REVIEW: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Mass

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Mass: Take a breath and plow through the first muddy, menu-like chapters with firm reading boots on, because once you are on the other side, and have your fantasy head on, House of Earth and Blood is a roller coaster of all things awesome.

Bryce Quinlan is everything you could imagine a true hero to be; stubborn, sassy, intelligent, loyal, and yet, incredibly broken to the point where ‘anti-hero’ is at times a more fitting description. We garner drips of insight into her backstory as the narrative progresses, sometimes in bursts, through photos, through sentimental items, and yet the whole time feel there is no way in Hel you would want to live in Bryce Quinlan’s shoes working for a shady antiques dealer aka sorcerer, or face the things she has faced. But at no point is there self-pity or entitlement. Without a shadow of a doubt, Bryce calls to anyone who has faced horror and continues anyway, anyone who is broken by guilt and self-doubt, yet gets up and keeps going. Her resilience is what’s needed in contemporary female characters, and Mass hands it out in spades.

Hunt, likewise is richly drawn, to the point where even his darkest moments are incredibly redeeming, justified poetically by the situation he has created for himself, again without self-pity or blame. And there is just something incredibly sexy about a man who takes full responsibility for the predicaments he finds himself in.

But, in truth, it is love and vulnerability that hums from every page of this book that keeps the pages turning at rapid rates, despite and in-spite of the grim scenes of charred bones and flesh dripping. Crafty tension management enables three key climaxes to be built and whilst this only swayed off course twice (ending in some book throwing), it’s the metaphors, hints, riddles and social class commentary that wraps you up in a gentle heart beat based on key cornerstones of the human-condition.

You’ll find yourself rushing to the end, snorting with laughter and anticipating some dashes of raunch to find a perfect resolution that only whets the taste for what’s to come from Crescent City.

Book Info:

Publication: March 3 2020 | Bloomsbury Publishing | Crescent City

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.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.