A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Feyre has to hunt to provide for her family, and one day when hunting in the forest a large wolf crosses her path. She suspects that he might be Fae and humans have been at odds with the magical beings for as long as history can remember. She takes the creature down.
The price for her choice is that she must live the rest of her life in the Faerie kingdom with her captor. She soon discovers that there is more to the mysterious Faerie and the land that he rules over. Feyre faces her fears and her own feelings as she fights to break a curse save the man she loves.

Honestly, when I started this blog and my Bookstagram account, this one was a book I was unsure about picking up. I didn’t really like Throne of Glass, which is by the same author, and I secretly hoped that I would one of the few people who didn’t fall for the hype that this book has been generating. Unfortunately, I am a huge sucker, and I really, really enjoyed it. I starting reading this book at lunchtime on Tuesday and finished by bedtime on Wednesday, with little kids and chores and everything. I could not put it down. I already ordered the second book and it is on its way. 

I was pulled into the story by the intrigue of the myths and history of the faerie realms. I am a sucker for fantasy like that that butts up against a human world. The mysteries of the curse and the blight were unpredictable. I thought I had something figured out and then, things would shift and change before my eyes which was exciting. The romance and brooding faerie men were icing on the cake that made this book a guilty pleasure worth enjoying despite any shortcomings

The writing is simple and very easy to read which I do not mind at all in this sort of a story; however, I do have a couple of gripes. Twice in the book the ancient fae men applaud Feyre on her having the “balls” to do something which to me just sounds terrible and off putting. There has to be a more dignified way for a gentleman to applaud a woman’s courage than that. I also cannot stand the way that Feyre says literally everything that comes into her mind. She doesn’t hold any mystery or dignity whatsoever and I wish that she did. I wanted her to have a bit more depth of character and some opinions and ideas that she held. She felt very impressionable to me and I didn’t really like that. It is a step up from my opinions of S.J. Maas’ characters from Throne of Glass, but I still think her MC could use a little depth.

That being said the story is really fun and moves pretty quickly. It is a guilty pleasure story for sure but I don’t personally find anything wrong with that. This is the first in a 5-book series so there is so much more for me to dig into here and I am excited for it. I cannot wait to travel through more of the faerie courts and get to know more of the history and origins of the characters.

I give A Court of Thorns and Roses 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

-Jacqui

Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Adult Fantasy (18+)
Length/Page Count: 416 pages
Format & Source: Hardback, Bookshop.org
Publishing Info: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015