Book Review:
Title: House of Earth and Blood
Author: Sarah J Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
“That's the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious.”
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.
As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.
First and foremost, this book is thicccccc! And a little intimidating at over 800 pages, but somehow, I made it.
I have quite a few feelings about this book, and thankfully
most of them are positive, so let’s break it down:
The Characters:
I think my favourite thing about Sarah J Maas’ books are her characters. Other than the magical ability they usually possess and how every single one of them is beautiful and sexy, I have always found them to be extremely relatable. They go through the same human struggles we do and they experience both high and lows that aren't always based around 'fantasy issues', if that makes any sense? For example, we have characters in this book dealing with the loss of a loved one.
The depiction of grief in House of Earth and Blood, and honestly every SJM book, is so on point. Now obviously grief is very different across individuals, but Sarah manages to encapsulate it in such a profound way. It’s never brushed aside or forgotten about, which I really appreciate.
I think my favourite thing about Sarah J Maas’ books are her characters. Other than the magical ability they usually possess and how every single one of them is beautiful and sexy, I have always found them to be extremely relatable. They go through the same human struggles we do and they experience both high and lows that aren't always based around 'fantasy issues', if that makes any sense? For example, we have characters in this book dealing with the loss of a loved one.
The depiction of grief in House of Earth and Blood, and honestly every SJM book, is so on point. Now obviously grief is very different across individuals, but Sarah manages to encapsulate it in such a profound way. It’s never brushed aside or forgotten about, which I really appreciate.
Another thing I loved about the characters was the
relationships they all shared, both romantic and platonic. The female
friendship in HoEaB was so wonderful and poignant. Bryce and Danika reminded me
a lot of me and my friends – constantly joking about but being there for each other
in every way imaginable. I loved it.
The romantic relationship was fairly well written too, I enjoyed the slow growth and development of it. As I grow older, I love to see relationships blossom from mutual respect to friends to something more. There’s just something so wholesome about it. But I’m not letting myself get too attached to Bryce & Hunt in case Sarah does what she’s known best for, and completely flips it on us in the sequel.
The romantic relationship was fairly well written too, I enjoyed the slow growth and development of it. As I grow older, I love to see relationships blossom from mutual respect to friends to something more. There’s just something so wholesome about it. But I’m not letting myself get too attached to Bryce & Hunt in case Sarah does what she’s known best for, and completely flips it on us in the sequel.
I think all the other side characters were great too. Did
some of them feel like a mixture of previous SJM characters just with a different appearance
and name, yes, but I loved them nonetheless. Every character has an intriguing
background. Every character has qualities I love to read about. So really, I
can’t complain.
The Plot and World-building:
Now this is where the few issues I have come into play. Now, for the most part Sarah J Maas’ writing is great, and I never have a problem immersing myself into the world and story. At times it can actually be quite addictive. And that was the case for about 600ish pages of this book. However, the first part of this book was…to put it bluntly…a bit of a drag. I had to read the first chapter twice, because the minute I finished it I realised I literally couldn’t remember a single thing from it. And after the 2nd read, I still couldn’t remember much but I pushed through, because that’s what everyone said to do. It didn’t get much easier after that, until we reached about 100-page mark. There was just too much info-dump and I couldn’t keep up. Truthfully, I think a good portion of the information that was dumped could have been removed without missing anything extremely important. And then if needed, it could have been explained down the line. Those are just my thoughts though.
Now this is where the few issues I have come into play. Now, for the most part Sarah J Maas’ writing is great, and I never have a problem immersing myself into the world and story. At times it can actually be quite addictive. And that was the case for about 600ish pages of this book. However, the first part of this book was…to put it bluntly…a bit of a drag. I had to read the first chapter twice, because the minute I finished it I realised I literally couldn’t remember a single thing from it. And after the 2nd read, I still couldn’t remember much but I pushed through, because that’s what everyone said to do. It didn’t get much easier after that, until we reached about 100-page mark. There was just too much info-dump and I couldn’t keep up. Truthfully, I think a good portion of the information that was dumped could have been removed without missing anything extremely important. And then if needed, it could have been explained down the line. Those are just my thoughts though.
I think other than that, the majority of this book was
fantastic. The plot and conflict were super interesting and watching it all
play out was thrilling. I especially enjoyed meeting the various magical
beings. There were quite a few, but they were all fascinating and I’m
excited to learn more about them.
The Ending:
Simply put, the ending was WILD. So much happened. Things I expected. Things I didn’t expect (a vacuum, for those that have read it. WTF!) And I honestly have no clue which direction the sequel will move in. I think that’s a common thing across SJM books – she usually loves to flip things completely upside down and change the entire dynamic – so I’m not even going to try and guess what’s going to happen next, I’m just going to (hopefully) enjoy the ride when it comes.
Simply put, the ending was WILD. So much happened. Things I expected. Things I didn’t expect (a vacuum, for those that have read it. WTF!) And I honestly have no clue which direction the sequel will move in. I think that’s a common thing across SJM books – she usually loves to flip things completely upside down and change the entire dynamic – so I’m not even going to try and guess what’s going to happen next, I’m just going to (hopefully) enjoy the ride when it comes.
I don’t think my review has even scratched the surface of
the depth and different elements and themes this book contains, but I think
that’s something best enjoyed when you read the book for yourself.
Overall, although it can be quite info-dumpy, a little confusing
and long, I really enjoyed House of Earth and Blood. With compelling characters,
that you can’t help but get attached to, it’s hard not to find yourself
invested in the plot and anticipating what’s to come.
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