A review by mjwhitlock18
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

Second in this series of fantasy romances (heavy on the romance, don’t let anyone tell you this is YA). I honestly had mixed feelings about ACOTAR, but I can honestly say this one is SO MUCH better all around. It corrects most of the flaws of the first. I get more of Rhys, who was my fav from the first book, and I loved getting to see a different side of him, his humor is great, and his character dev in this is top tier. I loved the dynamic of Rhys’s Inner Circle and getting to learn more about them. You know I’m a sucker for Found Family. I might be in love with Mor, and Amren is scary awesome.

I hated Feyre’s characterization in ACOTAR as making very little sense for the hardened, surviving huntress she’s supposed to be, but we really see her grow into that in this book which I love for her. I never liked Tamlin’s character or his relationship dynamic with Feyre, so no love lost there. Lucien better step the fuck up in the next one, if only for Elain. Nesta deserves the world. My only issue with the plot in this one is the predestined horny soulmates trope, but I’ll get over it.
I loved the focus on mental illness and the way different characters were able to cope (or not, as the case may be) with their trauma and recovery thereof. 
I still think the quality of SJM’s prose leaves a lot to be desired, sometimes some words are overused so much it beats you over the head, and if I had a dollar for every em dash in this book, I could pay off my student loans. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings