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adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Given all the hype, I’m feeling a bit underwhelmed by this one. It didn’t grab me like some other hyped series. Hoping the series gets better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Tonal whiplash. Story whiplash. Characters acted in ways that somehow seemed out of character? One of the last bosses reminded me of one of the Deltora Quest beasts so that was a reminder to read that series. I’ll stick to Throne of Glass. Yeesh!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Torture
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'll start by saying that I was drawn to this book because of the premise - a young woman is forced to live the court of a beautiful and scary fairy lord after killing a fairy lord - and because of the incredible hype and fanbase that it seems to have collected. I generally love books about fae and compelling romance plots. What I found instead was a young adult power fantasy with the facade of plot, characters, worldbuilding, and romance, but what struck me most was how incredibly empty and shallow it all was.
The protagonists - standard-issue YA girlboss Feyre and her mysterious masked fae love interest are both dull as rocks. There was nothing that compelling about their courtship - no electric chemistry or real companionship. All of the men are apparently uber-hot (but not with any kind of specificity that would make them feel real) and also controlling, patronizing, and manipulative, constantly providing rules for Feyre that she inevitably breaks. And Feyre acted so nonsensically that it made me think they might all have a point. I couldn't even call this a weird, fun monster romance because the fairies weren't that weird, acting more like human nobles than anything else, and the "beast" in this very shallow Beauty and the Beast retelling wasn't really all that monstrous (he was essentially just a hot guy with a mask). The villain was cartoonish and mustache-twirlingly evil, and while there were a couple interesting side characters none of them got that much screentime.
I didn't expect the most intricate worldbuilding, but Maas could have at least had a little more fun with it. We spend about half of this book in a noble fairy court and it's shockingly devoid of life - all we meet are two boring pretty bois and one servant. Where are my weird fairies? Strange architecture? Exotic luxuries? There were a few attempts made which I enjoyed - some very interesting creepy monsters and a court in the last third of the book that was much more lively, but I needed more, or at least some good character development or intrigue in the interrim.
I will say that despite all of my complaints, this book was incredibly readable. The prose was a bit purple but not terrible, the plot had just enough hooks and plot twists to keep me from DNFing, and while the last third of the book wasn't necessarily well-written it was certainly fun (which is more than I can say about the rest of it).
The protagonists - standard-issue YA girlboss Feyre and her mysterious masked fae love interest are both dull as rocks. There was nothing that compelling about their courtship - no electric chemistry or real companionship. All of the men are apparently uber-hot (but not with any kind of specificity that would make them feel real) and also controlling, patronizing, and manipulative, constantly providing rules for Feyre that she inevitably breaks. And Feyre acted so nonsensically that it made me think they might all have a point. I couldn't even call this a weird, fun monster romance because the fairies weren't that weird, acting more like human nobles than anything else, and the "beast" in this very shallow Beauty and the Beast retelling wasn't really all that monstrous (he was essentially just a hot guy with a mask). The villain was cartoonish and mustache-twirlingly evil, and while there were a couple interesting side characters none of them got that much screentime.
I didn't expect the most intricate worldbuilding, but Maas could have at least had a little more fun with it. We spend about half of this book in a noble fairy court and it's shockingly devoid of life - all we meet are two boring pretty bois and one servant. Where are my weird fairies? Strange architecture? Exotic luxuries? There were a few attempts made which I enjoyed - some very interesting creepy monsters and a court in the last third of the book that was much more lively, but I needed more, or at least some good character development or intrigue in the interrim.
I will say that despite all of my complaints, this book was incredibly readable. The prose was a bit purple but not terrible, the plot had just enough hooks and plot twists to keep me from DNFing, and while the last third of the book wasn't necessarily well-written it was certainly fun (which is more than I can say about the rest of it).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Slavery, Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Murder
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tā kā es jau iepriekš biju tieši šo daļu lasījusi, tad jau apmēram zināju visus gaidāmos notikumus. es teiktu, ka šī sēriju daļa ir tāds kā ievads, lai pēc tam varētu baudīt pārējās grāmatas, kuras (es ceru) ir interesantākas. es jau zinu, ka feira būs kopā ar rīsandu, un tamlinā atklāsies vairāki sarkanie karogi, tieši tāpēc man tamlins jau šobrīd nepatika. toties, visas reizes, kad pie apvāršņa parādījās rīsands... 🤭 i just LOVE this man. rīsands vienmēr ir un būs manā book boyfriend top 3 augšgalā; var just, ka arī autore pati ir ļoti noslīpējusi rīsanda personalitāti un var just, ka viņai viņš ļoti patīk. tieši tāpēc grāmatas pēdējās 100 lapaspuses šķīrās ļoti ātri - beidzot bija kāda darbība, uzdevumi, un vairāk bija ainu tieši ar rīsandu. es zinu, ka es pārāk daudz jau runāju par rīsandu, bet... rīsands. ES NEVARU. un tā kā feiras un rīsanda stāsts ir modernizēta aīda un persefones versija, un vēl enemies to lovers... sign me tf up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Blood
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great book! I love fantasy stories and this one was perfect. It had just the right amount of romance and humor to balance out the intense story line. Sometimes I could guess what was going to happen next but there were some very good plot twists!
I really wish the show didn’t get scrapped- I’d kill to see what Tamlin would look like!
I really wish the show didn’t get scrapped- I’d kill to see what Tamlin would look like!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Classism
Minor: Death of parent
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.25 out of 5 stars
A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. This book follows a young woman named Feyre. Her family is poor and she must hunt for food to feed them. She unintentionally kills a fae and ends up being kidnapped by a high fae. The book follows Feyre learning to live in the fae realm.
This is the first book l've read by Maas. I’m not typically the biggest fan of high fantasy but Maas does a good job weaving the story together. The story goes through interesting parts and boring parts. For so much of the story, Feyre is just sitting around like she is a helpless little human and when she finally steps up and joins in the fight, then I was really interested in the book. Also, Maas has a tendency to use weird words and phrases multiple times. She uses the word “bowels” multiple times and it kept taking me out of the story. 😶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Alcohol
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Abandonment, War, Classism
Minor: Infertility