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"I loved every second of it" - House of Earth and Blood review

Updated: May 3, 2024

By Sarah J Maas

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 799

Dates read: 1 April 2024 - 27 April 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Synopsis: Bryce Quinlan loves her life. But when a brutal murder shakes the very foundations of the city, Bryce's world comes crashing down. Two years later, the murderer attacks again. And when an infamous Fallen angel, Hunt Athalar, is assigned to watch her every footstep, Bryce knows she can't forget any longer.


*Warning: this review contains SPOILERS for House of Earth and Blood.*


Picture this: it’s the end of March 2024 and I’ve decided to finally tackle the longest book on my bookshelf: House of Earth and Blood by booktok's favourite author, Sarah J Maas. This monster of a book stands strong at 799 pages, making it by far the longest book I will have ever read, and it’s been sitting on my shelf for over a year now, intimidating the hell out of me. “I can do it,” I say to a friend over voice memos, “I’m ahead of my goal for the year. If I can just give myself time to read one ebook and a graphic novel, I practically have the whole month to focus on this.” And for once, my confidence wasn't entirely unfounded. I did actually finish the book after 4 weeks. My reading pace was slow to begin with, taking me 3 weeks to reach the halfway point, but something changed in the past week, and out of pure determination I got through over 400 pages in 6 days. And (spoiler alert) I loved every second of it.


Honestly, I’m not sure what made me pick up this book in the first place. Obviously I’ve heard of Sarah J Maas. Her ACOTAR series is incredibly popular online, as is Throne of Glass, yet I opted for the less-talked-about Crescent City. As you may know, I have a love/hate relationship with booktok and bookstagram favourites. Some of my favourite books ever are ones I've first seen recommended online, but they can also be genuinely terrible, and I'm at the point where I feel like I can work out which category a recommended book falls into, based on the genre, description and who's recommending it. ACOTAR is one such series I was dubious about, and I genuinely didn't think I would like it - even now I'm still not sure. But House of Earth and Blood wasn't raved about in that way, which, for a fantasy girlie like me, gave it a fighting chance.


And damn did it fight. House of Earth and Blood is a complex and fast-moving fantasy mystery, set in a richly detailed world with a whole host of different mythical creatures and magical beings. Truly one of the strongest parts of the book was Maas's world-building - I genuinely don't know if I've ever read another book that is quite on this level when it comes to that. I adored the endless amount of colourful characters, all milling about in one city, yet divided by things like class systems and neighbourhoods. Each type of being has its own pack, its own place in the world, but they all come together in this chaotic city, which is an interesting reflection of the diverse populations of real life cities, like New York or London. Even as a newbie to the SJM universe, I was able to understand most of the detailed history and lore behind the different beings, from the fae to the angels to the sprites. And I loved how most of the main and secondary characters are different species, helping to diversify the cast even further, and just making it extremely cool to read.


The mystery in this book was top-tier. The sharp plot-twists had me guessing at every stage, and even though the book is long, it didn't drag. In fact, I feel like the pace was perfect, and the book was just as long as it needed to be to tell this incredible story. The teaming-up, adventuring to new locations, searching for clues, and the final action scenes made for a compelling read that constantly kept flowing and pulling you along for the ride. And even though I never correctly guessed any of the clues, somehow that made it even more fun. I loved being caught up in this spiderweb of conspiracy and secrets, all of which centred on the relationship of a girl and her best friend.


Speaking of which, Bryce and Danika are now one of my favourite book friendships ever. Despite Danika's untimely death at the beginning of the book, you learn more about her through Bryce's flashbacks, memories and emotions, and she really grew into one of my favourite characters. I love how the purpose of every single thing in the book is centred around their friendship, almost as a perfect reflection of how Bryce's entire being is. On a side note, that's why I believe the book is titled House of Earth and Blood - both Bryce and Hunt are part of the House of Sky and Breath, but Danika was part of Earth and Blood. And although this is Bryce and Hunt's story, it's Danika's story too. Anyway, back to the friendship, I genuinely cried my eyes out at the ending and Danika coming back as a spirit to tether Bryce during her Drop. Their final goodbye and the closure of that was such a perfect moment and I adored it. I don't think it could have been written any better.


The other relationships in this book are just as good. Bryce's friendship with Lebahah was adorable (Lebahah's death was another moment at which I cried - she was one of my faves), and Bryce's difficult relationship with her brother Ruhn was so endearing to me. As someone who also has a brother, I loved seeing them patch things up and despite the bickering, the way they both love each other and are just so happy to have a sibling... actual tears!! And we can't mention relationships without talking about the romance between Bryce and Hunt. Honestly the requited dislike, to friends with sexual tension, to love was a great path for them. And although the romance wasn't the most compelling relationship to me in the book, I still really enjoyed it. The pacing made sense, and I really believed that they loved each other by the end, something I don't always believe in books. But Sarah really hits the nail on the head with them, and even if I wasn't shipping it like crazy, I can admit that it's an objectively good and well-written romance.


To talk a little more about Bryce and Hunt, they're extremely interesting main characters, with their own backstories, trauma, love and hurt, perfectly matched to be what the other needs. Bryce appears like a ordinary party-girl at first but is clever, quick, and despite trying to seem like she doesn't, feels so deeply. Her journey through her trauma as well as her final transition into the Starborn was just brilliant to read, and as always I love the underdogs, the ones society looks through, being the ones to save the world. Hunt is equally as damaged and deep. For his rough no-nonsense exterior, he has experienced centuries of hurt and needed to let love and friendship into his life. Seeing the progression of him coming out of his shell was lovely to watch, and the realisation of his past love as a manipulation was difficult but rewarding. Him finding true respect, friendship and love with Bryce was truly what he deserved and I'm glad they both get to have that (for now, anyway, I know authors love to kill off their characters!) The side characters were also equally as flawed and loveable, each with their own detailed backstories and personalities. I especially loved Ruhn, Lebahah, Hypaxia, Fury and Isaiah.


And finally, just to talk about that ending. For the last 100 pages it. Did. Not. Stop! From Micah being all scary, Bryce killing Micah, the demons being unleashed, Bryce being the Starborn, Hunt almost dying, Danika resurrecting (not really), to Bryce making The Drop and saving everyone...?! Pure insanity. But it was brilliant. I could not put the book down for those last 100 pages, it truly kept building and building into one of the most epic finales I've ever read. A brilliant ending to a brilliant book!



And those are my thoughts! Wow, my first 5-star book of the year and truly an amazing one. I really had no clue I'd love it as much as I did, but I personally think it's the best when books surprise you like that. I truly can't wait to continue the series, but I think I'm going to wait for a bit before I try diving into another 800-page book. I might try and read some other Sarah J Maas in the meantime - a lot of people say ACOTAR links into Crescent City, but Throne of Glass sounds more appealing to me so I'm not sure which to attempt. Nonetheless, I'm so glad I read this book, and I'm ecstatic that I get to have this little space on the internet to share my thoughts with you all. Let me know in the comments below if you've read anything by SJM. If so, what's your favourite book by her? If not, what was your favourite book so far this year? I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and I'll speak to you soon in the next one. <3

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