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

4.0

It's hard to review this because I'm not sure what I would think if it was written by someone other than my favorite, Sarah J. Maas. I had such *HUGE* expectations. And it was OK. The main character wasn't that likable, and that was my biggest issue with 800 pages about her survival. She was perfect in every way, and also not very nice. I can get behind an underdog that's learned to be mean to survive or who has this as part of a character arch. But a gorgeous, perfect dancer loved by every male in the book? She's required to be nicer than this party-girl Bryce. Also, Maas's other books have steamier scenes for her love stories. This was marketed for adults, so I was surprised that this was a really slow burn and it led to a kiss and nothing more. (And the second book has different characters, so I don't think she was waiting for book 2 for this couple. Weird.) Finally-- it was WAY TOO LONG! I know she's a successful author, but she still needs to be edited. In fact, if this book was 400 pages my criticisms may not have mattered at all. Still excited to read book 2 of CC, but this series will be #3 after my #1 ACOTAR and #2 TOG.