Reviews with content warning for War - A Court of Wings and Ruin

Each book in the series keeps improving (which doesn't mean a lot really because this isn't a great series overall). The writing in this one is better, even though there are still overused phrases ('I could have sworn that...' being one that came up a lot). Maas backed away from overuse of ellipses and em dashes, so that was nice. Still some incomplete sentences, but again not as bad as previous books.

Writing aside, the story in this book is pretty good honestly. Lots of twists and turns that you don't see coming, which I enjoyed. I do think the book could have been a LOT shorter (a theme with this series) and still told the same story.

One thing that i still don't understand is how the Carver got out of prison? I thought the mirror was just to get him to agree, but I wasn't clear on how he actually removed himself?

I also thought that the father returning at the end was kind of stupid. Rolled my eyes at that.

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lakinglaze's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

This book — this book has my heart. I have never cried so much and so often with a story before — and not all those tears were sad — most of them, in fact, were of joy and love. That love, the compassion, the sacrifice — I won’t be able to let these characters go — not ever. It was all a gift. 🖤

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joyce_a's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Story was okay. Sometimes i skipped parts

the explicit sexual relationship of Rhys and Feyre was very present and it felt to me like it was written to get the book over 400 pages. It annoyed me at some point

But all in all an enjoyable read

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mkilla's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

An incredible read that kept me wrapped up in that universe from the first sentence. The last quarter of the book was so captivating that I never wanted put it down. Usually when I say that I loved the last bits of a story, that means the beginning or middle really dragged…that is not the case with this book. Every bit of this book was exciting. There was love: friendship, family, and romantic. There was conflict: inner, interpersonal, and on a global scale. This book had me excited over the politics and battles in a way I haven’t experienced since I was in high school over a decade ago. There was action and humor and heartbreaking sadness and tear jerking joy. This book tied up loose ends and made me feel grateful for everything and everyone I have. I have no notes. Well done, SJM, well done.

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wanderinghappygal's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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treblemakeranna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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toricooper0408's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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angelicalomax's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

BRO WTF. Im so disappointed.

The second book made me so excited for this book, with the second book’s cliff hanger and amazing tension and character development. BUT this third book SLAPPED me back to reality about SJM’s writing- which is that it sucks & it’s evident in this book.

SJM knows how to write sexual tension and plot, BUT she does not know how to write any depth into characters, her humor IS HORRIBLE, and this book in particular has INTENSE pacing issues. To SJM: For example of how to write about battle, read A Song of Achilles.

Pacing issues: The cliff hanger from book 2 left so much possibility for manipulation and plot twists in the beginning of this third book, but Feyre did absolutely nothing. The whole first half of this book could have been deleted or AT LEAST shortened. For a 700 page book, the plot only picked up at the very end. And even the end felt like a rushed conclusion.

Lack of tension: I think part of the reason why this book felt so long and boring in the first half is because there was absolutely no tension. I understand that Feyre and Rhys being together means lessened sexual tension HOWEVER SJM could have written in tension if she developed the side characters. THERE WAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL WITH TAMLIN! ESP IN THE FIRST HALF!

Brings me to my next point — Lack of depth in characters: bruh. I do appreciate these new relationships - Nessa + Cassian, Varian + Amren, potential love triangle with Elain + Azriel + Lucien, and Morrigan + potential lesbian lover? I hope these are all things that are explored in the future. If they aren’t then wtf is SJM doing. Another pro about this book- I appreciate more POC characters being written in and FINALLY the introduction of queer characters (wow what an ally *sarcasm bc she doesn’t do anything w these characters and just has them exist in the background*). That being said, this book could have been strengthened so much more if SJM invested in these side characters instead of focusing so much on Rhys and Feyre.

Last point: the ending. SJM sold out to what the fans wanted instead of sticking to her integrity as a strong plot writer. I wish she ended the book in either one of two ways : a) rhys dying, Feyre finding out she’s pregnant during the grieving, and then rhys being resurrected by some ominous power in the next book. Or b) do a “5 years later” and show F + R with a baby, no hierarchy within the fairies, humans and fairies intermingling, and all the side characters happily coupled. Then the series ending there (for option b).

Anyways. Idk if I’ll read the next book. We shall see. Sorry but not sorry for the unhinged rant 😂

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