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Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

88 reviews

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The relationships between characters continue to be the glue that holds the book together, but in general a lot of it was just a bit worse than the previous instalment. The whole thing got bogged down in one-thing-after-another style plot of jumping from event to event, with the final act being the worse thanks to constant similar, low impact surprise reveals.

The random secrets from characters to enable reveals that turn the table was a bit much, and often not well justified as needing to be secret. Plus there were quite a few moments of cringe, often in service of maintaining the power fantasy. 

All that being said, I did enjoy reading this book, thanks to very engaging character dynamics and a plot that didn’t linger on the holes.

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adventurous hopeful 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: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Definitely better than the first two books. Quite enjoyed this one. I am glad at least part of the situation between Mor, Cassian and Azriel had been sorted in terms of Fayre's understanding as Mor's attitude had been annoying. I am also glad Nesta finally pulled herself together and that Elain was finally a least bit useful but her naivety is still infuriating. I hate how Tamlin got a bit of a redemption arc in this book, that man deserves no sympathy or kindness whatsoever and I hope he burns in hell. I am glad Amren got her happy ending I guess but looking forward to see how she develops as a person. I wish the universe for Azriel he is by far my favourite out of everyone and I will say I am quite partial to Tarquin and Lucien too. Hoping to hear more about the story of Bryaxis, seems quite an interesting fellow. And I feel so bad for Clotho and the other priestesses/acolytes in the library, I hope they can find the library safe once again. 

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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: Complicated

This was certainly an improvement to the series after the wild ride that was ACOMAF. There was a lot going on plot-wise, and the pacing kept me hooked till the last page. Maas has also developed her characters and their relationships better than in the last book — for instance, I like how
this book shows Tamlin to be deeply flawed and toxic, but certainly not an outright villain; or how
Nesta gets progressively warmer and more humanised. However, I would also have loved to see Feyre apologising and trying to make it up to the people she hurts through her decisions and mistakes, instead of just admitting it to herself and then forgetting about it.

The language is more flowery than in ACOMAF, but Maas's style of writing quickly gets repetitive and annoying — I lost count of the number of times "a trail of corpses/destruction/dead bodies was left in his/her/its wake." It's easy to overlook these flaws, though, for a book that's beginning to wrap up Feyre's story — and it's definitely worth a read.

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adventurous fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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: Yes

So much beauty and bloodshed. This is a book about family — especially the kind you build rather than the kind you’re born into — and how to take care of others. I haven’t cried so hard reading a book in a very long time. Lots of unanticipated twists and turns made it hard to put down. 

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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: Complicated

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Where A Court of Mist and Fury was emotionally intense, Wings & Ruin is packed with political tension and action. I personally enjoyed M&F more, but W&R still gripped me. I found myself forgetting to breath, heart pounding in my chest, unable to put the book down due to the intensity of the emotions of the scenes as you experience them right along with the narrator. The tensions ebb and flow, brief breathing room, but ultimately build and build. I'm grateful she ended it more gently than M&F, a very mild balm after several chapters of gut wrenching twists and disappointments for our beloved main cast. I can't remember the last time a book brought me to tears, but this one managed it. 

And, some solid queer representation, with an honest and relatable conversation about being bi in a heteronormative society. I felt so seen and validated by that. 

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-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

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