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A review by swordspoint
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
TL;DR, content warnings, and recommendations at the bottom!
Sarah J. Maas has been a major figure in the online side of the book industry for a while now, particularly on the YA side. I tried Throne of Glass several years ago, intensely disliked it, DNFed, and went on to (I hate to admit) prematurely judge all of her other work based on that. I think House of Earth and Blood did a lot to undo many of my biases not only about Maas' work, but about the YA/new adult genre in general. This would actually be a 4.5 star read if not for one particular trope that really grated on me, which I'll mention later. Enough about my reading habits- onto the review!
Main character Bryce Quinlan is half-human, half-Fae in a world where humans are seen as a lesser breed compared to the magical Vanir (animal shifters, fae, angels, mercreatures, and similar species.) Bryce starts the story as a party girl, taking every drug she can before heading to her job at a gallery of magical artifacts the next day hungover. Her life changes, though, when several of her friends are unexpectedly and brutally murdered by a demon.
She leaves her old lifestyle behind, along with the pain of her past... at least until the Crescent City government comes to her and reveals that the murders have started up again, even with the perpetrator jailed. And they want her to help with the investigation alongside the governor's personal assassin, Hunt Athalar, a mysterious fallen angel also known as the Umbra Mortis.
This book, weighing in at over 800 thin pages, surprised me by being fairly fast paced. It's definitely paced like a thriller novel, just at the scale of an epic fantasy book.
Accordingly, it feels very much like a mystery/romance that just happens to be set in an urban fantasy world, but this is offset by the world being well-built and detailed. The magic system ties in with the modern technology the characters use ingeniously.
On the characters - I have to admit I did not like the love interest. He grew on me, but I never really liked him. That may just be personal taste, though, as I think he's more of a romance-novel type protagonist than I usually like! However, Bryce, Ruhn, Lehabah, Tharion, Danika, and almost every other side character were lovely, with well-rounded personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. I especially enjoyed the journey of Ruhn and Bryce's relationship.
Not only were the characters well-written, the prose was as well. Maas definitely has a gift for quick and engaging writing - it reminded me a lot of the bits of Nora Roberts that I've read, but with more of a witty spin. The descriptions were evocative, especially when she got to describing character feelings and thoughts, which made it even more of an emotionally impactful read.
The mystery itself is great. I predicted a few of the plot twists, but the biggest ones toward the end of the book blindsided me completely, which was really fun! The plot was tight and wrapped itself up well with enough loose ends to set up a second book, which I'll definitely be reading when it comes out!
The one hangup that took this from a 4.5 to a 4, though, was the goddamn constant horniness. Bryce and Hunt, the main relationship, spent what felt like half of the book lusting after each other to the point where it actually interrupted plot-heavy scenes to talk about the way Hunt felt his dick straining against his jeans towards Bryce. There were a couple pages where I felt like I'd read my way into erotica looking for a plot. I think Maas is somewhat famous for having a lot of sex and lust in her books, which is fine- I guess I just prefer my books with the plot and sex separate. Overall, it didn't ruin the experience for me or anything, but if anyone else is sensitive to sexual content - be warned that there's a lot of boners in this one!
TL;DR: A great mystery in a unique urban fantasy city with plenty of plot twists and emotional moments, a high, exciting climax, and a passionate romance.
Content Breakdown: This one doesn't shy away from adult content whatsoever. There are plenty of scenes with drugs and alcohol, many characters being absolutely horny for each other, references to torture, and some scenes with brutal violence. There's also a lot of emotional tension and pain.
Recommended For: Those who like Maas' other books, lovers of the Mortal Instruments series, fans of enemies-to-lovers fanfiction, lovers of the bad boy
Favorite Moment: Major spoiler here. Bryce casually vacuuming up Micah after the battle in the gallery seconded by Syrinx biting Hunt's ass. Also, Ruhn as a character. He's a good lad.
Sarah J. Maas has been a major figure in the online side of the book industry for a while now, particularly on the YA side. I tried Throne of Glass several years ago, intensely disliked it, DNFed, and went on to (I hate to admit) prematurely judge all of her other work based on that. I think House of Earth and Blood did a lot to undo many of my biases not only about Maas' work, but about the YA/new adult genre in general. This would actually be a 4.5 star read if not for one particular trope that really grated on me, which I'll mention later. Enough about my reading habits- onto the review!
Main character Bryce Quinlan is half-human, half-Fae in a world where humans are seen as a lesser breed compared to the magical Vanir (animal shifters, fae, angels, mercreatures, and similar species.) Bryce starts the story as a party girl, taking every drug she can before heading to her job at a gallery of magical artifacts the next day hungover. Her life changes, though, when several of her friends are unexpectedly and brutally murdered by a demon.
She leaves her old lifestyle behind, along with the pain of her past... at least until the Crescent City government comes to her and reveals that the murders have started up again, even with the perpetrator jailed. And they want her to help with the investigation alongside the governor's personal assassin, Hunt Athalar, a mysterious fallen angel also known as the Umbra Mortis.
This book, weighing in at over 800 thin pages, surprised me by being fairly fast paced. It's definitely paced like a thriller novel, just at the scale of an epic fantasy book.
Accordingly, it feels very much like a mystery/romance that just happens to be set in an urban fantasy world, but this is offset by the world being well-built and detailed. The magic system ties in with the modern technology the characters use ingeniously.
On the characters - I have to admit I did not like the love interest. He grew on me, but I never really liked him. That may just be personal taste, though, as I think he's more of a romance-novel type protagonist than I usually like! However, Bryce, Ruhn, Lehabah, Tharion, Danika, and almost every other side character were lovely, with well-rounded personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. I especially enjoyed the journey of Ruhn and Bryce's relationship.
Not only were the characters well-written, the prose was as well. Maas definitely has a gift for quick and engaging writing - it reminded me a lot of the bits of Nora Roberts that I've read, but with more of a witty spin. The descriptions were evocative, especially when she got to describing character feelings and thoughts, which made it even more of an emotionally impactful read.
The mystery itself is great. I predicted a few of the plot twists, but the biggest ones toward the end of the book blindsided me completely, which was really fun! The plot was tight and wrapped itself up well with enough loose ends to set up a second book, which I'll definitely be reading when it comes out!
The one hangup that took this from a 4.5 to a 4, though, was the goddamn constant horniness. Bryce and Hunt, the main relationship, spent what felt like half of the book lusting after each other to the point where it actually interrupted plot-heavy scenes to talk about the way Hunt felt his dick straining against his jeans towards Bryce. There were a couple pages where I felt like I'd read my way into erotica looking for a plot. I think Maas is somewhat famous for having a lot of sex and lust in her books, which is fine- I guess I just prefer my books with the plot and sex separate. Overall, it didn't ruin the experience for me or anything, but if anyone else is sensitive to sexual content - be warned that there's a lot of boners in this one!
TL;DR: A great mystery in a unique urban fantasy city with plenty of plot twists and emotional moments, a high, exciting climax, and a passionate romance.
Content Breakdown: This one doesn't shy away from adult content whatsoever. There are plenty of scenes with drugs and alcohol, many characters being absolutely horny for each other, references to torture, and some scenes with brutal violence. There's also a lot of emotional tension and pain.
Recommended For: Those who like Maas' other books, lovers of the Mortal Instruments series, fans of enemies-to-lovers fanfiction, lovers of the bad boy
Favorite Moment: Major spoiler here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicide attempt