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adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this book within 24 hours. It was captivating. The lore of the world entranced me, made me want to learn more about it.
The characters were adequate, though the typical dystopian novel kind of personalities I had grown to expect. You could replace Feyre with Katniss Everdeen and it would be the same book. I do appreciate Maas’ attempt at making the villain sympathetic - it was effective though we were not shown hr vulnerable side - just the monstrous, which would have made her more likeable. Then again its not necessary for her to be likeable.
The storytelling aspect was lovely. The way that everything tied back perfectly to what we had seen before and seeing that with a new lens after Feyre returned to Prythian was very satisfying.
Love interest wise, I do like Tamlin as a person, he seems lovely although he has been shown to be an insensitive asshole in the past, he seems to be a very gentlemanly character - I absolutely adore the way that he treats Feyre - I mean I get that his intention was to get her to fall in love with him, but we also see authentic aspects of his personality, like with the dying winged faerie. But otherwise I do also enjoy Rhysand’s interactions with my girl, he’s more like the bad boy kinda person which was refreshing after endless chapters of nice guy Tamlin.
Feyre herself was a dull character. Like I mentioned before, she’s your typical normal girl with exceptional bravery. Think Clary Fairchild, Katniss Everdeen, basically the lead of any dystopian/fantasy type novel’s main character. Her moves were predictable and boring, especially since she’s not exactly a smart person. But for some reason I can’t bring myself to dislike her. There’s this certain appeal to be treated specially even if you are unimportant.
The world-building in this book is exceptional, I love the descriptions of the beauty of the fae world, the heart-breaking nature of such intense beauty. The various evil beings in the book were effectively scary.
I did find this book quite slow though. It was veryyyyy draggy, the real action didn’t really start until the last 10-15 chapters. There was just so much buildup to it that it felt too short and concise. I feel like it would have been nicer if more of the book was Under the Mountain but whatever it is what it is.
Overall, good first book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief
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
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Rape, Blood, Sexual harassment, War
Minor: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping
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, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3 for quality but 5 for a solid escapism fantasy! No think, just fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
This book is crazy dark towards the end. There’s a lot to process and a long period of Horrible Things and Situations Specifically Designed To Be Impossible that make the MC rightfully distressed and it can get hard to read through at points. (This part gets extra Problematic so to keep the Escapism™️ just ignore the “I have to assault you for your own good” and enjoy the trip to ‘Of Course These Are Green Flags What Are You Talking About’ city.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
5 stars - no doubt.
Love this book!
Love the characters!
And I can't wait to reread ACOMAF 🖤
Love this book!
Love the characters!
And I can't wait to reread ACOMAF 🖤
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
I want to preface and say: I read this book before I learned about Sarah J. Maas and the controversy surrounding her. I will not be supporting her any longer!
On to the review:
Eh. It wasn’t the best… it wasn’t the worst. Some of the characters made me really frustrated (elain😑) and I don’t really know who I was rooting for. I joined booktok and had the rest of the series ruined for me immediately with spoilers so I won’t read the rest. Okay that’s the end. Very anticlimactic
On to the review:
Eh. It wasn’t the best… it wasn’t the worst. Some of the characters made me really frustrated (elain😑) and I don’t really know who I was rooting for. I joined booktok and had the rest of the series ruined for me immediately with spoilers so I won’t read the rest. Okay that’s the end. Very anticlimactic
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A few things kept me away from this book at first - I thought it was YA (I was wrong), I thought it wouldn't up my alley (I was very wrong) and I thought it was... too popular, and was worried I wouldn't like it (I was very, very wrong).
This review contains spoilers from here-on out - you've been warned!
I have to admit, I flip-flopped on Feyre a bit throughout the book. One second she's this cool, calculated hunter, then she's an irrational mess, then she's facing what can only be described as stockholm syndrome (at least until they actually talked). She switches between loving and hating the world around her, leaves, forgets everything she's been told fairly often, then remembers herself and comes back. In saying that, when she was good, she was great - her quick wit and kind heart drew me in, and despite everything above, I truly wanted her to win.
The story took a hot minute to get into - it started slow, and really made me hate Feyre's family, if I'm honest. She may love them still (deep down) but I certainly don't. There was a bit of waffling in the middle, and the time-skips are a bit hard to follow, but when things start to come to a head, it really knuckles down. Everything afterFeyre decided to return to Prythian moved quickly, but not at the expense of the storytelling - I wolfed it down, constantly thinking ahead to what might be next. Maas' plot beats are good, and once they get going they are incredibly enticing.
Rhysand was an unexpected and delightful twist - he's the complex sort of character that I'd been expecting, and I am very fond of him, even ifhe is an ass for most of the time he's on-page. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the incoming love triangle I can feel sitting in the wings, but I have hope that it'll work itself out to great amusement/drama . I love Lucien and, to a lesser extent, Tamlin, but I'm always more fond of minor characters so that's nothing against Tam!
I will note that I'd been told of faerie porn and I have to admit that this didn't particularly live up to that - though as an erotica writer myself my perception of "faerie porn" is probably not in tune with others.
I'm curious to see how the rest of this series plays out.
This review contains spoilers from here-on out - you've been warned!
I have to admit, I flip-flopped on Feyre a bit throughout the book. One second she's this cool, calculated hunter, then she's an irrational mess, then she's facing what can only be described as stockholm syndrome (at least until they actually talked). She switches between loving and hating the world around her, leaves, forgets everything she's been told fairly often, then remembers herself and comes back. In saying that, when she was good, she was great - her quick wit and kind heart drew me in, and despite everything above, I truly wanted her to win.
The story took a hot minute to get into - it started slow, and really made me hate Feyre's family, if I'm honest. She may love them still (deep down) but I certainly don't. There was a bit of waffling in the middle, and the time-skips are a bit hard to follow, but when things start to come to a head, it really knuckles down. Everything after
Rhysand was an unexpected and delightful twist - he's the complex sort of character that I'd been expecting, and I am very fond of him, even if
I will note that I'd been told of faerie porn and I have to admit that this didn't particularly live up to that - though as an erotica writer myself my perception of "faerie porn" is probably not in tune with others.
I'm curious to see how the rest of this series plays out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood
Moderate: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Sexual harassment
A bit stockholm-syndrome-y