One of the effects of being home now is I’m reading much more. I’m also just taking the time to catch up on my favorite urban fantasy series where I had not read the last one or two installments. While I was on the internet forum where I chat with other fans, I noticed a new hot topic for a new release. I have discovered some of my favorite series from the little flaming file folder icon. This time it led me to Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas.
Crescent City is the beginning of a new series by Ms. Maas. Her third and first away from the young adult series she had written previously. I had not read those. House of Earth and Blood was the first I have read from her. One of the things I enjoy most about urban fantasy is it wraps up the hard-boiled detective novel in fantastical doings. This is a mystery of tracking down a serial killer who may or may not be supernatural. In a place where such things exist.
Sarah J. Maas
Our protagonist is Bryce Quinlan who is the prototypical half-human half-something magical. In her case she is half-Fae. When we meet her at the beginning, she is out to have fun with her friends. Until one night they get killed. Bryce believes it is a demon who did it. Yet there is a man who was arrested and convicted for the murders. Two years later the murders start happening again. Bryce still suffering from losing her best friends goes after the killer. Along the way she meets her crime solving partner; fallen angel Hunt Athalar. There is the typical romantic tension, but Ms. Maas finds some nice ways to keep it fresh.
This is a very long book for this genre clocking in at almost 800 pages. That Ms. Maas doesn’t make that length seem like filler is testament to her skill. This is an excellent beginning to what I hope is a long-lasting series. Besides our central pair there are many parts of Crescent City I would like to explore in the future. Ms. Maas has at least two more books planned. I’ll be there waiting for those when they are published.
Disclosure: This review is based on a copy I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
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