House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City)
Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City series begins with House of Earth and Blood: the story of half-Fae and half-human Bryce Quinlan as she seeks revenge in a contemporary fantasy world of magic, danger, and searing romance.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
PLEASE read past chapter 5. I know it’s a slow start and a little different but this book is so good.
***changed rating to 5 stars because I’m still thinking about this book weeks later. The stuff I said to take a half star off initially still holds true but I can’t dock it anymore if I’m still wow’ed by this book after weeks have passed.
Actual rating: 4.5
This book sincerely took me by surprise. I was extremely skeptical. I have a VERY tough time with some of SJM’s writing. I took off half a star for that. But I’m pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up liking it.
I am known to be a sucker for mystery and intrigue in fantasy and this book covered that to a tee. I loved all of the characters. Bryce is a badass, Hunt is steamy, Ruhn is selfless and brings a tear to the eye, Lele is the sweetest, Danika is inspiring, Syrinx is the bestest little companion and so on.
I did get a lot of vibes that SJM took arcs and themes from other stories. I got a lot of DND vibes for the world building. And a lot of Howl’s Moving Castle vibes (the movie not the book). I liked it enough though that I don’t find myself bothered by it.
Also I am just so pleased SJM did not throw instant love into the mix. The slow build was great- more realistic. It gave way more credence to the overall theme of the story. This is a book about the power of love and family and friendship and how they all intertwine. That message would go right out the window if instant love was introduced.
My main gripe is this: SJM, you don’t need to write “fuck” every other sentence for your book to fall under adult fantasy. People do actually have reactions to being turned on other than curling their toes. Please for the sake of my sanity refrain from having your characters say “so and so has big balls”. I’m under the impression that the setting is Earth 15,000 years into the future and you are not holding up the image when you give your characters 21st century teenager dialogue like that. You did this in ACOTAR too and it drove me insane. And finally- can you make your male characters do something other than fall to their knees whenever something dramatic happens? Thanks. I mean CMON GIRL you have a great story here stop bogging your stories down with repetitive writing and out-of-character dialogue!!
***excited for book 2!
Actual rating: 4.5
This book sincerely took me by surprise. I was extremely skeptical. I have a VERY tough time with some of SJM’s writing. I took off half a star for that. But I’m pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up liking it.
I am known to be a sucker for mystery and intrigue in fantasy and this book covered that to a tee. I loved all of the characters. Bryce is a badass, Hunt is steamy, Ruhn is selfless and brings a tear to the eye, Lele is the sweetest, Danika is inspiring, Syrinx is the bestest little companion and so on.
I did get a lot of vibes that SJM took arcs and themes from other stories. I got a lot of DND vibes for the world building. And a lot of Howl’s Moving Castle vibes (the movie not the book). I liked it enough though that I don’t find myself bothered by it.
Also I am just so pleased SJM did not throw instant love into the mix. The slow build was great- more realistic. It gave way more credence to the overall theme of the story. This is a book about the power of love and family and friendship and how they all intertwine. That message would go right out the window if instant love was introduced.
My main gripe is this: SJM, you don’t need to write “fuck” every other sentence for your book to fall under adult fantasy. People do actually have reactions to being turned on other than curling their toes. Please for the sake of my sanity refrain from having your characters say “so and so has big balls”. I’m under the impression that the setting is Earth 15,000 years into the future and you are not holding up the image when you give your characters 21st century teenager dialogue like that. You did this in ACOTAR too and it drove me insane. And finally- can you make your male characters do something other than fall to their knees whenever something dramatic happens? Thanks. I mean CMON GIRL you have a great story here stop bogging your stories down with repetitive writing and out-of-character dialogue!!
***excited for book 2!
The world building is, at times, painful to get through. 😂 But still amazing and worth the read for sure!
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.