Review:
Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication: May 5th, 2015 by Bloomsbury Childrens
Format: Hardcover
Source: Local Independent Bookstore
Genre: YA; Fantasy; Romance; Retelling
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.
Thoughts:
When I found out that Maas was writing another YA fantasy series, I was over the moon. Even though I’m the worst serious finisher ever (but more on that another time) I really did enjoy both Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight. There was a ridiculous amount hype up until this book came out, and with the (surprising) number of ARCs floating around the YA book world was intensely read for this book.
As per usual, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the blurb. And when I say that I mean I don’t even think that I read it. As we opened the book, first I had to stop and appreciate the map. Not only is it visually appealing, but it also proved useful when I was getting confused about logistics (struggles of a visual learner). For the first portion of the book Maas spent time setting up an established normal for the characters. This is pretty typical for most books, but I think that Maas had an eclectic way of going about it. Everything from the dynamic between the protagonist (Feyre) and her two sisters (Nesta and Elaine), to the backstory on adolescent responsibility, to the insignificant village boy Isaac, was presented with purpose.
Maas also spent this time gently introducing the magical Fae that would, of course, become a major aspect in this book. The same fear and animosity surrounding the Fae in the eyes of the characters is slowly instilled in the reader as well. Things of course change when the Fae and Feyre inevitably collide. Our cast of characters shift from Feyre and her family to Tamlin and Lucian, the Fae that Feyre is forced to live with. The following bit of book is stuffed with magic, spooky creatures, and subtle acknowledgments to a larger problem within the Faerie realms.
As usual, things sort of fall apart, and Feyre loses control in her life. When given the chance to earn it all back, Feyre displays the same cunning courage and selflessness that she had been exhibiting throughout the book on a much more public platform. The conclusion wraps up the plot, with the promise of an unfinished story, which is the way that the first book in a series should end.
Throughout A Court of Thorns and Roses Maas’ protagonist Feyre remains surprising and undeterred in her stunted version of life. Each background character was given a feasible backstory without excusing or truly explaining their actions. Tamlin and Lucian remain both mysterious but thoughtfully imagined characters. In addition to being thrown into a creatively thought up world a la Maas, the book has a solid base in addition to a pleasing plot.
Final Thoughts:
A Court of Thorns And Roses is both edgy and sexy, dragging in high fantasy romance with characters that you want to pull from the pages. Going off with a bang, this book zooms on with a fiery passion that can only come from a detail oriented author. For fans of Maas’ first series, or even just YA Fantasy in general. If you enjoyed either The Daughter of Smoke and Bone or Shadow and Bone be sure to pick up A Court of Thorns and Roses. Also (#majorfail) I didn’t know that this book was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast! I hadn’t noticed any similarities as I was reading it, but after finding out and reflecting it all become so obvious. lol
Other Opinions:
Aimee’s Review | Deadly Darlings
Jamie’s Ten Reasons Why You Should Read ACOTAR | The Perpetual Page Turner
Cait’s Review | Paper Fury
Yay I’m glad you liked this one!! In retrospect I didn’t love it like I thought I would buuuut, in the moment I was totally embroiled in it. OMG LUCIEN IS A DARLING. And I’m very intrigued about what SJM is going to do with Rhys’ character. I feel like there’s more to him then meets the eye. 😉
Aww, thanks for linking to my review, too!
I agree. In the moment, I felt like I couldn’t read it fast in enough. I don’t think that I liked it as much as Throne of Glass but I have a feeling that this series will get EVEN better as we go along.
Oh no problem. I think that it’s fun to share other blogger’s opinions on things. 🙂
So glad you ended up enjoying this, Mary! I agree with all your points. 🙂 Even the earliest of conversations and developments in this book had a purpose. Also, heck yes to this book being sexy. 😛
I loved how much planning you could tell went into this! Everything that was said you could just tell was important. There were no fluffy descriptions or unneeded text. There was some meaning behind everything. TALENTED AUTHOR HERE OKAY? OKAY. 😀
OMG I didn’t realise it was a beauty and the beast retelling either?! Whoops….. Ugh Sarah J. Maas is such an amazing author and I don’t know how she does it, I can’t wait for the next book in this series (and Queen of Shadows), it’s probably going to get even more intense than this one. Great review, Mary!
YAY for liking this one 😀 I know a few people who have loved the Throne of Glass series (so far) weren’t particularly impressed with A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I have to say that I really enjoyed it 😀
It’s also a retelling of the fairytale/folk tale of Tam Lin, which I only found out a little while ago! It explains the super deviation from the Beauty & the Beast story in the last ~30%. I wish I had known beforehand, because I kept wondering how that fit into the original B&B tale, haha.
I really do like the way that Maas sets up her world so that you aren’t just dumped into it and expected to know how everything works. She puts so much effort into really immersing her readers into her fantasy realms, and it really shows.
Lovely review, Mary!
I’m so glad that you liked it too! It seems that after all of the hype its actually had some negative feedback which is sad because I enjoyed it so much.
You’re so right though, Maas does a wonderful job of setting up her world while gently prodding the plot into action. It was a perfect balance. I can’t wait for the rest of the series!
Thanks for stopping by Chiara! I actually can’t believe that you read my blog lol SQUEEEE!!!
-Mary