Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood- Sarah J. Maas

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.

Tiger Lily- Jodi Lynn Anderson

My rating: 4 out of 5

Read the summary: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7514925-tiger-lily

I’m a sucker for beautiful writing, retellings, and romances. Tiger lily was all three of those things wrapped up in a concise, poignant piece that managed to portray love in new way. I’ve read a lot of love stories, too many to count, but none have stuck with me like this book. We all know the story of Peter Pan, we all know how it ends, yet I was completely immersed in Neverland in a way I never was before.

This book depicts colonization of natives in a way I’ve never seen before. It was horrible to watch. I won’t say anymore as to spoil it, but Anderson did a fantastic job with her limited page count.

I think it was genius to have Tinker Bell narrate the book. Her voice is so matter of fact and inquisitive and beautiful. She sees the world as it is, yet she can’t speak to anyone. It created an incredible atmosphere. Somehow it made the private moments more intimate. Tink shouldn’t be there, yet she stays to watch. Her love for Tiger Lily and Peter are brilliantly portrayed.

Overall, this book is an amazing quick read that I recommend to any romance fan. The love is messy, complicated, and unrestrained. It breaks your heart and doesn’t quite put it back together but fixes it enough to move on. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because I wanted it to be longer.

This book also contains themes of sexual assault. If this is a topic that will negatively impact your own mental well being I would skip this book. There are never any graphic scenes, but there it is alluded to a couple of times in the book. I don’t think the topic was handled as well as it could have been. I think if this is an issue you choose to put in your book you need to do it justice. The victim never gets any help and no one ever knows that it’s even happening (Tinker Bell is the only one who has an idea of what happens and she can’t speak to anyone). The apparent resolution is when the abuser dies, but the victim never receives any support. 

Spoilers! (You’ve been warned)

Pine Sap is the MVP. I liked him from page one, I wanted him to be with Tiger Lily from the beginning, and I actually squealed a bit when they got married. He loved Tiger Lily for who she was, and supported her and never felt less than because of her greatness. His mother’s treatment of him, and his continued support of her, was incredibly sad. He deserved everything in life, and he got it. Plus he was 100% going to poison Giant which is a plan I can’t help but support.

You know going in that Peter will end up with Wendy, but it still hurts. The mermaid warns Tiger Lily, but also us that Peter isn’t a nice boy. That he doesn’t realize he hurts people. We see Tiger Lily find a group of her own with the Lost Boys. She could be the fasted, strongest, best without being judged. And her love with Peter is so pure in a way. She fully loves him, and he loves her but they never exactly find their footing. Peter wants things that Tiger Lily was never going to be able to give him. I felt as betrayed as Tiger Lily when he chose Wendy. I saw the desperation in her attempts to make him choose her. I’m glad she realized that she shouldn’t have to do that to keep someone. I’m also glad she realized Pine Sap was a catch.

Tik Tok’s death was sad, but a bit predictable. I wanted to see more of him because he was really interesting.

Out of all of the love stories in the book the one I loved most was Tinker Bell’s love for Tiger Lily. It’s not romantic but it’s so important. It eclipses even Tink’s love for Peter. She’s not mad that Peter is kissing someone else because that person is Tiger Lily.