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

Overall rating: ★★★☆☆ 2.50 stars

This is my first time writing a book/series review, so please bear with me if the structure of the review is a little bit over the place! That said, I am in no way a writer; writing is not my strength and I am trying to improve on writing about my thoughts and feelings through these book reviews. This blog functions as a way for me to improve my writing while also sharing my thoughts about some books I’ve been reading recently! :)

I don’t really know how to cohesively write a series review yet, so I’ll first write my review for each of the three books and then conclude with my thoughts on the series as a whole.

Below are links to each book review (with spoilers).

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book 1)

A Court of Mist and Fury (Book 2)

A Court of Wings and Ruin (Book 3)

As a whole, I give ACOTAR 2.50 stars out of 5 stars. The relationship development between Feyre and Rhysand, as well as Feyre’s own character development, were what made this series truly enjoyable. The plot was okay, with some twists and turns keeping me interested but not engaged enough. The pacing and writing itself were subpar and detracted much of my enjoyment of reading this series. SJM can build characters and relationships between characters well, but she lacks in other aspects that could’ve made this series much better than it is now. Tbh, A Court of Mist and Fury is the only ACOTAR book in my heart.

- lian

Book Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2.25 stars)

Synopsis:

“Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places.”

This book turned out to be exactly as people described. It took me forever (approximately a week or two) to get through this last book, and part of me regrets even reading it in the first place. There wasn’t much I liked about this book besides maybe a few parts of it. Everything else after was just… not it. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book where Feyre is as petty as she can be towards Tamlin. I lived for Feyre deceiving Tamlin and being petty toward him and his betrayal and overall shittiness as a person. She sacrificed so much to save him and in return he abused her and betrayed and sold out her sisters and Prythian. It was also nice to see Feyre go against Ianthe and just overall be a petty person for valid reasons! (Fuck those bitches up Feyre!!)

I also enjoyed how this book was a bit more plot focused compared to the other two. It gave more direction to where the story was going (but the plot itself is another story I’ll get to soon). I also enjoyed Feyre and the Night Court getting super badass old gods on their side to join them in the war. The process of convincing those gods to fight alongside them was also really fun to read. The only other thing I liked about this book was Mor coming out as bisexual! We love a bisexual queen! 

But in all honesty the critiques heavily outweigh the praises in this review. The plot itself just wasn’t good and I felt like there were some plot holes and inconsistencies in the magic system. Why would SJM hype up all these strong, old gods to have them die moments into the final battle? How is it that when the other High Lords resurrected Rhysand, he didn’t get their powers like Feyre did? And what the hell is Amren supposed to be? There were so many unanswered questions that detracted some of my enjoyment of this book.

In terms of writing, it was so much worse than the previous books. The battle scenes felt rushed and it became apparent that SJM doesn’t really know how to write good battle scenes. Sentences were choppy and terse, making it harder to read and get through the book. And I was so fucking tired of the word “mate.” It was overused (around 200 times according to one GR user) and at one point it felt cringey; even now I can barely look at the word without dying a little inside. The fact that SJM tried to give Tamlin a redemption arc… bitch I think NOT. Him telling Feyre to “be happy” doesn’t erase his manipulativeness and abusiveness and doesn’t come close to excusing his actions toward her. Lastly, the way Mor’s sexuality was written bothered me. Just because she is bisexual doesn’t mean she is up for threesomes?? Like definitely bisexuality doesn’t work that way, and the way SJM wrote it showed how SJM herself is cis. There were some enjoyable moments but there were so many problems I had with this book that it took all my willpower to get through it.

- lian

Book Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 stars

Synopsis:

“Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court–but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms–and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future–and the future of a world cleaved in two.”

I enjoyed this book so much more than the first one. The plot, the characters, the writing was so much better and refreshing. I really enjoyed Feyre’s development as a character though her healing and her learning to love herself and her powers. Feyre learned to heal her broken heart and soul, realizing how she is her own person with the power to make the choices she wants in her life. I cannot separate her character development without mentioning her relationship with Rhysand, because it is one of the reasons that she was able to heal and find self-love in the first place.

The entire book was just Feysand slow-burn and I loved it. I loved reading about their interactions and their banter and how Feyre gradually opened up to Rhysand and realized that she didn’t love Tamlin anymore. Rhysand treated her with care and valued her thoughts, her choices, her freedom. He treated her in a manner that Feyre desperately needed in order to heal and love herself. I loved Feyre’s realization that compared to Rhysand, Tamlin was abusive as fuck: he ignored her PTSD, never gave her the freedom to voice her thoughts, didn’t let her engage in politics, and trapped her in his house (which became a source of trauma for her). Feyre finally learned to say “fuck Tamlin and his fucking court” and I was absolutely here for that!! Feyre and Rhysand’s relationship development and pining throughout the book was also lovely to read. I love slow-burn and angst and SJM was able to deliver them well enough.

On another note, I also liked the found family aspects of this novel (despite the fact that Feyre found a new family that already existed for like 500 years or so). I am an absolute sucker for this trope and I am honestly down to read any novel as long as it has this trope. Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Amren became her support system, her mentors, her friends, her family. I loved reading their interactions and their connections with one another.

Despite my love for the characters, there were also some parts of the book that I did not enjoy. The pacing of this book mirrored that of the first: slow in the beginning and action-packed and rushed at the end. The plot itself was a little better this time so the effect of the pacing wasn’t as bad, but it still bothered me. However, some parts of the plot felt like a filler and could’ve been shortened to make reading more enjoyable. I am curious to see how the series will conclude and hope it isn’t as bad as many have rated it to be.

- lian

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

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2.50 stars

Synopsis:

“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 over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it…or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.”

I honestly didn’t know much about this series when I first read this book. I heard it was a popular series among the booktube and book Twitter community and decided to give it a shot since I enjoy reading faerie/fey stories. I liked Feyre’s character and how she developed throughout it. It was interesting to see her adapt to living in Prythian and further taking it upon herself to attempt to break the curse that looms over the land. I like how she decided that she was going to try to break the curse and free everyone despite being human. She went against what people expected of her and became involved in this situation to save the person she loved (I know, it’s cliche). 

However, the pacing of the novel was inconsistent: the majority of the book was extremely slow until the last few parts of the book where Feyre decides to fight back and break the curse. There was really nothing happening during the first part of the book (besides the relationship development between Tamlin and Feyre) until the second part, in which everything seemed to happen all at once. 

Another aspect I didn’t enjoy is a scene in the first part that is regarded by many as problematic. One night, Tamlin, who is, for a lack of better words, in heat, pushes himself up against Feyre and proceeds to bite her without her consent. She told him a few times to stop what he was doing but he proceeded to bite her until letting her go. I just didn’t vibe with that nonconsensual part and it made me understand why Feyre doesn’t end up with Tamlin in the end (bless, because if she did I would’ve rioted). 

The plot itself was mediocre for the most part as the novel is a retelling of The Beauty and the Beast. The story didn’t pull me in until the latter half with all the action and important plot points. I still enjoyed some parts of the book, but if I hadn’t known who Feyre ends up with in the end I honestly wouldn’t have read the other books.

- lian