Through Love All Is Possible

I recently finished reading House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. This is book #1 in the Crescent City series.

*POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* Rating: 4.75/5 stars "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."

Reading HoEaB was slightly jarring and odd with a hard edge, dark vibe, and pacing that goes from low to explosions and thunder. Which is something I love but you might not. No, this was not perfect. And yes, it fell shorter than the revolutionary it could’ve been. Nonetheless, it was a unique masterpiece to me because, of all of SJM’s works, this is the most surreal yet real, casual yet grand, the grittiest and most intriguing.

With a more mature storytelling and a painstakingly-crafted, cruel world in defiance of the fairytal-ish-ness of ACoTaR, House of Earth and Blood sets itself apart from her earlier works, bringing in a detailed urban/high fantasy, and noir atmosphere of mystery, drugs, sex, war, and epicness all in one book, with a refreshing twist on the Chosen One trope while exploring the power of sacrifice and unflinching trust in love.

To be frank with you, this sagacious mammoth of a book is more like an entire series, taking you through a journey so long and eventually satisfying with so much character development that one might say it is too long. And perhaps I first agreed until I realized that I wouldn’t give up a single syllable and lose the characters and world.

Yes, it’s very slow for the first half but, when slow is interesting, it ends up paying off even better than fast-paced as all those tied-up threads snap in the longest, most exquisite climax to have graced my bookshelves. HoEaB has about 200 pages of reveals and beautiful, glorious, touching battles, which is probably 4 times as many as any book. I think it deserves a break for having only twice as much of a slow-paced trying-to-unravel-a-baffling-murder-mystery tale.

In the end, Crescent City had me internally weeping and laughing and clapping and being filled with sheer blinding dread, all within mere paragraphs of one another. Yes, it’s cheesy, but it’s brave and iconic and I appreciated it.

I have one very vital question tho: if this was the 1st book, WHAT CRUSHING EPIC HEL IS GONNA BE THE REST?

Storyline: Three realms make up the capital of the Valbara territory: the mer in the river, the Reapers and the dead upon the misty shores of the Bone Quarter, and the residents of Lunathion proper—all ruled by the seven Heads of the Crescent City aka seven powerful rulers from different species except, ofc, humans, because you bet humans have no power. Which would explain the Ophion rebellion of humans now armed with guns and bombs, currently creating scenes of massacre in the planet’s capital.

Bryce Quinlan, a powerless and completely ordinary half-breed shunned from both sides of society and content to lose herself in her high-on-drugs-and-sex-and-youth lifestyle as a sorceress’s assistant, wants nothing to do with their antics.

Until the leader of the rebels in the city gets released, and then...you know how it goes: people Bryce loves die, the government quickly apprehends the bastard, and all is good.

Fast forward two years, the city rebels have shut the Hel up but people are, again, dying in precisely the same gruesome way. Could it be that the rebels were not responsible for the deaths two years ago? Then, could someone please explain to me, what the heck is going on?

Thankfully, that’s exactly what Bryce, with the help of Hunt Athalar—a once-upon-a-time rebel angel enslaved to the very regime he hoped to overthrow 200 years ago—is assigned to find out. And you bet your ass nothing is as it seems.

I could tell you about the devouring, addictive atmosphere building that captures the urban fantasy mashed up with high fantasy and noir world brilliantly, making use of modernized naming, casual expression-and-slang-filled conversations, deftly written descriptions of drug-addled minds, and generally diving into real and gritty notes on the world—from flashing banners to the inane TV shows.

Or, I could tell you about her no-nonsense storytelling that as usual doesn’t shy away from any part of life—be it a female’s cramps or sex or annoying behaviors in the bedroom or depression or cursing and how considerate she is of everything including qualifications of medical experimentations.

I could even tell you about her easy way with words that paint images straightforward while bursting with the occasional apt turn of phrase, staying more mature than her previous works without any overly poetic and dramatic passages constantly popping up yet still expertly trapping yours and the characters’ emotions to do with them as she wishes.

But I won’t.

Bryce is one of the most unlikely MCs, starting from a place of abandon and looking to find her worth, having a real chip on her shoulder when it comes to males, and getting riled up rather quickly (while sometimes even unprovoked) about feministic matters, being denied a dancing career because of her body type, this curvy party girl brings a more ignored type of characters into the spotlight. With her, SJM comfortably shoulders themes like casual sex and drugs, handling them with such rare ease.

What surprises me most is that, despite her being a self-sacrificing idiot, I grew to adore her. She’s not the stereotypical bore of a brave hero, she’s smart, real, tangible, messed up, and full of flaws. I realize this is Sarah’s preference in leading characters, as is dealing with loss and trauma, apparently, I'm looking at you Feyre, and Aelin. But I’m not complaining because her exploration of these subjects grows with each series, adding something different, something similar—all complementing each other.

Friendship: Danika and Bryce’s bond is probably one of the most beautiful things SJM has written. The sisterly support, the unwavering loyalty, the faith...it just leaps out of the page and grabs you by the throat until you are choking and crying begging for it to stop.

Truth be told, Sarah’s focus on the significance of friendship (even in a romance) above all else and her masterful tackling of its muddy waters is the best thing about all her works.

What word can I use to convey my adoration for this world? Inventive? Fascinating? Layered? House of Earth and Blood takes on inequality in a brutal regime while combining magic and technology in a dazzling manner—with scientists, tourists, blood tests checking one’s power, a system to monitor the vibrations in the world’s magic, and a sword in a cave, SJM has thoughtfully became the architect of her most ingenious world yet.

Magic and technology; I never ceased to be amazed by the balance and contrast of how these two elements were mixed; how naturally it was managed. Not to mention the spin on the traits of angels, changing them from holy, perfect idols to arrogant bastards. And there is, ofc, the usual animalistic Fae, and shifters touch on the usually-known-as serene creatures—some would dislike her focus on their lupine and canine and feline sides, perhaps finding it uncomfortable, but to me, it is refreshing and precise, as it feels more grittily realistic. What are humans but slightly more intelligent animals? And demonstrating how said connection to the wilds would affect these individuals is a sprinkle of accuracy in Maas’s favor.

In Crescent City, Maas is inspired by multiple mythologies and uses the occasional familiar name to make all the foreign and new information less overwhelming while providing a new outlook on their definitions with clever new interpretations. Such as Midgard, originally land of the mortals between Asgard (land of the gods) and Helheim (land of the dead) in Norse mythology, here used as the name of the planet mortals made their lives upon before the godlike magical beings left their worlds and pushed in from the Northern Rift, also hosting the Quiet Realms was the dead dwell.

Midgard is a world divided by power. Literally. There are tests to determine a Vanir’s level of magic, and the one bearing more of it stands higher on the hierarchy (the down to earth ones having a celebrity-like position in the society). And humans, with no power, do not get much credit despite their efforts in guiding the city to technological advancement, having their achievements funded and claimed by rulers who are smart enough not to leave room for their inferior species thriving while they themselves cling to old traditions.

Additionally, as fits the urban fantasy genre, the focus is on the city and its world-building—so while we learn about the system of the planet in general, most of our knowledge and wanderings happen within the confines of Lunathion, a city holding the same nickname as New Orleans, and throwing nudges to it in more than one way.

Altogether, the world of Crescent City is so rich it’s dripping in gems and shadows and drugs, and its exquisite creatures, artfully shaped and accordingly named landscapes, temples of pleasure, and magical libraries with sneaky books could sweep you beneath its dark waves and crush you in the jaws of the horrifying nøkks waiting for your boat to tip.

I am so excited and a little scared to read book #2 because the last 20% of this book had me on edge, and I've been told book #2 is worse. Check out House of Earth and Blood, and dive into SJM's new urban fantasy, taking on all of the hardships with Bryce. But don't forget to read ACOTAR and TOG first! Happy Reading :)