Book Review | House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

House of Earth and Blood

Author: Sarah J. Maas // Published: March 3, 2020

★★★★★

Bound by blood.
Tempted by desire.
Unleashed by destiny.

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.

Goodreads

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“What blinds an oracle, Bryce Quinlan?”

How does one write a review for this book? I’ll admit I’m complete Sarah J. Maas trash. I would literally read anything she writes even if it was a dictionary because she’d probably make even that interesting. With that already said, I still was a little scared to pick this up. For one I wasn’t quite ready to dive into a whole new world with complex magical systems just yet. The second reason? well this book is quite a tome.

I’m so glad I didn’t keep it aside! It had an interesting start. I’ll admit I was hooked from the first chapter. The more I read the more interested I became. The information was a bit heaped. There was a lot of new things to absorb and I’m pretty sure a lot of it went over my head. I sort of looked past it though. I didn’t want to define the entire 800 page book by that alone. So I plowed on through the story. 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.

Sarah J. Maas always writes characters that I somehow end up falling in love with. This wasn’t any different. Bryce had this attitude about her and she reminded me a lot of Aelin. As I kept reading I started to notice her differences too, and ended up adding her to my favorite characters list. Danika was another favorite. She just seemed like that best friend that everyone would want to have. Hunt I knew I’d love but of course he started off a little prickly. Ruhn was a cinnamon roll that I just wanted to protect the whole time. The whole band of characters in this were so well developed.

“You’re the person I don’t need to explain myself to – not when it matters. You see everything I am, and you don’t run away from 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. The plot started as something that I needed to get down to and everytime I though we were close we weren’t. So many plot twists were thrown! I slowly became more invested and SJM just demolished all my emotions and left me gaping after everything. After the 300 page mark things started to take on a more steady pace. I found myself enjoying every moment of it whether it was slow or otherwise. We explored more of the characters and in all honesty I was pretty content with it. Of course everything changed when the plot twists were thrown around. So many! I was constantly in shock and everytime I got over what already happened she brought another twist to the mix.

The last 200 pages though? The last 200 pages were absolutely brutal! This was when I realized how far gone I was. I flew through those last pages so quick and I spent an entire day on the book alone. The revelations and so many precious moments. There was so much gasping and I just knew that this would be one of my favorite books of 2020. I was on edge the entire time but the moment I closed the book my heart felt so full. That ending was just the way I wanted it. Although it did make me think about where book two would be taking us. And here I am again anticipating another Sarah J. Maas book right after reading her latest.

The book was definitely adult and dealt with some heavy themes but I don’t regret picking this up in the least. I loved every second of this. The world, the story, the characters, and just everything that she handed us in this book. There was so much growth and important topics as well. I’m honestly sold on this series.

What would I say to those who are scared to pick this up like I was at first? take the chance. It might feel very overwhelming at first but it’s truly worth it. You’ll be so sucked into the story that you won’t even notice when you’ve finished it.

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Reading Blog

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About the author

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Queen of Shadows, Book 4, will be out in September 2015), as well as the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (out 5/5/15).

Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she’s not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and canine companion.

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Have you read House of Earth and Blood? What were your thoughts?