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

THIS. BOOK. WAS. AMAZING!!!

I have so much to say about this book! But where do I start?

I'll start with this: if you HATE Sarah J. Maas, if you don't like her writing, if you don't like the type of stories she writes, this book isn't going to fix that for you. But if you're someone who is what I call SJM neutral, if you maybe have struggled with her lack of diversity and alpha-male characters, this book really, really remedies that, so I say give it a shot! And if you really like urban fantasy, give this a shot! And if you are already a SJM fan, you will likely love this!

House of Earth and Blood takes place in a modern fantasy world that is reminiscent of the Roman Empire. Imagine if the Roman Empire had never fallen, add in magic and modern technology (cell phones, cars, helicopters, etc.) and every single paranormal, magical creature you can think of (fae, vampires, shape-shifters, angels, mermaids, etc.) and you've got Crescent City. It's AWESOME!

The book itself follows Bryce Quinlan, a half-fae half-human who is a recent college grad. She works for a notorious sorceress at an antiquities shop that deals in magical artifacts. Bryce is very much a party girl and loves being a party girl, along with her best friend, Danika, who is a wolf shape-shifter and the Alpha of the city's best wolf pack. One night, Bryce is out partying, and she returns to her apartment to find Danika and her entire pack slaughtered (this is not a spoiler, it's in the description). The book then jumps forward 2 years, where Bryce's life is very different. Similar murders have started happening again, and it turns out the person in prison for the deaths of Danika and her pack didn't actually do it. So the governor of Crescent City, the archangel Micah, orders Bryce to track down the killer. He tasks his personal assassin/slave, a fallen angel named Hunt, to pair up with Bryce and protect her. Bryce thinks he's an arrogant "alphahole" and Hunt thinks she's a stupid, spoiled, party girl, when she's actually much more. And then there's an angsty, slow-burn hate to love romance.

This book was never boring, and it was incredibly fast-paced, and the last third of the book was BONKERS. Maybe it's because this book has the added element of a murder mystery, but there are so many huge, mind-boggling twists during the last 200 pages or so. Also? This was just super funny at times! Bryce and Hunt's banter is priceless!

Now, let's talk about what everyone is wondering: how smutty is this book? How adult is it actually, compared to her other books? Not very smutty. There's one scene that is pretty sexually explicit (think somewhere between the scene at the inn and the scenes in the cabin in ACOMAF). So it's not too smutty, but there's clearly going to be a lot more in book two. That being said, there is a lot of sex talk, be it crude jokes, talking about sexual experiences, or fantasizing about sex. And in terms of how "adult" it is... well, the main character is 25 years old for the majority of the book, and drug use and partying is a big part of the story. It definitely feels more adult than her other series, but it's definitely appropriate for high schoolers, I'd say.

Another thing I really appreciated about this book is that SJM clearly took to heart criticism of her past works, mainly regarding a) her lack of diversity and b) the way she writes her men. In terms of diversity, two side characters are both women of color, and there are also a couple queer storylines. In terms of the men, she really fixes this. "Alphahole" is a big part of the book, and something Bryce brings up quite frequently. It's a hybrid between "alpha male" and "asshole." At times, it's almost as if SJM is making fun of the way she's written male characters in her previous books. I also appreciated how she played around with a lot of important societal concepts, particularly oppression. There was also a scene that seemed to be addressing climate change, which I really appreciated.

The only "complaint" I have about this book is that it is perhaps too long. It did not need to be 800 pages. However, I was never bored, and every single scene was necessary and had a purpose. I do think SJM can overwrite, and if she would just shave off a few words here and there, shorten descriptions, that kind of thing -- she could shorten the book by about 100+ pages. 

This book was phenomenal, and, in my opinion, SJM's best book yet! Yes, even better than A Court of Mist and Fury! Crazy, right?

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

XOXO,

Isabella