Scan barcode
A review by jonezeemcgee
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
3.0
3.0
Sarah J. Maas does know how to write fiction that is compulsively readable. I loved some of these characters and moments. At one point I even shed a tear! The story itself is very engaging. The plot (at least for me) is fairly original in its own right (if not a bit convoluted).
However original the plot, the main characters and formula are not original. At least within the SJM universe of books. The two main characters themselves are a slight cut and paste from SJMs book ACOMAF. Handsome, tall, muscular, tortured and enslaved (to evil woman) winged man meets gorgeous head strong girl who is into a form of the arts and ends up being a Mary Sue. I did enjoy many of the side characters, though. I also enjoyed that the romance in this book was way more healthy than what we got in the ACOTAR series of books.
The plot itself, while interesting and enjoyable, hinged on wayyyy too many plot conveniences. I can't pretend that I didn't find that frustrating in its laziness, and this book is far too big to not be fleshed out enough that these devices are rendered unnecessary. The plot also ran away with itself. You will need to break out the corkboard and string for this one, folks! It makes me worry a bit for the next book as so much information was dumped and people introduced that the next one seems like it may turn into too large a web of complexity.
I feel that with some strong editing this really had the potential to be at least a 4 star book. I will probably continue in the series though, as Maas' ability to hook you in is her saving grace. I'm hoping the next book doesn't go where I fear it may; into the "everything thrown in but the kitchen sink" type of narrative it feels like it's heading in.
Sarah J. Maas does know how to write fiction that is compulsively readable. I loved some of these characters and moments. At one point I even shed a tear! The story itself is very engaging. The plot (at least for me) is fairly original in its own right (if not a bit convoluted).
However original the plot, the main characters and formula are not original. At least within the SJM universe of books. The two main characters themselves are a slight cut and paste from SJMs book ACOMAF. Handsome, tall, muscular, tortured and enslaved (to evil woman) winged man meets gorgeous head strong girl who is into a form of the arts and ends up being a Mary Sue. I did enjoy many of the side characters, though. I also enjoyed that the romance in this book was way more healthy than what we got in the ACOTAR series of books.
The plot itself, while interesting and enjoyable, hinged on wayyyy too many plot conveniences. I can't pretend that I didn't find that frustrating in its laziness, and this book is far too big to not be fleshed out enough that these devices are rendered unnecessary. The plot also ran away with itself. You will need to break out the corkboard and string for this one, folks! It makes me worry a bit for the next book as so much information was dumped and people introduced that the next one seems like it may turn into too large a web of complexity.
I feel that with some strong editing this really had the potential to be at least a 4 star book. I will probably continue in the series though, as Maas' ability to hook you in is her saving grace. I'm hoping the next book doesn't go where I fear it may; into the "everything thrown in but the kitchen sink" type of narrative it feels like it's heading in.