BOOK REVIEW | Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood

Sarah J Maas

799 Pages

5/5 Stars

Bryce Quinlan used to light up Crescent City, partying all night in the clubs where the strict classes of angel, shifter, human and Fae merge into a sea of beautiful bodies. 

And then a demon murdered her closest friends. 

Two years later, when the supposed killer is behind bars but the crimes start up again, the city's leaders command Bryce to help investigate. They assign an enslaved fallen angel, Hunt Alathar, to make sure she does. But as Bryce fights to uncover the truth - and resist her attraction to the brooding angel who shadows her every step - she finds herself following a trail that leads deep into her own dark past. 

"Through love, all is possible."

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood is Sarah J Maas' first adult fantasy novel and let me tell you, it was a huge success. It was a compelling, exciting, intense entry into a new series and I loved every page of it. I honestly couldn't stop reading and at the same time, I didn't want it to end. It follows the story of Bryce, Hunt and friends (third person) as they work to solve the mystery surrounding a series of murders. 

One of the most commonly talked about aspects of this book, is the pacing. This book is what I would refer to as a beast - it is almost eight hundred pages - and the pace changes quite drastically throughout the book. The first two hundred pages of Crescent City are quite fast paced, followed by significantly slower paced four hundred pages (which I think is quite nice because it allows the reader to  settle into the mystery solving and absorb more the world). The last two hundred pages are a wild ride - extremely fast paced, revelation after revelation and just incredible. 

The writing of Crescent City, is very different to the writing in Maas' other series, Throne of Glass and ACOTAR, largely due to the fact that it is an adult novel, it's an urban fantasy, the time period and characters are so different. I really feel that writing for adults might be Maas' calling; it just feels so right. The way she addresses cursing, sex, drugs, partying and drinking is really realistic compared to the Society we live in today. The world building was was insane; it was so rich and full and I thought Maas did a great job of creating a complex, urban fantasy world. 

Bryce is now one of my favourite main characters. I love her. She's a confident, sassy, curvy, redheaded, take no shit kind of girl and I was here for it. I really liked how unapologetic she is for being herself and doing what she wants to do. I loved how much she cared for the greater good and fought for it. I adored how hard and fierce she loved other people. Her character growth throughout the book was amazing and I can't wait to see where she goes in the sequel. 

Hunt is a bit of a stickler at the beginning, but over the course of the book he endears himself to the reader and I ended up really liking him. He's funny, soft-hearted and kind. I really enjoyed the friends to lovers romance that developed over the course of the book; it grew naturally and they felt so right for each other. If Hunt and Bryce aren't endgame, then I will riot. 

The last thing I want to mention in this review is the emphasis on friendship throughout the book - in particular the friendship between Bryce and Danika. Their relationship was so well written and when I realised how much they loved each other and the strength of their friendship, it broke me. It was so nice to read about a friendship that was just pure love, trust and mutual admiration for each other. The one thing that really made this book for me was that it was their friendship, not Hunt and Bryce's relationship, not Bryce's fighting skills and determination (although they certainly helped), that saved the city. 

“That's the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious.”

Overall, this book is definitely one of my favourite book's of 2020. Everything was just written so well and the ending was satisfying; everything tied up so nicely. I really, really loved it and I can't wait for the sequel. 

Have any of you read Crescent City? If you have let me know what you thought of Bryce's story in the comments below. As always, thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next post.