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adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Murder
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
Feyre is so unlikable that I could not bring myself to care when she was basically getting tortured....
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, War
adventurous
mysterious
tense
Loveable characters:
Yes
I almost didn’t pick this up because people say it’s so spicy but it’s not even nearly as explicit as Ignite Me (or the latter books of Shatter Me)—but then again, this is the first book.
A Court of Thorns and Roses was an eventful heck of a ride. I found myself letting out deep breaths I didn’t know I was holding every once in a while. So many things happened in the span of the book that it’s sort of hard to backtrack each and every one, but one thing’s for sure: it’s been such an adventure.
The pacing was nicely done, and so was the world-building. Writing was pretty good, scattering information without giving too much away so soon. It was a pleasant (albeit tense) time.
I get the hype.
A Court of Thorns and Roses was an eventful heck of a ride. I found myself letting out deep breaths I didn’t know I was holding every once in a while. So many things happened in the span of the book that it’s sort of hard to backtrack each and every one, but one thing’s for sure: it’s been such an adventure.
The pacing was nicely done, and so was the world-building. Writing was pretty good, scattering information without giving too much away so soon. It was a pleasant (albeit tense) time.
I get the hype.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slow start, didn't fully pull me into it until about half way into it. But its worth the slow start.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, Murder
Minor: Vomit
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A really great read! Very easy to immerse into the story and the settings with the characters. A lovely book to read after having not read for a very long time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Murder, War
Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia
Minor: Death, Abandonment
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
Moderate: Torture, Murder, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
Solid, expertly written book. Some issues with depictions of trauma.
New Adult Dark High Fantasy about a young woman who accidentally kills the friend of a fae lord while hunting. He forces her to come live in the fae world for the rest of her life. They become romantically involved and other faeries find out he's with a human. This enrages the jealous queen, who then tries to kill her and destroy his house by making him her slave. She even has another man she keeps for her own enjoyment already while terrorizing the entire kingdom and just slaughtering everyone who gets in her way. It's clear she enjoys toying with people and lashing out when she doesn't get what she wants. Things go from 0 to 300 quick.
ACOTAR has an initially slow start that really picks up in the middle. Full of action and a badass female protagonist who is also fragile emotionally and physically in comparison to the immortals around her. It's a little spooky and gritty. Lots of monsters and mystery. It's violent and dark and has a lot of great twists. Even the ending of this book is a twist in itself for the rest of the series. Book 1 is sort of: "What had happened was..." in a way that genuinely feels like immersing in a fairytale and then later seeing it has gone very very wrong. You get more and more of some great character building as it becomes less Disney and more reality, making it a really fun read.
Great intro to the series. Though a little flawed for the more serious themes it explores and how they are represented in book 1, (I feel they aren't remedied until the start of book 2) but they are mostly remedied by a large percentage when they are. That's a dangerous game when depicting a high fantasy that is realistically depicting so much trauma. There are a lot of themes which may offend or trigger but the characters just sort of live in it... So, read on! But just be aware this book may insinuate it is actually ignoring the important subjects it means to talk about... attention to them just comes in late.
You can tell that Maas is a smart writer who has seen many fairytales she was really fed up with. She takes every opportunity to bring in the rage she wishes those characters showed. And she is an expert writer who hides some really sweet details throughout her books. You may come out with an even better perspective and deeper appreciation on a second read because it does such a good job of upsetting the reader on the first read.
Definitely recommended. I just feel that an important part of the readership might fall off before the series really gets into what it's largely about, which was frustrating as a reader and as someone who can closely relate to some of those issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Slavery
Discussions about abuse, neglect, etc are less prevalent in book 1 and more prevalent in book 2. For the worse in my opinion. Because it doesn't allow for discussion ABOUT the abuse and that it is abuse until this book has ended. The characters just live in the abuse in book 1 and not much is done about it or contextualized. It's very realistic and well-researched but the handling isn't very delicate to start. However, the abusive bits also aren't graphic and book 2 has more delicate handling and continued light mentioning coupled with a more serious discussion. Disappointing weakening of book 1 a bit. But hey... surviving trauma also teaches you that we can't expect perfection. The year was 2015. I'm glad it was talked about at all.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail