Reviews tagging 'Racism'

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

46 reviews

twistedblonde's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

What's the best rating I can give this book? OMG that was the best book I've ever read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, and Gun violence

nikkihill22's review

emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

like most books by this author, it made for an entertaining read. I don't think SJM includes very much true depth to her stories, her world building leaves too much to be desired for that. It's like she mixes and mashes various mythologies without thinking about how they could or should intersect, and she has the same issue when it comes to technology being included in a magical world. There's a lot of potential for interesting world building but none that she follows through on.
Where she does shine though, is writing characters and their interpersonal relationships. I won't say that was perfect in these books either, although i do think it was a lot  better than the ACOTAR series. I didn't expect to be as emotionally involved as i was throughout the climax of the story. Which is maybe a knock against the overall quality of the book that i didn't even realize i cared until it was too late. 
The pacing of the book was a little slow for me, it's mainly following one macguffin to another and another and another in the hopes of finding a criminal. Although i do think SJM does a decent job of explaining all that when we finally learn what's really been going on, i think most of it she just wanted the story to go to certain settings or explore certain relationships and found a convenient explanation for why the criminal really led them to go those places after the fact.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content

Minor: Racism and Racial slurs

SJM spent way too long making very sure that her readers know that Danika and Bryce were not in love with each other, while constantly making them the centers of each others' universes. She includes a little more/better representation in this book than she does in ACOTAR via Fury and Juniper being mates, and doesn't seem to include any outright homophobia culturally, but her own does still show. Even that relationship is barely touched upon, and she's just trying too hard to make sure her main characters are still guaranteed to be cis-het, and frankly it's just a little tiring. let Bryce and Danika be bi and in love, coward. She also does a little better about including people of various races/skin tone, but not enough that i could call this a racially diverse book. again, she takes a lot of mythologies and then doesn't seem to do much with them in creating a diverse-feeling world, which is disappointing to me.

tguccione's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Medical content, Police brutality, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Violence, War, Abandonment, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Racism, Torture, and Vomit

Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Genocide

mighty_lizard_queen's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book needed so much more editing and thought, it’s ridiculous. 

If this didn’t connect back to ACOTAR then I would have DNF’d half way through out of boredom and frustration, but, alas. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Violence, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Classism, Medical content, Gun violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Torture, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Infidelity

mads_reads_books's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Self harm, Death, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Torture, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Racism, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Murder, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, War, Animal cruelty, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

ktmcd26's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book! I don’t know why I was convinced that I would like this the least of the SJM universe (maybe the cover art?), but I really do think I like it the best. After I sit with this for maybe a few weeks I’ll start to see some of the flaws come through, but right now I am just not seeing it. 

This book was a combination of urban murder mystery, romance, and super powerful young woman fantasy. It was compelling, emotional and unpredictable. I can think of at least seven major reveals that I did not see coming. This book was a roller coaster and I could not put it down. I waited until very end of December to start this series so the 3rd book would be out when I was ready for it, but damn I will be done far far too soon. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, War, and Gun violence

spicycronereads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I read the ACOTAR series in the Fall and really enjoyed it. I have been wanting to read more of her works but am not quite ready to commit to Throne of Glass. With the third book in this series releasing in early 2024, it seemed a better choice for now. 

I found the first book House of Earth and Blood to be enjoyable. Bryce the FMC is kind of a mess but which was kind of endearing - I mean, who among us has not had a secret resume file on our work computer? I appreciate that she is a bit older (has finished college) and is seggs positive. The development of her friendship and eventual romance with Hunt, the MMC, was sweet. There was a maturity to the progression of their relationship that was more recognizable than the insta-love, fated mates relationships in other books. 

The blending of magic, science, and technology were interesting. The plot twists were…ok? Some of them were predictable. There were so many characters that when something was revealed about someone, it generally was not someone you thought you “knew.” So the  twists kept the plot moving but didn’t feel really like a betrayal. There were other places where the plot was a little convoluted and didn’t seem to go anywhere or payoff after the buildup (ex: that character in the tank). 

As I was finishing the book I saw someone say to be sure to read ACOTAR before reading CC. So far I can’t figure out how they are connected. Maybe in book 2 it will become apparent (*fingers crossed for a Bryaxis sighting*)

Ruhn and the absent Danika are the only secondary characters with any kind of depth though others like Lehabah, June, and Declan add bits and pieces to the narrative.

The question of diverse representation is a hard one to answer. Bryce is repeatedly described as curvy. And she and other characters are described as having golden or tan skin. Race is a social construct so the racial categories of this fantasy world would not map onto race as we understand it. So there is a variety of skin tones but I don’t know that I would necessarily call it racial diversity. Hypaxia seems like the only definitely not-white character. 

The spice is a definite slow burn. There are a few moments of buildup where you think it is going to happen, only to have things delayed. 

So, overall, likable characters, a cool magic system, with a sometimes convoluted plot, and a slow burn. I enjoyed it and will definitely read book 2 in anticipation of the release of book 3 next month! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️🌶️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Gore, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Racism, War, Suicide attempt, and Racial slurs

Minor: Gun violence

ladydeathnesta's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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

I feel like I’m cheating on Silver Flames because I don’t know if I like this one better.

I love them equally.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Stalking, Car accident, Classism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, War, Body horror, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Grief, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Dementia, Ableism, Animal death, Deportation, Drug use, Medical trauma, Rape, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide, and Trafficking

daphnemarie's review

i don’t even know what the bloody title is let alone what the hell was going on

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Fatphobia, Drug use, Body horror, Alcoholism, Murder, Body shaming, Blood, Gore, Sexual content, Classism, Death, and Cursing

Moderate: Racism, Slavery, and Xenophobia

Minor: Rape

vr_alyssa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? No

4.5

2020 review:
I was quite excited about this book as I've always really enjoyed Sarah J. Maas' books (especially the first one upon first reading). However, at the same time, due to The Court of Frost and Starlight (and future plans for ACOTAR), I was becoming somewhat hesitant about her books.

This book did not disappoint. It is quite clear that Maas' is growing as an author as this first instalment is quite different than her previous books. The style, characters, register, etc. is more aimed towards young adults (bordering adults).

I really enjoyed this book. It is super long, but I don't mind that at all! I have now read it twice and I enjoyed (and cried) both times. Like always, her books are not high-literature, but nevertheless, I really enjoy reading her books, and this one is no different. The main character is a powerhouse lady and I absolutely love it.

Definitely worth a read, especially if you've enjoyed Maas' books in the past. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Racism and Blood