Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

524 reviews

adventurous dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot

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adventurous dark fast-paced
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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

Listening to this because I’ve already read it and these are my spoiler thoughts upon returning to it:
- goofy ahh curse. the terms are so strangely specific and catered to Ferye’s situation that it makes it so implausible that Amarantha came up with all of that 50 years ago. She has to HATE FAIRIES and also KILL ONE with HATE IN HER HEART and then SMOOCH A FAIRY like cmon guys
- SO MANY RHYSAND EASTER EGGS !!!! The random “dreams” and knowing what he did for her and knowing his backstory just like… chefs kiss
- Tamlin is an abuser even in this book, and this is coming from someone who was 10000% team Tamlin the first go round. He has an unpredictable temper and Feyre expects violent outbursts from him even when she’s head over heels for him. Get away from that man!!!
- On the topic of Tamlin…. Maybe he should’ve… I don’t know… HELPED his girlfriend at all?? I get that he was trying to seem “indifferent” but Rhys was playing the same card and he still made the situation better for her. Tamlin be supportive challenge level impossible
- Tamlin is just so icky and I won’t ever be able to go back to my OG view of him after ACOMAF and ACOWAR like he’s just the WORST
- Loving how Tamlin and Lucien are like “Rhysand is so dangerous and violent and you have to stay away from the night court it’s so bad” but I know full well the night court inner circle during Amarantha is just like cutting it up and getting drunk the whole time. Bffr
- Loving that Feyre was like “I can’t wait to live with Tamlin for years and years and years” like she’s not gonna bounce from that man’s house within like 6 months. Good to have goals girl!

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adventurous fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I read this book back when it came out. And I loved it. But I was looking for something simple to fall asleep to, something I've already read that won't keep me awake. Something I wasn't interested in that I knew I liked the first time. 

But honestly, this book was boring... It is toxic. It's weird. I think it's really unoriginal and predictable. The writing isnt all that great, it's so simple. And I kinda hated that the second time around. 

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adventurous medium-paced

It's Beauty and the Beast with faeries! I was frustrated with the beginning - Feyre knows so little about the world she lives in and relationship dynamics fell flat for me.
I still don't understand how her and Tamlin fell in love, but I'm glad they finally did so she could be less annoying.
It stays very fairytale themed, but it gets more exciting at least when the plot finally comes together

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dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-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

Synopsis: In the middle of a bitter winter, poverty-stricken Feyre and her family rely on the scarce meat Feyre hunts in the forest bordering the wicked Fae lands. When Feyre brings down a huge wolf, she's sure the money for the pelt will be their salvation from starvation this winter. But when the wolf turns out to be a shape shifting Fae, Feyre must give her life in servitude to the Fae court she has angered. Leaving her family, Feyre enters the Spring Court, determined to escape. If only if her captor wasn't so attractive...

Review: With all the hype around ACOTAR, this was a disappointing read. The world felt empty, and the plot behind taking Feyre but not doing anything with her made no sense until the big twist was revealed. I did like Feyre's skills as a hunter and the other Fae, but struggled with the instalove.

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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). 

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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! 

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