Yep. Still riding the Maas train all the way to the station, I guess. This is the first book in the Crescent City series and it has all of the crazy world-building, will they won’t they, and wing-ed love interests that make a Maas book a Maas book.
Whew. I really, really thought I was going to give up on this one until about 1/4 of the way in. Since this is an 800 page doorstop of a book, that was a good 200 pages of me thinking “I’m not sure I like this one.” Like her A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series, it is heavy with character development (and a lot of characters to develop) and pretty extensive world building. My hope was that all of that groundwork would lead to a satisfying pay off at the end. I’m a weeping sucker for an epic journey where I gradually fall in love with a Scooby gang of characters.
What I hadn’t expected was the contemporary feel here. All of the action takes place in what I assume is another universe and waaaaayyyyy into the future. I can’t remember exactly, but the year has more than four digits so you get the idea. Unlike the ACOTAR series, it’s a modern story rather than something taking place in an ancient old timey fairy realm situation. Think metropolitan 20 somethings living their best lives in a melting pot of Fae, humans, shapeshifters and archangels.
Bryce is half-human, half-fae in a society where pure bloodlines rule. Struggling to make her way in the world, she relies on her strong friendship with Danika, a werewolf from a line of powerful shapeshifters. When a terrible incident occurs, Bryce is left to pick up the pieces on her own. The Governor, archangel Micah, drafts her to help solve the mystery of what has happened and assigns a fallen angel to be her backup. I know I’m being vague about the “incident” and “mystery” but I don’t want to spoil it.
My biggest gripe? This book needs some editing. It really didn’t need to be THIS long. I also tend to find these books very frustrating in the beginning because Maas dumps you right into the deep end. Throwing out names and places and the whole zeitgeist of a world with little explanation is her thing. I admire her for letting the reader figure it out as they go, but it is a little taxing at first. Once I got into the rhythm of it and sank into the character development, I was hooked.
