Book Review: House of Earth and Blood

About the book

Title: House of Earth and Blood
Series: Crescent City #1
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Publication: March 2nd, 2021
Pages: 799
Read: July 2021

My Copy

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Edition: Paperback
Purchase Location: Book Depository

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Half-Fae, half-human Bryce Quinlan loves her life. Every night is a party and Bryce is going to savour all the pleasures Lunathion - also known as Crescent City - has to offer. But then a brutal murder shakes the very foundations of the city, and brings Bryce's world crashing down. Two years later, Bryce still haunts the city's most notorious nightclubs - but seeking only oblivion now. Then the murderer attacks again. And when an infamous Fallen angel, Hunt Athalar, is assigned to watch her every footstep, Bryce knows she can't forget any longer. As Bryce and Hunt fight to unravel the mystery, and their own dark pasts, the threads they tug ripple through the underbelly of the city, across warring continents, and down to the deepest levels of Hel, where things that have been sleeping for millennia are beginning to stir ... With unforgettable characters and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom - and the power of love.

My Spoiler Free Review

Wow! I am so glad I brought this book into quarantine with me, because I could not put it down and read through most of this book in 2 days straight. I am absolutely impressed with how good this book was and genuinly surprised that I read so many disappointed reviews before reading it myself. So I'm gladly going to share my thoughts on this book and try and convince you to read it as well, if you haven't picked it up yet!

“Through love, all is possible.”

The story starts with a loooot of information, setting the time and place of Crescent City, an imaginary city in Lunathion. I think Sarah J. Maas did a great job with the world building in this one, even though it might come across like "info dumping" in the beginning. Some might say that the build up of the story takes way too much time and pages, but honestly, that's what's needed in a book like this. Otherwise you would not be able to follow the story and understand the setting at all. However, I have to admit that I had a bit of a hard time getting settled in this new urban fantasy world as it contains literally every paranormal being I've ever heard of and many more.

The rest of this review definitely contains spoilers!

Bryce Quinlan: our half-human-half-fae protagonist is a party girl and a very strong minded woman. Tragedy hits close to her when her best friend Danika, a wolf pack leader, and her entire pack gets killed in their appartment whilst she's out partying. Part of the group is Connor, a guy that has been trying to go on a date with Bryce for five years and finally got her to accept one. When Bryce discovers the murder scene at her appartment, an unknown creature runs away and she tries to follow and hunt it down, unsuccessfully. However, she finds it attacking and injuring an angel and tries to rescue him until help arrives. It's very clear that this tragedy traumatzes Bryce, and she only keeps up appearances of being a party girl to everyone else as a facade after these events. In truth she stops drinking and taking drugs and becomes very isolated. By taking a loan out of her salary to buy a chimera's freedom from her boss, it becomes clear that she also has a truly good heart. So, a party girl on the outside, but a softie with a golden heart on the inside. Just the kind of main character that I like!

“...There's nothing wrong with a party girl. I don't get why the world thinks there is...Its easier for me---when people assume the worst about what I am. It lets me see who they really are -- Bryce”

The build up between Bryce and Connor's possible relationship already made the first couple of chapters seem like such a good intro, because from the beginning I shipped them and I had a very bad feeling that Connor would die too early. Sarah J. Maas managed to break my heart in the first 10% of the book already. Cue Hunt Athalar. A worthy replacement for the love interest for Bryce. The Second Love trope starts to creep up on us, and I feel like all readers expect the unsurprising. Whilst Hunt and Bryce have to work together to try and figure out who murdered Danika, they slowly but surely develop sexual feelings for one another. And boooyyy did I ship them!

Bryce starts off as very closed off and being rude to Hunt whilst she tries and starts to investigate her best friend's murder. The angel Hunt becomes her shadow in order to protect her from any dangers that could arise, not knowing that she is perfectly able to defend herself as she also has a lot of friends in high places. More and more, Hunt discovers the different layers that make up Bryce and they start to like each other, and gradually develop more feelings. When those feelings are nearly at a peak, Hunt gets injured badly as his boss and owner (as Hunt became a slave after a failed rebellion of the angels) Micah cuts off his wings after they wrongly accuse Danika's mother Sabine, the Prime apparent of the wolves, of murdering Danika and things escalate.

Then, Hunt's betrayal (wanting to buy synth to overthrow his master Micah and knowing and keeping the drug details from Bryce) came as a bit of a shock to me. It was very surprising and out of the blue for me, even though I expected something to mess up his "perfect personality" and "boyfriend material" characteristics. Nonetheless, I am really glad that Sarah J. Maas decided against the endless-seeming moping around and feeling betrayed trope of her protagonist and actually made Bryce realize very quickly that she still wanted to save Hunt, when she finds out that he's been sold to his worst enemy.

“I see you, Quinlan, he silently conveyed to her. And I like all of it. Right back at you, her half smile seemed to say.”

This leads to the epic final 100-ish pages of the book, that everybody else has marked as the "redemption pages" of the book, if they did not enjoy the beginning and middle part of it. Action packed like nothing else and absolutely gripping, these pages are what made this book such a great read! Bryce and Hunt face their deaths multiple times in these chapters and every time all hope seems lost, but they power through it! Bryce turns out to be Heir to the Starborn Fae, just like her brother Ruhn, but she's even more powerful than him and their father, the King.

Ruhn Danaan: To be quite honest, I don't really care that much for this character! I know a lot of people like Ruhn, but so far I'm not very impressed. I'm glad he's a good brother and tries to take care of Bryce and doesn't care about their heritage and standing in the royal line. He's not intimitaded by Bryce after finding out just how powerful she truly is and I really like the dynamic between him and his friends Dylan and Flynn! But other than that I feel like his character still has to prove himself to me. Hopefully in the next book! I am rather looking forward to his "relationship" with the new witch queen Hypaxia, because I'm sure this will turn into something very interesting as she's already proven herself to be a very powerful character! She's the one who freed Hunt after all, so that's already all I need to know to make me appreciate her role!

Micah: The big baddie. Turns out, Micah was way worse than I initially thought. I did suspect that he had some dirt on himself, but for him to turn out to be the villain of the story, that I honestly did not see coming! One thing that I really don't like, is when a villain thinks of themselves as untouchable and just tells their entire plan and reasoning for their actions to their victims, who will obviously win against them in the end. This is just such a useless waste of time, but was necessary for Bryce to clear her and Danika's name in front of everybody else (as it was conveniently broadcasted to all the powerful people of the lands). I think Micah made for a great villain and the writing was superb!

Lehabah: This fire sprite was honestly one of the cutest character in the story. I don't know why, but she kind of reminded me of Tinker Bell...

“Then let the world know that my first act of freedom was to help my friends.”

Jesiba: I really don't know what to think of her. The most interesting chapter including her was the epilogue, and I'm guessing she will play a bigger role in the next book, but right now I don't really know if I like her. She always acted very indifferent towards Bryce, even though I think she should have cut her some slack? What I want to know is, if she knew about Bryce's true heritage all this time, or if she was surprised and found out at the same time as everybody else.

Aidas: I'm very excited to see more of Aidas in the next book, I think he's going to play a very big role! Somehow he knew about Bryce's heritage and has been appearing as "a friend" to her since she went to the Oracle as a child. I want to find out what his involvement with Jesiba is and how they know one another!

So all in all after writing this review, I will give this book a rating of 4.5 Stars even though I initially rated this a 5 star read.

I'd like to know

Have you read House of Earth and Blood or any other of Sarah J. Maas' books? Are you as much a fan as I am? I’d love to hear what you think! So please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Book Review: ACOMAF

About the book

Title: A Court Of Mist And Fury
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court Of Thorns And Roses #2
Genres: High Fantasy, New Adult, Romance
Publication: May 3rd, 2016
Pages: 626
Read: August 2017

My Copy

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Edition: Paperback
Purchase Location: Book Depository

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people. Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

My Spoiler Free Review

It’s finally time to sit down and write this review. I think I can keep my emotions in check for a little while. Looking back at my review of A Court of Thorns And Roses I feel like it doesn’t deserve the four star rating I gave it. It should have maybe been a half star (if not an entire star) less. Alas, I can’t change that (and it wouldn’t be fair to do so). The rating I’d give the first book now has nothing to do with Sarah J Maas’ writing per se, honestly she’s am amazingly talented woman and her writing is wonderful. But I realised that I just didn’t enjoy the book enough for a 4-star rating and should have been honest with myself back then.

The sequel A Court of Mist and Fury however blew all the winds out of my whistle. Bare with me please ‘cause I’ve got a feeling this review is going to be rather of the very long sort which you won’t be used to by me.

Some of you might know that I had a rough time reading the first book in the series because I picked a wrong time to start reading it (and I like to moan about that, too). Therefore, I didn’t have all too high expectations for the second book, but so many people pushed me to read it that I finally caved in and ordered it online. Last month I found the perfect time to take this book on vacation with me and I could not stop reading!.

At the beginning I still clung on to the feelings I had for the first book, but then everything changed. When the first book felt a little slow paced, the second book in the ACOMAF series actually made me savour the tranquility of the plot. There were so many plot twists going on and the hundreds of pages and chapters were absolutely necessary to make the character development much more outstanding. You could literally feel them evolving and certain characters like Rhysand that I never thought I would like turned out to become one of my favourites.

The way that Sarah J Maas deals with posttraumatic stress disorder is truly amazing. It’s such an important part for the ending of ACOTAR and honestly I can’t remember another series where this was fully discussed in the way Maas does it here. It’s a very important part of the background and follows Feyre on every page, but it’s never called out word for word for what it is. And still, everybody knows what’s happening (and with everybody I mean us readers because clearly some characters didn’t acknowledge that, but my anger with those characters will be discussed in the spoilery part of the review).

With the new adventures in this book there come a lot of new characters, and I had a hard time at first keeping up with all of them. But they all grew into my heart and their part of the story felt so much more alive than the introduction of Tamlin or Lucien in the first book ever seemed like.

Feyre: “Can’t you ever just call someone by a given name?” - p. 208

So yeah, I feel like I need to stop with the spoiler free part of my review before I get too carried away. I still can’t believe that the series took such a turn for the positive. And I recommend everybody who disliked the ACOTAR should definitely give A Court of Mist and Fury another chance because that was the best decision I ever made book-wise.

The Part That Might Contain Spoilers

Okay first off: YOU CANNOT IMAGINE MY DISAPPOINTMENT IN TAMLIN. Sorry for yelling, but I had to get that out there. He was so sensitive and friendly and kind in the first book and truly made me like him over any other character. And then this happened. Of course he’s got his own problems and suffers as much as Feyre with PTSD, but still, to ignore her emotions like that and then LOCKING HER UP? Nopes, never going to forgive him. And especially not for siding with the King of Hypern. It’s his fault that my favourite ship was ripped apart and how could he ignore the fact that they were ACTUAL MATES. Something as precious as that should even have sunken into his head that Feyre just wasn’t ment for him.

Feyre: “I’m thinking that I was a lonely, hopeless person, and I might have fallen in love with the first thing that showed me a hint of kindness and safety. And I’m thinking maybe he knew that - maybe not actively, but maybe he wanted to be that person for someone. And maybe that worked for who I was before. Maybe it doesn’t work for who - what I am now." - p.156

Also I’m rather disappointed in Lucien, too. But I can’t wait how it will continue with him now that I know that he’s Elain’s mate. Very interesting plot twist (one of hundreds here). Oh and when we’re already on the subject, can we mention that I need Nesta to be Cassian’s mate? And then Azriel and Mor can end up happily ever after, too. (Do not dare pop my dream bubbles yet, please, I haven’t gotten to start reading A Court of Wings and Ruin yet and I’ve managed to stay unspoilered so far).

I really like Mor and she’s an amazing character and I wish to read more about her in the next book. Also I feel like we didn’t get enough information about Azriel yet. We only know little about his path and I need some further explanation on why he hasn’t told Mor about his feelings in the past 500 YEARS!

I hope that we will get to hear more about Tarquin as the series goes on because he’s such a lovely character (from as much as I’ve read about him so far) and I feel like his court could also make for some very interesting stories. Somehow I feel like he could have been a very good match for Feyre, but seeing as that would interfere with my OTP I have to put those thoughts aside.

And now let’s finally get into it. The OTP of the series. The OTP that outshines the OTP we all couldn’t get over in the first book. Rhysand + Feyre. Do you know how I struggled through all those painful moments where they almost got together, but pulled back right before anything could happen? The build up of their relationship was phenomenal! Kudos to Sarah J Maas! And I knew that something bad would happen when they got together with about 100 pages still to come. The ending had me all torn up and my anger about Tamlin just came all back.

But back to the incredible power couple: When Rhysand explained his entire past to Feyre I think a part of me broke inside. It all made so perfect sense and lets so many moments from ACOTAR come back to life in a whole new light. All his doings had a reason and to realise that he knew for so long that she was his mate and not tell anybody anything makes me so emotional about it. These two NEED a happy ending and I’ll be damned if they don’t get it!

Feyre: “I wonder if some part of me knew what was waiting for me. That I would never be a gentle grower of things, or someone who burned like fire - but that I would be quiet and enduring and as faceted as the night. That I would have beauty, for those who knew where to look, and if people didn’t bother to look, but to only fear it … Then I didn’t particularly care for them, anyway. I wonder if, even in my despair and hopelessness, I was never truly alone. I wonder if I was looking for this place - looking for you all.” - p. 488

Check Out My Previous Reviews

#1 A Court Of Thorns And Roses (My Review)

So as you can see I have a LOT of feelings about this book and it’s definitely one of my favourite reads this year. I’m not sure if there will come many books that can top this one, but I hope the series does continue on this great path. Sarah J. Maas has just become a new favourite author of mine as I’m also reading the Throne of Glass series and loving it. What are your thoughts on ACOMAF? Is there anything I didn’t mention in my review that we want to discuss further? I’m open to as many impressions and thoughts of yours and even hour long discussions if you’d like because I still can’t stop thinking about this book. Let me know what you thought in the comments!

Mini Book Reviews: ACOTAR & Carry On

Once upon a time it was December in 2016. I finished two books and didn't even manage to review them. So I decided to share those reviews with you today, here and now. These are a little shorter versions of my usual reviews and don't go into the story too deep because I don't have all too much time right now, but I'd love to talk about these books anyways because they're AWESOME! :)

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About the book

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Genres: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, High Fantasy

Published: May 5th, 2015

Read: December 2016

My Copy

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Cover: Paperback

Purchase Location: Kinokuniya Singapore

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Feyre is a huntress. She thinks nothing of slaughtering a wolf to capture its prey. But, like all mortals, she fears what lingers mercilessly beyond the forest. And she will learn that taking the life of a magical creature comes at a high price... Imprisoned in an enchanted court in her enemy's kingdom, Feyre is free to roam but forbidden to escape. Her captor's body bears the scars of fighting, and his face is always masked - but his piercing stare draws her ever closer. As Feyre's feeling for Tamlin begin to burn through every warning she's been told about his kind, an ancient, wicked shadow grows. Feyre must find a way to break a spell, or lose her heart forever.

My Review

I felt kind of forced to read this book because EVERYBODY was talking about it. Well, I don’t mind really, reading books that are hyped about, because I usually love them (yeah, I know, I’m too mainstream. I usually like every single book I pick up, but seriously, I wouldn’t pick up a book if I didn’t think I’d like it so that solves that kind of problem, right?). However, I didn’t feel as flabbergasted or senselessly in love with the story as everybody else seemed to be...

Don’t get me wrong! I enjoyed reading the book and I think it makes for a good story. I think the main reason I didn’t like this book all too much is my own fault. It took me two and a half months to finish it and that just took a lot of patience out of me. I guess I shouldn’t have started it at the beginning of my first semester at Uni. I still felt this book deserved a four star rating from me, though.

The story was actually pretty interesting (it’s been a long time since I’ve read a fantasy book which such an imaginative world, and I really want to read these kind of fantasy books more often) and there were a lot plot twists and turns. I really liked the characters and feel like Sarah J. Maas did a really great job in creating this new fantasy-place.

Maybe the story felt a little too slow-paced for me, and there are definitely chapters that could have been shortened a lot in my opinion, but I liked Sarah’s writing style a lot! This is my first book of hers and I’m definitely going to continue the series and even start the Throne of Glass series sometime.

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About the book Title: Carry On Author: Rainbow Rowell Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Lgbt, Magic Published: October 8th, 2015 Read: December 2016 My Copy Publisher: Macmillan Edition: Paperback Purchase Location: Waterstones London

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary

Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who's ever been chosen. That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here - it's their last year at Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up. Carry On is a love letter to love stories and the power of words - to every 'chosen one' who ever had more on their mind than saving the world...

My Review

I can finally say it! I’ve nearly read every single book by Rainbow Rowell (there’s only My True Love Gave to Me left for me to read). I’ve loved most of them and this is definitely one of my favourites. I was skeptical at first because a lot of people disliked it because of its supposedly being a rip off of Harry Potter (and when it comes to HP I’m really overprotective). Honestly, I did not go far into that theory and didn’t research it either (so I have no clue what Rainbow’s reaction to this is). But I say: WHO CARES? Because Carry On is seriously such a cute story!

If it’s really fanfiction about Draco and Harry, then I must say: Well done. I really adored the story of the two nemesis, although we’re basically thrown into their “ending” part of the story. If you’ve read Fangirl like me, then you know that Carry On was the fan fiction Cath wrote about her favourite children books about Simon Snow. And now we got the actual story she wrote and it’s great!

There are similarities to Harry Potter, so I cannot deny that those allegations aren’t based on solid grounds, but I find it really well done. We all need some fan fiction now and then and turning it into such a great book needs a lot of talent. Carry On is definitely one of those books that I’m probably going to reread endless times, because it just makes you feel happy and be in a good mood and is a perfect read for a rainy day!

I'd like to know

Does anybody know if Rainbow is planning on bringing out a new book sometime soon? I need new reading material from her and I just want to cuddle up with a new fantastic story written by her. Also, let me know how YOU felt about these books! I'd love to talk more about them with you :)