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adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It honestly took me a little bit to get into this one. For the first 50 pages or so I found the writing style to be overly descriptive in a way that didn't add to the story. However, once the story got going, I didn't mind the writing style as much.
The plot was easy to follow and compelling with a satisfying number of twisted and turns. I definitely struggle with reading the more cruel and sadistic characters but that might just be a preference. Also, if you're not into the Alpha Male trope you might not enjoy the romance as much (it's not my favourite).
I'll still be reading the rest of the series though! Everyone tells me it gets better from here.
The plot was easy to follow and compelling with a satisfying number of twisted and turns. I definitely struggle with reading the more cruel and sadistic characters but that might just be a preference. Also, if you're not into the Alpha Male trope you might not enjoy the romance as much (it's not my favourite).
I'll still be reading the rest of the series though! Everyone tells me it gets better from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture
Minor: Sexual content
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Literally hated this book so much, started it four years ago and I just now finished it because I was so bored I didn’t want to pick it up again. I have the second book, will I read it? Maybe? Honestly idk if I wanna put myself through that again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Blood, Classism
Moderate: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
medium-paced
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’ve been reading this book on and off since April last year. I never disliked it enough to want to DNR it but I also never liked it enough to prioritise it. It’s not great. It’s enjoyable enough, but doesn’t have the heart of something like twilight, which I find *charmingly* not great - it’s just not great.
It’s very badly written. Her way with words is very lacking and the plot is incredibly stupid and poorly justified. The main character is insufferable, the stupidest character in any story I’ve ever read - just reliably has the stupidest possible responses and reactions to literally every situation, and the climax of the book is that she takes three months to solve the most basic, obvious riddle I’ve ever read. I solved it in two minutes. The first 50% of the book is like she just looked at all the dumbest parts of Beauty and the Beast and thought, what if it was even worse? The second half has some action and an actual plot so it’s a little better, but still quite bad.
I know there are cultural appropriation and representation issues about Ireland in this series and they don’t come up much in this first one, (making a country named after, and inspired by, Ireland and then making it the coloniser was a pretty wild choice though) but although they aren’t the most egregious issues in the world, basically the book isn’t good enough to make you want to excuse even that much.
I wouldn’t recommend. I think these are only popular because too many women are starved for romance in their real lives. If you have any amount of good sex in your life, I don’t think this has anything for you. There’s also actually barely any sex depicted in it, and when there is a sex scene, she shrinks away from describing it with the most uncomfortably cowardly innuendo-filled nonsense. (If you can’t bring yourself to be normal about sex, maybe just don’t write a book about it?)
I still might read more of them though. It has a sort of soap-opera / chewing gum for your brain vibe where it’s shallow and explicitly not good but it’s sort of pleasant to consume it?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was impressed by the pacing and overall story. I don't understand why some people are so opposed to this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Death of parent, War
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found ACOTAR very hard to get through. Feyre, the main character, is insufferable and being in her head is annoying. She definitely suffers from "main character syndrome" and that made me not really care for her.
Maas has a tendency to repeat the same things over and over again, in different ways. Some chapters were completely unnecessary. The first half of the book felt like it was going nowhere.
I think the "spice" in this book is still quite mellow, thankfully. However, consent being an important part in healthy and meaningful relationships... I think none of the characters pass as someone respecting boundaries. Tamlin and Rhys (not going to call them love interests because why would you call your kidnapper and a literal demon who makes a deal to own you that?) are both examples of thirst traps with a bit of personality and background scribbled around them to eventually try to "redeem" their behavior.
The 'ritual(s)' and acts of these characters are, again, seen by the fans of these books as something morally grey (or just 'hot'). But I cannot in good concience say anything positive about it. The lack of consent in this book is utterly disgusting, and I am wondering how people are not only ok with it, but actively defending it. I have seen cosplayers of these characters really pushing boundaries, which is concerning. The 'primal' thing really is too much for me, I find it incredibly cringe and makes me feel sick. Also, please stop purring.
The whole "mating" thing (which is only a thing we hear about from Tamlins parents) is gonna play a big part in the next books (my friend told me because I was appalled and needed to rant), and it is not only super problematic but also just plain vile in my opinion. The uncontrollable urge to mate, all respect and consent feel like a side issue... no thanks.
Needless to say this is probably my #1 reason I am not going to read any further. This does not set up realistic expectations for a healthy and responsible relationship.
I feel like this book is glorifying rape and that just doesn't sit well with me.
Also, what about lgbtqia+ people? They seem to be non-existant in this world.
I honestly do not understand why people like this book so much. It feels like a bad judge of character and justifying bad deeds just for the sake of a sexy scene doesn't turn this book into something 'good'. Why is it do popular? Don't people usually have standards? If you think this is normal I'm genuinely asking you to question your real life relationships...
I loved the concept of the curse fusing the masks to peoples faces, the courts sound absolutely magical and there is a lot of potential there, but we didn't see much of it apart from the spring court. I guess Maas will touch upon more in other books and I hope she doesn't turn them into empty shells of what could have been. She has a masters degree in creative writing, but honestly I found the "world building" and the writing in this book average at best.
The creatures in this world are definitely scary and I would have loved to see more of them. However, that is basically all I really enjoyed about this world Sarah J Maas created, most of it sadly fell flat in the end. The creatures felt like they only appeared just to fill chapters. You could say it's world building, but they are mentioned once or twice and then never spoken of again. And even then- it didn't push the story forward.
Finally, do NOT get me started on the premise of the curse. Its whole premise was stupid and clearly written to fit the story. The backstory of Amarantha and her sister had potential, but turned into somethings lame and laughable. She felt like a cartoon villain whose only character traits were: 'evil' and 'sexually frustrated'. She didn't even feel like a smart character.
No, I don't think it was a good plot. No, I don't think the story made sense. No, I wasn't emerged in the world like I am in other books. No, I don't feel like the villain was villainous and the hero was heroic. It was all very generic and I found it, quite frankly, disappointing.
I give this book 1,5 out of 5 stars. Because Lucien was a character I cared about (still feel like he was unintentionally written to be a closeted gay and I just want to tell him everything will be ok), the creatures and world still have potential and I liked the description in some (yes, some) chapters. However, I don't think I'll finish the series as this was so underwhelming I feel like I would prefer to spend my time with other books I know I will enjoy more.
Maas has a tendency to repeat the same things over and over again, in different ways. Some chapters were completely unnecessary. The first half of the book felt like it was going nowhere.
I think the "spice" in this book is still quite mellow, thankfully. However, consent being an important part in healthy and meaningful relationships... I think none of the characters pass as someone respecting boundaries. Tamlin and Rhys (not going to call them love interests because why would you call your kidnapper and a literal demon who makes a deal to own you that?) are both examples of thirst traps with a bit of personality and background scribbled around them to eventually try to "redeem" their behavior.
The 'ritual(s)' and acts of these characters are, again, seen by the fans of these books as something morally grey (or just 'hot'). But I cannot in good concience say anything positive about it. The lack of consent in this book is utterly disgusting, and I am wondering how people are not only ok with it, but actively defending it. I have seen cosplayers of these characters really pushing boundaries, which is concerning. The 'primal' thing really is too much for me, I find it incredibly cringe and makes me feel sick. Also, please stop purring.
The whole "mating" thing (which is only a thing we hear about from Tamlins parents) is gonna play a big part in the next books (my friend told me because I was appalled and needed to rant), and it is not only super problematic but also just plain vile in my opinion. The uncontrollable urge to mate, all respect and consent feel like a side issue... no thanks.
Needless to say this is probably my #1 reason I am not going to read any further. This does not set up realistic expectations for a healthy and responsible relationship.
I feel like this book is glorifying rape and that just doesn't sit well with me.
Also, what about lgbtqia+ people? They seem to be non-existant in this world.
I honestly do not understand why people like this book so much. It feels like a bad judge of character and justifying bad deeds just for the sake of a sexy scene doesn't turn this book into something 'good'. Why is it do popular? Don't people usually have standards? If you think this is normal I'm genuinely asking you to question your real life relationships...
I loved the concept of the curse fusing the masks to peoples faces, the courts sound absolutely magical and there is a lot of potential there, but we didn't see much of it apart from the spring court. I guess Maas will touch upon more in other books and I hope she doesn't turn them into empty shells of what could have been. She has a masters degree in creative writing, but honestly I found the "world building" and the writing in this book average at best.
The creatures in this world are definitely scary and I would have loved to see more of them. However, that is basically all I really enjoyed about this world Sarah J Maas created, most of it sadly fell flat in the end. The creatures felt like they only appeared just to fill chapters. You could say it's world building, but they are mentioned once or twice and then never spoken of again. And even then- it didn't push the story forward.
Finally, do NOT get me started on the premise of the curse. Its whole premise was stupid and clearly written to fit the story. The backstory of Amarantha and her sister had potential, but turned into somethings lame and laughable. She felt like a cartoon villain whose only character traits were: 'evil' and 'sexually frustrated'. She didn't even feel like a smart character.
No, I don't think it was a good plot. No, I don't think the story made sense. No, I wasn't emerged in the world like I am in other books. No, I don't feel like the villain was villainous and the hero was heroic. It was all very generic and I found it, quite frankly, disappointing.
I give this book 1,5 out of 5 stars. Because Lucien was a character I cared about (still feel like he was unintentionally written to be a closeted gay and I just want to tell him everything will be ok), the creatures and world still have potential and I liked the description in some (yes, some) chapters. However, I don't think I'll finish the series as this was so underwhelming I feel like I would prefer to spend my time with other books I know I will enjoy more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
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
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Child death
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great book to introduce you to the world of faries! The book is interesting to start and with character development and magical world building the reading pace speeds up as you question how the book with end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent