My rating: 5 out of 5
Read a Summary: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44778083-house-of-earth-and-blood
Sarah J. Maas is my favorite author of all time, Throne of Glass my favorite series. Every time she puts out a new book I have this weird combination of excitement and dread. I know I love her writing, but I’m always worried it won’t compare to her other amazing books. And I’m never disappointed. Crescent City is now my favorite book of hers. Her first adult fantasy book, I loved the way she blended fantasy with the more modern setting. It is still high fantasy as it takes place in a made up world, but it’s a world that is very similar to ours technologically
I think the depiction of friendship in this book is amazing. Danika and Bryce have the sort of friendship that is so strong. To see how this changes after Danika’s death (not a spoiler, it’s in the book summary and also happens in the first five chapters) is heartbreaking. Watching Bryce struggle to move on is at times painful for everyone close to her. I like the fact that this book is mainly about grief and honoring those that we’ve lost. It’s about telling people it’s okay to be upset after losing someone. I think that a lot of books tend to rush characters through this process, and it’s normally a very watered down process. Bryce’s journey is ugly at times, but that is what makes it compelling.
Bryce is a quintessential Maas female character. She is strong willed and sassy and makes her own rules. Maybe some people are tired of reading about this type of character but I’m not. I love it. Hunt is an equally interesting character. He’s a good guy who truly wants to do the right thing, even though his attempts are at times misguided. Bryce and Hunt are the perfect people for this buddy-cop book. Bryce pushes Hunt’s buttons, and Hunt pushes right back. I feel that Maas’s greatest strength is her secondary characters and this book has a lot of them. Ruhn, Juniper, Fury, Lehabah. They’re all amazing.
I know that many people are quick to criticize Maas and her books. Some of it is warranted. Her early books lacked representation and the characters that were diverse were killed. However I think she has grown with every book she’s published and I find that this is not really an issue in her books anymore. Also, I think a lot of people say her characters are “problematic” which is definitely my least favorite descriptor of characters. People are layered and don’t always do the right thing. Her characters are flawed, and that doesn’t make them problematic, it makes them realistic. It would be boring to read a book where every character does the right thing. These flaws aren’t celebrated, when a character does something wrong they face consequences. I’m sure some people will have that criticism of this book, but to me these “problematic” moments are set up for character growth.
There is a lot of world building in this book. Like, a lot of world building. I love that sort of thing but it can be overwhelming. Don’t let that scare you away, eventually you will understand enough for the plot to make sense.
It’s a fantastic book, with a couple of steamy scenes but surprisingly not as many as her other books. If you like her other books, you will like this.
Spoilers (if you want to be spoiled keep reading)
Lehabah was my favorite character and I did not stop crying from the moment she died until the end of the book. her death was beautifully written, and I love the fact that Bryce had just purchased her freedom. Like I said, there were many tears. I may have had to stop reading for a bit to compose myself.
I also loved Aidas right away, and I’m hoping he doesn’t end up being evil. I know Sarah’s books and the female protagonist never ends up with the first guy. My money is on Aidas as endgame.
Bryce vacuuming up Micah’s ashes after she killed him was iconic and I don’t think any scene will reach that level ever.
I knew Danika would come back in some way. You don’t have a part of the city called the Bone Quarter that is just made up of dead souls to not have dead characters make a reappearance. Danika’s light it up was beautiful. I was already a sobbing mess at this point but reading Danika be there as Bryce made The Drop, just like they always planned, only made me cry more. I seriously don’t know that I’ve cried this much in a book ever. Maybe it’s because I was up until 2 in the morning reading it. Who knows. What I do know is that the scene where Bryce is on the river bank and sees Connor and wolf pack on the shore of the Bone Quarter was breathtaking. It was executed beautifully. Bryce finally responding to Connors text was the closure we as readers needed.
Brianna's Reviews 