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

Published: May 5, 2015 

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Pages: 416
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fae

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!

First of all, if you still haven't heard of Sarah J. Maas or read something about and from her, I don't know where you must have been hiding. This lady has her shit together and you can judge that only by the fact that she takes the time to make maps for her books. She takes the time to map out fictional regions and that's when you know stuff is about to go down.

That being said I had a lot of problems with the characters and as expected not with the world.

Feyre is a 19 y.o girl, stubborn to the point of no self preservation, a lousy liar and a bit of a coward which manages to act brave.

I struggled so much with her character. She never listened or seemed to understand that what was happening abound her was not some hunt in the woods where the bunnies could not harm her. She ignored all the advise and orders that were given to her to keep her safe. I literally slapped myself once or twice, along with closing the book and not opening it until my anger subsided. 

Along with that she managed to do thing she sound not have been able to do - killing and capturing faeries. Her family problems were a bit pathetic. I am not saying that I didn't understand them, but she should have acted on the situation and let them see and understand what she was going through and doing for them.

 Tamlin did not really rise in my eyes as well. High Lord of the Spring Court he may be but he was way too passive for my liking. Even if he did have his reasons for acting a certain way, this boy needs some self control, IMO. I would like to see more brute strength from him and shape-shifting abilities. Hopefully in the next book to come.

Lucien and Rhysand were the only characters I truly enjoyed. Lucien's fate made me like Tamlin a tiny bit more. Nevertheless, Lucien's personality was what I searched for and in my opinion made this book worthwhile for me. His conversations with Feyre were very funny and enjoyable to read.

Rhysand was a very interesting character from the very first moment we were introduced to him. Really, really enjoyed his role in the series and his actions and little manipulations.

I really enjoyed the changes that Sarah made to the Fae world: faeries can lie, hate iron, are burned by ash wood. They can turn your bones to dust from 100 years away and 3 simple rules apply for them.

1. Don't drink their wine

2.Don't make deals with them unless your life depends on it

3.Don't trust anyone.

There are also many varieties of creatures/faeries: the Suriel, the Bogge, the Puca, the Naga, the Attor.

The world was great, as the map suggested. The back story of it I also enjoyed. Humans had been slaves to the High Fae overlords. After the war the north of the world was conceded to the High Fae and faeries took magic with them, leaving that south to the mortals. Then Prythian was divided into 7 courts.

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Dawn, Day, Night

Each of them is ruled by 1 High Lord. 

There is also another faerie kingdom - Hybern - situated across the ocean, ruled by a powerful wicked king whose throne is made from human bones.

There is a lot of potential for this series, although I was highly and utterly disappointed by Sarah J. Maas. It was like reading something from a completely different person and not the author of the "Throne of Glass" series.

I will read the sequel since I am interested in knowing what happens after that end. The only thing that motivated me to finish reading this was the hope that at some point things will get better.

And I have hope.

Here is my BOOKTALK for this one: 

Overall feelings:

---