House of Earth and Blood is the first book the in the Crescent City series. I had put off starting this series because of how long each book is (800 pages!!) and I had heard that it was really dense. Truthfully, I’m not sure if it’s because I expected worse but it was not bad. I wouldn’t say that it’s any more dense that ACOTAR with characters and details. While I’m not sure if I would ace a trivia night for this series I was able to follow the story with no issues.

This is definitely one of the longest books I’ve ever read and I enjoyed every second of it. Urban fantasy and mystery are not normally my forte but this was amazing. I’m not only in awe of the extensive world and character and politics SJM has imagined but also expertly weaved together in an amazing story. I could not put this down!

I read this during some days that I had off due to icy weather which really worked out because I was hooked. It’s one of those books that I could not stop thinking about and just had to know what happens. Not only is this story captivating because of the writing, characters, and mystery- it also tackles big topics such as grief and addiction. Bryce’s grief for losing her best friends is the heart of this story. It explores how grief takes a long time to heal from and it is not a linear process. There’s one line in particular that really stuck out to me that I highlighted:

“No one gets a medal for suffering the most.” page 239

Bryce struggles with feeling happy and getting a physical injury she got from the night that her best friend died because she doesn’t feel she deserves to be pain free and doesn’t want to forget what happened. Even though this is something that causes her extreme daily physical pain and to have a limp. Hunt encourages her that her physical pain does not make what happened to her best friend okay or even out the injustice. It’s a common feeling that feel like if you feel happiness then you are somehow dishonoring the tragedy that happened. Hunt supports Bryce in honoring the memories of her friends by remembering them but also taking care of herself like they would have wanted.

I loved this book and can’t wait to finish House of Sky and Breath and the soon approaching release of House of Flame and Shadow!