History YMMV / CrescentCity

* BrokenBase: Over whether or not Bryce is supposed to be a woman of color and/or of mixed ethnicity (beyond her being [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human, half-fae]]). Some people point to the fact she's described as having "gold-dusted" skin and a few readers have even criticized fanart depicting her as white as "whitewashing", but others point out that Creator/SarahJMaas has previously used "golden" to describe tanned white characters (including Bryce's half-brother Ruhn in the same series) so it's hardly definitive proof. Bryce is said to get her red hair and amber eyes from her father, but there's no mention of his skin tone or ethnicity (muddying things a little is that her father isn't human); her human mother is stated to have dark hair and dark eyes with no comment on her skin color or ethnicity either, so overall it's rather vague. Some readers feel that if Bryce really is intended to be a woman of color or biracial, then the text really needs to be clearer on that matter (especially considering Maas' previous track record regarding POC characters has been controversial to say the least).

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Hunt Athalar is divisive amongst fans, especially regarding his role as one half of the OfficialCouple. Some readers find Hunt dull and less dynamic compared to Creator/SarahJMaas' previous love interests (especially [[Literature/ThroneOfGlass Rowan]] and [[Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses Rhysand]]) and find his romance with Bryce to be comparatively watered-down and lacking in passion (a few readers have said they wouldn't mind Hunt so much if he ''wasn't'' Bryce's love interest). Other readers find Hunt to be just as interesting and enjoyable as his predecessors, liking that he's a bit different from the typical morally-gray bad boy. Some readers also like that he and Bryce's relationship is more sweet and down-to-earth rather than filled with angst and melodrama; some even prefer their romance because it's less problematic compared to some of Maas' other romances[[note]]namely, Bryce is an adult in her mid-20s rather than a recently-traumatized teenager and Hunt hasn't been violent, sexually aggressive and/or manipulative towards Bryce; the same cannot be said for some previous love interests[[/note]]. A third group say they struggle to get invested in Hunt because they expect him to be revealed as a RomanticFalseLead, which Maas had made a habit of in previous stories.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Hunt Athalar is divisive amongst fans, especially regarding his role as one half of the OfficialCouple. Some readers find Hunt dull and less dynamic compared to Creator/SarahJMaas' previous love interests (especially [[Literature/ThroneOfGlass Rowan]] and [[Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses Rhysand]]) and find his romance with Bryce to be comparatively watered-down and lacking in passion (a few readers have said they wouldn't mind Hunt so much if he ''wasn't'' Bryce's love interest). Other readers find Hunt to be just as interesting and enjoyable as his predecessors, liking that he's a bit different from the typical morally-gray bad boy. Some readers also like that he and Bryce's relationship is more a sweet and down-to-earth rather than filled with angst and melodrama; some even prefer their romance because it's less problematic compared to some of Maas' other romances (namely, Bryce is an adult in her mid-20s rather than a recently-traumatized teenager and Hunt hasn't been violent, sexually aggressive and/or manipulative towards Bryce; the same cannot be said for some previous love interests). A third group say they struggle to get invested in Hunt because they expect him to be revealed as a RomanticFalseLead, which Maas had made a habit of in previous stories.

* JustHereForGodzilla: A lot of ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'' fans read the trilogy and especially the third book because of the crossover with ACOTAR, which was also heavily featured in Bloomsbury's marketing for ''House of Flame and Shadow''. Some fans were subsequently disappointed and felt duped by the marketing given that the ACOTAR sections are relegated only to the start of the third book and don't have much relevance to the overall plot, as they'd been anticipating more of an ''Avengers''-style crossover

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Hunt Athalar tends to be divisive amongst fans, especially regarding his role as one half of the OfficialCouple. Some readers dislike Hunt due to finding him dull and less dynamic compared to Creator/SarahJMaas' previous love interests (especially [[Literature/ThroneOfGlass Rowan]] and [[Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses Rhysand]]) and find his romance with Bryce to be comparatively watered-down and lacking in passion (a few readers have even said they wouldn't mind Hunt so much if he ''wasn't'' Bryce's love interest). Other readers find Hunt to be just as interesting and enjoyable as his predecessors, liking that he's a bit different from the typical morally-gray bad boy. Some readers also like that his relationship with Bryce is more sweet and down-to-earth rather than filled with angst and melodrama, with some preferring the Bryce/Hunt romance because it's less problematic compared to some of Maas' other romances (namely, Bryce is an adult in her mid-20s rather than a recently-traumatized teenager and Hunt hasn't been violent, sexually aggressive and/or manipulative towards Bryce; the same cannot be said for some previous love interests). A third group say they struggle to get invested in Hunt because they expect him to be revealed as a RomanticFalseLead, which Maas had made a habit of in previous stories.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Hunt Athalar tends to be divisive amongst fans, especially regarding his role as one half of the OfficialCouple. Some readers dislike Hunt due to finding him dull and less dynamic compared to Creator/SarahJMaas' previous love interests (especially [[Literature/ThroneOfGlass Rowan]] and [[Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses Rhysand]]) and find his romance with Bryce to be comparatively watered-down and lacking in passion (a few readers have even said they wouldn't mind Hunt so much if he ''wasn't'' Bryce's love interest). Other readers find Hunt to be just as interesting and enjoyable as his predecessors, liking that he's a bit different from the typical morally-gray bad boy. Some readers also like that his relationship with Bryce is more sweet and down-to-earth rather than filled with angst and melodrama; some have stated they prefer the Bryce/Hunt romance because it's less problematic compared to some of Maas' other romances (namely, when they get together Bryce is an adult in her mid-20s rather than a recently-traumatized teenager and Hunt hasn't been violent, sexually aggressive and/or manipulative towards Bryce; the same cannot be said for some previous love interests). A third group say they struggle to get invested in Hunt because they expect him to be revealed as a RomanticFalseLead, which Maas has made a habit of in previous stories.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Hunt Athalar tends to be divisive amongst fans, especially regarding his role as one half of the OfficialCouple. Some readers dislike Hunt due to finding him dull and less dynamic compared to Creator/SarahJMaas' previous love interests (especially [[Literature/ThroneOfGlass Rowan]] and [[Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses Rhysand]]), and find his romance with Bryce to be comparatively watered-down and lacking in fire and passion (a few readers have even said they wouldn't mind Hunt so much if he ''wasn't'' Bryce's love interest). Other readers find Hunt to be just as interesting and enjoyable as predecessors, liking that he's a bit different from the typical morally-gray bad boy the heroine isn't sure she can trust. Some readers also like that his relationship with Bryce is more sweet and down-to-earth rather than filled with angst and melodrama; some have stated they prefer the Bryce/Hunt romance because it's less problematic compared to some of Maas' other romances (namely, when they get together Bryce is an adult in her mid-20s rather than a recently-traumatized teenager and Hunt hasn't been violent, sexually aggressive and/or manipulative towards Bryce; the same cannot be said for some previous love interests). A third group say they struggle to get invested in Hunt because they expect him to be revealed as a RomanticFalseLead, which Maas has made a habit of in previous stories.

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: A criticism from some readers is that this series recycles a ''lot'' of tropes, plotlines and character types from Sarah J. Maas' other books. To wit, the main heroine is a sassy and beautiful young woman who is connected to fairy royalty and has rare, super-powerful magical abilities. Her love interest is a handsome, brooding man centuries older than her, who angsts about being forced to do bad things for a villain and has been enslaved by an evil queen. The two are forced to work together and trade insults while growing increasingly attracted to one another, and the plot largely concerns a quest for a magical item the villain wants. All of this was present in both ''Throne of Glass'' and ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'', with some readers joking the only thing missing is the heroine's love interest being replaced midway through.

* BrokenBase: Over whether or not Bryce is supposed to be a woman of color and/or of mixed ethnicity (beyond her being [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human, half-fae]]). Some people point to the fact she's described as having "gold-dusted" skin and a few readers have even criticized fanart depicting her as white as "whitewashing", but others point out that Maas has previously used "golden" to describe tanned white characters (including Bryce's half-brother Ruhn in the same series) so it's hardly definitive proof. Bryce is said to get her red hair and amber eyes from her father, but there's no mention of his skin tone or ethnicity (muddying things a little is that her father isn't human); her human mother is stated to have dark hair and dark eyes with no comment on her skin color or ethnicity either, so overall it's rather vague. Some readers feel that if Bryce really is intended to be a woman of color or mixed ethnicity, then the text really needs to be clearer on that matter (especially considering Maas' previous track record regarding POC characters has been controversial to say the least).
* ContinuityLockOut: For a ''different'' Sarah J. Maas series. The end of ''House of Sky and Breath'' features the main characters [[spoiler:meeting up with the Inner Circle, who are the protagonists of ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'']]. Unless you read the ACOTAR series (or at the very least read ''A Court of Mist and Fury'') or at bare minimum used the internet to familiarize yourself with the main cast, you'll probably be clueless as to who these people are and why this is significant.
* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: A criticism from some readers is that this series recycles a ''lot'' of tropes, plotlines and character types from Sarah J Maas' other books. To wit, the main heroine is a sassy and beautiful young woman who is connected to fairy royalty and has rare, super-powerful magical abilities. Her love interest is a handsome, brooding man centuries older than her, who angsts about being forced to do bad things for a villain and has been enslaved by an evil queen. The two are forced to work together and trade insults while growing increasingly attracted to one another, and the plot largely concerns a quest for a magical item the villain wants. All of this was present in both ''Throne of Glass'' and ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'', with some readers joking the only thing missing is the heroine's love interest being replaced midway through.

* UnexpectedCharacter: Many readers were surprised by the protagonists meeting up with [[spoiler:the Inner Circle]] at the end of ''House of Sky and Breath''. While Sarah J Maas has previously made references to her other series in her works, and Rhysand and Feyre had cameo appearances in ''Kingdom of Ash'' (Aelin likewise had a tiny cameo in the corresponding scene in ''A Court of Silver Flames''), this was the first time there had been such a major crossover between the casts of two of Maas' series, with their interactions indicating this isn't just going to be a mere cameo.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Creator/SarahJMaas has received some criticism over the fact the heroines of her previous two series (''Literature/ThroneOfGlass'' and ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'') are both described as very thin, blue-eyed blondes. Bryce bucks the trend a bit; she's described as a curvy redhead with amber eyes (her eye color is due to [[SupernaturalGoldEyes her fae heritage]]). That said, there is still some debate around her appearance, namely over whether she's intended to be AmbiguouslyBrown; most of Maas' main characters, including Celaena/Aelin and Feyre, are explicitly depicted as white, while Bryce is described as having "golden" skin.

* ContinuityLockOut: For a ''different'' Sarah J. Maas series. The end of ''House of Sky and Breath'' features the main characters [[spoiler:meeting up with the Inner Circle, who are the protagonists of ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'']]. Unless you read the ACOTAR series (or at the very least read ''A Court of Mist and Fury'') or at at bare minimum used the internet to familiarize yourself with the main cast, you'll probably be clueless as to who these people are and why this is significant.

* ContinuityLockOut: For a ''different'' Sarah J. Maas series. The end of ''House of Sky and Breath'' features the main characters [[spoiler:meeting up with the Inner Circle, who are the protagonists of ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'']]. Unless you read ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'' or at least familiarized yourself with the main cast, you'll probably be clueless as to who these people are and why this is significant.

* BrokenBase: Over whether or not Bryce is supposed to be a woman of color and/or of mixed ethnicity (beyond her being [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human, half-fae]]). Some people point to the fact she's described as having "gold-dusted" skin and a few readers have even criticized fanart depicting her as white as "whitewashing", but others point out that Maas has previously used "golden" to describe tanned white characters (including Bryce's half-brother Ruhn in the same series) so it's hardly definitive proof. Bryce is said to get her red hair and amber eyes from her father, but there's no mention of his skin tone; her human mother is stated to have dark hair and dark eyes with no comment on her skin color either, so overall it's rather vague. Some readers feel that if Bryce really is intended to be a woman of color or mixed ethnicity, then the text really needs to be clearer on that matter (especially considering Maas' previous track record regarding POC characters has been controversial to say the least).

* BrokenBase: Over whether or not Bryce is supposed to be person of color or of mixed ethnicity. Some people point to the fact she’s described as having "gold-dusted" skin and a few readers have even criticized fanart depicting her as white as "whitewashing", but others point out that Maas has previously used "golden" to describe tanned white characters (including Bryce's half-brother Ruhn in the same series) so it's hardly definitive proof. Bryce is said to get her red hair and amber eyes from her father, but there's no mention of his skin tone; her human mother is stated to have dark hair and dark eyes with no comment on her skin color either, so overall it's rather vague. Some readers feel that if Bryce really is intended to be a woman of color or mixed ethnicity, then the text really needs to be clearer on that matter (especially considering Maas' previous track record regarding POC characters has been controversial to say the least).

* BrokenBase: Over whether or not Bryce is supposed to be person of color or of mixed ethnicity. Some people point to the fact she’s described as having "gold-dusted" skin and few readers have even criticized fanart depicting her as white as "whitewashing", but others point out that Maas has previously used "golden" to describe tanned white characters (including Bryce's half-brother Ruhn in the same series) so it's hardly definitive proof. Bryce is said to get her red hair and amber eyes from her father, but there's no mention of his skin tone; her human mother is stated to have dark hair and dark eyes with no comment on her skin color either, so overall it's rather vague. Some readers feel that if Bryce really is intended to be a woman of color or mixed ethnicity, then the text really needs to be clearer on that matter (especially considering Maas' previous track record regarding POC characters has been controversial to say the least).

* SlowPacedBeginning: A recurring criticism from readers is that the first third of ''House of Earth and Blood'' (or even the first ''half'' according to some reviews) is extremely slow and plodding, with little progress being made regarding the central mystery for around 300 pages. The [[ProlongedPrologue prologue itself]] is 90 pages long and little happens there save for a serious amount of {{InfoDump}}ing regarding the setting and backstory, and establishing Danika's character...who gets murdered by the end of the prologue, thus leading to the ''actual'' main plot. And then there's a two-year {{time skip}} where Bryce apparently did nothing but sink into a drunken HeroicBSOD before the story picks up again with more murders resembling Danika's, which makes some wonder why it doesn't begin ''here'' instead. It's widely agreed things improve by the third and fourth parts, but considering ''House of Earth and Blood'' is a whopping {{Doorstopper}} 816 pages long]], it can be a challenge for some readers to get through the first section.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Sarah J Maas has received some criticism over the fact the heroines of her previous two series (''Throne of Glass'' and ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'') are both described as very thin, blue-eyed blondes. Bryce bucks the trend a bit; she's described as a curvy redhead with amber eyes (her eye color is due to [[SupernaturalGoldEyes her fae heritage]]). That said, there is still some debate around her appearance, namely over whether she's intended to be AmbiguouslyBrown; most of Maas' main characters, including Celaena/Aelin and Feyre, are explicitly depicted as white, while Bryce is described as having "golden" skin.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Sarah J Maas has received some criticism over the fact the heroines of her previous two series (''Throne of Glass'' and ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'' were both described as very thin, blue-eyed blondes. Bryce bucks the trend a bit; she's described as a curvy redhead with amber eyes (her eye color there is due to [[SupernaturalGoldEyes her fae heritage]]). That said, is still some debate around her appearance, namely over whether she's intended to be AmbiguouslyBrown; most of Maas' main characters, including Celaena/Aelin and Feyre, are explicitly depicted as white, while Bryce is described as having "golden" skin.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Sarah J Maas has received some criticism over the fact the heroines of her previous two series (''Throne of Glass'' and ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'' were both described as very thin, blue-eyed blondes. Bryce bucks the trend a bit; she's described as a curvy redhead with amber eyes (her eye color is due to [[SupernaturalGoldEyes her fae heritage]]). That said, is still some debate around her appearance, namely over whether she's intended to be AmbiguouslyBrown; most of Maas' main characters, including Celaena/Aelin and Feyre, are explicitly depicted as white, while Bryce is described as having "golden" skin.