A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas: Book Review

Synopsis: A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Timesbestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it… or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Date Published: May 5, 2015

Date Read: May 12, 2015

No. of Pages: 416

Source: National BookStore

 

REVIEW

Highly addictive and gripping until the end.

So okay, I gave in to the hype. With the release of the second book in the series A Court of Mist and Fury I knew I had to read this book sooner rather than later. I know I could not dodge spoilers forever, so what best way to avoid them is to actually know what is happening in the book. So I gladly gave in, and so happy I did. The hype is real guys. I now understand why people go gaga over SJM’s works, she’s a one brilliant writer. This is the very first book I have read by her and it definitely did not disappoint.

So let us begin with the plot. A Court of Thorns and Roses is a beauty and the beast retelling. Definitely something right up my alley. It gave a new flavor to the famous fairy tale, making it its own. I am not saying that it was entirely an original one, there are definitely bits and pieces of the book that I already have encountered in some other novels, but the entirety of it was too gripping you just could easily overlook said parts. I started reading the book without reading the synopsis, all I knew was it was a retelling and I kind of took it from there. Again, the bliss of not knowing a lot of things about it added to my excitement and I easily devoured the book in less than 2 days. (Which was fast enough for me, since I have established the fact that I have the attention span worse that a 2 year old). It was the right mix of fantasy, romance and adventure. I loved the pacing of the book, though it was not heart stopping as I hoped it to be, the pacing was just right. Slow when it needs to be and exciting when it is supposed to. The chapters are divided in a clever way, ending it with enough tease that you have no option but to read the next, that’s how it gripped me. That’s how it was able to hold my attention. I also commend the world building, it was just concise and not too complicated. The backstory was also well played-out, I was not left confused at all. I could follow the storyline with ease. I loved how the different creatures and courts were described, all unique.  And the writing style was really good, Sarah J Maas was born to write fantasy books.

Now let’s go to the characters. Feyre, our female protagonist is the youngest of three sisters who was forced to hunt the woods to put food on their table. She reminded me so much of Katniss Everdeen, with all that bow and arrow and her skills in hunting, the similarity is palpable. It was one of those issues I had, but I mentally put it aside and see where her character will lead me and how will it develop as the story went on. I am not a fan of Feyre, I am laying it out now. There are things that she did that irked me to no end. She was stubborn to a fault, and a little too whiny at times. But then she was also badass, so I have to give her that. Towards the end of the book, her character developed into something I would definitely root for. I have to say she had the best character development in this book. Her stubbornness kind of gave her an advantage, were it not for it there would be no great story to tell.

Next would be Tamlin, oh Tamlin. He is the High Lord of the Spring Court who could shape shift into a beast. He was described as someone with golden hair and green eyes, but he perpetually wears a mask, much like everyone else in Spring Court. It was his curse. You could now see where The Beauty and The Beast retelling comes into play. His character started strong at first, he exudes the confidence, strength and power of a High Lord, but then on the latter part of the book everything changed. His character was close to useless. There was next to nothing character development, I wouldn’t like to say his character became a little lame, but I could not find a better word for it. But I still hoped that he could redeem himself on the next books. Having said this, I still loved his character more than that of Rhysand. Safe to say I am Team Tamlin, but we’ll see if I could change my mind.

Rhysand on the other hand is the High Lord of the Night court. I was not particularly fond of Rhysand, he did a lot of awful things that I just could not simply ignore. There was this instance where the feminist side of me kind of revolted, and I don’t get it why all these nasty things he did was painted in a romantic way. I found it so wrong in so many levels. This was the reason, I didn’t like his character. And yes, he was described, yep, you guessed it right – handsome. Because you know, our female protagonist had to be torn between these High Lords, because a fantasy book is incomplete without a love triangle. UGH. NOT. A book can be as good even without a love triangle, I don’t know why authors have the habit of incorporating this trope into books, why do they have to make it complicated, when it could very well be simple but still as gripping as book should be. So this is the main reason why I didn’t give this book a solid five stars.

If anything, the only character I loved the most was LUCIEN!! That’s it, I am #TEAMLUCIEN. His character was selfless, and witty and just uh-mazing!!!

I was entertained and quite frankly I was over eager to know what will happen next. So it sure did feel like I am a moth to a flame. I need to know more, I demand answers. And see to it that my ship will not sink. I had issues of course, but this won’t stop me from continuing on with the series. I.CAN’T.WAIT!

Rating: 

“Because your human joy fascinates me—the way you experience things, in your life span, so wildly and deeply and all at once, is … entrancing. I’m drawn to it, even when I know I shouldn’t be, even when I try not to be.” 
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses