Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas: A Book Review
Genre: Fantasy
Maas tells the story of a girl who, after losing everything, works to find her vengeance. A coming-of-age story, Crescent City focuses on Bryce, a half-human girl, who’s world seems to be continuously crashing down. Focusing on her grief and pain, Maas showcases the effect of losing everyone close to you as Bryce still struggles to function even years later. Of course, Maas gives her the chance to find/get vengeance while continuing the story of Bryce finding herself even while the world seems to work against her.
While a rocky start, Crescent City made up for it by offering a brilliant second half. Filled with twists and turns that are then explained to show the clues set in place, secrets fill the pages showing that Maas has mastered the art of writing in between the lines. The beauty of it, however, is how much everything makes sense even when the reader’s world crumbles just as Bryce’s. While some twists seemed confusing at first, the explanation done either through a character explaining themselves or through the narrator (e.g. giving words to Bryce’s inside turmoil as she works through what happened), allowed all the twists to be sensible. Even more, the twists were not done for the sake of surprising the reader, but rather each moved the story forward while also creating a empathy for Bryce.
Would I recommend?
I would recommend to teenagers definitely especially those that are Twilight fans or those who favor the underdog. Fantasy fans who like a hint of romance and forbidden love would also enjoy this story. New adults would find some of the story interesting as well, but may find other parts impractical. Regardless, I think people who are not fans of fantasy would not enjoy this book. While the storyline may interest them, the writing style and plot points are not suitable for those beginning to read fantasy leading them to struggle to stay connected to both the story and the characters.
| Plot: | 10/10 |
| Characters: | 7/10 |
| Writing: | 8/10 |
| Editor: | 10/10 |
| Total: | 35/40 |
Title: Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Edition: Hardcover
Published: March 3, 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 9781635574043
If you want to get it: Amazon; Barnes&Noble
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