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

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Sarah J. Maas

(A Court of Thorns and Roses #1)

Publication Date: May 5, 2015

Hardcover, 416 pages, Bloomsbury

Genres: YA/NA, Fantasy

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A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling 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!

My Review

Team Tamlin! Team Tamlin! Team Tamlin!

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I’ll start my review.

I wasn’t planning on reading this book so early after its release date. I mean, it’s only been a month. And now I have almost a full year to wait for the sequel, and after that ending, I don’t think I can handle waiting. URGH!

I’m sure everyone in the YA community knows who Sarah J. Maas is by now. Her Throne of Glass books are practically legendary. So, when I heard she was writing a new series, of course I was on board! Knowing that the book is about faeries, like her ToG series, made me a little hesitant, however. ToG didn’t get heavy on the faeries until I’d already grown connected to the characters. But I trusted the author, and that’s all that matters, right? Ehhh…

The characters of ACoTaR are definitely a fascinating bunch. Feyre (whose name I always manage to mispronounce in my head) is a strong character who doesn’t take any crap. And Tamlin, the cursed, shape-shifting faery who “kidnapped” her, is a hunk. And I want one. Or five. Okay, twenty. He’s also actually a good guy. I like that Sarah writes alpha males, without taking away their sense of humanity—even though a lot of the time the guys aren’t human. Now, I say this but there’s one exception—Rhys. Don’t hate me Rhys-lovers, but I feel like he’s just a douche. He didn’t really add a lot to the story, besides being a second love interest, and he was weird. I’ll expand more on the weird in a little bit.

The plot of the book was absolutely fantastic! It was like a romance novel, but with more action and adventure and I could see all the similarities to Beauty and the Beast and I loved them! I wanted to burst out singing “Tale as Old as Time.” The blossoming romance between Feyre and Tamlin was so awkward and cute and sexy! But then, things got weird… The faery court and the world that had been presented to the readers changed into something that I can only describe as bizarre. I did not like it at all. This was the last third or so of the book, when all of the action was actually happening, and I was just so thrown off by the strangeness! Thankfully, things managed to get back on track for the last few pages, but I was seriously losing any love I had for the beginning of this book there for a while.

All in all, Sarah J. Maas is an excellent world-builder and writer. I just didn’t appreciate some of the directions that were taken in the story. I do however, recommend this book to anyone who either likes her other books, or is wanting to read a steamy paranormal/fantasy romance, just be aware that things take a turn for the strange further in.

P.S. I have a theory for what happened at the end. If you want to know what it is, comment below and we can discuss.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book for myself.