Reviews with content warning for Torture - House of Earth and Blood

I absolutely loved this book. It’s so different from previous SJM novels and I loved she tried the mystery genre out while still having that fantasy element.

The single reason I’m giving it a 4.75 is because I felt like there was a lot of romance between the two protagonists but it was such a slow burn for the whole book until the end when the climax hit. I wish there’d been just a little more before that point.

The ending had me sobbing uncontrollably. Danika and Bryce’s friendship during the drop was so special and I loved how at the end there’s closure with the rest of the pack. My biggest sob fest was for LeLe sacrificing herself.

Overall I loved the book and am excited to start the second to see where it goes from there.

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larajgriff1's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot. It reminded me of the Anita Blake books by Laurell K Hamilton and I loved those in high school. However I am giving this book 4 stars cause I just really hate how LONG Maas's books are. I do not need to be reading something that could double as a bludgeoning weapon! Also just the nonchalant comments of looking at someone's boobs, ass, pecs... someone might enjoy it, I do not, so it knocked it down for me.

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kayanoelle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Interesting.

I liked the premise of the story, the writing style and the characters. Bryce is one fierce lady!!

This book was too loooong. The only good thing about that was that the relationship between Bryce and Hunt had time to blossom, they’re so lovely.

The plot was too predictable but maybe that’s just a me problem💀 I feel like when you read a lot of books, you get very good at predicting where the storyline is headed because there’s only so many plot devices you can use, so it’s understandable.

Another thing I tend not to like about fantasy books (including this one) is that everything works out too well.

Yes, there are high stakes and yes we fear for the characters safety and such but we always know that the protagonists are going to survive the first book. I know for sure that if I were part of this world I would’ve been attacked by one of the demons and it would’ve been over for me.

But this is fantasy and our protagonists are special so it’s okay✨✨

The epilogue left us with a lot to chew on so I am excited for the next book!!

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bowedbookshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

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amateur_bookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Genre: Fantasy, romantasy, fiction

My summary: Bryce Quinlan is a half-fae half-human party girl living in Crescent City. Her roommate and best friend since college is Danika Fendyr, a powerful wolf shifter that will someday lead her pack. The two are inseparable, as well as with Danika’s pack, until gruesome murders occur that rock Bryce’s world to her core. Two years later, when another similar murder occurs, Bryce finds herself pulled into the investigation to try to find the killer and avenge the deaths of those closest to her. Bryce is saddled with Hunt Athalar, the Shadow of Death, a fallen angel and a slave to the Archangels, in the investigation. In a world ruled by the Asteri and governed by the Archangels, the constant war between the Vanir and the humans set a backdrop of Bryce and Hunt trying to save Crescent City in their quest for vengeance.

My thoughts: Wow. Just….. wow. I really don’t know why I waited so long to read this one. I absolutely loved Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series. But then I really didn’t enjoy her Throne of Glass series so I just put off starting Crescent City, figuring I’d wait until closer to the third book coming out in January 2024. I was worried the hype around this series was too much, but, no, no, so far the first book is as fantastic as everyone said it was. This is some serious fantasy. I’m generally not too much of a fantasy reader and the world building in this is A LOT. I knew on page 20 (out of 799 pages) that I would definitely have to re-read this again to even begin to really understand all of it, which feels really daunting at that point of a book this long. I had literally no idea what was happening through the first third of the book. If you find yourself in the same boat, just keep pushing through and it is so, so worth it. The last of the book is so intense and I literally cannot wait to start on the next one in the series to keep going with it.

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kelceyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I don’t read a lot of fantasy and I found the world building for the first 100 or so pages to be pretty difficult to get through. HOWEVER… it was worth it. I very much enjoyed the rest of the book. I loved the crime solving, the friendships, the building romance, the internal struggles of the main character, the hot angels (!). There were lots of twists and turns I did not see coming. I also don’t tend to like split POVs (controversial I know) but this one flipped between the two main characters quickly and I actually really enjoyed the pacing and mixed view points. Very excited to read the next books now that I’m fully immersed in the world. Gave less stars since I felt that the fantasy aspects and parts of the world could have been made less confusing and provided a better opening to the series (I almost did not make it past the beginning of the book) but this may not be a problem for avid fantasy reads/fans.

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miss_mariel_99's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The pace starts slow, but picks up in the second half of the book. Similarly the likability of the characters changes throughout the book, some of their actions are unexpected and even downright stupid. But overall I definitely fell in love with them. The plot twist and it's resolution were (at least to me) really surprising and made me cry and feel with the characters.
Overall a pretty good read which left me excited for the next part.

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