House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1), and the world's longest story setup

When the page count for this book was revealed, my first thought was, Seriously? Even as an avid Sarah J Maas fan, the idea starting a series with an 800-odd page novel seemed a bit cocky to me. With majority of stories averaging between 300-400 words, especially for their opening gambit, something twice that length has the potential to put off readers, especially those new to SJM's writing. Damn, it nearly put me off!

Determined to give it a chance, and curious to see what's all this talk about it being New Adult (which, let's be honest, much of the later book in Maas' others series have been), I got over the intimidating page count and picked up House of Earth and Blood.

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Instantly, the setting is completely different from the medieval-ish vibe of the author's other works. This novel is set in a fantasy urban world, where modern way of life and technology intertwines with literature's most extensive selection of fantasy races. It almost feels like Sarah combed through a mythology wiki and pulled out every single creature she found fascinating.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for exploring different nooks of mythology, but with so many jumbled up in the mix, my head hurt just trying to wrap my head around the basic setting. Add to that an impressively elaborate world map (complete with fantasy names that all sound interchangeable), and it's no wonder the book is so thick - a good 30% of it is world-building.

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In terms of the New Adult genre, the biggest difference that's immediately apparent is all the swearing. There was a good chunk of it I thought was completely unnecessary, and that's coming from a person who swears a lot. We get it SJM, all your main characters are super hardcore and rebellious. Yet somehow you managed to convey the same about Celaena in Throne of Glass without this level of profanity.

And speaking of sassy protagonists, now is as good a time as any to mention I absolutely hated the main character for the first half of the book. To the extent that this, more than the convoluted world-building, nearly pushed me to DNF the novel a couple of times. It was only the actual plot and mystery that kept me going.

Bryce Quinlan, bad bitch extraordinaire, is rather insufferable to begin with. The typical sass of Sarah's heroines is undoubtedly there, but along with it is an attitude that toes the line between petulant trust fund kid and sex-crazed drug addict. (Let the record show, I am a big supporter of sex positivity, what I take issue with is Bryce's unhealthy reasons behind seeking out the lifestyle.)

Her wholesome relationship with best friend Danica is her only redeeming quality until about the halfway point when Miss Quinlan actually drops the 'party princess' act, replacing it with genuine emotion and caring about others. There's something to be said about character growth I suppose, but with a book this chunky the unpleasant stage drags on a bit too long.

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Looking at the rest of House of Earth and Blood's cast, it's immediately apparent that writing this story as a passion project in between her other novels has lead to SJM plagiarising herself when it comes to characters. If you haven't read anything else from Maas' portfolio, feel free to move on to the next section. Avid fans, join me in dissecting the similarities between our favourites from ACOTAR and TOG.

First off, Sarah has basically split Rhys into Hunt and Ruhn. Hunt starts off as broody, and traumatised by a war which he lost, leading to him being enslaved by an evil powerful lady. Ruhn, on the other hand, has Fey magic that grants him the power to govern shadows and startlight, along with exerting some form of mind control. Oh, and they both have an entourage to match if not the entire Court of Dreams then definitely Cassian and Azriel.

Ruhn's crush on the medwitch is also reminiscent of not one, but two pairings in the TOG series - Dorian and Sorscha, and Chaol and Yrene. Except this lady turns out to be a literal queen, rendering him speechless and getting. shit. done. It's definitely a superior power dynamic than the other two, and I'm intrigued to see where this romance goes. (Much more so than Bryce and Hunt.)

Danica is very reminiscent of Manon (TOG) in her badassery and butt kicking prowess; both leaders of their groups, both lethal on the outside but a mushy core. Fury is an only vaguely reskinned version of Amren (ACOTAR), right down to the unearthly aura and murderous vibes. Tharion is basically flirty Helion, but instead of being a sassy bisexual Fey, he's a sassy merman.

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The absolute best part of the mythological menageries Mass has created in House of Earth and Blood are the messenger otters. I repeat, OTTERS! They are even cuter than regular internet otters, equipped with yellow vests and little messenger bags for the important correspondence they're charged with delivering. It's by far the most wholesome part of the book and Bryce's reaction to their existence (identical to my own) is what finally endeared her to me.

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I'm pleased to report that the plot, at least, works well enough as a standalone. It would have been incredibly frustrating if SJM didn't bother to wrap up at least some of the billion plot threads we come across. Luckily, most of the key conflicts get resolved, and you can happily put the book down without carrying on with the series or feeling a lack of closure.

Meanwhile, Maas also does a decent job of leaving plot doors open for the next instalment, with aspects of the story clearly meant to be a series arch. There's angelic conflict, prophecies, witchy politics and more. I'm sure Sarah's got a lot of mind-blowing twists up her sleeve. Will I read Crescent City #2? It depends massively on the synopsis.

3.5/5 stars