I have a terrible habit of binge-reading (and binge-watching), so when I was in the mood for a Fae book the other day, I decided to read Sarah J. Maas’ whole “A Court of ___ & ___” series. While I originally planned on just talking about Sarah’s latest and greatest, I’ll summarize all my thoughts.
A Court of Thorns & Roses was a Beauty & the Beast retelling with a supernatural twist. I didn’t really like the love interest (the two had no chemistry), the protagonist, Feyre (Fae-ruh), was mediocre in personality, but overall, wasn’t terrible. Some of the dialogue was actually pretty great. The one major problem I had was that all the other characters literally told us what Fayre was like versus showing us. They kept pointing out her lack of sense of humor, etc. It got on my nerves, but the series was likable enough to try again.
ACOTAR: 3 stars
I hated A Court of Mist & Fury the first time I read it. The characters seemed bipolar, more telling versus showing, Feyre had a love of the word prick that got old really fast, and I thought the author was going for a love triangle at first which pissed me off. BUT. I re-read it the other day, and changed my mind. This novel was the best in the series. Lots of character development, more likable characters, actual plot, and some chemistry between the High Lord and our lovely Feyre. The romance wasn’t the twist, just the bipolar disorder of the discarded love interest. It was as if the author couldn’t decide what to do about the whole situation, and decided to jump ship while dragging us along. If I think really hard, I can see how it worked. I think there could’ve been a more seamless transition, however. (And I realize I’m talking around the specifics, but I’m trying to not spoil anything for anyone.)
ACOMAF: 4 stars
But let’s get to the real point of this post. A Court of Wings & Ruin. It was 700 pages and utterly dull. Nothing really happens till the end of the book. There is no chemistry between our protagonists since that was in Book 2. No pacing, lots more telling versus showing, and I just saw we have 4 more books in this series. This is where I’m jumping off the ACOWAR, ACOMAF, and ACOTAR armada, guys. I can’t even imagine more of this. I know, mine is a super unpopular opinion. Everyone’s all like “THE FEELS,” and I’m like, “THE PAIN.” Feyre gets everything handed to her - when she’s in the worst situation, it all magically comes into place. Some of it is more believable than others. There was a little of this happening in the earlier novels (damn you, Suriel), but I was shocked about how well the end wrapped up. Not the good kind of shock. Did anyone else feel this way?
ACOWAR: 2 stars
If you’re interested in reading the series, I think the first 2 books are worth it. Hell, just read the second one. And if you’re a big visualizer, I discovered Charlie Bowater while poking around (creator of this lovely pic of Feyre). (Link to her Tumblr.) She’s seriously talented, and I love her vision of the characters.
