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Web ID: 1177470933 reviewssorted by Newest
Phenomenal
I have felt soooo many emotions while reading this. I wanted to put it down at a couple points because it made me so mad, and then heartbroken, but I made it. This book is beyond good and I cannot stress enough how everyone should absolutely need it.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fantastic start to a 3 book series
I had seen this series recommended on the list put out by the school librarian, asking other teachers what they were reading this summer. When I realized that each book is about 800 pages, I decided not to get an eBook, since that costs about the same as the paperback. So I've been lugging this tome around with me, to a couple of campsites, and reading most days of the week. Why? Because this is a wonderful series! The characters are well-drawn, and the action is non-stop. When we meet Bryce Quinlan, she's a party girl, along with her other 3 friends, each of whom we'll get to know and love as much as she does. She's young still, so the allure of drinking, smoking mirthroot, and having anonymous sex with strangers she meets in bars, is what she lives for. She's a half-Fae, half-human hybrid, raised by her human mother and step-father. She only met her Fae DNA-provider when she was the age to go to the oracle and have her future foretold. Only the oracle starts screaming about being blinded by the light. And it's going to be a while before Bryce finds out why. Bryce had always intended to do her "drop" with her uber-bestie Danika being the one to "spot" her. This is how non-human creatures, called Vanir, claim their immortality, by donating a little of the energy released by their achieving their potential, to the city, which uses it for power, instead of electricity. But when she's out partying one night, alone for a change, her bestie Danika, an alpha-wolf in training, as well as her pack, are brutally murdered. When Bryce gets home to a serious crime scene, the terror and heartbreak of losing so many close friends makes her determined to get to whom-ever was responsible, and punish them. After she's attacked, she's assigned a protector. He's Hunt Athalar, a fallen angel who used to serve as protectors of the archangels who serve the Asteri--6 supreme beings assumed to be gods, with actual stars in their bodies. But he led an uprising centuries ago, and the archangel he loved, who led him into the battle, was killed. They were defeated soundly, and her twin sister was allowed to possess him as her slave. He's known as the Umbra Mortis, which is Latin for shadow of death. He was her mercenary for many years, until she lost him on a bet, and now he's owned by Micah, another ruthless ruler who delights in cruelty, and sends him to do things he'd rather forget he ever did. He has a "halo" tattooed on him, that robs him of access to his full strength, and a bar code on his wrist, identifying him as a slave. At first he sees her only as the vaguely spoiled party girl she portrays to the rest of the world, and she sees him as a monster, because of his reputation. But she--and him--have a lot of growing to do, and enforced familiarity means they do it together. This is just the bare bones of a richly-depicted world filled with marvelous magical creatures, some humans, who are pawns in the games played by those who possess the powers humans don't have. And the romance that begins to grow between Bryce and Hunt grows slowly and realistically, as they both begin to realized they can depend on each other. There is an ending, of sorts, and the stage is set for the next book. Which I started the same day I finished the first one!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Not for me
I've read TOG and ACOTAR. And loved them both. This just wasn't for me and I tried three times to read It. I will also mention I love Urban Fantasy as well. Ive read hundreds of books in all sort of genres. The first couple of chapters throw so much information in that I feel like it had to reread paragraphs. It was hard to follow with names of places and different breeds. So I got through that and then it was constantly throwing in new characters which isn't necessarily bad but there wasn't even a moment where you really got to know any of them and if there was a back story it was vague and confusing and more places were mentioned with no back story. It was just hard to follow and I felt like I never really got to a place to enjoy the world because I was always like, "wait what is that breed again and another new unexplained place someone is from with no backstory" it was a hard read and I DNF for a third time.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
One of my fav's from SJM
House of Earth and Blood is easily one of my favorites of the SJM universe, but it seems to have a relatively bad rap on social media. I'm not sure if it's because Bryce gives off the same "I don't need your help, I can handle it myself" vibes as Nesta? Or if it's because it's set in a more modern world rather than fairy courts? Either way, I enjoyed this one a lot!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Can't believe I like an Urban Fantasy
I'm writing this review about a month after I finished the book so my memory is already getting a little rusty on what exactly I wanted to say, but I will say this: you either like it or you don't. My review isn't going to convince you. However, I did like it - actually I loved it! I'm not normally an urban fantasy girlie because it's hard for me to see how they can be cohesive. It usually takes me out of the story when the MC does something with technology that I would do - like use their phone or computer then use magic or fly. But honestly SJM did a really good job, although I do think I'm a little biased as I've loved everything from her so far. Not sure if I'd be able to read an urban fantasy from another author unless it was stellar - but if you have recs I'm all ears. I will def be reading the rest of this series
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
"My friends are with me and I am not afraid."
Five stars. Ten stars. A million stars. This book is a gem and Sarah J Maas has once again cemented herself as one of my favorite authors. The character energy in House of Earth and Blood is phenomenal. It's my favorite thing. Bryce Quinlan is our resident badass; fierce, fun, intelligent, and wholly herself. She has a past and while it's not an easy one, her strength and endurance remind us all that we are more than what we've lived through. We are not defined by anything or anyone but ourselves. Hunt Athalar may be an angel, not to mention a literal assassin, but he has secrets of his own. He's witty, tense, confident, and haunted all at the same time. His strong personality meets and matches Bryces, or tries to, and their dynamic will leave you speechless. Danika, Bryce's kindred spirit, is the ferocious best friend we all deserve. Ruhn, Crown Prince of the Valbaran Fae, is dark and dreamy. Juniper. Fury. And don't even get me started on Syrinx and Lehabah... This world is big and the beginning of the book is dense with information and history. It is a lot to take in. But as SJM always does, she makes sure we don't get too lost in the knowledge. As the plot progresses and the characters develop, all of the info and history come together to help readers understand what everything all means. Well, as much as possible. Because again, as SJM always does, there's always another secret somewhere waiting to be unearthed. Light it up. Read if you like: Supernatural, tight dresses, solving crimes, sassy assistants, big cities, and best friends. Forever.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Wow!
WOW. I tried to read this once before, but just couldn't get into it. When you start this book, you just get thrown into the world and there are a lot of people thrown at you at once, and I just wasn't a fan. However, knowing what I know about this author and this series, I wanted to try again. And I was into it this time. Some people said that it took them a while to get invested in this story, but that was not the case for me. I was invested by page 75. I cared about these characters and this story. I was not able to guess and figure out the mystery part of the story. The last 200 pages are a whole lot of big reveals with many different twists still left to discover. I actually got to one big twist and wondered to myself, "How are there still 100 pages left?" Man, what a ride this one was! I can't wait to read the second book and see where Hunt and Bryce's story goes next.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
SHE DID IT AGAIN
I was so scared to start this series because the bad things I’d heard were REALLY bad but now I’m convinced I’ll never listen to another bad review of SJM ever again because this book was so good.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com