11 exciting new SFF releases that will blow you away in March
By Lacy Baugher
Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood
Mega-popular YA author Sarah J. Maas is releasing her first adult contemporary fantasy this month, and to call it “highly anticipated” is something of an understatement. Her Throne of Glass and A Court of Roses series are both rightly praised for their fierce, complex heroines; intricate world-building and twisty, surprising plots. So it’s pretty exciting to think about what this series – with its more adult setting and darker story – might turn out to be.
Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood is a sprawling tale, set in the world of Midgard, a world in which humans live as second class citizens under the rule of a group of elite supernaturals, which include everything from Fae and shifters, to angels and witches. It follows a party girl whose life is turned upside down when her best friend is brutally murdered, the Fallen angel who is assigned to investigate her death, and a larger conspiracy involving several other grisly killings, an approaching political summit, and a dangerous killer at large.
The official synopsis describes the major players in the story.
"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."
Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood is available on March 3.