Covert art for Sarah J. Maas's first Crescent City boook, House of Earth and Blood

Just How Spicy Is Sarah J. Maas’s ‘Crescent City’ Series?

How spicy is Crescent City? We talking red pepper? Jalapeño? Habanero? Ghost Pepper!? Hotter than these Hot Ones episodes? Hotter than Gambit in a crop top? Impossible. But Crescent City is welcome to try.

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What is Crescent City about?

It’s about a half-fae/half-human girl named Bryce Quinlan who just wants to hang out and party. Then her best friend gets killed by a demon, but the real murder victim here was the vibe. What is Bryce gonna do now? The party is totally ruined. Hunt Athalar might have some ideas. He’s a fallen angel tasked by his Archangel masters to solve the crime. He’s also super cute. Bryce and Hunt have to team up to hunt down the demon who is living somewhere in Crescent City, and maybe get a little entangled in each other along the way.

So is it spicy or must I go elsewhere?

A young half magical protagonist? A hot bad boy angel? A deadly murder? Drama? Tension? Intrigue? Of COURSE this book is gonna get spicy. Like the best of spicy foods, the burn is slow. It’ll sneak up on ya. But believe me, it’s there. Just be patient. While the first book in the series isn’t all that hot, the second book turns it up a notch. It’s a little bit lighter than gold standard high fantasy faerie smut A Court of Thrones and Roses, but it’ll take you there. Don’t believe me? Take it up with Reddit. There’s a whole page dedicated to discussing the spice levels of Crescent City. Just beware of spoilers, unless you’re into that sort of thing.

(Featured Image: Bloomsbury Publishing)


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Jack Doyle
Jack Doyle (they/them) is actually nine choirs of biblically accurate angels crammed into one pair of $10 overalls. They have been writing articles for nerds on the internet for less than a year now. They really like anime. Like... REALLY like it. Like you know those annoying little kids that will only eat hotdogs and chicken fingers? They're like that... but with anime. It's starting to get sad.