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adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Fall 2022 review:
I tried reading A Court of Thorns & Roses when I was 17. My conservative, clean-reads-only brain didn’t like Feyre, Tamlin, Lucien, Alis, the setting, or the vibes. I gave up around sixty to a hundred pages in.
Flash forward four years. I’ve changed a little. ACOTAR is the heart of BookTok. And everything I hear about it makes me want to read it more, to give it another shot. So I do.
Worth it.
Feyre is a resilient, stubborn, kickbutt heroine. She makes mistakes, but she amends them. She’s smart, fierce, and loyal, and not afraid to admit when she’s wrong.
Tamlin is… sighs. Whew boy. WONDERFUL. Wow.
Lucien is a DARLING. I’m obsessed with him. His friendship with Tamlin and relationship with Feyre are my FAVORITE THINGS. Seriously. More Lucien vs. Feyre content in Book Two, please??
Alis was alright. I didn’t dislike her this time around 😉
And, if you’re an ACOTAR reader in any sense of the word, you know Rhysand is worth mentioning. Despite all I’ve seen on BookTok, I didn’t see the appeal when he first appeared. But after all that time Under the Mountain, and the second-to-last(?) chapter… yes. Okay. Approved.
This book shows a beautiful parallel between winter and spring, hardships and overcoming. You can bet your buttons that I’ll be reading A Court of Mist & Fury.
TW: graphic torture/violence; moderate sexual content (easily skippable), panic attacks/disorders, vomit; mild sexual assault & slavery.
P.S. If you need a playlist to listen to between binging ACOTAR books, I found this one on YouTube and it is lovely.
Summer 2018 review:
I only got somewhere between sixty and one-hundred pages in before I finally decided to mark as DNF.
Feyre was just so self-centered?? And the overall tone/plot of the story was just so dark and depressing! I feel like Tamlin and Lucien and whatever-the-maid's-name-is were supposed to be endearing, but... they just weren't?! So... yeah. (Apparently ACOTAR gets rather dirty/explicit later on, too, ftr.)
I was seeking something to accommodate for finishing Margaret Rogerson's An Enchantment of Ravens (which has become basically ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE BOOKS EVER), but I fear that the clean, fey mythology genre is pretty lacking. :/ Any recommendations on that score would be greatly appreciated. :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-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
Rysand is the bare minimum. Hated how Sarah J. Maas didn't address the problematic things that Tamlin and Ryhsand did to feyre for thier own gain. I hate that thier actions were romanticized and not show in the true light of negativity that it was. Feyre deserved better and just because a dude taught her how to read and treated her like an equal human being didn't make Ryhsand a feminist it made him the bare minimum and the bar isn't in hell it simply doesn't exsist. I feel that we can simply at least try to address these things and not romantic them and instead show what these problematic theses are are negative and not good and the reason onto why problematic and hurtful things are to be addressed is becuase the books are consumed by mass media's of people and teenagers children even. It is not something that they should normalize as normal, good, the standard, and to be expected from thier future partners. She normalises an incredibly sexist dynamic that has men universally characterised as possessive, violent and dominating, and women as passive objects to be fought over. In the case of Feysand, this is repainted in ACOMAF as a narrative of undying and ‘true’ love. Even if you enjoy the books, you *cannot* ignore these implications. At this link and resource that I used for my own review you may go check out this creator more in depth review about this book which helped me realize exactly how problematic this book truly was and to which I am truly greatful : [ *https://howlsmovinglibrary.tumblr.com/post/160130108614/the-relationship-between-misogyny-and-romance-a *]
*[also: problematic gender portrayal, problematic tropes - traditional alpha male behaviour, such as possessiveness and animalistically coded desire, issues of iffy (and in cases utterly absent) consent, reinforced heterosexuality.]* She can do a much better job depicting trauma without sensationalizing it.
*[also: problematic gender portrayal, problematic tropes - traditional alpha male behaviour, such as possessiveness and animalistically coded desire, issues of iffy (and in cases utterly absent) consent, reinforced heterosexuality.]* She can do a much better job depicting trauma without sensationalizing it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Sexual harassment
Normalized abuse and toxic relationships trope.
adventurous
dark
tense
Update: (November 5, 2022) I will always gobble up this beautiful series!!
Update: (May 29, 2019) Yes I’ve already read this book but I needed to read the whole series again before I read A Court of Frost and Starlight and I’m not okay. I am way more into it this time around and I picked up on some keys things that connect to the second book so needless to say reading Maas’ books are never a regret!
It was a slow start for me but once I got into I fell in love with it. I started reading not knowing what to expect and was totally blown away. It was quite a different retelling of Beauty and the Beast that I loved. I would highly recommend this book to anyone! I can't wait for the second book to come out in May.
Update: (May 29, 2019) Yes I’ve already read this book but I needed to read the whole series again before I read A Court of Frost and Starlight and I’m not okay. I am way more into it this time around and I picked up on some keys things that connect to the second book so needless to say reading Maas’ books are never a regret!
It was a slow start for me but once I got into I fell in love with it. I started reading not knowing what to expect and was totally blown away. It was quite a different retelling of Beauty and the Beast that I loved. I would highly recommend this book to anyone! I can't wait for the second book to come out in May.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
good for starting fantasy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Get through this book to get to the second book. It's a real game changer. It's cool to see someone play with the form of these types of books, but you don't know till book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
Even though this is a YA book there are detailed sex scenes. Probably a slightly more realistic and healthy depiction of sex and relationships than other books like it.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started reading this book to compile a list of everything she stole from Tolkien and ended up just screaming at the wall
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder