Synopsis

Bound by blood.
Tempted by desire.
Unleashed by destiny.Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.

Review

6 stars

I don’t care if there is only five stars I give it six because the ending was amazing!!!!

THIS, this proves that Sarah J Maas is indeed a master at her art!

Crescent City was, alongside Chain of Gold and Burning Aurora my most awaited book of  2020.

I didn’t read it immediately though as the book was a mammoth of 800 pages and I had to read other ARCs first.

First impression:

OK, that’s weird. We are in a world with modern conveniences like phones and cars , skyscrapers too. Yet Crescent City’s architecture also holds temples and marble places.

We haven angels, fallen angels, shifters, witches, wraiths, fae…

The contrast between cars crowding the streets at rush hours while witches flew just above on their brooms and angels towered up, up everything was disconcerting in the beginning.

I don’t know why but I got a “Star Wars” cities vibe sans spaceships nor Dart Vader. 😊

But that world is amazingly built. And I did not expect anything else from Sarah J Maas! From the different supe species to the hierarchy going through political problems and the favorite clubs, everything was detailed to let you SEE that world.

Second impression:

I loved Danika. I was ready to have another amazing female friendship and we did, sort of!

What happened early on shocked me as I did not expect this at all!

Third impression:

Bryce being half fae and a total party girl was not how I expected my main female character to be! Taking drugs and alcohol, hooking up with strangers in bars etc was so not my idea of Sarah’s heroine.

BUT

Everything changed after that shocking and traumatizing event!

Bryce was nearly unrecognizable in her sobriety if not for her snark and sarcasm.

Bryce is someone who has been mocked and overlooked by every supernatural being in this world except for her badass shifter friend Danika. The casts ideas and disdain of super natural beings for humans or half humans is going strong in that book and is a major theme: how the high and mighty angels oppress the other side of the planet.

But she grew a tough skin and is showing her middle finger at every supernatural mocking her or trying to bully her.

Even the archangel Mica or the Autumn Fae king and his heir are not spared.

Without any notable power, Bryce has her pride and will be mocked by no one! She also knows how to fight and fire a gun!

No surprise when she was paired with the Umbra Mortis, feared assassin of the Governor,  Hunt Athalar that she mocked the authority of the male. She made very clear that she was not afraid by Hunt and would not bow nor cower.

It was gleeful to see Bryce play the vapid party girl, prioritizing her appointment at the nail salon over their mission.

Or so it seemed.

Because all along Bryce kept surprising me! By her loyalty. By her kindness and selflessness. By her protectiveness. By her intelligence. By her dedication. She had a wolf’s heart!

I loved that she had no super power yet still faced monsters and dangers head first! It reminded me of Kestrel in The Winner’s Curse who was no gifted warrior but has a mind so sharp it was her best weapon!

And I had a wicked smile plastered on my face when I saw how she made Athalar run after her and not the opposite! The male was lost. And he soon lost the stick he had in his behind LOL. Bryce sarcasm and banter was priceless! And that left the male stunned so many time! 😊

“An alpha-what?”

“Alphahole. Possessive and aggressive.” She waved a hand at his bare torso. “You know – you males who rip your shirt off at the slightest provocation, who know how to kill people in twenty different ways, who have females falling over themselves to be with you; and when you finally bang one, you go full-on mating-frenzy with her, refusing to let another male look at or talk to her; deciding what and when she needs to eat, what she should wear, when she sees her friends –“

“What the f@ck are you talking about?”

“Your favorite hobbies are brooding, fighting and roaring; you’ve perfected about thirty different type of snarls and growls; you’ve got a cabal of hot friends, and the moment one of you mates, the others fall like dominoes, too, and gods help when you all start having babies –“

 

Bryce was also traumatized by what happened two years ago. We get PTSD topic here. She went through a very bad place.

“She said very quietly, “I need to find who did this, Hunt.”

He met her raw, aching stare. “I know.”

“No,” she said hoarsely. “You don’t. I don’t care what Micah’s motives are- if I don’t find this fucking person, it’s going to eat me alive.””

Hunt was a drool worthy hero.

My favorite type: tall, handsome, powerful, very broody and traumatized.  But I confess that at one point in the book I was so disappointed by what he did! As much as Bryce was in shock too! I just wanted to throttle him!

Not only did I love the world building and the two main characters but as usual, Sarah J Maas gives us a collection of very interesting side characters! Many I wouldn’t mind having a story where they are the main characters!

Cherry on top, the investigation to find “who did it” was engrossing! We got clues here and there but also dead ends that made us backtrack. Shocking revelations to. And an even more shocking truth by the end.

What made me give six stars instead of five was the grand finale!

Some won’t like a heroine going all “Kill Bill” and escaping death countless times, kind of like Aelin did, but I gobbled it up like chocolate! Because yes I love kickass heroines. It’s empowering and I just wanted to shout “Go, go, go girl!”.

Recommend it? Totally! Just give it some time for you to get settled in but then ….you’ll be in for a treat!

Have you read it already? What did you think of it? Think of any book whose ending left you breathless?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie