Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

By Rachel
A Court of Thorns and Roses Book Cover

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, published May 2015 by Bloomsbury Children’s.

Read: May 2014
Genre: Young Adult/New Adult/Fantasy/Re-telling
Source: Purchased
#Pages: 416
Get It Now: Wordery

Add to GoodreadsGoodreads Synopsis: Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator, and killing something so precious comes at a price.

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion, and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

The Review

I’m a BIG Maas fan (or at least I was before she destroyed my life with Queen of Shadows, full review to follow for that one…). So when I saw she was coming out with a new Fantasy series, which is also a Beauty and the Beast re-telling (one of my favourite Disney movies), I knew I had to get my hands on it. I pre-ordered this one and dove straight into it, falling in love with the story, just as much as I drooled over that delicious cover.

*Warning* – some very minor spoilers ahead…

A Court of Thorns and Roses took a little time for me to get into, but generally, I really loved it. Typical Maas, she creates a complex story, with many well-developed characters, and weaves a strong romance throughout the many Fantastical elements. I’d never read any Fae-related books until the Throne of Glass series, and I really love Maas’ take on the mythological creatures. For me, ACOTAR felt more Fae-heavy than the TOG series, but that in no way stopped me from finding it highly enjoyable.

Maas builds the BEST worlds! You can tell that this book is a great build-up for what’s to come, and I can’t wait to delve back into this world – book two can’t come quick enough! I loved the sarcasm and sark from Lucien, I thought the “evil” was so well written, and Maas definitely upped the steam-levels in this story! For me, Maas excels at writing romances (Sam, anyone?), and then subsequently takes great pleasure in wrecking your heart. She’s already doing a great job of ruining my TOG-ship, and although this is only book one in the trilogy, I’m pretty sure she’s going to go stomping all over my ship in this series too. I can feel something brewing with our loveable-rogue-bad-boy Rhysand, and I’m not too happy about it.

There was a lot packed into this read, and while some of it was a little… strange and almost uncomfortable (they are Fae after all), the majority of the read had me gripped. Maas has a way of writing that just forces her readers around her pinkie finger, begging for more, while covering their face with their hands for absolute fear of what comes next. What a woman.

The Rating

4.5/5

This book is SUPER popular – have you read it? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!

About Rachel

Avid reader & #bookblogger. Lover of all things business. A fan of drinks & dancing. Ever optimistic. Feminist.

14 Responses

    1. Rachel

      Oh no. Really? I think if you’ve tried TOG and ACOTAR and haven’t connected with either, you’d be best waiting to see if Maas gives us a non-Fae story in future. R x

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  3. Brandie

    The only Maas book I’ve read, as you know. And I enjoyed it. I loved that it wasn’t a major cliffhanger ending. I hate those SO BAD. It was my first fae book, also. A little strange, but still entertaining. I thought it was slow in some spots, but I still liked it. I am on the fence about reading the second book…we shall see.

    Great review, Rach! I’m glad you liked this one. 🙂 xx

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    1. Rachel

      I appreciated the lack of cliffhanger too, but she left plenty of possibilities open for future books I thought, like she planted some seeds. The steam levels are definitely higher in ACOTAR than in TOG, but I still want to push those on you so bad lol Now that you mention it, I found it a little slow at times too, but I think that’s always the way with the first book in a trilogy because there’s so much to be set up for the rest of the series. You’re gonna have to read on now!! R xxx

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    1. Rachel

      YUP, you could definitely feel the NA vibes as opposed to YA style romance. Really looking forward to seeing where she takes this one, because even though both of her series are Fae based, they are thankfully quite different! R x

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  5. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    I am with you on this one, it began a bit slower than I would have liked, it took me a little while to figure out where the story was going, but once the story got into the swing of things I was right along with it. I couldn’t help but love the fact you didn’t have a cliffhanger but the book was open-ended so you can tell there is still plenty to come.

    I can’t decide when it comes to my ship in this, bad guy Rhysand didn’t seem as bad as he first appeared (but that could be me being a sucker for a bookish bad boy) but I also loved Tamlin, so I don’t know what to think. I’m currently just interested to see where Maas will be taking things and how the characters will develop.

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    1. Rachel

      It definitely took a little while to sink my teeth into this, but then looking back I found that with Throne of Glass too. I think I may be that way with Fantasy in general, as it takes a little while to set the scene and get settled into the structure of a fantastical world? You can’t just jump in like you do with contemporary. Oh no, don’t ship the bad guy!! I’m such an ass though, because I always love the good guys in novels, and I BET I wouldn’t go for them in real life. Figures. I’m curious as to where Maas is going to take this, because she likes to twist, and mess, and play around with relationships, so I doubt anything to come is going to be straight forward! R x

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      1. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

        That’s true, I didn’t fall in love with ToG series until the second book, it may be a bit of a fantasy thing where you need to learn about the world before you can enjoy the characters and their story? And I know I shouldn’t ship the bad guy, but I’m sure there is more than there seems to him. I now sound like one of those deluded girlfriends announcing that he’s not bad just misunderstood. I know what you mean, though, I love my bookish bad boys but am the complete opposite in real life, you’ve got it a bit backwards liking the good guys in books and then not in real life (that’s where you should like the good guys!).

        Luckily I’m not committed to a ship at the moment because I know Maas will twist things around and I’ll be announcing I’ll go down with my ship, I get far too committed to my bookish ships at times. I am looking forward to the twists, though, it’s what makes the books interesting!

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      2. Rachel

        I think so – the first book sets the scene but it’s never THAT great because it’s the start of such a long and detailed series. There definitely is more to him, but I can’t ship him, I love Tamlin! HAHA I need to work on liking the good guys in real life instead of in books. I must give off bad boy pheromones. I didn’t think Maas would be so cruel, but after Queen of Shadows? That evil temptress is capable of anything! R xx

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