A review by inkdrinkermal
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I stayed up until 2:30 reading this because the last 200 pages were wild and I could not put it down and the epilogue has my head spinning and I am very ready for the next book

The good: I loved the characters, all the twists, the slow burn romance, and the setting. The satisfaction of the climax and denouement was perfection. That epilogue has me jonesing to start the next book immediately 

The bad: it was really effing long and when I think back to the beginning of the book I can't believe it was the same book. Speaking of the beginning, there was a LOT thrown out that I had a difficult time following (names, places, fantasy species, customs, etc). Most of it ended up being okay that I couldn't keep track of, but the end of the book relied a bit on a knowledge of the layout of the city and that was not something I had retained

The ugly: I CANNOT BELIEVE SJM HAS WITHHELD FOR THIS ENTIRE BOOK, AND I KNOW ITS GOING TO TAKE A WHILE TO GET WHAT I WANT FROM THE SECOND BOOK JFC