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mandersdraws's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I guess I don’t hate it, but I really do not like it.
I’m currently reading the next book in the series, and the further I get, the more I think this book is only here to serve as a prequel. I don’t feel like it stands very well on its own merits, and as it is, I’m wondering if it was all set up just for the sequel to tear down.
Now. The main thread of this book, and one of the most frustrating things about it, is how the main character Feyre is kept incredibly uninformed about the world, its magic, and the people around her.
For most of the novel the characters have reasons or excuses for never telling her important details. But in my opinion, there are plenty of situations in the book where they definitely could have told her more. They could have answered many more of her questions. They could have explained why something was dangerous. Especially when it becomes clear that this girl will not follow a rule or a warning without being given any reasoning behind it. Characters then often blame Feyre for being uninformed about magic or faerie society, which I find to be…well, unfair and kinda slimy. Especially when sex gets involved.
It also means that some of the rules of the magic in the world are just murky and unclear and appear to be inconsistent. The narration is in 1st person so (with maybe a few exceptions) we only know what Feyre knows.
And on the topic of world building, I had a little trouble staying invested when it came to the main villain of this book. They felt a little stereotypical to me in the way they are described. Additionally one of the great challenges they present, that ends up being the climax of the book, just felt a little silly.I mean you’re telling me that this incredibly jaded war lord, for her incredibly high stakes challenge, is going to present a riddle about…love? Besides which, I’ve seen that the riddle is pretty obvious to many readers (I solved it immediately lol I mean come on). I guess we can assume Amarantha doesn’t think humans to be very smart but to stake her power on that assumption? Even though Feyre was genuinely challenged by it, how would Amarantha know that? I dunno girl. It just seemed a little ridiculous.
I also have some thoughts about how the narration deals with class issues in this book. There seems to be kind of a rigid caste structure in this world that doesn’t really get examined.The narrative establishes kind of an innate hierarchy of races and sub-races, and then from that point onwards, the narration seems to almost exclusively care about the lives of the “High Fae,” who basically act as the magical world’s rulers and nobility. Lots of other faeries are described but none really appear to have personalities— the servants even being literally invisible for a large portion of the book — and Feyre doesn’t seem to concern herself with them. She also starts to look down upon her fellow humans at one point. But at the end of the day, I guess Feyre wasn’t a poor girl. She was a temporarily embarrassed rich girl. /s I might be taking this part of the book to seriously, but if you’re one to read your fantasy books through a lens of class consciousness, well. Might not be the one for you.
And the way she gets resurrected at the end? I found myself thinking, not for the first time since starting the book, “that was an option???” I can’t help but feel weird about them resurrecting our white girl romantic lead protagonist and not the literal child that also died at the end. But I guess was kind of necessary to set us up in the next book.
Another point of frustration for me are Feyre’s own feelings about her family. I feel personally like whenever the narrative turns towards her father and sisters that her feelings are inconsistent. And listen. I know feelings don’t have to make sense. But it was a frustrating reading experience, mostly because for the majority of the book, I don’t feel like the narration recognizes the dichotomy in how she feels about them. It just kind of switches back and forth between devotion and resent.
I also feel a little uncomfortable knowing who the fan-favorite love interest ends up being in later books. That character treats the protagonist absolutely horribly in this book, and while there are (again) lots of magical and political reasons for him to treat her that way, if it’s not addressed and reconciled later, I’ll be kind of grumpy about it lol. Of course, this book’s love interest doesn’t treat Feyre great either IMO, and has a fair few red flags himself, but honestly. It’s bad. It’s all bad.
Now here’s what I did like:
I like that Feyre has character growth. It’s subtle and slow, but as a character who hasn’t had the time or privilege for introspection in her adolescent life, I think it makes sense. Feyre is a hunter by trade but the story has her questioning who and what she wants to be.
I like that the love story has our characters finding common ground. That sounds like a low bar I guess, but the narrative is VERY EXPLICIT that they find each other sexy, so it’s nice that spice isn't all the characters have in common lol.
When the book bothers to flesh out other characters than our main couple, I do tend to like them. Lucien is very likable, and I even ended up liking Nesta.
Already I can see the sequel has more characters for us to get to know, and I hope for more development for them and for Feyre.
I’m currently reading the next book in the series, and the further I get, the more I think this book is only here to serve as a prequel. I don’t feel like it stands very well on its own merits, and as it is, I’m wondering if it was all set up just for the sequel to tear down.
Now. The main thread of this book, and one of the most frustrating things about it, is how the main character Feyre is kept incredibly uninformed about the world, its magic, and the people around her.
For most of the novel the characters have reasons or excuses for never telling her important details. But in my opinion, there are plenty of situations in the book where they definitely could have told her more. They could have answered many more of her questions. They could have explained why something was dangerous. Especially when it becomes clear that this girl will not follow a rule or a warning without being given any reasoning behind it. Characters then often blame Feyre for being uninformed about magic or faerie society, which I find to be…well, unfair and kinda slimy. Especially when sex gets involved.
It also means that some of the rules of the magic in the world are just murky and unclear and appear to be inconsistent. The narration is in 1st person so (with maybe a few exceptions) we only know what Feyre knows.
And on the topic of world building, I had a little trouble staying invested when it came to the main villain of this book. They felt a little stereotypical to me in the way they are described. Additionally one of the great challenges they present, that ends up being the climax of the book, just felt a little silly.
I also have some thoughts about how the narration deals with class issues in this book. There seems to be kind of a rigid caste structure in this world that doesn’t really get examined.
Another point of frustration for me are Feyre’s own feelings about her family. I feel personally like whenever the narrative turns towards her father and sisters that her feelings are inconsistent. And listen. I know feelings don’t have to make sense. But it was a frustrating reading experience, mostly because for the majority of the book, I don’t feel like the narration recognizes the dichotomy in how she feels about them. It just kind of switches back and forth between devotion and resent.
I also feel a little uncomfortable knowing who the fan-favorite love interest ends up being in later books. That character treats the protagonist absolutely horribly in this book, and while there are (again) lots of magical and political reasons for him to treat her that way, if it’s not addressed and reconciled later, I’ll be kind of grumpy about it lol. Of course, this book’s love interest doesn’t treat Feyre great either IMO, and has a fair few red flags himself, but honestly. It’s bad. It’s all bad.
Now here’s what I did like:
I like that Feyre has character growth. It’s subtle and slow, but as a character who hasn’t had the time or privilege for introspection in her adolescent life, I think it makes sense. Feyre is a hunter by trade but the story has her questioning who and what she wants to be.
I like that the love story has our characters finding common ground. That sounds like a low bar I guess, but the narrative is VERY EXPLICIT that they find each other sexy, so it’s nice that spice isn't all the characters have in common lol.
When the book bothers to flesh out other characters than our main couple, I do tend to like them. Lucien is very likable, and I even ended up liking Nesta.
Already I can see the sequel has more characters for us to get to know, and I hope for more development for them and for Feyre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Animal death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Excrement, Gore, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Torture, Classism, Alcohol, and Confinement
Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, War, Alcoholism, and Sexual violence
-Is drinking “faerie wine” alcohol use or drug use? It blurs the line. -Fantasy racism is a big topic in this book. -Additionally while it’s never addressed directly, I think this book is kind of heavy on rape culture.moppyy's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
izzymow's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Good for some. Not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, and Torture
kproc381's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This book is definitely interesting. The author paints an interesting visual of the worlds and characters. The plot twist was cool in a way even though it is hinted at. I did become more hooked into the story line in the climax which is around 300 pages.
The writing is just what really kills this book for me. Take a shot every time the author writes “I could paint that” , “his green eyes”, or “wine”. The overuses of the em dash and ellipsis were killing me after a while.
More on to the story, Feyre was making me so so angry. She was continuously told an action would harm her family but kept trying to do it anyways to save her family? For a hunter she seemed like she had no common sense or survival skills. She put herself in harms way numerous times. I also hated the fact that we are supposed to love Tamlin and Rhysland eventually meanwhile they both borderline SA/harass her…. It just seems dangerous to add into romance type books
The writing is just what really kills this book for me. Take a shot every time the author writes “I could paint that” , “his green eyes”, or “wine”. The overuses of the em dash and ellipsis were killing me after a while.
More on to the story, Feyre was making me so so angry. She was continuously told an action would harm her family but kept trying to do it anyways to save her family? For a hunter she seemed like she had no common sense or survival skills. She put herself in harms way numerous times. I also hated the fact that we are supposed to love Tamlin and Rhysland eventually meanwhile they both borderline SA/harass her…. It just seems dangerous to add into romance type books
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Murder
elingard's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was… pleasently surprised by this book. I thought I would hate it - that, much like Throne of Glass, I would have loved it when I bought it in 2016, but that the present me who has changed and grown would find it insufferable. But I actually quite enjoyed it! 3.75 stars in my mind. Sure, the relationship between Feyre and Tamlin flipped from antagonistic to romantic very quickly with little middle stage, but it was fun! There were stakes! And the twist of the treaty not actually saying anything was actually pretty good.
However, I will not be reading the 2nd book. Why?Because Rhysand. I cannot stand him, and nothing he can do can redeem him in my eyes. I don’t care that he had to play the court games like everyone else, he was just purely insufferable! He drugs her every single bloody night at the end! He violates her space, her consent, and is just generally a creep. And you’re telling me she ENDS UP WITH HIM IN THE SERIES??? Yeah, no. Fuck that guy, he’s a dick. As far as I’m concerned, this is actually a standalone and her and Tamlin get to live happily ever after or whatever happens in fairytales.
However, I will not be reading the 2nd book. Why?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
precy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I only liked the middle of the book and some chapters by the end, the rest is too slow pace, very weak plot, and some moments I felt bad reading it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
17michaelasully's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It's your standard fantasy book with some smut here and there.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Sexual harassment, Torture, War, Blood, Sexual content, Murder, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
xavlak33's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Not very well written. “I love you” I said, and stabbed him.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Body shaming, Abandonment, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Confinement, and Sexual content
slothburglar's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was a fun little story. The author struggles a bit to "show" instead of "tell". The lore she's created is wonderful and rich, but most of it is introduced through characters talking & explaining things to the protagonist instead of us being able to put things together for ourselves.
The characters are a bit dense about things that are obvious, but otherwise very likeable.
The characters are a bit dense about things that are obvious, but otherwise very likeable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Violence
ananya_b's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a really wonderful read! The pacing is fast and the plot is gripping. I could hardly put it down until I'd finished. Maas has a wonderful writing style too, apart from one too many uses of "my throat closed up" and "my mouth went dry" and a couple of grammatical errors- I found it slightly more ornate than that of most other modern writers, and there's definitely a lot less swearing.
The characters are well-rounded, especially Feyre. There are a couple of plot inaccuracies - for instance, the question of why Feyre couldn't see the Attor at first, despite the fact that it wasn't a member of the Spring Court.
Nonetheless, this was one of the best books I've read. I can't wait to read the rest of the series - I hope they're as good as this one!
The characters are well-rounded, especially Feyre. There are a couple of plot inaccuracies
Nonetheless, this was one of the best books I've read. I can't wait to read the rest of the series - I hope they're as good as this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, and Slavery
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Vomit, War, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts