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amy_in_the_city's review
- 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
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.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
readwithde's review against another edition
- 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 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.
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Torture, and Medical content
smuttymcbookface's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
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 (
This was still a good read, though I'm not sure I'll continue the series.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, and Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
bunnyjean73's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
jeanettesreadingcorner's review
- 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
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! 💙
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
that_awkwardbook's review
- 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
5.0
I had to cry multiple times , the characters are written beautifully and realistic. The book is written in multiple pov. The story enfolds naturally and doesn't seem rushed or to stretcht. But I would definitely recommend to read the other books of the author first.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
britwalsh16's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Genocide, and Hate crime
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
mighty_lizard_queen's review against another edition
- 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
If this didn’t connect back to ACOTAR then I would have DNF’d half way through out of boredom and frustration, but, alas.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Death of parent
savage_book_review's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My first reaction was that it was an odd juxtaposition; people with various magical abilities driving cars, using mobile phones and enjoying Saturday night sport, and while the author of course makes it work, I wasn't as easily able to immerse myself in the world; the intrusion of the familiar made it harder to suspend my disbelief. Imagining an avenging angel slobbing out on the couch wearing a baseball cap and football jersey, wings and all, is brilliant, funny and certainly more relatable than a lot of the other males in Maas' writing (even if he does share the usual trait of the ultimate ripped body), but that's precisely the issue. I like my fantasy characters to be precisely that - fantasies.
I enjoyed the characterisations of both the individuals and the different beings very much; there are a lot more shades of grey in here, which definitely makes the reading more interesting. However, there are a LOT of creatures to get to know, and at times I found it hard to keep track of everything. There's not much of an 'on ramp' with this world; you're dropped almost straight into the middle of it and left to fend for yourself, picking things up as you go. And where in her other series there have been some similarities that allow you to grasp basic concepts, again this setting is so different it's a lot harder to establish the ground rules.
Similarly, understanding the structure and hierarchy of the world isn't exactly straightforward. I do like the Roman-inspired feel of the city as a whole, but it took me a while to get to grips with the angelic legions, the Aux and so on. It's just a lot to wrap your head around.
I would say that this story doesn't flow quite as well as her other works either. The story has certainly been well mapped out in the author's head, but the writing somehow just feels a bit clunky - the development of the relationship between Bryce and Hunt, while clearly inevitable, just seems to happen in the blink of an eye, rather than via the slow build which Maas is so good at. And some of the twists aren't so much shocking as head-scratchingly confusing.
I'm thinking this one might be a 'soaker' - it just needs to marinade in my head for a while before I 'get' it in the same was as TOG and ACOTAR. Also wondering if the graphic audio version might help. I do want to see where the series goes and how we end up at the spoilers I've heard about the end of book 2, but I am hoping for better next time around...
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Vomit, and Car accident
mads_reads_books's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism