Review | A Court of Thorns and Roses

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

Date Published: May 5th, 2015

Dates Read: July 26-29th, 2021

Current Goodreads Rating: 4.19/5

Well, what do you know - I fell to BookTok peer pressure again. I've seen lots of TikToks recently about how amazing this book series is and requested this book from my local library a looooooooong time ago. Look there's a reason that a bunch of women have devoured this book series and I'm not going to judge them for that, but I do think that I let BookTok hype this one up for me a little too much. Am I still going to read the next book in the series? Yeah, I am.

EDIT: I just want everyone to know that, as of August 31st, I have finished DEVOURING the second book A Court of Mist and Fury and it is safe to say I am obsessed with this series. I'm sorry I ever doubted BookTok and the cult following this series has. I'm currently looking into how I can buy the box set so I don't have to wait for A Court of Wings and Ruin to become available at my local library.

Ok, so what happens? Life is a constant struggle for Feyre and her family. She's the only person in her small family of four who knows how to hunt and has to make the difficult decision of kill or be killed in order to bring dinner home to her father and two sisters. Ultimately she chooses survival, but her choice is not without cost.

Visited by an angry beast of a man, Feyre learns that she didn't kill just a simple wolf, but a faerie in disguise and now she has to answer for that misdeed. She's given another choice: live forever across the wall in the world of faeries or refuse and be brutally murdered. This choice, though not easy to swallow, is easy to make. As she spends her days in the Spring Court of High Fae Tamlin, Feyre learns more about his world and the plague that spreads across his lands. There is something sinister coming from the mountain in the middle of the fae lands, but no one seems to be able to tell Feyre more about it. As she battles her developing feelings for Tamlin and her desire to return to her family, Feyre slowly realizes she's in for more than she originally bargained for.

Ok, so what did I think? Someone on Goodreads said that this was one of the most boring retelling of Beauty and the Beast they'd ever read and I have to agree with them. The first third of the book is literally just Belle being held captive by a beastly Prince Adam and slowly developing Stockholm Syndrome for him. After hearing so much about how amazing this series is I felt like I was kind of let down.

Don't get me wrong, you know I love a good enemies to lovers story, but I just had difficulty getting into this story like the BookTokkers had. That being said, I'm probably going to read the rest of the series because I can't just start a series and not at least try to finish it, but also because I am somewhat curious as to where the story can go from here. ACOTAR does wrap up pretty nicely with maybe one or two loose ends that can be the beginning thread for the next book, but - at least as far as I can see - there isn't an overarching storyline that really ties the books together other than the fact that they're obviously set in the same universe.

I will say I thought the side characters were the best part of this book. Sure, Tamlin and Feyre's love story is the main focal point, but Tamlin's right hand man, Lucien, was just as fascinating (if not more so) and I found myself looking for him in various scenes throughout the book. His snarky friendship with Feyre was more entertaining to read than Feyre and Tamlin's awkward flirtation.

Also, I may be destroyed in the comments for this - I'm still new to the ACOTAR fandom - but I thought Rhys was a much better match for Feyre. Sure Tamlin was all about brooding silence to protect Feyre from danger, but at least Rhys did something to help her in the end. Yes, I am aware of the weird and kind of gross implications about entering into a deal where Feyre has to spend time with Rhys for a week every month, but I have no doubt she could knee him in the junk if he got a little too handsy. In the small amount of time they got to know each other and interacted I could see more of a give and take in their relationship than in her and Tamlin's. She pushes Rhys to be better and he pushes her to be more outspoken and self-sufficient. What does Tamlin really do for Feyre other than protect her and leave her in the dark? Perhaps this will change as I read through the rest of the series, but until then I'm positive that I will be rolling my eyes at every swoon-y love scene in the subsequent books.

Long Story Short:

• BookTok is addictive

• Beauty and the Beast did it better

• Tamlin who? Give me Rhys or give me death!

My Rating: 3/5