I loved A Court of Thorns and Roses. Absolutely loved its mishmash reinterpretation of Cinderella, The Beauty and the Beast, and Tam Lin fairy tales.
That said, it worked so well as a standalone story that when A Court of Mist and Fury came out, I didn't particularly feel like reading it. My thought process at that time was that the next two books in this series would focus on Feyre's other two sisters, and their love stories (which would also be based on some fairy tale).
Unfortunately, that is not the case. The sequels continue to focus on Feyre's life, with very mixed results.
About the Book
Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court-but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms-and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world cleaved in two.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My Review
Warning, spoilery rant below.I"ll be upfront. I utterly disliked this book. Sarah J.Maas has managed to convert what was sounding like a fairly unique story into another Throne of Glass style of book. In places, the writing was so similar to Throne of Glass that sometimes I had to take a step back to process that this was Feyre and not Aelin from Throne of Glass.
Maas also has this really bad habit of completely changing characters on us within a series. She did it with Chaol in Throne of Glass (changing him from heroic to super-lame), and she does it with Tamlin. Just because she wanted to create a love story around Feyre and Rhysand, she just wrecks havoc with Tamlin. I would have liked this better if Feyre simply had a change of heart and fell in love with Rhysand. She didn't need to drastically switch Tamlin's character. But of course, Feyre is the good heroine, and so she needs to have a solid reason to leave him and get with Rhysand. Whatever, just bad character-building!
She also plays havoc with Rhysand's character. In the first book, there is a tinge of dark menace. It was obvious that he wasn't all bad, but I didn't expect Maas to completely whitewash his character in the second book. He becomes unbelievably good, bordering on perfection - willing to make any sacrifice for the benefit of his people. Also, he is the most powerful Fae ever born. All this switching up just made me less interested in the characters overall.
I don't think this review would be complete without a mention of the abysmal writing.
Can we say crappy dialogue?
I stared at up at him, breathless, while he smiled. The smile the world would likely never see, the smile he's given up for the sake of his people, his lands. He said softly, "I am... very glad I met you, Feyre
And cringe-inducing descriptions?
This is how Maas describes Feyre witnessing Rhysand having a nightmare.
Rhys still knelt, wings drooping across the white sheets, head bowed, his tattoos stark against is golden skin. A dark, fallen prince.
Uggh! Just no!
Anyway, I managed to complete the book cringing all the way. Since I bought the final book A Court of Wings and Ruin also, I will somehow suck it up and try to finish this trilogy.
Have you read these books? What did you think of Maas twisting everything around in this book? Can I expect further twists in the next book as well?
Buy a copy of this book from Amazon.
