A review by camiclarkbooks
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.75

This review was written following my reread, getting ready for House of Sky and Breath.

I forgot how daunting the first 100 pages or so of this book were until I started my reread and was struggling to get into the book. To be honest, I still don’t understand a lot about this world and hope that it’s sequels make it easier to understand and appreciate. 

After making it through the world building and the plot set up, “House of Earth and Blood” really picked up. The murder mystery plot was engaging, even on a reread when I knew how it ended. But the best part of the book is our characters, especially our main character, Bryce. 

At the start of “House of Earth and Blood,” Bryce is a stereotypical party girl, which other characters remind us of throughout the whole book. As the story progresses, we learn more about Bryce and are shown how caring she is for her loved ones. Her love defies the caste system in her world and we see her put herself through various hardships so that she can help others. 

All of the characters, from Hunt to the most minor side character, are all compelling. Sarah J. Maas has done a great job of fleshing out all of her characters without making them more interesting than our main characters. 

Crescent City is so far my favorite Sarah J. Maas series. The urban fantasy setting is fun and something different from what we’ve come to expect from and SJM story. Bryce is a complex character who defies the odds of being a half-human in a world with a caste system that stacks the odds against her. 
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