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Book Review #2: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This post is a long time coming. Let me give you a little run down of what's happening in this book review. I want to start by saying why I started reading this series, and what happened to me when I did. It wasn't pretty. And then I want to talk about my general overview of the series as a whole, and I want to end by doing a review of each individual book. There's a lot going on here.

As a senior in AP Literature, come the beginning of May, you don't want to look at a text written in Victorian English for at least thirty years. I think my teacher figured this out pretty quickly, because for our final project, she assigned us a simple task: "Pick any book that's not 'Hop on Pop' and come up with why you chose to read it, and something that stuck with you, whether it be a theme, character, symbol etc." Now, personally as someone who loves fun reading, this project was a dream. I had books on books on books that I had been wanting to read, that had just been waiting for me to tear through their covers and delve into all of their glory. But unfortunately, there are only twenty four hours a day, eight of which devoted to school, six devoted to work, three to homework, at least two for sustaining life and whatever is leftover for sleeping, there was no time for fun reading in my life. UNTIL NOW. So I sat on the edge of my bed, stared at my shelves and waited for something to call to me.

And then I looked at it. Nestled in my second to last shelf right next to Game of Thrones just waiting, perfect and pristine. Now I had purchased this book because I had suggested that my local Young Adult Literary Guild read it during the month of February, but if you see above you'll understand why I never read it. So I decided. The rest of my class could read profound works of literary merit. I would torture myself no more. This was the beginning of my liberation as a reader.

Let me first just say, that I loved this series. I started reading, and I thought to myself "Alas, this is another one of those series that you fall in love with so hard that it hurts to keep reading because you know has to end." As I read, I became...obsessed...unhealthily obsessed. Sarah J. Maas did something to me. I took this book with me everywhere, and when I finished the first one I was WORSE with the second. I brought the book to my sister's college graduation for Christ's sake. I was a starved, ravenous reader who could not be satiated no matter who many chapters she read each day. I stayed up until 3 am for days in a row reading by phone flashlight because I simply could not go to sleep

without knowing what was going to happen. Long story short, some kind of spirit took over me and left me obsessed with this series.

All in all, I think this series was spectacular. A smash hit in every right. Maas had such a unique and interesting concept, and really brought it to life. Written with such incredible detail, and intricate world building, this series took my breath away. My general rule of thumb is that any book with a map in the front, has to be good. My rule still stands. And for once in my life, I actually USED the map spread across those two pages at the beginning of each book. I looked and saw how far Feyre traveled between Courts. Not only did the first two books take classics stories and twist them slightly, but they were also in the world of Fae, with still another over-arching conflict spread throughout the series to create a truly epic tale.

A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES: *Warning: this review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk*Let's set the mood with a little summary shall we...So one cold winters night, Feyre Archeron is hunting to save her starving, destitute family, and kills a wolf in the process. One problem: this wolf is actually a really good friend of Fae Lord, Tamlin who comes a-stormin' into her house saying that since she took his soldier's life, he's come to take hers, but instead of killing her, offers to let her live at his estate in Fae land, known as Prythian. Overtime, Feyre makes friends with the Fae she lives with, and falls in love with Tamlin, the handsome High Lord of the Spring Court. Though she falls in love with him, Tamlin's land is plagued by a spreading darkness due to him being cursed by an evil fae, Amarantha. But Feyre decides she is not going to sit by and let her loved ones be abused and oppressed and decides that she will challenge Amarantha herself, a mere mortal, even sacrificing her soul to save her beloved and his people.

What originally drew me to this series was I was told that it was a twisted telling of Beauty and the Beast, and it was. But I've read a lot of twisted tellings of fairytales, and I have never loved one as much as this series. The A Court of Thorns and Roses Trilogy was so unique in its telling. The allusions to Beauty and the Beast were so subtle, but they stood out because they were different. The beauty wasn't a bookworm this time, hell she couldn't even read. Instead painting was her passion (and as someone who has zero artistic talent, Maas descriptions of Feyre's ideas for paintings were exquisite). Yes, Tamlin could physically shift into a beast, but also his personality was beastly, and instead of being hidden away in a crumbling tower, this beast was forced to live out his life behind a cursed mask. Maas's use of Beauty and the Beast as the basis for the story made it a hit with BATB fans, but her unique and original spin on the tale are what makes this book truly spectacular.

I hated Nesta (in this book). She was an actual demon. To treat Feyre so terribly, to hate her so intensely, when Feyre is literally keeping her and the rest of their family alive is mind boggling, but then it may have been another of Maas's sneaky traps. By hating Nesta in the beginning (like Feyre intensely disliked her sister, but still fought to keep her alive) I would grow to truly appreciate her in later books.

I said it before, but I really want to emphasize how much care Maas took in building this world. She created a new universe with a history, laws, politics, a new language, an entire culture. I really and truly felt like I stepped through the pages into an entirely different world. The holidays that they celebrated were some of my favorite parts of this book. Though, when I was told what Calanmai was, I was little thrown but I recovered. That holiday stuck with me, despite its odd origins, because it was the first time she met Rhys. But really Summer Solstice was my favorite. At that time, she and I still loved Tamlin and Feyre drunk on faerie wine and smoldering Tamlin was highly enjoyable right down to them watching the sunrise on a hill in the valley together. And don't even get me started on that lake of starlight.

Another thing about this series, but also this book in particular, is that Maas throws all of the stereotypical Fae tropes to the wind and writes her own unique tale set in the world of Fae. For instance Tam and Lucien outright tease Feyre when she says that they can't lie to her, because that myth simply isn't true. Or the classic, the idea iron burns faeries isn't true, its really ash wood that is deadly. Maas finds way to be original in faerie fiction, and creates her own myths and legends from the start.

And though I loved Tamlin for much of the book, there were still parts of him that I didn't like. For example, he was pretty cowardly. When he realized that he was pretty much screwed and that Amarantha was coming for him, instead of rallying forces (like another High Lord we know) he sends her away and lets his estate get ransacked and himself kidnapped. Even as Feyre is getting tortured by Amarantha, Tamlin doesn't really do anything to help her but just kind of watches as it happens. At times Tamlin really could not control his anger, which really bud you can't whip out your claws every time something doesn't go your way. I really hated that when Tamlin and Feyre had a minute alone Under the Mountain, that Tam's only concern is having sex with Feyre not, I don't know, helping her escape? Even though Rhys was the "enemy" at this point he still had his redeeming moments Under the Mountain.

Why is sex slavery such a big thing? Honestly, as far as YA book go, sex slavery is pretty rare. But Maas proves she doesn't write a typical YA fic, because she tries to take not one but two sex slaves in a single book. First we have good old, Rhysand who actually agrees, and then we have Tam who refuses and opts to be cursed for fifty years instead. Amarantha, get it together.

But one thing that really killed me was Feyre's guilt at Tamlin being taken away because she didn't break the curse in time. I could understand feeling bad, but Feyre really beats herself up for not freeing him and his people because she didn't say "I love you" fast enough. First of all, that phrase should never be said just to be said. If Feyre wasn't ready to say it, then she shouldn't have said it. Secondly NO ONE told her about the curse. How was she supposed to know that they were all waiting on her to free them. Feyre darling, it's not your fault I promise.

I fell for it. I fell hopelessly into every trap Maas set up for me. Well played Maas, well played. Throughout this book I shipped Tamlin and Feyre with a vengeance, and hated Rhys with a...fury (get it?). Which is EXACTLY what she wanted to happen. As you progress through the series, you'll understand why and you'll feel just as silly as I did. But I think that in falling for every trap she laid out for me, I went through the story with Feyre, thinking along the same vein as her. She didn't see that Tamlin may not have been such a good guy, and neither did I, but we eventually learned together.

All in all, this book was an impressive introduction to an amazing series! This was the first Sarah J. Maas book I had ever ready and honestly I can't wait to dive into the Throne of Glass series! Overall this book was wonderfully written and a really good, mature YA read.

Overall, I rate this book 📚📚📚📚 out of 5! What did you think of A Court of Thorns and Roses? Let me know in the comments!

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Kayla

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