Through Love, All Things are Possible - House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
- Raven Sharada
- Apr 3, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 5, 2022
I started reading Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas on March 23, 2022, and finished on April 1, 2022. I chose it because I have sooooo many Sarah J. Maas books on my list, and with funds being a little tight right now, I went for the highest pages-to-dollars ratio. I was originally planning to start A Court of Thorns and Roses next, but Crescent City had almost twice as many pages and cost the same.
This novel series, which will be at least three books according to Maas (https://www.npr.org/2020/03/15/815828865/book-crescent-city), is a high-urban-fantasy murder mystery with so many twists and turns I couldn't keep track of them all.
The World
World building is an important part of any high fantasy novel, whether it takes place in an urban setting or in a more rustic setting. The Crescent City series takes place in, you guessed it, Crescent City, also called Lunathion. Borrowing from Norse mythology, Maas builds a world of multiple planets, cities, and races of beings. You have humans, who are very near the bottom of the totem pole (or, if we want to be correct about how totem poles work, the top - check out this podcast if you're curious to know more!), Fae, demons, witches, Malakhim (aka angels), and the ruling Asteri.
The society in which the novel is set is modeled somewhat on the ancient Roman senate format - the motto of the Republic is Sentatus Populusque Midgard, Midgard being the planet on which Crescent City rests. This mirrors the Roman motto Senatus Populusque Romanus, the People's Republic of Rome. The Senate, however, is a thinly veiled tyranny perpetrated by the Asteri; slavery and discrimination are rampant, and torture is an accepted pastime if you are of high enough rank.
Initial Reaction
Having finished this book approximately 10 minutes ago (if that), I must say my initial reaction is somewhat mixed. On one hand, I enjoyed the murder-mystery-detective type plot, and the characters were interesting and sometimes very funny. The world was intricate and detailed, but confusing. There are some characters that I'm still not sure what 'class' or 'race' they belonged to.
The plot had many twists and turns, which made it interesting to read but a bit hard to follow. There was so much back and forth between suspects and murderers that it became difficult to keep track of whether we still thought this person had anything to do with it or if we had ruled them out or what.
On the other hand, the story presents a deep theme along the lines of "Love Conquers All," without being too terribly cliché about it. Some of the romantic moments are a little bit cheesy, but I don't mind a little cheese!
The Characters
The main protagonist of the novel is Bryce Quinlan, a half-human-half-Fae female in her mid-twenties. At the beginning of the novel, she's something of a party girl, without much direction in her life. She works for a somewhat shady antiquities dealer and lives with her roomate Danika Fendyr, a wolf shapeshifter and Alpha of the Pack of Devils. She seems to live to party, going with friends to clubs and bars. One night, thought, she gets a bit more than she bargained for when she took some lightseeker and mirthroot and probably other drugs as well, and a terrible event changes the course of her life.
*Time skip to avoid spoilers!*
Two years after that incident (which I will not describe because you should go read the book) Bryce gets tagged to work on a murder investigation with Hunt Athalar, a notorious Fallen Angel in the employ of the Governor of Crescent City, Archangel Micah. Hunt is known as the Umbra Mortis; the Shadow of Death. He acts as the Governor's personal assassin. He is actually enslaved by the Governor, having participated in a failed rebellion over two hundred years ago. In a typical "enemies to lovers" thing, Bryce and Hunt initially hate each other and do not want to work together at all. However, as they work the case and get to know one another better, romance blossoms.
This is the slowest of slow burn romances. There were so many points where I wanted to scream at the book JUST KISS ALREADY! The suspense and anticipation were totally worth it in the end though.
There are a lot of characters in this book, which I won't go into right now because otherwise I'd be writing you a short treatise on who is related to whom and who belongs to what race. I'll be putting up a short blog in the next few days on how I track characters in high fantasy, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
What's Important?
Usually when I try to decide what the most important part of any given book is, I choose plot or character development, because that's what I enjoy reading about most and what I tend to notice in a book. This one, though it has good world building and characters, did not stand out to me in those respects. The most important thing to me was the theme: Through love, all is possible. This is a phrase peppered throughout the novel, though most notably it is tattooed on both Bryce's and Danika's backs. This theme drives the romantic subplot of the novel as well as the actual conclusion and climax of the overall plot, but I can't tell you about it because that would be an absolute bombshell of a spoiler and I won't do that to you.
Rating
I give Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood 3 out of 5 stars. It's definitely worth taking the time to read all 800 pages of it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it - but it falls short of the world building in The Priory of the Orange Tree and the stunning characters in The Song of Achilles, the first two books I read for this challenge.
This book is very much NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ANYONE UNDER 16, and maybe even 18 if you're sensitive about what your kid reads. It is very spicy, to the point that I was somewhat uncomfortable reading it in the presence of others, particularly my mother (Hi, Mom). There is also a lot of vulgar language, which I personally love, but not everyone feels that way!
Favourite Quotes
Something I've been really enjoying doing for the books I read (or listen to) is to keep track of some of my favourite quotes. I chose them because they made me laugh, or they helped me to understand a character, or they made me cry, or all three.
Beyond this point you will find vulgar language. Read at your own risk!
"What's the point of being immortal badasses if we have sagging tits?" - Bryce and Danika discussing when to make "the Drop," which, if they survive, would grant them immortality.
"The Archangel was gorgeous. Horrifically, indecently gorgeous." -Describing Archangel Micah
"Charming as Hel and lethal as fuck. It should have been the Flynn family motto." - Describing a Fae friend of Bryce's
"Bryce smiled slightly. With lines like that, Athalar was in danger of becoming one of her favorite people." - Bryce on Hunt's sass levels (this is early on in the book)
"Honestly, Hunt would have liken nothing more than to grab some popcorn and a beer, kick back in a chair, and watch her verbally fillet these assholes." - Hunt on Bryce's sass levels.
"And? They're sparkly and squishy." -Bryce, despite her "I'm a badass and I care about no one and nothing" attitude, has a collection of unicorn stuffies. Hunt finds them in her closet looking for soap, and it's one of the moments where I relate to Bryce the most, and they start to open up to one another.
"It smelled like paradise. Like home and eternity and like exactly where he was meant to be." -Hunt awakens from a particularly bad night, Bryce having taken care of him, to her scent in his bed (not like that, you perv) - and it's one of the first times we start to see the feelings between them grow into something more than "hey, you're hot."
"That's the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it all might vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious." -This was pretty deep so I marked it off. I love finding quotes that, even out of context, sound like inspirational posters or something.
"...the most powerful force in the world. The most powerful force in any realm...what brings loyalty beyond death, undimming despite the years. What remains unwavering in the face of hopelessness...through love, all is possible." - The last bit says it all. Love is the most powerful and terrifying force you can find, in this world or any other, even when they're made up (or perhaps especially when they're made up).
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