This was enjoyable overall. I originally picked it up to read with friends, half as a meme and half fr. I was also partially inspired by a YouTube video that sung its praises, primarily in relation to its reputation as romance, while it is in reality much more than that. That being said, I was a tad disappointed by how much the romance was the focus.
What was great: the chapter length. Weird praise perhaps but it really made the book fly. The pacing was generally even, although her trauma painting arc in the middle was a lull in comparison to the beginning and end. There was a lot of time devoted to the growth of the relationship, which is fair, especially as I expect it to be a mainstay throughout.
Feyre is an interesting character. She’s simultaneously making incredibly naïve decisions while simultaneously being a world beater against immortal beings. The amount of times she put herself in irreparably dangerous situations to be deus ex machina’d had me tripping. 😂 Damn was she hot and cold emotionally as well. I can give her a pass as she’s a prisoner, but it would be hourly she would switch from being all in on the faerie world and longing for that stank ass cabin with her fam that never wanted her in the first place. It was a bit counterintuitive that her character was a combination of “stay with the high lord” and actively seeking to solve problems that nobody asked her to solve, yet when Tamlin tells her to leave when shit is about to hit the fan, she just dips.
The supporting cast were my favorites. I was a Tamlin guy from day 1, but he really showed his mettle when the curse was revealed. There were a lot of contradicting ideas in his character, and it not sure if that makes him deep or confusing. Lucien was great. I enjoyed his mystery and angst, but he was a goodfella when he had to stand strong. Rhys was probably the most interesting character to me. Originally billed as a villain, I knew he would have redeemable actions. Those gray characters are my favorite, but he might be more bad than good, although the other characters seem to overlook that. The family ended up playing a minor role. The dad was bitchmade. Elain was a nonissue. Nesta was the best of the three, and the glamour not working on her added a level of intrigue that the others were lacking.
I liked the world, although it lacked depth. There were concepts introduced just to give a hurdle to conquer, which were then immediately conquered, to never be mentioned again. Hopefully we get some more of those returning in the future. I liked learning of the culture of the different courts and their relationships. The Fae themselves were pretty bland and tropey, a collection of borrowed motifs rather than an interesting new idea.
The gravity of the situation never really hit for me. While she mentioned that the Faerie queen would recapture the entirety of the human world, the primary conflict was saving her mans. Nothing wrong with that. In the end, though, Amarantha felt a bit unnecessary. Feyre was able to easily out maneuver her. The ending was a corny greatest hits compilation. Cmon now son. lol. The trolley problem compounded by her not actually killing Tamlin, and then topping it off with the Twilight ass ending had my eyes rolling. The answer to the riddle too. 💀 Spare me.
Like I said before, the queen being vanquished lacked gravity to me. Perhaps it would have been more impactful for me if it was built along the way, but at the same time it kept me engaged as the plot evolved to reveal bigger and bigger baddies, so I’m undecided here.
