House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
First Line: There was a wolf at the gallery door.
Summary: Bryce Quinlan appears to be the epitome of party girl. She dates frequently, dances, drinks and takes drugs. But then one night her best friend and her pack of wolves are slaughtered in their apartment. Bryce is determined to avenge their deaths. During her investigations she is thrown together with a fallen angel, Hunt Athalar. As they look deeper into the darker side of Crescent City they find that there is a threat that may bring down everything.
My Thoughts: Sarah J. Maas is an excellent creator of fantasy worlds. She builds these elaborate worlds with creatures of all kinds. This book took three tries to get past chapter three but it wasn’t because it was bad. There is just so much! This is a modern day fantasy with all the creatures like angels, werewolves, pixies, fae and more. It took me time to get it all straight and finally get going in the plot.
But once I did I was in for anything Maas threw at me. I liked the characters, the plot was fast paced, and there were lots of twists. She writes minor characters so well. They are always fun and give the story some heart and laughs. And her heroines are always kicking butt while being snarky. If you liked her other stories then you will definitely enjoy this one too!
The paragraphs above were from my first time reading The House of Earth and Blood. I have now reread it as I complete the trilogy and prepare for the new books in The Court of Thorns and Roses series. Looking back at this review I have a few additional thoughts. First of all is that I did not like it as much the second time through. I just was not a fan of the modern fantasy part. Cellphones, guns and parts of our modern world just did not seem to fit with the normal Maas worlds.
While her writing is still excellent and has some great characters I just do not care about them as much as her others. But I knew I needed to complete this series because there is a tie in with characters in the Court series. House of Flame and Shadow (book 3) crosses the universes and is the most recent book in her fae world building. I am hoping that by finishing this series along with the reread of the Court series will bring me right up to the events of A Court of Splintered Harmony (releasing on October 27, 2026).
These new books have been one of my most anticipated reads for several years! I am so excited to get my hands on them in just a few weeks!
