340 reviews for:

House of Earth and Blood (1 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation]

Sarah J. Maas

4.35 AVERAGE

tmdav_'s review

4.75

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Re-reading with graphic audio. This is actually a lot better than I remember second time thru. The shift in times (ancient with acotar to cell phones with cc) is jarring at first but you get into it quickly. I'm doing this differently than the first time and reading cc right after acotar instead of hoping into tog bc I wanna saver it and hopefully graphic for tog will be out by the time I finish this series. But coming right out of acotar I'm seeing more hints connecting the worlds 👀👀👀 

kimqwin's review

4.0

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I started with reading a physical copy of this book, and it was SO boring to me. The dialogue was really cringe for some reason. I can't explain it, but the way they talk and the excessive use of "fuck" makes the dialogue so weak. Like could you not think of any other words to describe the intensity of your feelings? The dialogue makes me think of this as a cheesy Wattpad story; and it felt like it was written by a teenager who's just guessing  how adults really talked in real life. 

What really saved this book for me was when I started listening to the audiobook instead! Just WOW. The voice actors really gave justice to this book's cringe dialogue. The VAs were so good delivering their lines and giving personality to their characters -- so much that I can actually pretend the original dialogue wasn't shit. In the book, almost everyone is described as having a lovely out of this world sensual voice, and if everyone has that voice it kind of gets hard to imagine. But actually HEARING those voices makes everything snap into place. This is also my first ever introduction to Graphic Audio, and it really elevated my reading experience!!!

SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot wise, the world building here is pretty cool though. It was difficult to grasp at first because there was a major info dump about the houses and the city during the first chapters. But once you get a hang of it the concept of a fantasy city is pretty cool. Also, HOT TAKE BUT I think it would've been better if Danika really was just a drug addict 😬 It would've been more meaningful to realize that we sometimes gloss over the mistakes of the people we loved the most. But eh, the Danika hero plotline is fine too I guess. 

I am disappointed by the lack of smut here. At least ONE sex scene in the ending would've made sense. But by now it's obvious that Sarah J Maas is dragging this on so that we buy her next book. I hate it when authors do that, it's so cash grabby and stupid. 

The audiobook for this I would rate 4 stars. But the physical copy I'd rate 3 stars only. Let me emphasize this again: the voice actors CARRIED this plot.

kelseylynneboyle's review

5.0

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

mclendon75's review

4.5

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

autumnrose0922's review

4.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

ctepp's review

5.0

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I am REALLY enjoying this! I have no qualms. Story progresses nicely, there's not really a lull at any point. Want to see what happens next!

Really enjoyed the mystery of it. Appreciate that the whole book isn't world building. They're getting so close to figuring it out!

taryngarrette's review

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

sleepywhippetbookclub's review against another edition

2.0

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After trying and failing to read this book as an eBook, I thought I'd try reading the dramatised audiobook alongside. The audiobook is split into two books because of the sheer length of this novel, so this is a review in two parts.

The first half was rubbish. It dragged. Boy, did it drag. Had I not been reading this for a reading challenge, I think I would have DNF'd it a second time. The background noise on the dramatised audio was hard to get used to, especially during the heavy infodumping at the beginning of the story. Nothing really happens in the first half other than setting the scene, and I struggle to see how people have rated it so highly.

frankie7's review

4.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

katies_all_booked's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced