So here's the first of what I hope is several days worth of posts in a row as I have this book plus two more to post about followed by an OwlCrate unboxing. So first up is my review of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. I started it on March 4th after finishing The Hazel Wood and finished it on March 8th. I couldn't put this one down and rated it a full 5 stars on Good Reads.
I'd heard a lot about this book and this author and had picked up this book and the first book of the Throne of Glass series to give a try to. Upon finishing it I went to Powell's Books to pick up the next two: A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Wings and Ruin.
Once again, if you haven't read A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) this post will probably contain spoilers after this point.
So ACOTAR is about a girl named Feyre who lives in a village barely surviving and feeding her family (father and two older sisters) by hunting in the forests. One night while hunting she shoots a wolf. The next night a faerie comes to her home in a bestial form demanding retribution for killing the wolf who turns out to be a faerie. Instead of killing her, the faerie takes her across the wall to the land of the faeries called Prythian. Once there, the faerie reveals himself to be a high fae lord named Tamlin and he takes her to his lands, the Spring Court, in Prythian where she lives rather comfortably. She gets closer to Tamlin until the threats to the Spring Court become too much and then he sends her home. Instead of the hovel in the village, Feyre finds out that Tamlin had put a spell over her family which gave them back the money they used to have and ensconced them in a manor house of their own. It's there that Feyre realizes that she's in love with Tamlin and that she has to go back to help him fight against the woman threatening Prythian, Amarantha. She finds Tamlin's home in disarray and only a servant to tell her that Amarantha had called in her deal with Tamlin and took him and his people to her court under the mountain. The servant helps Feyre sneak into Amarantha's court where she is captured and strikes a bargain for the freedom of all the faeries upon the successful completion of three tasks. Using all her skills as a huntress and her resilience, with some help from Rhysand the High Lord of the infamous Night Court, Feyre completes the three tasks. Upon the completion of her tasks, Amarantha attacks those gathered there and kills Feyre. After Tamlin, with his full powers restored by the completion of Feyre's deal, kills Amarantha he and the other High Lords revive Feyre turning her into a High Fae herself. The books ends with Tamlin and Feyre returning to the Spring Court and freedom to be picked up in the next book.
So like I said I really enjoyed this book. It had a very beauty and the beast vibe through it with the curse Amarantha had put on the denizens of the Spring Court: cursing them to have to wear the metal masquerade masks they'd been wearing at the time of the curse, as well as the way the curse could be broken: if Tamlin found a mortal woman who loved him and he loved in return. In addition the curse had a time limit, 50 years, to be completed before he belonged to her. Like I said in the post about The Hazel Wood, I love twists on classic fairy tales and this one was very good. I liked Feyre very much. She was a likeable, relatable, flawed narrator and main character. She has a fiery temper, she can't read, she's dirt poor and although she loves and is almost the sole support for her family she also doesn't like them very much and has conflicts with her sisters and her father. She recognizes her own flaws and the flaws in others. Despite it having a love story, the love story isn't all encompassing to the exclusion of the rest of the story. There's plenty of action and adventure mixed in. That being said, I was not overly fond of Tamlin's character. In fact, I messaged a friend who's read all the books in the series and begged her to reassure me that Feyre doesn't end up with him because I think she deserves much better. Upon finishing the book I really found myself interested in Rhysand and The Night Court (I've heard people gushing about his character in the series) and with his deal to help Feyre during her tasks where she must spend one week a month with him for the duration of her life (forever now that she's immortal) you can be assured you'll see much more of him.
Anyway I really did enjoy A Court of Thorns and Roses and look forward to reading the rest of the series. This book was definitely a 5 stars on Good Reads. Emma liked it too!
-Richelle and Emma
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