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

This book will put you through the wringer. There are so many unexpected twists and turns; I felt as though I was constantly on the edge of my seat! It’s not overly spicy. There are only a few moments of tension between characters and one intimate scene, nothing too scandalous, however. Looking forward to the next book!

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rchulin1's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted sad 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

4.25

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amateur_bookworm's review

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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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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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ksilvio's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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kokopeach's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

Reasons to Bump This Up On Your TBR:

— Badass FMC, intriguing worldbuilding, lovable side characters, looming mystery, romance sub-plot.

Reasons to Bump This Down On Your TBR: (more in content warnings)

— You’re not into modern fantasy elements involving advanced technology and weapons.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ My Rating: 4.16 ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Characters • 4

Worldbuilding • 5 bc SJM always eats down

Plot • 3.5 very slow start for me but amped up from middle to end

Logic • 4

Writing Style • 4

Intrigue • 4.5

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ Things I’d Want to Know ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Were tears shed?
— Buckets

Heat Level 4 out of 5 • Steamy (on page scenes and language)
— Few scenes. Very much will they/won’t they tension.
Would there still be a plot without the spice?
— Definitely

Happy Ever After?
— For our MCs yes, but to be continued…

Cliffhanger?
— Not really. A few overarching questions may linger but you could stop here and be fine unless you’re wanting more Maasverse lore.

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rebeccaae99's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

5.0

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yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

I really enjoyed this one! The characters were so easy to love and root for! I thought the magical realism was explained well. Sometimes I got a bit lost in the world building but it wasn’t too bad. I love the way this book handled grief. It really showed how differently it can manifest. The writing was good. Every time I thought I had it figured it the plot twisted the other way and I was surprised.

Bryce’s goodbyes had me crying and I absolutely loved her relationship with Hunt.

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