Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

70 reviews

vendy_kha's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My heart is shattered. 
Light it up, light it up, light it up!!!
Nothing's what it seems, you'll be surprised by the things that will get you to your knees. I laughed, cried, broke down, was brought back to life... Play "did you know that there's a tunnel under ocean blvd - Lana del Rey" for full effect once you reach chapter 91 (on repeat) to really set the mood. Fun times. 

I absolutely enjoyed the characters in this book. Love the whole Maasiverse and this one's really a true part of it all ❤️‍🔥

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readcaffinedaydreamrepeat's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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hellandhogwarts's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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amy_in_the_city's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really liked the slow-burn development of the relationship. The characters tell us and show us why they fall for each other, instead of it just being insta-love because they're both attractive people. 

The mystery plot was really engaging and the world was interesting. I was confused by the worldbuilding and think a map of the world (instead of just the city) and a glossary of terminology would have been helpful.

I found the rudeness and hostility between Bryce and Hunt at the beginning to be immature and very annoying. Luckily the characters were developed, and I really liked them and their relationship by the end of the book. I thought it was great that they develop a friendship first and then eventually a romantic relationship. The scene where she takes care of him when he's feeling messed up after getting back from one of Micah's assignments was so sweet.

The last 200 pages or so were awesome. Just a wild ride, crazy action-packed and full of emotion.

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readwithde's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I had been warned that the first quarter of the book was lore-heavy, but I didn't find that to be true. I felt like the story started straight away and many things in later chapters had just as much lore and worldbuilding as the beginning of the book. 

I love the mix of fantasy and urban elements, especially mixing magical power with science. I liked how visceral the feelings and reactions were to the classist hierarchy in the society; it felt very real and bought the 1984 vibes that we no longer have in this social-media based society. 

I felt like the end came too quickly; I would have liked to see some aftermath and some clue as to how society will move forward. It felt very ambiguous. I'm hoping more questions will be answered in book 2.

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smuttymcbookface's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

It took me a while to get into this, as the start of the book is nothing like the middle and end.

What we see at the beginning is Bryce, someone who parties too hard. She is not a likeable character here. She's dating someone just because he's rich and attractive, she sleeps with someone else after agreeing to go out with the person who's pined after her for years, and she'll take any type of drug put in front of her - even spending what little is left of her money to get some. She's irreverent and dislikeable.

Then, the plot unfolds. And we begin to see a new Bryce, one trying to rebuild a new life whilst unable to move on from the past. SJM does an amazing job of humanising Bryce, showing her difficulty and grief and trauma about moving on from the person who was her entire life.

And amongst all this development, we have a well-written mystery that she has to dig deeper and deeper into. Although I had guessed at some part, others left me shocked. I enjoyed the new people we met, the world-building and courts we were shown along the way, and the discrepancies in treatment for those of different races.

I did not find myself drawn into the love story of Bryce and Hunt; no matter how many times SJM writes that they're the same, she can't convince me the man held a slave for 200 years and the girl who has suffered two years of grief understand each other's pain in that way. Sympathise? Yes. But they are in no way the same. And since a lot of their relationship developed on this shared trauma, it was hard to believe I was watching these two properly fall in love, and not just trauma bond - particularly since their relationship was over the course of *a month*.

I also wasn't impressed by the last 100 pages. The views of people at the summit was exhausting to read; Bryce in these pages seemed like a different character compared to Bryce earlier on, all the feeds at the summit seemed ridiculous (
and camera's some how survived a nuclear bombing?
), and it all felt ridiculously cheesy.

This was still a good read, though I'm not sure I'll continue the series.

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jeanettesreadingcorner's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

“Sabine whispered a sentence to the room, to the Autumn King, and Declan’s heart rose, hearing it.
It was the answer to the ancient Prime’s words. To the Autumn King’s question of how, against every statistic blaring on Declan’s computer, they were even witnessing Hunt Athalar fight like Hel to keep Bryce Quinlan’s heart beating.
Through love, all is possible.” 
- Sarah J. Maas, House of Earth and Blood 🌙❤️
—————————
HI I FINISHED READING HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME. ITS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND I HAVE NO WORDS. No thoughts, just so many emotions. I’m obsessed with Bryce Quinlan and I love her so much. Bryce’s unwavering loyalty to Danika was so special and bittersweet. They are my favorite fictional friendship. Hunt and Bryce becoming friends to something more was so cute. The slow burn, the teasing, the protectiveness… just so good 🤌🏼😘 They are endgame and I won’t listen to anything else. I really enjoyed all of the characters. The way Ember cursed out the Autumn King. She was waiting for her moment for 20+ years! 😂 The last 600+ pages 🤯😭🥺❤️. I stopped and read parts over again to help my mind comprehend everything. Yes, I have House of Sky and Breath and I preordered the third book because I’m always prepared. I’m so excited for the next journey in Crescent City! 💙

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nitecrtlvr's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5


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mazlloree's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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britwalsh16's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I barely have any words! I am a very emotional person, & all the grief & loss in this book just tore me apart. BUT I loved every minute of it! I flew through this book, I could not put it down! 
Based on Sarah J Maas’ other books I kept expecting Hunt to flip a switch & become another Tamlin; but I am so glad that never happened! I love Bryce! & I love Hunt! I love Ruhn! & I loved Danika! And though I didn’t know him much, I loved Conner, & whenever Bryce talked about him, I always started tearing up! I teared up with Danika too. But something about the not knowing what could have been with Conner makes me super sad! Atleast with Danika she knew what they had, what they were. Conner never had that chance & it just kills me!

This book hit me in the feels sooo much, & I’m not fully healed from the last book I read either, so together, I’m just falling off a cliff! Thanks Romantasy books! 

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