Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy, romance
Published on: May 5, 2015 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Before I started reading this book, I had a few doubts about it. I’d read some reviews (as I do with some of the books I get) and they were divisive. I’m not completely swayed by critiques, though. That lots of people didn’t like a particular novel doesn’t mean I won’t like it. So I decided to read A Court of Thorns and Roses, looking forward to seeing who I’d agree with. The main character is Feyre. She’s nineteen and lives in a cottage with her father and two sisters. They are desperately poor, so Feyre must hunt to provide for them all. This has made her skilled with a bow. Feyre is also kind of an old-soul, and the most resilient of her sisters.
The setting of ACOTAR is a fantastical land where fairies exist. Long ago, there was a war between them and humans. After it ended, the fairies isolated themselves, claiming a huge chunk of the territory. Humans settled for a small portion of the south. The land is a country-sized island, and the fairy section is known as Prythian. This surprised me a little bit. I’d thought the fairies would live in a separate realm/dimension. Instead they live in the same physical world as humans.
Early on in the book, the second protagonist appears. He’s Tamlin, a powerful fairy. Tamlin came for Feyre after she hunted one of his people. He claims the Treaty (created after the human-fairy war) demands a life for a life. Feyre must either die or come with Tamlin to live in Prythian for the rest of her life. Feyre is unsurprisingly alarmed at the prospect. With her gone, her family would die. Feyre spends the first weeks of her stay in Prythian looking for a way to escape. There’s no love lost between Feyre and the fairies at this point. This part of the book got the most negative reviews. Why would Feyre get to live in luxury after murdering one of Tamlin’s friends? I felt dubious about it, too. There is an explanation, though, and it doesn’t take long for it to be revealed.
Tamlin’s mansion is strangely deserted. Feyre (and I) expected to see a lot more fairies. Other than Tamlin, there’s his right hand Lucien, as well as Alis, who’s kind of the head of housekeeping. The near-empty place isn’t the only curious thing. Every fairy in Tamlin’s land (the Spring Court) wear masquerade-style masks around the clock. At first Feyre wonders if it’s some weird fairy fashion. Eventually, Tamlin reveals they can’t remove the masks because of a magical blight that fell over Prythian. This blight greatly reduced Tamlin’s powers and caused dangerous dark fairies to roam all over the land.
Weeks pass, and eventually Feyre warms up to her hosts. She’s a little cool toward Lucien, though. He doesn’t seem to care much for her. Feyre doesn’t blame him, seeing how she murdered his friend. They develop an unsure friendship. As for Tamlin, he seems kindlier toward Feyre than he should be. Tamlin has paints and brushes delivered to the mansion after learning Feyre is an artist. He also offers to teach Feyre how to read. They end up falling in love, although Tamlin takes longer to reveal it. Some readers may think the romance felt a bit like the result of Stockholm syndrome. Feyre isn’t Tamlin’s captive or hostage, though. He constantly reminds Feyre she’s free to go anywhere in Prythian she pleases.
I’m writing this review after my second read of ACOTAR. The last third of the book is suspenseful, but at first I’d found it underwhelming. I had the most issue with the blight. Feyre learns about its true nature and how to stop it. My impression was that there were too many conditions that had to be met to end the blight. Feyre also gets a chance to stop it early, but fails. This made me think the author held Feyre back on purpose to avoid ending the book too early. Now that I’ve read the story a second time, I feel differently. The way things unfold does work after all...at least, decently enough. Feyre’s mistakes aren’t as perplexing as I’d thought they were.
In the end, I did like A Court of Thorns and Roses. I was looking forward to reading a fairy fiction novel. Although not outstanding, this one was great. Feyre is a solid heroine, despite the small mistakes she makes. I mean, she’s nineteen, not a master tactician or anything on the league of the main antagonist. Feyre’s fate was quite surprising, though. In hindsight, I guess it had to happen. Another thing I liked is that this book is part romance. The love story builds slowly over the course of the book. Also, the villain is wicked and quite terrifying. It was really thrilling to see how Feyre could possibly win against such a powerful enemy. That’s all I’ll say for now. I’m certainly going to read the rest of the series. I’m invested in Feyre now.
Early on in the book, the second protagonist appears. He’s Tamlin, a powerful fairy. Tamlin came for Feyre after she hunted one of his people. He claims the Treaty (created after the human-fairy war) demands a life for a life. Feyre must either die or come with Tamlin to live in Prythian for the rest of her life. Feyre is unsurprisingly alarmed at the prospect. With her gone, her family would die. Feyre spends the first weeks of her stay in Prythian looking for a way to escape. There’s no love lost between Feyre and the fairies at this point. This part of the book got the most negative reviews. Why would Feyre get to live in luxury after murdering one of Tamlin’s friends? I felt dubious about it, too. There is an explanation, though, and it doesn’t take long for it to be revealed.
Tamlin’s mansion is strangely deserted. Feyre (and I) expected to see a lot more fairies. Other than Tamlin, there’s his right hand Lucien, as well as Alis, who’s kind of the head of housekeeping. The near-empty place isn’t the only curious thing. Every fairy in Tamlin’s land (the Spring Court) wear masquerade-style masks around the clock. At first Feyre wonders if it’s some weird fairy fashion. Eventually, Tamlin reveals they can’t remove the masks because of a magical blight that fell over Prythian. This blight greatly reduced Tamlin’s powers and caused dangerous dark fairies to roam all over the land.
Weeks pass, and eventually Feyre warms up to her hosts. She’s a little cool toward Lucien, though. He doesn’t seem to care much for her. Feyre doesn’t blame him, seeing how she murdered his friend. They develop an unsure friendship. As for Tamlin, he seems kindlier toward Feyre than he should be. Tamlin has paints and brushes delivered to the mansion after learning Feyre is an artist. He also offers to teach Feyre how to read. They end up falling in love, although Tamlin takes longer to reveal it. Some readers may think the romance felt a bit like the result of Stockholm syndrome. Feyre isn’t Tamlin’s captive or hostage, though. He constantly reminds Feyre she’s free to go anywhere in Prythian she pleases.
I’m writing this review after my second read of ACOTAR. The last third of the book is suspenseful, but at first I’d found it underwhelming. I had the most issue with the blight. Feyre learns about its true nature and how to stop it. My impression was that there were too many conditions that had to be met to end the blight. Feyre also gets a chance to stop it early, but fails. This made me think the author held Feyre back on purpose to avoid ending the book too early. Now that I’ve read the story a second time, I feel differently. The way things unfold does work after all...at least, decently enough. Feyre’s mistakes aren’t as perplexing as I’d thought they were.
In the end, I did like A Court of Thorns and Roses. I was looking forward to reading a fairy fiction novel. Although not outstanding, this one was great. Feyre is a solid heroine, despite the small mistakes she makes. I mean, she’s nineteen, not a master tactician or anything on the league of the main antagonist. Feyre’s fate was quite surprising, though. In hindsight, I guess it had to happen. Another thing I liked is that this book is part romance. The love story builds slowly over the course of the book. Also, the villain is wicked and quite terrifying. It was really thrilling to see how Feyre could possibly win against such a powerful enemy. That’s all I’ll say for now. I’m certainly going to read the rest of the series. I’m invested in Feyre now.
My rating: ★★★★
4 stars - Definitely enjoyed it!
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