House of Earth and Blood

Crescent City The House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas
Book 1 in the Crescent City series

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Where do I even begin! I am already feeling the effects of the hangover that this book has left me in! First of all thank you to @bee for peer pressuring/forcing me to give this book another shot. I started this book two times before and must not have been in the right frame of mind so this was my 3rd attempt. When I tell you that I don't know why I didn't keep on reading before, I literally have no clue! This book was everything! I held my breath, I cried, and I smiled following the journey of these characters. Both the male and female MC have been through immense trauma, like unfathomable pain, that they like to keep buried deep down inside. The things Bryce (the female MC) has experienced in the events of this book literally hurt my heart. It was truly gut wrenching at times. Hunt is another dreamy winged male that SJM has me wanting more of. This book truly had it all. Slow burn romance, amazing world building, a mystery to be solved, amazing banter- all the things! The world building is slow in the beginning but, once things happen later in the book, you see why it had to be that way. There is so much groundwork that is laid for the world, and I feel like book 2 will be more fast paced. There's so many different types of characters. I felt that this was definitely SJMs most inclusive book that I've read so far. I'd classify this as adult fantasy 18+ for themes discussed and language. While there's not any actual sex scenes in this book, there's still some spice. Check trigger warnings prior to reading as always! I am like jonesing for book 2 so bad I need it to be here already! I can't wait to see what happens next for Bryce and Hunt and the world of Crescent City!