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adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't really get the hype on this one.
The world building feels rather bland and generic feywild. Its full of the classic tropes of fey trickery and deal making, trying to eat the heart of the mortal, etc. If that's your thing, you'll feel right at home. There wasn't anything that felt truly original or creative about it though, just the same fairy magic played out over again in familiar settings.
The prose feels similarly. Its certainly not bad but its nothing to make praise of either. Its easy reading and that the only reason I didn't put it down in the middle somewhere. Specifically, I would have stopped when Tamil assaulted Fehre in the hallway
Maybe the characters are really compelling then? Nope. Feyre and Tamil are both incredibly annoying and unlikable. Feyre is 19, still practically a child, shes dumb and rash and puts herself in harms way constantly, which are fine and totally reasonable for someone her age, but then the central plot line is her Beauty and the Beast romance with a 600 year old immortal who doesn't understand consent (its not sexy to be told "if we don't stop now, I wont be able to stop" during foreplay, its a huge red flag. This shit just glorifies poor consent culture. ) and can't control his 'animal urges.' Like seriously, the age gap between an freshman and senior in college is often dubious enough, this trope is gross and any character that's dating an immortal should have a fully developed brain. It only gets better too when we learn that Tamlins quest for the past 49 years has been to find a mortal that hates fairies and gaslight her to falling in love with him so he can get his full power back. Guess that's why he went for the 19 year old.
Romance arc aside, Feyre was pretty badass. Her skills as a huntress were honed from taking care of her family and she was able to fight and win against the beasts of the feywild on multiple occasions. She makes hard decisions for the benefit of the greater good and viciously looks after the ones she loves.
The minor characters were more likable, Rhys came in late but quickly became my favorite.Even if his plotting and scheming was so obvious that everyone should have seen through it but no one did. And Lucien was a likable jerk and even if we was an ass at times, he obviously cared deeply about his friends.
I'll be picking up book two only because my partner and her friend are reading though it together and I like bookclubs. I hope it gets better because at this rate I can't do 5 books. Please let Tamil die
The world building feels rather bland and generic feywild. Its full of the classic tropes of fey trickery and deal making, trying to eat the heart of the mortal, etc. If that's your thing, you'll feel right at home. There wasn't anything that felt truly original or creative about it though, just the same fairy magic played out over again in familiar settings.
The prose feels similarly. Its certainly not bad but its nothing to make praise of either. Its easy reading and that the only reason I didn't put it down in the middle somewhere. Specifically, I would have stopped when Tamil assaulted Fehre in the hallway
Maybe the characters are really compelling then? Nope. Feyre and Tamil are both incredibly annoying and unlikable. Feyre is 19, still practically a child, shes dumb and rash and puts herself in harms way constantly, which are fine and totally reasonable for someone her age, but then the central plot line is her Beauty and the Beast romance with a 600 year old immortal who doesn't understand consent (
Romance arc aside, Feyre was pretty badass. Her skills as a huntress were honed from taking care of her family and she was able to fight and win against the beasts of the feywild on multiple occasions. She makes hard decisions for the benefit of the greater good and viciously looks after the ones she loves.
The minor characters were more likable, Rhys came in late but quickly became my favorite.
I'll be picking up book two only because my partner and her friend are reading though it together and I like bookclubs. I hope it gets better because at this rate I can't do 5 books. Please let Tamil die
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The main character is impossibly bland and frustrating. She is put through countless toxic or downright abusive situations. Both potential love interests are toxic and abusive. Her family is neglectful and abusive. This classifies, at best, as a dark romance. If you are already unimpressed by the offerings of that genre you will not have a good time reading this. The first sixty percent of the book is boring and toxic. After that it is no longer as boring but triple toxic.
The audiobook narrator does good with the material she is given but this is definitely not a tale for me. People say the next book is better and this is the worst book in the series but I am not giving this author a second chance.
The audiobook narrator does good with the material she is given but this is definitely not a tale for me. People say the next book is better and this is the worst book in the series but I am not giving this author a second chance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Death of parent, War, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
okay. first to get this out of the way, sarah j. maas is an incredibly problematic author. and tbh she's not a great writer. i did NAWT buy this book. don't buy this book it ain't worth it. i only re-read the series because i wanted to properly critique the content...
and then i forgot to do the review. but i still remember all i hated in ACOTAR.
"my own bowels turned watery with fear." everyone hates this phrase and i do too, it was never-ending and just a terrible, terrible description.
ACOTAR itself is simply a Beauty and the Beast-type story, practically everyone's read it so i'm not gonna discuss the story. i see why it appealed to so many people though. it's pretty digestible romance, and it hits all the fairytale points. the girl is taken from her humdrum life and swept into a far richer life by a fae highlord, who's inhumanely attractive and is into her. and they fuck. it's what everyone wants!
it's pretty average and of the entire series is the better book of the series.
but.
it's always annoying when white 'fantasy' authors do this thing where they invert racial dynamics by creating a system in their books where white folks experience oppression akin to real life oppression i and other black people face. having humans be enslaved by fae was so ugh, like i outwardly sighed.
i also sighed when maas had the premise be that feyre is like this tough, badass girl. feyre didn't give that *to me*. and i would expound, but i forgot the details so i'm moving on.
the answer to the riddle amarantha gave her...that riddle was so damn stupid. not more stupid than feyre but it was coming close! (the girl thought her disabled father who wouldn't move to feed her, came to Prythian to save her.)
again this story is the strongest in the series, and i only think that's because it draws from so much material we're already familiar with, which is why i haven't called it a 'good' book. it's not; it's quite boring. you know what's gonna happen, you know where the stories going because we've seen it all before.
that's about all i got to say about this one. i did not buy this book. y'all, do not buy this book. want better for yourself, you can do so much better 🙏🏽
and then i forgot to do the review. but i still remember all i hated in ACOTAR.
"my own bowels turned watery with fear." everyone hates this phrase and i do too, it was never-ending and just a terrible, terrible description.
ACOTAR itself is simply a Beauty and the Beast-type story, practically everyone's read it so i'm not gonna discuss the story. i see why it appealed to so many people though. it's pretty digestible romance, and it hits all the fairytale points. the girl is taken from her humdrum life and swept into a far richer life by a fae highlord, who's inhumanely attractive and is into her. and they fuck. it's what everyone wants!
it's pretty average and of the entire series is the better book of the series.
but.
it's always annoying when white 'fantasy' authors do this thing where they invert racial dynamics by creating a system in their books where white folks experience oppression akin to real life oppression i and other black people face. having humans be enslaved by fae was so ugh, like i outwardly sighed.
i also sighed when maas had the premise be that feyre is like this tough, badass girl. feyre didn't give that *to me*. and i would expound, but i forgot the details so i'm moving on.
the answer to the riddle amarantha gave her...that riddle was so damn stupid. not more stupid than feyre but it was coming close! (the girl thought her disabled father who wouldn't move to feed her, came to Prythian to save her.)
again this story is the strongest in the series, and i only think that's because it draws from so much material we're already familiar with, which is why i haven't called it a 'good' book. it's not; it's quite boring. you know what's gonna happen, you know where the stories going because we've seen it all before.
that's about all i got to say about this one. i did not buy this book. y'all, do not buy this book. want better for yourself, you can do so much better 🙏🏽
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Misogyny
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this book was pretty mid. SJM is good at creating a fantastical world, but I find the romantic relationships in her books to be somewhat problematic. ACOTAR was no exception. While I liked the overall plot of the book, I could not get on board with the possessive and over-protective nature of the male love interests. I know there is a lot of hype around the series, so I’m willing to continue on to the next book in hopes that there is some character growth!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief
Minor: Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Surely this book can’t be serious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail