Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses



When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!


My Review

Author: Sarah J. Maas
Date of Publication: May 5, 2015
Pages: 416
Source: Library

Despite my previous blog being The Book Faerie, I've never been a fan of YA faeries. Until now; until Sarah J. Maas.

I think Maas brings to faerie stories what not many other do; she creates her own mythology or builds on previous ones in a way that sets her story apart. Many books assume that everyone knows about the 'general faerie mythology' like the Unseelie and Seelie courts. I don't, not really, and so I can be easily put off by books like The Iron King by Julie Kagawa which everyone, but I, liked.

Beyond being a book about faeries, ACOTAR is also a retelling of beauty and the beast. Maas took an interesting path with the old tale and spun it to encompass a magical world filled with warring species of humans, fae and a not-so-beastly Tamlin.

Tamlin is not your conventional beast. Sure he has claws and a beast form, but his curse isn't one of such an obvious nature. No, Tamlin was charming to say the least. His and Feyre's gradual friendship or rather courtship was very sweet to read about. My only struggle with Tamlin was that he didn't give away much about himself which makes it harder for me know and understand him.

On the other hand, Feyre was an open book, which probably has a lot to do with her being the narrator... Seriously though, I adored her. She was a strong girl who had to grow up fast in order to take care of her family. But inside, she was still just a girl who wanted enough food and some paint.

The first half of the book was slow winding but enjoyable as we watched Feyre explore the fae world and come to know Tamlin better. However, what blew this book away for me was the second portion which I literally read in one night. One word: Rhys.

Everything up to then was good and interesting but Rhys, he brought something completely different to the table. Otherwise known as Amarantha's whore, Rhys was dark, handsome and cunning. He played the games that faeries are credited with and he played them well. It felt like in the first half I'd been under a glamour and Rhys turned it off. I also like to think of him as the unlikely hero who needs to be given more credit.

Overall, ACOTAR is definitely one of Sarah J. Maas' better books which is saying something as I've enjoyed all of her books. What I am noticing, however, is that she manages to visibly grow as a writer in each book. So while I may have had minimal to zero issues with her previous works, she still manages to increase the quality of her stories and I'm impatient to see how amazing her future works prove to be.

-MARI


10 comments:

  1. Yay, I'm so glad you loved ACOTAR!! I literally read this in one sitting and when I finished I was completely blown away :) Even though I'm a huge Sarah J. Maas fan and I love all of her books, the gorgeous characters and writing in this one made this book amazing. I agree with you that Rhys needs more credit. On one hand I kind of hate what he put Feyre through but on the other hand without him they probably all would have ended up dead. But I really hope it doesn't turn into a love triangle in book 2... Great review!

    Zareena @ The Slanted Bookshelf

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    1. Hm, I'm not sure if I would mind if it turned into a triangle. I'm definitely not a fan of triangles, but sometimes it can be done well and I'm curious as to how Maas will handle it since she did take the triangle out of the Throne of Glass series.

      -Mari

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  2. Glad you liked this one! I enjoyed reading it, too, although I did have a few quibbles. I think Maas set up ACOTAR for a sequel, no?

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    1. Yes, a part of me felt that too. More so than a sequel, I felt the whole beginnings of the book was this slow build up for the climatic ending twist. I'm not sure how I feel about that bit but I am noticing it now.

      -Mari

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  3. The writing was seriously incredible in this book! Sarah J Maas really knows how to do excellent world building, and the descriptions of settings and characters are some of the only ones that have ever made me actually visualise something (I'm the worst visual reader ever haha)
    Glad you enjoyed it!

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    1. She is amazing. I think she is making her way to the my list of authors who I'll read just because of their writing.

      -Mari

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  4. Yes yes yes! We haven't read ACOTAR yet, actually, but we're really happy to hear that you liked it, because we LOVE Maas's other series. So this is obvs on our TBR list too!

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    1. It's a must read for sure. Also, still dying for Throne of Class #4.

      -Mari

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  5. I'm so glad that you loved ACOTAR, too! My luck with faerie books has been hit or miss (I liked the first Iron Fey book but wasn't as enthused with the rest), but this one was all-around amazing. And I loved how enigmatic Rhys was; I don't think I'd want to make any bargains with him, but his character fascinates me to no end.

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    1. I am the same, but I didn't like Iron King so I never continued. Rhys was the best part in my opinion. A few weeks after reading the book, he is the only one that continues to shine brightly in my head.

      -Mari

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