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

Spoiler-Free Overview

Feyre has been hunting to keep her family alive after her father lost everything in a bad business deal. During one trip to the forest, she’s tracking a deer when a wolf threatens her. Or so she believes, and she kills it. It’s only later, when a large beast breaks into her home, that she understands that the wolf was a faerie.

Now, her life is forfeit to the fae lord that came to claim the debt. Only, he’s not just a ferocious beast, but a beautiful male with a permanent mask cursed to stay on his face. Tamlin, the high faerie she is bound to, treats her better than she ever thought, considering the myth of these terrible creatures. Living in Prythian with the faeries finally releases her from the burdens of taking care of her family, and opens her mind and heart to the opportunities around her.

Liz’s Thoughts and Feelings

Giving a pure review at this point, considering all the spoilers on the internet, is damn near impossible. I already know some spoilers of future books regarding certain relationships. But I’m focused on reviewing this book on its own without considering anything that may happen after.

There are some rather compelling elements. It triggers this nostalgia in me from my teenage years devouring every YA book with a female protagonist and even a tiny bit of romance. It’s the same feeling I had when reading Fourth Wing. 

I think because of that initial hit of warm, fuzzy feelings I rated this book a bit higher – around four stars. But the more I’ve thought about it, the lower my rating got.

The universe and the faeries aren’t unique, but that’s okay. The familiarity in the world draws the reader in and helps set the stage without slowing the story down with excessive exposition (a bit of foreshadowing in that comment). It’s a world the reader wants to explore. We want to know more about the different courts, the world beyond the human one, and all the strange and interesting rules for faeries. 

The internet told me this book was the toughest of the series to get through – that it was slow and the characters get better in future books. I didn’t mind the ‘slow’ middle of the book. I enjoy the cozy, domestic life that allows romance and love to grow. 

This is where things start to go downhill.

Feyre and Tamlin are supposed to be the love interests in this book. He sacrifices everything to keep her safe, and she sacrifices her entire life to be with him. Yet, I needed more time with Tamlin and Feyre growing their relationship. That cozy life which I liked needed to show more intimacy between them. Not necessarily sexual intimacy (though we needed way more of that too), but genuine connection. If they are representing this great, forbidden love that crosses all boundaries, then they need to feel in love. I thought Lucian and Feyre had more chemistry than Tamlin did with her. 

Tamlin is supposed to be our beast, and yet Maas didn’t commit to making him that way. He’s immature (a bit) and distant, but if we’re going to do it, we need to go all the way. Instead, he’s a weak character. I can’t dissect it much more because there isn’t much on the page.

Now onto the main character, Feyre. She’s just a Katniss re-write. Only Katniss did it better. Feyre is dumb, as in she makes dumb decisions. Sure, she’s nineteen. I was also making dumb decisions at that age. But how are we supposed to believe she actually survives this book when she’s so foolish! And she’s boring. Her character is basically: I have trauma from my shitty family; I need to escape even though my life is considerably better in Tamlin’s home than it ever was back in the village; and even though I’m constantly told what to do for my safety, I know best and am going to do whatever I want. Fuck the consequences. She’s always the damsel in distress whenever she gets in trouble. It’s always Tamlin or Lucien who saves her. 

The dialogue is clunky. There’s a whole-ass section in the middle where Alis just lore drops for eternity. 

Overall, this book was meh. There’s potential, and yet I’m disappointed. 

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Please stop reading this review if you do not want them.

I liked Lucien, and yet… While reading the book, he made sense. But knowing the ending and all the secrets being kept from Feyre, he was angry at her for no reason. Sure, she hated faeries and killed wolf-boy, but she needed to kill wolf-boy to save them all! So, why was Lucien so pissed at her all the time. Maybe in the second book it gets ironed out, and we get to see that Lucien is conflicted between losing a good friend and removing the curse. Who knows. But in this book, it doesn’t make sense.

The third act of this book is so different. The tone shifts. The location changes. The threat-level increases drastically. There’s buckets-full of tensions. All that is fine. It’s clunky, but fine.  

What isn’t fine is changing supporting characters in the last third of the book. Tamlin and Lucien have been the go-to boys up until now, and they’re barely on the page once Feyre goes under the mountain. 

Also, why is she still so dumb. She’s going to confront the big, scary faerie queen – the bitch even Tamlin is terrified of – and she has no weapons and no plan! She’s just determined to go break the curse, which is noble. But also stupid.

Now, for the character that actually is in the third act, Rhysand. (There’s also Amarantha, but she’s just the evil queen that provides conflict.) I’ve seen some hateful takes on Rhysand out there for his actions in this book. But I find him to be the most compelling character. He certainly has the most depth. He’s absolutely not a good guy, but he’s willing to make himself the villain if that means he can save his court and his people. Did he do Feyre dirty? Yes, but he’s fully willing to sacrifice her and anyone else to stop Amarantha. 

I could go on and on about this book, mostly in how it could have been great but fell flat. I’m not sure if I’ll go on to read A Court of Mist and Fury. From the reviews I’ve seen online and the synopsis, I’m not too convinced I want to.