House of Earth and Blood

4.25 stars.

As soon as I read the first sample page of this volume with the list of the houses and creatures, I decided I was in and I bought myself a copy. I have seen so many negative review though, that I was wondering if I did the right thing, but I decided to give it a chance anyway and I must confess that I was positively surprised by this volume. The book follows mostly Bryce's and Hunt's points of view.
Bryce is half-Fae, half-human, while Hunt is an enslaved fallen angel. Bryce's best friend, Danika, was killed at the beginning of the book and then Bryce and Hunt have to collaborate to investigate her death. Even if the book is set in a fictional world, Midgard, it has an Urban Fantasy feeling, due to contemporary setting and the presence of modern technology. It has also a small reminiscence of Rome, something I found in the Nevernight trilogy by Jay Kristoff, but less strong here, through for example, the Comitium, the Governors, but as I said, it was minimal.

The Lore
The reason I bought myself a copy at once was the lore and I was happy to stay in this world for quite some time (since the book has eight hundred pages!). In Midgard all the creatures you can imagine of exist and they have an affiliation of their own (e.g. House of Earth and Blood include shifters, witches, ordinary animals and many others). The book doesn't explain in detail each type of creature, but rather focuses on the affiliations of the main and secondary characters. On the other hand, 800 pages are justified to develop characters, plot and the lore as well. Information about the lore is given piece by piece, as soon as something new was introduced. However, for the first 90 pages, I struggled to keep up with all the information. There were names mentioned, places, and so on and it was too much to follow who was this and that, but afterwards, it got better and I could gradually put the pieces together.

Characters
Bryce is very immature, stubborn and impulsive. Her impulsiveness leads her to do often stupid things. This is why I could not sympathise with her nor could like her. On the other hand, she could also be funny or had some bright ideas. Here is a quote.

“Any ideas?”“Promise me you won't go ballistic.”“Summoning a demon is a bad fucking idea.”

I liked Hunt, as well. He is less explosive than Bryce. However, what I found very annoying is the repetition every few lines about how much he is physically attracted to Bryce and her attributes. I am fine with such statements, since the author has to express the attraction somehow, but it was just too much and irritating. Also, another aspect that I did not like is the language: there were too many “fucking”. Again, it is ok if a character uses because he/she becomes emotional, but if you abuse it, it loses its value and becomes just unnecessary and annoying.Overall, I liked them together and I liked the fact that their relationship developed gradually, first becoming a friendship and then started to have feelings for each other.A special mention goes to Syrinx, the chimera, and Lehabah, a fire sprite: the cutest and sweetest companions ever. PlotThe plot is mostly focused on the investigation. It develops very slowly and by that I mean that before page 500 we do not have any revelation and before page 600 nothing big happens. However, I did not mind it. I enjoyed the slow pace because it gave me the time to enjoy the lore and the development of the relationships between characters, not only between Bryce and Hunt, but also between Bryce and her brother Ruhn. On the other hand, when the revelations come, it's a hit. First, because we get everything in such a short time that it's hard to digest and secondly because I did not see any hint. The last 200 pages are high-adrenaline finale and I had the impression that the ending was somehow rushed especially compared to how the plot developed for the first two thirds, but it felt like everything was put into the right place. Conclusion and future expectationsOverall, I enjoyed this book a lot and I spent a great time in Midgard, even though I found some aspects a bit annoying, so to say. What I hope for the next books is that Bryce will grow and become more mature. After I have seen other reviews, I hope that no heartbreak between Bryce and Hunt will happen. I also hope that we get the chance to meet new characters from other factions as well and hopefully a cross-verse between this world and the worlds of Sarah's previous series. Last, but not least, for the next book it would be great if we get a character list with their affiliation and briefly what they did in book 1.