#059: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re kicking off Crescent City House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas—and BUNCHIES… we were not prepared.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

We meet Bryce Quinlan: party girl, art dealer, and absolute IT girl of Crescent City—living her best life alongside her ride-or-die, Danika Fendyr.

And then… everything is ripped away.

What starts as a lush, chaotic world filled with Houses, angels, Fae politics, and ancient power quickly turns DARK when a brutal, inhuman massacre wipes out Danika and the entire Pack of Devils in a single night. And Bryce? She comes face-to-face with the horror that did it.

From there, we spiral into grief, mystery, and a city that feels anything but safe.

Enter Hunt Athalar—Umbra Mortis, enslaved assassin, and walking weapon—assigned to watch Bryce as a new murder surfaces… identical to Danika’s.

Coincidence? Absolutely not.

Now Bryce is pulled into an investigation she never asked for, forced to confront the truth about that night, Danika’s secrets, and the chilling reality that the killer never stopped hunting.

We’re breaking down the emotional devastation, the insane world-building, Bryce and Hunt’s tension-filled dynamic, and all the early clues (because you KNOW SJM is planting seeds).

Because one thing is clear already:

This wasn’t random.
And it’s far from over.

Let’s get into it, Bunchies!