House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have recently become a fan of Sarah J. Maas’ books and was curious about this more adult-oriented story. I loved it, but let me first touch on what I didn’t like as much. I thought that profanity, however appropriate to the characters and the situations was used in excess. There is no need for that frequency of f-bombs in any story, in fact I think it kind of dilutes the power of the word when used only sporadically. Maas was able to deliver equally powerful and intense scenes in her more YA-targeted books with much less profanity. Her sex scenes (which admittedly are not frequent in this book) are also a bit jarring and crass. But these are all personal preferences.
That said, the story was amazing. I had a little trouble in the beginning because the two main characters are not exactly likable at first. But don’t give up on them. There are many layers to Bryce and her angel and I really enjoyed the development of their relationship from one of extreme hostility to love. The mystery was great and kept the readers on their toes and holy crap! I love when the author can surprise me. And Maas definitely did that. It’s raw, intense, and extremely touching and humane at times. The cast of side characters is fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more about them too. Highly recommend, just don’t listen to it in public, lol.
Author Natalina Reis 