I decide to request this excerpt after several colleagues mentioned they enjoyed this author, I am sad to say it was simply not my cup of tea. Obviously, it is only an excerpt and therefore I cannot consciously say I don't like the book overall, but it simply didn't engage me like I hoped it would. I will definitely check this out when we purchase it for our library and give it another try.

Holy Sarah J. Maas. This book is already a wild ride. The world building is already so intricate and well thought out. The plot is a roller coaster. I am honestly at a loss for words. I cannot wait to read the rest of it.

I was so excited to start House of Earth and blood, I loved the author’s previous fantasy books. The world building in this book is true Sarah.J.Mass. It was a bit overwhelming at first, because a lot of world building and character information was squeezed into first few chapters, but once thats done... wow it was amazing. The characters, even though they seem well rounded, a lot can be done to the plot with them. Definitely gonna read the entire series. I should’ve not read this excerpt.. now its hard for me to wait for the actual book to arrive. They definitely knew where to cut off to keep us intrigued!
Thank you NetGalley, Sarah J Mass and the publisher for excerpt of this book.

SJM is trolling us.
I dont know how, but something bigger will happen in the next book.
Great worldbuilding and not a big fan of the main ship but this is Sarah J. Maas does the first ship even count?
Give me more Aidas and I will be happy.

Wow. There is a LOT of information in these first chapters, it’s hard to keep up. Definitely too much exposition all at once up front. A little too much telling, when I feel like a lot of it could have been SHOWED later instead. But definitely intriguing!! I want to know lore. And god, does Sarah has a way of making you fall in love with characters right away only to kill them and break your heart even though you barely know them. 100% wanna read the rest!

Reading this excerpt did exactly what it was meant to do, it got me completely hooked and made me go out and buy the book. Yes, there was a bit of an info dump at the start. The system of the society and all the creatures in it seems quite complex, so I didn't mind the extra explanation. Better to have more of that than less, in my opinion. I had not read the synopsis beforehand, so I was shocked by the action that we get within the first few chapters. It definitely left me needing to find out what happens. I have only recently started reading Sarah J. Maas, but I think this type of urban fantasy may be even more up my alley than other worlds she's created.

Thank you NetGalley for making this excerpt available, and I can't wait to read the rest of the book!

The first couple of chapters are a bit slow, but that didn't stop me from buying the book. A full review will be posted on my Instagram account and on goodreads once done. Rating is based on the first chapters only and cannot be viewed as my final rating.

I was hooked! It took a chapter or two to get me really interested but by the end of chapter 5, I was hooked!
I'm a huge Sarah J Maas fan and she did not let me down. I like that this book was set in a more current time. I loved the characters, each one.
Bryce (half faerie) and Hunt (fallen angel) are forced to work together to solve a murder, to put it simply. I was on the edge of my seat the last 100 pages. Can't wait for the sequel!!

Maas does it again! This excerpt made me want to buy this book even more than I already did. So good! Can't wait to read the rest.

This excerpt was everything! I finally read the book this month and it has become a new favorite. Sarah J. Maas can most definitely write a good story. It was obvious by the first few chapters that it would be a magical read. I'll admit I was hooked from the first chapter. The more I read the more interested I became. Eventually the plot thickened and I just kept turning the pages. Next thing I knew I was 300 pages in and it was an ungodly hour. This is one of the things that helps me determine whether a book is good or not. If I can sacrifice my sleep for it, then it's worth it. I also love that she always writes about character struggles. She always delves deep into the important experiences and emotional and mental struggles that the characters go through. Always gives the characters a depth and roundness to them unlike any other and never shying away from the topics.

Go read this excerpt and after the literal explosive ending try to convince me why you should not keep going.

This book is phenomenal and shows just how much Sarah's writing has developed. Pick it up, I beg you please!

Sarah J. Maas, favorite author and writer of all of my favorite things, has done it again!!

Amazing job introducing characters and setting the storyline in motion. Maas has always brought us Fae and halflings, wolves and witches but in her first adult fantasy, I actually found this to be a very tame version...

Excellent read!! ARC chapters provided to my absolute glee by #netgalley

I’ve only ever read one series by this author before but I knew, that since I liked her writing, I would definitely want to give this a chance.

While I’m sad this was just a small portion it definitely gives me hope in finding another monster of a book for me to love (The Host by Stephenie Meyer).

This book is filled with characters of all paranormal species and that’s what I love about this the most. I will definitely buy the full book!

I’m already encapsulated In this story! I love the writing and the character seem promising. It did feel like an info-dump but it’s understandable since it is a high fantasy novel. The premise is interesting and I’m sensing a comeback of fallen angels which I’m excited for. I can’t wait to read the full novel!

This excerpt of Sarah’s new book managed to make me fall in love with new characters in a heartbeat. She is able to evoke so much emotion in her writing , and create excellent character personalities and voices. I was also absolutely engaged from start to finish and with the way this excerpt ended, I am eager to get my hands on the full copy and escape into yet another epic fantasy by my favorite author. I am in awe.

I did not realize this was only an excerpt when I requested it. Shame on me because what I was read was great. Now I need to get in line for the library copy so I can find out how it ends.

This seems great. I’m excited to continue reading this book!

A few things threw me off like the fact that there are cell phones and faeries in the same world, but why not?!

The world-building seems really intricate and complicated and I’m honestly kind of confused but I’ll see continue to read the book for sure.

One of my anticipated reads of 2020! Can't wait to read this giant. Only Sarah J Maas would write the first book this big. Because she know that I will devour it.

I enjoyed the first 5 chapters of this book. The world building was a lot to wrap my head around but I'm excited to learn and see where this book is head. I can't wait to read more!

THIS. BOOK. WAS. AMAZING!!!

I have so much to say about this book! But where do I start?

I'll start with this: if you HATE Sarah J. Maas, if you don't like her writing, if you don't like the type of stories she writes, this book isn't going to fix that for you. But if you're someone who is what I call SJM neutral, if you maybe have struggled with her lack of diversity and alpha-male characters, this book really, really remedies that, so I say give it a shot! And if you really like urban fantasy, give this a shot! And if you are already a SJM fan, you will likely love this!

House of Earth and Blood takes place in a modern fantasy world that is reminiscent of the Roman Empire. Imagine if the Roman Empire had never fallen, add in magic and modern technology (cell phones, cars, helicopters, etc.) and every single paranormal, magical creature you can think of (fae, vampires, shape-shifters, angels, mermaids, etc.) and you've got Crescent City. It's AWESOME!

The book itself follows Bryce Quinlan, a half-fae half-human who is a recent college grad. She works for a notorious sorceress at an antiquities shop that deals in magical artifacts. Bryce is very much a party girl and loves being a party girl, along with her best friend, Danika, who is a wolf shape-shifter and the Alpha of the city's best wolf pack. One night, Bryce is out partying, and she returns to her apartment to find Danika and her entire pack slaughtered (this is not a spoiler, it's in the description). The book then jumps forward 2 years, where Bryce's life is very different. Similar murders have started happening again, and it turns out the person in prison for the deaths of Danika and her pack didn't actually do it. So the governor of Crescent City, the archangel Micah, orders Bryce to track down the killer. He tasks his personal assassin/slave, a fallen angel named Hunt, to pair up with Bryce and protect her. Bryce thinks he's an arrogant "alphahole" and Hunt thinks she's a stupid, spoiled, party girl, when she's actually much more. And then there's an angsty, slow-burn hate to love romance.

This book was never boring, and it was incredibly fast-paced, and the last third of the book was BONKERS. Maybe it's because this book has the added element of a murder mystery, but there are so many huge, mind-boggling twists during the last 200 pages or so. Also? This was just super funny at times! Bryce and Hunt's banter is priceless!