#this review is so long it ran out of space on goodreads lol

[booksneedcaffeinetoo]

Book Review: House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

This review is going to be LITTERED with SPOILERS because idk how to talk about this book without giving away the whole plot.

Consider yourself officially warned. 

I’m still debating on my rating, but for now here is my review. Fair warning: it is rant-y and ramble-y and hasn't been edited yet. I'll clean it up when I come back for a rating.

As always, content warnings are listed at the bottom!

Overall Positives:

• SJM has actually included a few gay characters….now they are all very minor side characters (Isiah, Fury, Juniper, and Declan) who are only present for maybe 3% total of the novel, but at least they exist??? So she gets points for actually having gay characters who aren’t killed off. You can say that she’s making an effort.

• The banter between Bryce and Hunt was pretty funny

• That scene with the knock-off My Little Pony dolls was funny

• I think there might've been a reference in the book to First Aid Kit (the sister folk duo) and it made my heart squeal because I love that band SO MUCH!

• Bryce actually has a great relationship with her mom and her stepfather! And they are both alive! And stay alive! I’m actually struggling to recall a book I’ve read where the main character in the book has a). both parents alive and b). a great relationship with them both. So that was really refreshing!

• Hunt in a sunball cap.

• Bryce and Hunt taking photos together. Way too adorable.

• Ride or die friendship. I love books that emphasize the importance of friendship.

• That LIGHT IT UP DANIKA LIGHT IT UP LIGHT IT UP scene....like i felt that...her happiness. so sweet. i teared up at that scene ngl....

• Pretty good depiction of grief. How even after years the pain of losing your friend doesn’t go away. How some people cut themselves off to cope and others don’t. How some take out their anger on the closest target. How some people remember the dead one’s birthday and other don’t. etc. etc.

• It really was a slow burn because they like didn’t even kiss until 75% into the 3,000 page book.

• Rhun is my favorite character in this book. He’s a goth softie king. I also loved the Demon Cat. And Fury. And Declan. And Flynn. And Isaiah. And Hunt. And Lele. And the dog. And Jesiba. And Randall. And….well….that’s about it….

• I have recently been getting more and more into Urban Fantasy so I am excited and glad that this book is UF. I also like how it takes place in a different world with a different history (although for some reason I went into this book under the impression it takes place in New Orleans…)

Overall Negatives:

• If I ever have to see the word “alphahole” again it will still be too soon. I get that she was going for meta and trying to poke fun at how the trope in so many UF books includes an alphamale love interest….but it just doesn’t really work because none of the guys she was calling an alphahole was actually acting like one??? Okay so this is kind of ramble-y but whatever. When I think of an alphamale love interest acting like a…*shudders*…. alphahole I think of the stereotypical shifter romance/erotica novel where the guy likes wants to punch any guy who stands too close or talks to his mate. I think of him making outrageous claims, always posting a guard, never letting her leave the house, etc. all without any cause. Having a literal demon serial killer who (at this point in the book) you believe RIPPED APART AN ENTIRE PACK OF WEREWOLVES and is killing everyone who is close to working on the same case as you and you are a half-fae who NEVER carries a weapon with you, doesn’t have magic, and no one beside your mom, stepdad, and dead bestie know that you can turn into a flashlight at will…..yeah it makes sense that the people who care about you would like you to have a guard. But that’s not “alphahole” behavior. Nor is when you’re starving yourself from guilt him being concerned and wanting you to eat, or wanting you to try to take care of yourself….that’s not “alphahole” behavior, it’s being a good friend/sibling. If someone wanted a guard on her PRIOR to her investigating the murder than yeah….that would be “alphahole” 100%. But that’s not what happened…one of the highlights of the book was Hunt calling out Bryce by telling her that she is actually the “alphahole” here.

• Fucking sunball = baseball. WHYYYYYY I thought it was soccer for so long until Hunt tossed on a “sunball cap”

• I thought that Violet Hall from Pucked was the most infuriating main character I have read in a long time until I met Bryce fucking Quinnland. It is a pet peeve of mine when a character acts like someone (usually lazy or a partier) and then gets pissed because people think they are how they act??? Like, if you act like an asshole then don’t be shocked if people think you are an asshole. Also she was someone who was terribly selfish and stupidly reckless for no reason for 99% of the book. Yeah she’s ride or die for her friends which is supposed to be her best quality but she is just terribly rude to so many people. Like take Lele for example. Bryce treated her horribly until Hunt was sold again, then was friends with Lele for like a week which someone equated to Lele being willing to die for her???

• Part two of that bullet above^: Why was everyone willing to die for Bryce? Maybe I hate Bryce because she reminds me too much of Jane Salone from The Bold Type with her ‘I’m always right’ attitude. But yeah, everyone is willing to die for her. I don’t get why though. Also everyone wants to fuck her. She can’t walk down the street without like five dudes wanting to fuck her. It was so annoying. Also how the hell has she not died by age 25!?!? There is a different between being bitchy with your algebra teacher versus being bitchy with some guy who could smite you before you blink. And all of them are like ‘oooh she’s not afraid of me like everyone else how charming’ and I’m just like NO. That’s like if I intentionally pissed off some mafia dom and instead of making an example out of me for dissing him in front of his mafia bros, he’s like ‘oooh you’re sassy wanna fuck?’ MAKES NO SENSE!!!

•Part three of the above^: okay before someone comes at me and says ‘well would you be saying the same things if she was a guy doing an acting this way’ well probably. I love the KATE DANIELS (Magic Bites) series. And Kate is a no-nonsense, can come across rude, and gives zero fucks what anyone else thinks about her. Kind of like Bryce, but less bitchy and has the power and skills to back up her recklessness. (No one around Bryce learns of her secret lightbright gift or of her sharpshooting skills until the very end so I am maintaining my ‘she’s reckless’ viewpoint based on everyone around her not knowing of her abilities when she does all of this dumbshit). Kate also is a fucking martyr who runs towards danger even when the odds are against her. Just like Bryce. But I love Kate and hate Bryce. So…yeah I think it was just a Bryce issue. It took until about 41% with the whole phone-Sandriel thing for me to stop finding her insufferable….but I still never really liked her after that...I could stand her for the occasional paragraph or two

• Speaking of martyrs…why is everyone one in this book!?!? NOT EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE A MARTYR!!!

• Another reason I hate Bryce (yes I’m back on that Bryce shit) is because after Hunt broke her heart he immediate thought upon learning who he was going to be sold (back to his old owner who is a sadistic fuck) her thought was good, he deserves it and all he did was break her heart and not want to be a slave anymore and kept something he knew would destroy you (which yeah, keeping that secret furthered his cause but still…) and I just????? Have???? No words???? Like girl you have a RIGHT to be PISSED but jfc that doesn’t equate to TORTURE.

• Ugh and then her whole ‘take me instead’ bullshit was so reminiscent of that Jules and Emma whipping scene from Lady Midnight I almost gagged for the level of cheese and martyr-syndrome 

• Why is everyone described as “brown,” “golden brown,” or “tan”?! It’s like SJM is trying to not make everyone white but doesn’t want to fully commit…

• And was anyone uncomfortable/cringed at the ‘white angel wings are supreme to any wings with color’ bit....

• I hate books where the werewolves can talk outloud in human form. I cringed.

• Why was the calling people by their last name thing not consistent? I’ve read books before where characters flip between using another character’s first and last name, but there is context behind why they choose one or the other: the professional setting, if the person is happy or upset, who is being addressed, etc. But you’ll get Hunt calling Bryce “Bryce” and “Quinnland” within a sentence of each other? And literally every character did stuff like this. It was weird and not consistent at all.

Negatives About the Plot:

• This book really felt like three books in one: Part One (first 12ish%) being the day leading up to the Pack of Devil’s murder. And I do mean like every boring thing that happened. Part Two (the next 66ish%) being the murder investigation. Part Three (the last 22ish%) being where all the action occurred. The book felt like it couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. The summary promised a murder investigation so I was expecting it to be a KATE DANIELS-esque plot. But nothing of true importance really occurred during that investigation. We got some cool flashbacks with Danika, and some sweet moments between Hunt and Bryce…but that’s it. SJM isn’t Brandon with a Stormlight Archives (The Way of Kings) complicated interwoven plot. I think the book as whole would have been better if it was about 300 pages shorter.

• Nothing in the plot of true importance happened until the last 100 pages or so.

• I mean we literally got every single thing that happened during every single day of their investigation…it was….too much detail.

• When I got to 80% like every other chapter felt like the book should end. It could’ve ended on a cliffhanger. Like right after Hunt was found on that boat. But nope….

• Figures. SJM can’t have a main couple unless they both are super special. Did anyone else feel like she just recycled parts of ACOMAF in this book? Hunt: has wings and super special powers. Bryce: absorbs some super-fae juiced up power from a cauldron—er….I mean arch—to get extra powers and become the most super cool and super special fae in all existence because god forbid we have a heroine who isn’t the most physically powerful person ever. I mean, to hell with mental strength. Must be physically magically powerful or you’re no good!

• The only plot points that surprised me were the hunt being at the drug bust (because we got nothing from his povs that he was remotely interested in going back down that revolution road especially after his whole meeting with Briggs…still iffy with this one, because his thoughts in that cell sound like he actually was on board with it until he called it off because the drug is too dangerous but his call to the viper queen said she owed him a favor so…..) and Micah’s weird horn hard-on. Literally nothing else surprised me...

• I really though Reid would play a bigger role considering Bryce used to date him and is fam is responsible for that drug....but nope. The dude is like never even mentioned.

• Ugh...that villain speech. Maybe I'm just like...what's the point? Why not just zap the bitch why do you need to tell her your life story!?!?!

• Also let's be real, Danika's password never would have been allowed to be that simple nor remain unchanged for 2 years. But whatever.

• It’s also pretty cringe that Bryce freed Lele just for her to die…………..

• Why is Jesiba’s shop impenetrable (the building and cameras) until it’s convenient for it not to be…I mean it sounded like nothing could break into her building or the cameras but then… Micah just easily waltzed in there and Declan easily hacked into the security cameras….makes no sense but okayyyyyyy…..

• ....or about how the dog can teleport and undo locks until once again it's convenient for him not to be able to so she can dramatically save the day (look I also have issues with her valuing her pet's life over Lele's in that scene...also isn't the dog supposed to be like terrifying, it could've fought while her and Lele got out. not really sure how the water which delayed him like two seconds helped more than her dog would've....look, i love pets and i don't want him to die but i don't want Lele to die either!)

• Bryce and Hunt literally never have a talk about everything???? Like I get the world almost ended but neither of them had a thought like I know we need to talk about everything that happened on the boat. About if his love for Shahar trumps his love for me. But that can wait… Because those were all fears she had before but now vanished???? I get not wanted to have verbal talk but a thought from Bryce would’ve been nice.

• How can you run, carry a sword, and shoot a gun all at the same time? Still trying to figure out the logistics of that all....

• Why is SJM's adult book the least smutty thing she has written so far!?!?!?!?

• The love saves everyone and everything line is so fucking cheesy I can’t.

My Overall Feelings:

• The book couldn’t choose a plot. Did it want to be a crime book? Did it want to be ACOMAF? Who the fuck knows.

• This would have worked better as a TV series than a book. Especially that scene where Bryce is trying to save the city and everyone is just watching it happen on the jumbo screen at the summit. In book form it was just….weird….and felt disruptive...and someone could've started flying to help out. Plus I like watching shows with characters like Bryce but hate reading books with characters like her if that makes sense...

• Also if the summit is just between the leaders of CC then why did Sadriel have to be there? Why does it happen only every 10 years? Why does it have to take place outside of the city if no other leaders from other places are present?

• Why don’t we get a map of all of the other countries that were mentioned?

• This book was wayyyyyy too long. It would have been much better if it was reduced to 500ish pages instead.

• Also the character’s flip-flopped with their character development way too much. It wasn’t consistent.

• This is definitely one of the better SJM book’s I’ve read, but it won’t be one that I’ll reread. It is too long with too many boring bits in the middle.

• But hey! If you love SJM then you’ll probably love this book…

Content Warnings and Trigger Warnings: restricted eating, self-harm, drug use, alcohol consumption, implied rape, mentions of abusive relationships, suicidal thoughts, depression, emesis, slavery, terrorist attacks, grief, gun violence, death, murder, violence, torture

View all my reviews

[rpoli3]

I’m happy to welcome author Yecheilyah Ysrayl to my blog.

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Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Thank you, Rachel, for having me. My name is Yecheilyah (pronounced e-see-lee-yah) Ysrayl known to most as EC. I’m a native of Chicago and have been writing since I was twelve years old. I’ve been publishing my work now for about ten years. I am passionate about black history which is funny because I was never a history buff in school. But I enjoy reading and learning about the history of my people. I love sitting at the knees of elders and hearing stories of life back before I existed. So naturally, I got into writing about us just the same. Toni Morrison said that if there’s a book that you want to read that hasn’t been written yet then you must write it and that’s exactly what I do, though not always consciously. Poetry also has my heart and I dabble in Sci-Fi as well so don’t be surprised if you see me releasing something about aliens in the future. I try not to be limited.

How long have you been writing for?

I’ve been writing since I was twelve years old, so about eighteen years now.

What is your writing process like?

I’ll admit, I don’t like this question. It always sounds a bit weird to me because I like to keep things simple which means I don’t have much of a process. I sit down and write. The end.

I do write in silence and I try to tune everything out as I am writing the first draft. I think writers must learn the art of ignoring people. Otherwise, it can be difficult to create anything of value as you’re worrying about what people say and what people think. You’ll be constantly changing to fit someone’s opinion or version of what should be. So, my process is to stay to myself until it’s time to get deep into those revisions where I’ll need the assistance of others.

Do you have a writing routine? If so, what’s a typical day like for you?

Awwue Rachel. Is this another “process” question? Lol. OK. Let’s see here. It really depends on what day we’re talking about but on average, I start my day with a good workout. I get up in the morning and I head to the fitness center and it’s the first thing that I do aside from morning prayers and coffee, of course. Working out really helps to get the juices flowing mentally, the energy pumping and I find I have more clarity afterward. This is important to me because I think we forsake the mind a lot and forget that it must be exercised just as much as anything else.  After the workout, it depends on what’s on the calendar. I have this gigantic calendar I keep at my desk as well as notebooks and sticky notes as reminders of what needs to be done. Is there a book I need to finish taking notes on for a review? Is it researching I need to do for a scene? Is there something outside of writing that holds priority? When I sit up on the bed, before I even get up, I usually spend a few moments staring out into space thinking about what I need to do that day with such questions.

What motivates you to write?

I am inspired the most by the people I meet and the books that I read. I love a book that just has you looking at the cover after you’ve read it and wishing there was a movie being made about it so you can see how the characters look in real life, and if they are different from how you imagined them in your head. The kind of book that leaves your mouth hanging open because you can’t understand how to process the fact that this book is over. Like, this is literally it. Those kinds of books get my hype and I want to write a book that is just as engaging. I am also motivated by the people that I meet, lifting them up and inspiring them to aspire for greatness. For me writing does not come from a focus on writing but a focus on living. The desire to educate and motivate others is most inspiring for me.

What was the first thing you did when you found out your book was being published?

I jumped up and down and then ran next door to show my neighbors.

Are you currently working on anything new?

Currently, I am revising Revelation which is book two in The Nora White Story. I am also working on a short inspirational piece called BREATHE. One of the things I am passionate about is motivating others and so this book is something I hope to offer to writers who specifically struggle with stress and low self-esteem, pressure and that beast called doubt. It’s a short project I hope to have out by the close of this year. It won’t have a big launch or anything.

If you weren’t a writer, what would your career be?

An elementary school teacher, hands down. I have worked with children for most of my life. I started with small children at The Louisiana In-Home School Program. I did that for four years. Then my husband and I managed a center in Shreveport for inner-city youth among other things where we tutored children of all ages, from as young as three to as old as seventeen. I did that for another five years. If I wasn’t writing I would definitely be teaching in some capacity.

What is the easiest part of writing for you? What is the hardest part?

The easiest part of writing for me is when I sit down to write that first draft. Not easy as in I snap my fingers and there’s a book but easy in that it’s the most fun part to me when you sit down and you write the story for the first time. Most of what you write at first may not even make it to the book (there are lots of chapters that did not make it to the final copy of Renaissance!) but that’s not what you worry about right then and there so it makes it a most exciting time. On a more serious note, it’s also the time where I am most serious about not letting everyone in because although the first draft, this is also where I feel that I am writing most of my heart. And the heart is important because despite going through so many changes later, the heart can never change. If it’s there it can never change. It can never be edited or critiqued or omitted. Because if the heart is there, the manuscript has its heartbeat and can live. That said, the fun part is just writing and being me as I write.

The hardest part is everything else! Lol. It’s the revising of the novel and making sure the plot makes sense enough to consider actually publishing. It’s the hustle for reviews later and market, promote, and so on. That’s the most challenge part for me, everything after the first draft. It’s challenging because I’m a shy person and to sell books it’s not like you can really stand in the background. So, I find myself doing a lot of what I am not comfortable doing. I’m not complaining because that’s where the growth is, outside that comfort zone. It’s challenging though.

What’s one thing you learned through writing that you wish you knew before you started?

Oh, Rachel. You really trying to have your readers here all day now. To keep it brief, I really wish I knew more about dialogue tags, head-hopping, and interior formatting before I started.

What is your favorite book or genre? Is there a special book that made you realize you wanted to write?

My favorite book since sixth grade is Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. This book made me want to write Literary Fiction. Not just this book but all the others. Let the Circle Be Unbroken, The Road to Memphis. I mean, her collection was life for me as a girl and I still have Roll of Thunder on my bookshelf today. It’s a little beat up but I have it. I may just order the others for the sake of it. Native Son by Richard Wright also changed my life.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Read a lot, write a lot, and stay disciplined. Reading will keep that fire in you to create stories of your own. Discipline will force you to write them. Inspiration is great. Motivation is cool, but these aren’t constant. They don’t last. No one feels inspired or motivated forever. But if you have discipline and endurance then you can force yourself to do what needs to be done consistently enough to achieve your goals.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Thank you, Rachel, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to pencil me in. Thanks to everyone reading this for the likes and shares. And if anyone would be interested in learning more about me and my work, I would be humbled if you could sign-up for my email list HERE to keep in touch. Thanks again.

About the Author

Yecheilyah Ysrayl is an Independent Author, Blogger, Poet, and Book Reviewer and writes Historical Fiction / African American Literature and poetry. Renaissance: The Nora White Story (Book One) is her ninth work and is due for release Saturday, July 15, 2017. A native of Chicago, she now resides in Shreveport, LA with her husband where she writes and blogs full time.

Connect with Yecheilyah

Website | Amazon | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Linkedin

Buy Her Books

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Between Slavery and Freedom 

Beyond the Colored Line

The Road to Freedom – Joseph’s Story 

Pearls Before Swine

Womanhood Don’t Begin in Menstrual Cycles (poetry)

From When I was a Black Girl (poetry)

Meet Yecheilyah Ysrayl, Author I'm happy to welcome author Yecheilyah Ysrayl to my blog. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.