after the 5 chapter excerpt!

I hear a lot about Sarah J Maas series but never have tried them myself. This sampler was good to get a taster and I might give this series a try.

*review comes from my copy of House of Earth and Blood, which I purchased*

So, the ending was incredible, mind-blowing, show-stopping. Yet the first 400 pages (which is the length of a normal debut novel) was slow-paced and didn't progress much in terms of plot outside of the first 80 pages.