House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) By Sarah J. Maas [Review]

House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)

RELEASE DATE: March 03, 2020
AUTHOR:
Sarah J. Maas
GENRE:
  New-Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance.
PUBLISHER:
Bloomsbury
SUMMARY: 

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.

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MY REV (Copy)

I’m a S.J. Maas fan and this was one of my top anticipated reads. First of all, the cover art for this book was gorgeous and I really hope the publishers will stick to this theme and don’t replace it with a dull one in the future. Well coming to the book, I can’t say this was my favorite S.J. Maas work, but it was an enjoyable read. It’s an urban fantasy with a mix of paranormal elements. The story was overall entertaining but the length of the book was unnecessaryly long. It’s one of the major drawbacks of this book.

The story begins with Bryce quinlan who’s half fae and half human. She loves partying in the clubs, hooking up with strangers, and hanging out with her three best friends. She works as an antiquities dealer. When one of her best friend Danika who’s a werewolf gets brutally murdered by a demon, she’s  devastated. The case was closed after the accused was sent behind the bars. After two years, when the same murders occurs again Bryce realizes that her friend’s murderer was still alive out there. To help solve the case, she was accompanied by a fallen angel named Hunt Athalar. During their search, many dark secrets are revealed and they believe that things are much bigger than they thought it would be. While fighting their attraction to each other, Bryce and Hunt have to find the killer before it’s too late.

The characters were interesting, but honestly most of them were not memorable enough for me. Each one of them reminded me of characters from the author’s earlier works. The similarities were pretty high. Bryce was introduced as a spoiled party girl, but she’s loyal, fierce, and very protective of her friends and family. I enjoyed her character, but I didn’t like how every male was attracted to her. She’s got beautiful looks and a great bod. On the other hand, we have Hunt Athalor. He’s a broody fallen angel and everyone is pretty much freaked out when he’s near because he’s got this dangerous aura. He’s a morally grey character. He reminded me of Rowan from TOG. The romance was a slow burn. When Hunt was assigned to Bryce, he felt like a baby sitter. They’re both not much fan of their current situation, but they must deal with it. With each day, their daily bickering turns into attraction and it slowly grows into something more. Currently there aren’t any steamy scenes in this book, but I’m pretty certain there’s going to be some in the next one.

The supporting characters were okay, but I can’t connect with any of them. I wish Danika got more page time because it takes time to connect with characters and the author killed her in just few chapters. It’s a little disappointing because most of the book was about Bryce avenging her death. I honestly didn’t feel anything when she was murdered. I enjoyed Ruhn, Bryce half brother and a carbon copy of Dorian from TOG. He’s a fae prince who cares for Bryce unlike his cold father. He always likes to hang out with his three best friend lackeys. Lehab, the fire sprite is one of the characters that I really loved. She’s fierce, innocent, and so much fun. Bryce’s friend Fury Axtar is another character that I really loved. She didn’t get much page time, but I wish she was the main character because when I first heard about Bryce, I was expecting someone like her. She was a total badass. I don’t know what to say about Juniper, Bryce’s other best friend. She’s a fawn dancer and there’s nothing special about her. I also liked Aidas, the white cat demon who helped Bryce. He’s a total mystery and I can’t wait to know more about him. And last but not the least, I enjoyed Jesiba Roga. She’s a powerful witch, and Bryce’s boss.

The plot was definitely interesting, but it dragged in a lot of places. This book was 900 pages long and nothing exciting happens until you reach seventy percent of the book.  Most of the plot focuses on Bryce and Hunt investigating the murder mystery. There are no sex scenes in this book but I hope we don’t get bombarded with them in the next book. I do enjoy few steamy scenes, but I also need more action, plot, and violence. If you’re expecting this to be a fast paced ride then you’ll be disappointed. The author tried to make up for it by throwing lots of surprising twists and turns in the end and they really worked. If it wasn’t for them, I would’ve given this book a less than four stars rating. The author’s writing was great, but the too much swearing was cringy. There’s a lot of F***s in this book. The world building was amazing. It’s a futuristic urban fantasy world with a mix of paranormal and sci-fi elements. It has magical creatures like Angels, fae, werewolves, witches, demons, sprites, merfolk, Vampires etc. The first book was set on Crescent city, and there’s so much more to explore.

Overall, this was an entertaining read filled with mystery, magic, friendship, action, and romance! Although it didn’t make a huge impact on me as ACOTAR, and TOG did, I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.

Recommend it?
YES

I would definitely recommend this book if you’re into Urban Fantasy and paranormal romances.

MY RATING:                                  

4-stars14-stars14-stars1 4-stars1 [4/5 Stars]

So, What do you think of this book? Have you read it yet? Do you Plan to read it?
Please feel free to comment below!

See You In The Next Post and Have a Great Day! 🙂

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue By V.E. Schwab [Review]

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRueRELEASE DATE: October 6th 2020
AUTHOR:
V.E. Schwab
GENRE:
 Adult, Historical Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance.
PUBLISHER:
Tor Books
SUMMARY: 

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. Continue reading

Well Played (Well Met #2) By Jen DeLuca [Review]

Well Played (Well Met, #2)RELEASE DATE: September 23rd 2020
AUTHOR:
Jen Deluca
GENRE:
 Adult, Contemporary, Romance.
PUBLISHER:
Berkley
SUMMARY: 

Stacey is jolted when her friends Simon and Emily get engaged. She knew she was putting her life on hold when she stayed in Willow Creek to care for her sick mother, but it’s been years now, and even though Stacey loves spending her summers pouring drinks and flirting with patrons at the local Renaissance Faire, she wants more out of life. Stacey vows to have her life figured out by the time her friends get hitched at Faire next summer. Maybe she’ll even find The One. Continue reading

Sea of Ruin By Pam Godwin [Review]

Sea of RuinRELEASE DATE: April 28th 2020
AUTHOR: 
Pam Godwin
GENRE:
Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Dark Romance.
PUBLISHER:
Heartbound Media, Inc.
SYNOPSIS:

Bennett Sharp is on the run.
Wanted for piracy, she fears neither God nor death nor man.
Except Priest Farrell.

The unfaithful, stormy-eyed libertine hunts her with terrifying possessiveness. Nothing will stop him from coming for her. Not his unforgivable betrayal. Not when she’s captured by the ice-cold pirate hunter, Lord Ashley Cutler. Continue reading

Mexican Gothic By Silvia Moreno-Garcia [Review]

Mexican GothicRELEASE DATE: June 30th 2020
AUTHOR:
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
GENRE:
Adult, Historical Fantasy, Gothic, Horror.
PUBLISHER:
Del Rey
SYNOPSIS:

After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find – her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Continue reading

You Deserve Each Other By Sarah Hogle [Review]

You Deserve Each Other

RELEASE DATE: April 7th 2020
AUTHOR:
Sarah Hogle
GENRE:
Adult, Contemporary, Romance.
PUBLISHER:
Piatkus
SYNOPSIS:

Meet Naomi and Nicholas: the perfect couple. They never fight! They never disagree! Even their names match! Their glorious, lavish wedding is coming up in only three short months . . . and they are utterly, disgustingly, miserably sick of each other.

But there’s a catch: whoever backs out first will end up bearing the brunt of the wedding bill. Continue reading

Outmatched by Kristen Callihan, Samantha Young [Review]

OutmatchedRELEASE DATE: November 05th 2019
AUTHORS:
Kristen Callihan, Samantha Young
GENRE: 
Adult, Contemporary, Romance.
PUBLISHER:
Samantha Young
SYNOPSIS:

What happens when a boxer finds chemistry with a geek?

Parker Brown can’t believe she needs to hire a fake boyfriend. When she landed her dream job in renewable energy, she thought she’d be entering a world at the forefront of progressive thinking. But the head boss prefers to promote employees who are “settled.” Thankfully, she’s found the perfect candidate, a fellow intellectual looking for some quick cash. 

Continue reading

Would Like to Meet By Rachel Winters [Review]

Would Like to MeetRELEASE DATE: December 3rd 2019
AUTHOR:
Rachel Winters
GENRE: 
Adult, Contemporary, Romance.
PUBLISHER:
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
SYNOPSIS:

After seven years as an assistant, 29-year-old Evie Summers is ready to finally get the promotion she deserves. But now the TV and film agency she’s been running behind the scenes is in trouble, and Evie will lose her job unless she can convince the agency’s biggest and most arrogant client, Ezra Chester, to finish writing the script for a Hollywood romantic comedy. Continue reading

Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicle #3) By Jay Kristoff [Review]

Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicle, #3)RELEASE DATE: September 03, 2019
AUTHOR:
Jay Kristoff
GENRE:
Adult, Fantasy, Action, Magic.
PUBLISHER:
St. Martin’s press
SYNOPSIS:

The Republic of Itreya is in chaos. Mia Corvere has assassinated Cardinal Duomo and rumors of Consul Scaeva’s death ripple through the street of Godsgrave like wildfire. But buried beneath those same streets, deep in the ancient city’s bones, lies a secret that will change the Republic forever.

Mia and her brother Jonnen must journey through the depths of the ancient metropolis. Continue reading

The First Girl Child By Amy Harmon [Review]

The First Girl ChildRELEASE DATE: August 20th 2019 
AUTHOR:
Amy Harmon
GENRE:
     Adult,  Fantasy, Romance.
PUBLISHER: 47North
SUMMARY:

Bayr of Saylok, bastard son of a powerful and jealous chieftain, is haunted by the curse once leveled by his dying mother. Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.

Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk. Continue reading