This def. was not the immediate 5 stars I thought it would be. Its been a while since I’ve read the first book in one of SJM series, but this just felt so info heavy and the writing felt so… forced? I feel like the couple hundred “fucks” or “shits” or mentions of sex was only thrown in to make it adult. SJM was going out of her way to make sure WE KNEW it was adult and it just felt so heavy handed. Having said that though I do have hope the rest of the book will find its footing and am still really interested in a final version of the novel.

Just absolutely amazing! Everything and more. March 3rd can’t get here fast enough. I will re-read and re-read this excerpt until then when my pre order arrives on release day. Most anticipated release of the year!!!

THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE and I cannot wait for the whole book.

Sarah J Maas is incredible at world-building and at creating palpable characters, and this is no exception!

I've never read anything by Sarah J. Maas before, but after reading the five chapter excerpt of House of Earth and Blood, I was hooked. I am thrilled to find a fantasy novel that doesn't have a teenager as the main character, and I think Bryce will be a strong protagonist. I will definitely be picking up this book when it comes out in March.

Note, the four star rating was based upon the excerpt only, not the entire book.

I still can't decide if this was pure torture or put my soul at ease. Sarah J. Maas is about to release one of the best books of 2020 and I just can't wait!

This told from third person. It's a little bit high fantasy mix with urban fantasy. There is technology in a city divided up into different sections. There also is some political drama that have potential to be really good later on in the book. Love the relationship between Bryce and Danika so far.
Cannot wait until the full book comes out.

What an amazing start, I was left wanting to more. I was hooked after the first chapter. Can't wait till the finish book comes out!

Omg! I want to keep reading. I know a lot of people hate on Sarah j. Maas, but I thoroughly enjoy her work! I really love her characters and she always builds such complex worlds. I can’t wait to continue on with this book and am anxiously awaiting my copy in the mail!

Sarah J Maas has once again sculpted a world that I cannot wait to explore further, rich with description and characters that have you rooting for them from the word go. Bryce Quinlan and her friend Danika, Alpha of the cities wolf pack are poised to have the world at their feet, to find love, and take the Drop together. However, when a devastating tragedy occurs, Bryce must be ready to face whatever comes next on her own. Maas is an absolute master when it comes to the unexpected heart wrenching moment that leaves you unable to put a book down. I cannot wait to continue reading later this year.

If I wasn't already intrigued by this new series from Sarah J Maas (which after reading and loving her previous series I was), you can definitely color me intrigued now. This excerpt sets the stage for what promises to be an epic journey. It gives a lot of details about this new and interesting world and some character background that helps us understand where they're at at the beginning of the book and where they come from. And in only a few chapters I became quite invested and really attached to many of the characters introduced so far. But then something BIG happens at the end that to me feels like the catalyst for what's to come and marks the true beggining of a story that in my opinion has a lot of potential. I can't wait to read the full book and find out where it goes!

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an excerpt of this book via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Okay, so I'm not quite sure I can consider this a "review" per say, but I'm going to categorize it as such for organizational purposes. I was able to get the first five chapters of Sarah J. Maas's upcoming release, House of Earth and Blood, and before I go any further I have to admit that I was so excited about these five chapters that I cried a little. I am a HUGE SJM fan-- after is a list of all the post related to SJM that I've written. It's a lot.


Any-who, I was thrilled with what I've read so far and I didn't think I could look forward to this book any more than I already was, but I've been proven wrong. Here are my thoughts on the first five chapters, without any spoilers of course, and I cannot wait until March 3 to be able to read the rest of the book!!!!


What I Liked:

SO. MUCH.


SERIOUSLY.


SO MUCH!


But for real, here's some of the highlights so far:

The Pack (I'm definitely going to have to explain this one a bit more fully when the actual book comes out and I review it.)
The Anticipation for Bryce's Character Development
Hunt Athalar (who, admittedly, I'm not sure was in these pages yet, but c'mon. . . read the description of the book and tell me you don't like the idea of Hunt's character.)

Hesitations/Reserves/Curiosities:

There's a lot of information that gets thrown out right away. Drink an espresso or something before you go into this, take some notes, don't multitask, etc. You're going to need some brain power to organize the sudden influx of world building.
I need me a map. A full on, whole planet/universe map because I'm a wee bit confused on a couple things.

MY PEEPS THIS BOOK COMES OUT SO SOON WE ARE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER SARAH J MAAS BOOK IN OUR EXISTENCE IN LIKE LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AND I'VE ALREADY DECIDED THAT I WILL LET MY MIND BE TRASH AT SCHOOL BECAUSE THIS BOOK WILL CONSUME MY EVERY THOUGHT AND FEELING.



Anyone else as excited as I am? Yes? I feel like for this one there must be at least one other person out there as excited as I am. :)



Thanks for reading!


All My SJM Posts:

Empire of Storms Excitement

Review of Empire of Storms

Prepping for Kingdom of Ash

Review of ACOFAS

Swiftathon (there's a mention or two)

Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2016

Ten Bad*** Gals from YA Literature

AELIN IS GOING TO MAKE THE BATHTUB (Oh, past me. . . you were so confident in this.)

Books I'm Looking Forward To 2019

Ranking the Throne of Glass Series

Top 10 OTPs

Top 10 Fae Books

Feysand: A Ship in My Fleet

Review of ACOMAF

Rowaelin: A Ship in My Fleet

Throne of Glass Ships


I didn't even list them all. You could say I'm a ~little~ in love with her books.

I can't review the full book and Netgalley only granted access to an excerpt, but I really enjoyed the sneak peak and am looking forward to reading the full book.

I am so thankful that I got to read and excerpt of the first five chapters! I really like the characters and I'm feeling so many things! I can't wait to get and read the rest of this, it's already so good!

I can't wait for this book to come out and reading this teaser has made me even more impatient! I'm a huge fan of Maas's other series and can't wait to fall in love with these characters as well!

So this book, at least the 5 chapters I got for this excerpt is definitely up my alley.. It reads to me like an urban fantasy, and has werewolves, fae, angels, and demons. This book is def. going on my TBR, in fact i have already pre-ordered it from barnes and noble, and really makes me want to read Sarah J Maas' other books.

I absolutely need more than 5 chapters and I need them now!!! Maas has created yet another world, but this one may be even more complex with its houses and creatures. I don’t know what I expected from the first 5 chapters, but it wasn’t this. Drugs, blood, werewolves, demons...I NEED MORE

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a five-chapter excerpt of House of Blood and Earth in exchange for an honest review.

Typically, five chapters would be an ample barometer for the rest of the novel, but when it comes to the behemoth that is HoBE, five chapters indicates about as much as a prologue. There is very little I can infer about the book as a whole from this sampling.

So far, this reads very much like SJM's other books, with no obvious difference between her YA, NA, and Adult styles apart from a couple of content choices (i.e.: the inclusion of drugs). She seems to have devoted more attention to worldbuilding than in the ACoTaR series, which I felt was rather nebulous, like a blank map that was filled in on an as-needed basis. While this book seems geographically limited (think: being in the Spring Court for about a book and a half of ACoTaR, knowing that Prythian lies beyond), there's reason to believe it will expand in later installments, and the social strata of Crescent City are very clearly defined. My main grouse with these first chapters is the info-dumping which, despite sparking my curiosity, could have been executed more gracefully. Whole conversations will occur in stops and starts as Bryce painstakingly defines every term her friends drop in casual conversation.

Bryce has not blown me away as a main character, but she is described as misunderstood in the premise so I am willing to withhold judgment. From these chapters alone, she appears one-dimensional, especially in relation to her friends, who seem like a pastiche of fan-favorites from ToG and ACoTaR. Any one of them would have made a more compelling protagonist in these first chapters. Bryce is our leading lady by little more than circumstance: she stumbles on a murder scene, happens to interrupt the killer in another crime ... and somehow, presumably, these chance occurrences will qualify her to assist with a murder investigation for the rest of the book? There was some suggestion in the excerpt that she might be the unacknowledged daughter of a member of the fae elite, and if that constitutes her qualifications ... well, she would continue to be a protagonist of circumstance. I hope the subsequent chapters lend her a background for detective work. I prefer characters with agency.

Before I make it sound as though I disliked the sample, I should mention that I have preordered the book and expect to be entertained by it. I have rarely liked SJM's protagonists, so Bryce isn't necessarily a deal-breaker for me. I also think the story will flow better once we move beyond the info-dump - a regrettable narrative choice, but more of a flaw than a failing.

Sarah J Maas is an exceptionally talented writer. Her worlds are imaginative and well-built. I really wish she had just let the quality of her writing speak for itself, rather than forcing content to prove the “adultness” of the book. In doing so, the characters come across as teens who are acting/speaking in a certain way because they think it makes them look/sound “adult”. I’m sure that many people will enjoy this book, as it does contain the action and suspense Maas fans love, but sadly I will forgo reading this series. Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance excerpt of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received a free chapter excerpt from Netgalley and bloomsbury publishing in exchange for an honest review.

I can tell based on the info dump in these chapters, this will be an intense and complex story. I am going to need to take notes. In true Maas form, I was left reeling. Sex(ual tension), drugs, and party scenes, followed by heartbreak and a wrench into plans... I predict there's going to be plenty of emotional devastation and character growth happening. And that's just from five chapters. I can't wait to read the rest, and see how the story unfolds.

Thank you to Bloomsbury for the excerpt of The House of Earth and Blood! I’m so excited to read the full book after reading this. Sarah J Maas has absolutely done it again- sucked me into an amazing new world!