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