‘House of Earth and Blood’ by Sarah J. Maas

Okay so there was so much going on with this book!

In summary, I’m just really divided on it which is why its taken me so long to write this.

So I decide to write a pros and cons list. Yes -it has become this dire.

Overall Rating: 3/5 because despite its triggering flaws, it was enjoyable for the most part.

Goodreads Plot Introduction (sorry I’m just very tired and it’s Monday):

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.

Starting with what went well:

- J. Mass involved some of my favourite tropes in slow burn romances, such as the pair being forced together because he’s her Bodyguard. Totally up for that.

· On the theme of romance, I liked the following analogy: “Like they were two of a kind, like she could throw anything at him and he’d catch it.” If you haven’t read this novel, J.Mass is basically saying that Hunt (the love interest) is the first person who can cope with Bryce’s (the main character) strength of character without his sense of masculinity being threatened.

· There was some great comedy throughout which had me laughing out loud.

· We had a ton of surprises and twists that I never would have guessed.

· Bryce is probably my favourite J.Mass heroine I’ve read so far. She’s self sacrificing, violent, and actually independent instead of just annoying in a fake feminist way. Also, she had so much thrown at her and I loved that J.Mass wasn’t afraid to get really dark with it.

· The whole detectives situation reminded me of the show ‘Pretty Little Liars’ in a good way, and the first chapters set up the remainder of the novel well.

· It’s set in a world that’s neither total fantasy nor total paranormal: humans don’t exist, only every supernatural creature you can think of. However, the characters have phones and email and cars. Although this cross over was slightly disorienting to begin with, it ended up working really well!

Things that just didn’t sit so well with me:

· Okay so I love a good trope occasionally, but here we just had too many clichés. Hunt’s trauma reminded me too much of Rhy’s from ACOTAR and Casteel’s from ‘From Blood and Ash’, and Bryce just did not need to be ‘the chosen one’. It was unnecessary. She was already original and morally interesting, and the reveal just flattened her character. And the climax ending felt very similar to the attack on Velaris in ‘A Court of Mist and Fury’.

· Some of the characters’ interactions were cringey-worthy, spoiling moments that were supposed to be dramatic and making them funny in a bad way.

· Although I liked some of the twists and various plot paths, the plot was too convoluted. A new theory was brought up in every other chapter, when I’d barely managed to understand what the last theory was. Sometimes simple is better.

· The slow burn was sometimes so slow that things got boring.

· As much as I loved how things sped up towards the end, all of the characters began acting really out of character in the chaos, and ceased to be believable at points.

· We love a long book when everything remains relevant and gripping , but the 800 pages we got was a little overkill for me.

If you’re looking to find out more about J.Mass (some of her books are OUTSTANDING), click this link: https://sarahjmaas.com