A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Grade: B

*Spoilers (vague I hope) below!

I decided to read this book and it’s sequel (A Court of Mist and Fury) just to see what all the hype was about. This one is about Feyre, a young huntress trying to feed her family when she unfortunately kills the wrong creature in the woods. She’s then given a choice between death or living out the rest of her life in the land of fairies over the border from her own. Which is definitely not a bad deal when you consider the alternative.

A Court of Thorns and Roses is loosely based on Beauty and the Beast and for the most part I did enjoy it but the end left me a bit cold.

Tamlin, the fairy whom she considers her jailer at first, is nice enough to her. He gives her the run of the place. And of course there will be feelings. But I did like him and I liked Lucien and the whole set-up of the fairy world. There’s some good moments too that set the scene for what’s to come later such as fairy deaths and mutilations. There was definitely a darkness to this story I appreciated.

I also liked her family. It was one of those things were you like them more as you get to know them and I hope her older sister especially appears in later books. She’s a fascinating, strong character.

Feyre herself is a good character. Her ability to not listen to anyone, including her own head telling her things might not be the best of ideas does lead to a need to be rescued which is annoying. Though I did like she’s essentially a smart and feeing character. She was affected by the kill of the wolf in the woods even though at first she tried to tell herself that she isn’t bothered by it. And she is affected by the death that is around her.

The weirdest thing about this book for me was that by the time it should have picked up- when the truth comes out and all the challenges begin- that’s when it started feeling like a slog to get through. I didn’t care for the villain she reminded me a bit of the Evil Queen in early Once Upon a Time seasons but without the charm. The real standout here is Lucien. I felt for him almost the entire time and would like to know more about his family and his past life. But other than that I was ready for it to end.

The other problem with this book which I fear is going to color my view of the next, is Rhysand, another fairy who helps Feyre. I think he’s interesting but I didn’t love the way he was presented, his dealings with Feyre or what that seems to portend for book two. Amongst other things he kind of lost me at the whole- let’s strip her down to almost nothing, drug her into oblivion and make her dance for everyone nightly. I might have missed the reason for this but there didn’t seem to be one.

I don’t know. The next book is the one with even more hype- the one everyone seems to love. Maybe it will surprise me but right now I fear I know exactly where it’s going.

Recommend: Yes. Despite my issues with the book it’s still enjoyable and if you want to check out Maas I think it’s a good place to start.