House of Earth and CRESCENT CITY series begins with House of Earth and the story of half-Fae and half-human Bryce Quinlan as she seeks revenge in a contemporary fantasy world of magic, danger, and searing romance. House of Sky and The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt, and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans, the choice becomes stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.
Sarah J. Maas is the #1 bestselling author of the Throne of Glass, Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City series. Her books have sold millions of copies and are published in thirty-eight languages. She lives in New York City with her family.
Loved this series, absolutely RAN thru it on the plane home. Less romance and more world building than the ACOTAR series, but I liked that. Number 3 comes out January 31 and I couldn’t be more excited!
This has been a re-read in time for CC3 and boy am I glad I did it.......there were so many small details I had forgotten and I thoroughly enjoyed reading again 💕
The plot of these is pretty good and I like the world created… I do not like the language or incorporation of sexual content in these adult books. The young adult books by this author do not include these elements and I far prefer that! The adult content just feels unnecessary
Any fantasy by Sarah J. Maas is going to be 5 stars. Her characters are so rich, even when they aren't the main ones you gobble up everything there is. That's all I do now, I'm chasing the Sarah J. Maas high and having a hard time finding anything close.
Welcome to Crescent City, where shifters, fae, angels, witches, sprites, and any other magical creatures that you can think of coexist in relative peace and order.
Bryce Quinlan lost everything 2 years ago when her best friend’s pack was slaughtered, along with her best friend, in their apartment. Now, as she is trying to move on, without much success, she is forced to dive back into those painful memories when she is asked by the governor of the city to team up with Bryce who is a sarcastic and "gorgeous-and-I-know-it" half-human half-fae girl and Hunt is the sexy fallen angel, the ex-general who's now a slave to the republic after leading a failed rebellion , to investigate a murder that seems to have the same signature as her best friend’s. Only, the more they investigate, the more complicated it becomes, as the murders seem to be connected to a theft that happened 2 years prior, and to a new drug that hit the street and could have disastrous repercussions for the city.
The main intrigue is a mix of murder, theft, and a drug-selling scheme to solve, and even though this book is almost 800 pages, it doesn’t drag on. There is action, in last 200 pages. There are also some plot twists and just enough mystery to keep us guessing about the identity of the person behind it all until the end and it honestly kept me at the edge of my seat. I know that some people are sick and tired of Sarah J. Maas's style and I admit that Bryce reminds me of Aelin and her relationship with Hunt is a little similar to Feyre and Rhys's relationship at their beginning or even similar to Aelin and Rowan's relationship , but I still liked it and I really enjoyed reading this book.
House of sky and breath This book takes place a few months after the end of House of Earth and Blood. Bryce is trying to adapt to her new reality as the Princess of Fae, while also trying to work things out with Hunt to build a healthy and serious relationship. Hunt is enjoying his newfound freedom and Ruhn is building back the trust between his sister and him. The friendship developing between the guys in this book is so wholesome! Ruhn, Flynn, Declan, Tharion, Hunt, and even Ithan are becoming a little boy's club. Hypaxia is also more present in this book and I can already see that Bryce and her will make a kickass duo. Everything was fine and normal until they get sucked into a rescue mission involving some rebels and ruthless faes that will not hesitate to destroy them all should their affiliation with rebels be revealed.
The plot is good, full of unexpected twists and shocking revelations though, and the pace is engaging. I was both excited to know what would happen, at the same time, I wanted to take my time and enjoy this book. Conflicted emotions , well detailed plot and character from the first book have a big significance in this book, and I like that there was a deeper connection between the books than simply having the same set of characters embarking on a new adventure.
This might be an unpopular opinion, I was not impressed with Danika’s choices and behavior toward Bryce, and the friendship I admired so much in the first book turned a little sour.The found family is one of my favorite tropes, and I loved every mundane moment with the gang in this book because of this feeling of finally having somewhere to belong and had people who cared about them.
I am a little disappointed though that Aidas was not more present in this book. I believe he has the potential to be a truly complex and interesting morally grey character, but we haven't seen enough of him to really know what he is up to and where he stands in the conflict that is to come.
CC1 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -first hundred pages is like wtf but man it really starts hitting the ground running with mystery, slow burn love interests, who dun its, and banter. FMC is hilarious and sassy, which I love. I also enjoy how strong minded and her urge to preserve is. Male love interest became one of my book bfs but still TBD. Plot twist and then tears for the ending. Loved it soooo much CC2 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -this whole book was pretty much more slow burn (not needed) they shoulda just been together instead of tip toe for 400 pages. Sex scenes were a bit cringey compared to silver flames. The banter in this book is the best though. So hilarious and found family situations. I laughed many times with the dialog between groups. Unfortunately, the plot was just not there for me. It was a whole lot of things happening but leading to nothing for the ending, which was probably what saved the whole book. Last line is a jaw dropper that inevitably makes me need to read CC3
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Where do I start with this review?! I am currently reading the second book and I’m still struggling. It feels like I’m reading a book from a different author. Where’s the author that wrote the throne of glass series?!?! The characters, apart from the Umbra Mortis who’s the only one with some potential, are dull and boring. The swearing and modern day language in this book is next level. The main female character treats everyone like and idiot, including her partner who’s more powerful than she is. Yet, she walks all over him. These book characters can’t even string a sentence together that would be in line with their titles and standing in society. It’s really bad. All I want to do it’s put it aside and never touch this series again. Such a shame coming from an author that wrote great novels before.
Such a long reading journey! That fantasy world is modern like ours but all characters have their own power and experience all struggles like us, love, friendship, betrayal, royalty, honesty, liar, power, authority, etc. I always think we couldn’t express our feelings so bravely like them in the story, our hearts and feelings were already numbed in this fast paced living style, we just ignore or pretend everything is ok, we are ok. But when we read the fantasy story like this book we touched by the true and real thing in our own hearts and minds!
This series is so artfully crafted that I couldn’t put it down. As always, SJM doesn’t disappoint with character development and romance. I was slightly bored at moments in CC2 when there were some filler scenes, but I truthfully enjoyed the multiple POVs in it. Whereas sometimes this approach can be annoying and you want to rush through to get back to the MC, I was fully invested in each storyline.
So torn on how to review these books. I absolutely love the universe and worlds that Maas has created. I will continue reading all that she writes. However, this is my least favorite series... Some of the characters make weird choices not in line with their development. It feels like she forces decisions to make parts of the storyline work.
That said, the twists and turns of her writing always keep me engaged... I just don't enjoy the characters as much in this series.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series as it is fast paced, full of action and a good old mystery. It harder to get your head round than some series at the start due to the amount of chatters and powers that are introduced but once you do you will love it. However. The second book does slow down significantly and it feels like nothing of note really happens till the last 10 or so chapters which did make it harder to love. Still definitely worth the read though!!
Uh-oh we’ve had a crossover event! Don’t look now but I think I’m hooked for life. SJM never disappoints (knock on wood)! This book series has taken the fae and magical universe into the multiverse and I’m here for it. It’s got some parallels to what they’re doing with marvel these days which seems like an infinite well of opportunity. Can’t wait for the next one!
There were so many spoilers online about the universe Sarah J. Maas built around her books. But my brain still couldn't comprehend how far her world building would go! The ending to House of Sky and Breath... I am speechless 😲 Saying I can't wait for the next books to come out is an understatement!
Oh no. Sarah why. I was so excited for a new Sarah j Maas book but why. The relationship is just toxic. Sarah has an issue where she has a strong female character but then puts a buff male to like be her bodyguard or whatever and completely drowns out the girl. Also Sarah has an issue with making such predictable enemies to lovers it’s boring. let a girl have her time to shine Sarah!!!
Interesting setting with the new age world combined with Fae. I didn’t think I could like it and it’s definitely an extra spicy plot which I don’t really love. And Book 1 I struggled understanding all the different people, departments, and hierarchy. I almost wanted an org chart or something.
BUT per usual SJM got me again. Already got the next book on preorder.
I love Bryce Quinlan! I love that this book has a bit of modern tech and feel to it, but we still get those ancient prophecies meddling in people's lives. Super great story, and I had a great time reading it.
I thought I knew where this story was going. I was wrong. Every book gets better. Happy to say I continue to be surprised and delighted by the worlds that Sarah J. Mass weaves fit is us.
The first book is good, a new setting and a compelling murder mystery, but falls into the same problems as Maas other series, ACOTAR, where the magic of 'spice' becomes a plot point. The second book was a drag to get through, and I am DNF'ing this series.
Okay wow. I didn't think it could get any better but it did. The plot twists on this book, the Story lines!! Truly exceptional. Loved every second of it
The first few chapters of book 1 are horrendous. But stick with it. It gets exponentially better. I flew through these books in just a few days. Can’t wait for Book 3!