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

Our protagonist is Feyre, 19 years old and providing for her injured father and two sisters. Her family is poor and starving, she hunts to feed them and on one of these trips she kills a wolf, a potentially Fae-wolf. Another Fea-beast thing, Tamlin, shows up and informs her she either has to die for murdering a Fae, or live in the Fae world, Prythian, with him as a ..punishment? Cue, enemies to lovers please! The plot is basically...'I had to be friends with you because my mum said so but then I realised I actually liked you so don't be mad' trope. The structure of the story leaves the reader in the dark for the first 75% of the book, not a great way to get readers on your side, this is probably why this book has SUCH mixed reviews and lots of DNFs (did not finish).

*super vague spoilers coming up*

It doesn't make a tonne of sense as to why moving to the Fae world would be a punishment for Feyre, she has her own space, she is fed, and she can come and go as she pleases. There is a 'twist', if we can call it that, which later explains Tamlin's reasoning for keeping Feyre alive but I struggle to wrap my head around this part, this curse element. Things are not as they seem owing to a curse, but of course, no one can speak of said curse. This leads to the climax of the story, three challenges Feyre must complete to save...everyone and everything. I enjoyed this section, the writing was stronger and fast paced, and the content was very gripping. However, it did almost feel like, too little, too late? The 'saving grace' comes when Feyre has a realisation regarding Alis's (basically Feyre's lady in waiting) helpful words and 'the curse' which blew me away, and not in a good way. It felt like a Jonathan Creek-esque 'AHA' moment - if that means nothing to you then I'm sorry...here. First of all, she's under quite the time constraint during this moment, yet she delves into the depth of her memory and remembers multiple events, conversations, eavesdropping sessions, arguments... etc. The conversations she remembers seem to have a little TOO much foreshadowing and are a little too on the nose in providing the information Feyre needs in that moment. BUT could I put my book down? Big, HUGE, nope.

Generally, the things that should have been foreshadowed were not and the things that should be left unsaid are forced in with a crowbar. For example Feyre is told one night by everyone to stay in her room because it's a dangerous Fae holiday. She is told SO many times, too many times, and what does she do? She fancies a midnight snack so heads to the kitchen. Really Maas? I did like the minimal characters, at points we only see/hear from 2 or 3 characters for a couple of chapters. This feels more natural and is easy to follow, Maas hasn't fallen victim to adding 1000 characters into her fantasy novel as so often happens. The characters are three-dimensional, all (seriously ALL) with complex pasts and family history. Lucien, Tamlin's right-hand man, is initially hard to read but quickly became my favourite character.

Feyre is the original 'pick me' girl. When she is in the mortal realm she comes across as pretty level-headed and intelligent, however, in the Fae realm she ignores warnings, breaks the rules in place to keep her safe, isn't happy when things don't go her way, and isn't happy when things do go her way. Now this review is tricky because I liked the book, I read it in a couple of days and I intend to continue with the series. However, on the other hand, lots of the dialogue made me cringe, some things didn't make sense, and the writing was sometimes questionable at best - but isn't that the beauty of a good bit of book hype?

Originally published as YA - young adult, suitable for ages 15-18, this text is now categorised as NA - new adult (18-25) or even just adult. The language and style does point to its YA past but the spicy scenes and particularly the, actually quite horrific, violence certainly indicates it being for older readers. The two definitely don't merge well and it can occasionally be like reading two different books. Still, I think it's worth remembering it's YA status when considering the dialogue and themes. We can also thank this status for the readability and fast pacing. There's a reason it's gone viral!

There is an overuse of some phrases Maas obviously took a liking to, 'I gulped down cool air...', 'my bowels turned watery...', and 'my bones barked...'. I'm not sure why these phrases in particular stuck with me but it wasn't for good reasons. Let's workshop some of these. Other than that, emotions and the feeling of pain are generally written compellingly and imaginatively but can often be repetitive, coming back to those barking bones.

Rumours are this is the weakest of the series, whether or not this is just a marketing ploy to encourage readers to carry on, I will find out. The second book has already changed my opinion on many characters but this is a book review, not a series review. (and no spoilers!) I don't like Feyre, I like the world building, I'm not convinced of Feyre and Tamlin's relationship, I like all the other characters, I like the different types of Fae we are introduced to, I want to see more beyond the Spring Court. That is what it boils down to, I want more...you got me Maas.

Read: 05/09/2024

Published: 05/05/2014

ISBN: 978-1635575569

Price: £8.56 (GBP)