House of Earth & Blood (Crescent City Book 1)

by Sarah J Mass (Sample Chapters)

WOW!! This book is so down my street. I haven’t read any book that has captured my imagination and interest as much as this book has in a very long time. The last time I felt so excited by a series in this genre, was when I read Kim Harrison’s The Hollow’s series. The only thing that disappointed me was that I have to wait until the book is published like everyone else, to find out what happens.

I really can’t wait to get my hands on this book! I’m so impressed with what I have read so far that I have just pre-ordered the Hardback and Kindle editions as this is a book that just has to be shown off on my book case. I could also rave all day about what I have read so far and I have had to add Sarah J Mass’ other books to my Goodreads TBR list.

Bryce Quinlan is half human half fae. She lives with her best friend Danika Fendyr a wolf shifter in the Crescent City formally known as Lunathion. She works in an antiques gallery, while Danika is an alpha wolf and her job is securing the safety of the city with her pack. They also have two other friends that they met at CCU (Crescent City University), Fury who it turns out was actually undercover when they met. She is an assassin for hire apart from that they don’t know much about her work. Then lastly there is sweet Juniper the faun, who defied the odds and became a ballet dancer as ballet dancers are usually Fae, Nymph’s and Sylphs. When the girls get together on a night out they know only how to party hard.

Today though wasn’t a good day as Danika, had been informed that Philip Briggs a human who is hell bent on causing a human rebellion. Has been released from prison on a technicality. They also know that with him being released that he will have it in for Danika and her pack as they are the ones to have caught and imprisoned him.

Danika turns up at Bryce’s place of work, needing to use the facilities there as she needs to get a quick shower and a change of clothes as she has a council meeting. Bryce’s boss isn’t happy about Danika using her gallery as a base but Dankia keeps saying that the gallery is so central to her job. When Danika is ready Bryce leaves the gallery with her, as she is trying to find any leads she can about a relic that has recently been stolen. On parting ways Danika tells Bryce to be careful and that they’ll see each other at home after work.

When Bryce finally gets home form work, she can hear the noise coming from the flat she shares with Danika and she realises that it’s Thursday. As Thursday night was pack night. Danika never missed pack night as this is what makes the bond between herself and her pack stronger. But as Bryce entered the flat all she wants to do was cosy up in her room with a good book. Until one of the pack members reminds her that she has a date with her human boyfriend. So within a short space of time Bryce showers and gets ready. When she exits her room the pack notice that she hasn’t spent anytime getting ready and that she has’t put on any makeup, which indicates to them all that she isn’t really interested in her date.

When she has arrived at the expensive restaurant, that she can’t even afford to buy a drink in. She orders two glasses of water and a bottle of wine, by the time she has finished the glasses of water and has nearly finished the bottle of wine 45 minutes have past. She is starting to worry that her boyfriend isn’t going to turn up. When he eventually does turn up he hardly takes any notice of Bryce as he’s still working on his phone. So fed up of having to wait so long and then to be ignored Bryce orders another bottle of wine. When the bottle of wine arrives she grabs it and tells her date that she’s leaving him and just walks out of the restaurant.

Once outside she calls Fury and Juniper and organises to meet them at the club as she just knows she can’t go home yet she wants and needs to party and go wild and dance the night away. After drinking, taking drugs and dancing the night away Bryce struggles to get back in to her apartment block, she knows that she can’t make lots of noise or even ring the buzzer to gain access so she struggles with the lock and then she struggles walking up the stairs to the flat.

Even in her drunken and drugged state Bryce knows something is wrong and once she get to the front door of the flat, she realises something is very very wrong. The door is open and she can smell something. On entering the flat the furniture is in disarray and broken, walking over to her bedroom the door is off its hinges and there is Danika on her bed dead, along with her pack. They have all been shredded to bits.

What happens next I don’t know and I can’t wait to find out, the sample chapters have left us at a cliff hanger. So needless to say I can’t wait for the book to land on my doorstep, so I can find out what happens.

Pages: 816, Publication Date: 3 March 2020, My Rating: