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young_soldiers 's review for:
A Court of Mist and Fury
by Sarah J. Maas
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this with my best friend and the experience was *chef's kiss*
5 golden, very emotional and brilliant stars!
___
GOLD. PURE GOLD. Every single bit of this book is PURE GOLD.
So read this (after ACOTAR, obviously) if you like:
- faes
- beautiful relationships
- complex introspection
- spectacular endings
- poetic writing
And if you're not afraid of rather dark themes, because there is a lot of toxicity, manipulation and talk of self-deprecation. I mean, it does deal with the aftermath of ACOTAR and Amarantha, so...
And now to develop (which will be full of spoilers and with a kinda colorful language, so read further at your own risks):
First, the characters :
FEYRE : I was a little (read: a lot) frustrated with her and how she always found excuses for Tamlin at the beginning, even when he was so obviously being an asshole. And then Rhys brought her to the Night Court and she became that High Fae that I came to LOVE. Taking control of her own person and her new powers, and becoming stronger and stronger with every chapter, sacrificing things for the people she loved at the Night Court... She's even more lovable than in ACOTAR for me.
RHYSAND : Pure gold. And yeah, I thought no one would top Maxantarius Farlione as a book boyfriend from the romantasy books I've read so far, but Rhys proved me wrong. Oh so wrong.
I loved how when we first saw him, he was so like his old self from ACOTAR, oh so very sarcastic and playful, and then he saw Feyre and how damaged she was and I was screaming at her that he was the man/male (don't like that term)/Fae for her, because he helped heal her and make her stronger, taught her how to read, how to use her powers, gave her a family, gave himself to her, and God, I just love him so much. But the thing I liked best about him was how he was always willing to let her choose things for herself, especially where she was concerned, something that Tamlin definitely didn't do.
The INNER CIRCLE : I'm gathering them all together, even though I probably shouldn't because this is gonna become a long-ass paragraph because of it, but the idea is: I love them with my whole heart too!
Mor and Amren are two extremely powerful women/females (I still don't like that word), and Mor was always so supportive of Feyre, even at the beginning, and I fell in love with her right away. To be honest, Amren is probably the Inner Circle character I liked the least, and yet, the fact that she, a being thousands of years old and unlike those we've seen before, cared for Rhysand and Velaris and the people in it, was just amazing. And the bat boys! Cassian and Azriel! Loved Cassian's rashness and the fact that he was full of humor, loved Azriel's calmness and quiet love/admiration for Mor, loved how powerful they are too. The few scenes where we saw them in action were so amazing too!
NESTA and ELAIN : I'm gonna start with Nesta here and just say that I still love her very much, despite how she acted towards Feyre the first time she saw her as High Fae. She was just so like the Nesta we knew in ACOTAR, and so brave and fiercely protective of Elain, and do I need to mention that death promise to the King of Hybern? Such a badass woman! And I found myself caring a lot more about Elain here than in Book 1. I thought she came into herself more, and actually started speaking for herself at times. She was more than just the kind sister to me, and displayed some kind of bravery too. Anyway, I really liked them both!
TAMLIN and LUCIEN : Yeah, I'm basically putting them in the same basket because I was so disappointed in them both. But especially in Lucien, because I kind of expected Tamlin to go down hill from the end of ACOTAR. And he didn't defy my expectations in any way, except that I hated him more than I thought I would. Such a toxic asshole, and how he treated Feyre like she was his possession, and how he LOCKED HER IN HIS MANOR even after he witnessed what Amarantha did to her... He'd have to have a formidable redemption arc for me to like him again.
But coming to Lucien now... He wasn't featured a lot, but the little I saw of him had me really disappointed, like I said before. So submissive to Tamlin, and it feels like he didn't even see what Feyre was going through at the beginning of the book, when he was supposed to be her friend! And then when he came for her in the Night Court and begged her to come home, and even tried to bring her against her will... The only thing I liked about him was how he reacted after Elain came out of the Cauldron. Rather kind, but maybe he wouldn't have done it if she wasn't his mate?
And finally, the OTHER VILLAINS , a.k.a. the King of Hybern, who's a terrible asshole that I'm not going to forgive anytime soon for what he did to Cassian, Elain and Nesta, the bitchy human queens who betrayed Nesta and Elain, Ianthe who's just another little bitch who's also a would-be rapist in my opinion (what she did to Rhysand and maybe Lucien too...), and Jurian who I'm never gonna forgive for what he did to Azriel.
But I really like the fact that the King of Hybern storyline isn't over yet, and I think he's gonna make a great villain in the next book.
I'm gonna stop there for the character part, but to sum it up, I really loved how they were all portrayed, and I even loved hating on the villains and on Tamlin, so kudos to SJM for that!
Second, the relationships :
FEYRE/RHYSAND : Just pure gold. PURE. GOLD. I loooooved seeing their relationship evolve throughout the book, and when I found out that Rhys knew that Feyre was his mate (don't really like this term either) from the beginning and didn't tell her, and was even willing to let her be with Tamlin if she was happy with that... That's some real love in my opinion, to sacrifice his own happiness for hers. And I also liked Feyre's reaction when actually learning that he was her mate, because I agree with her that he should have told her before she was told by someone else. But that whole chapter where we learned everything about the mating bond might be one of my favorite chapters EVER and brought me to tears multiple times over, so.
Also, I might not like the idea of fated mates and mating bond, but I still screamed when I thought their bond was broken, so.
FEYRE/TAMLIN : HELL NO! Pure toxicity. Need I say more?
FEYRE & THE INNER CIRCLE : I love the concept of a found family, and this one was amazing.
RHYS & THE INNER CIRCLE : Found family again, amazing again. I also really liked how they were all affected by Rhys's time Under the Mountain, and how they described Rhysand time and time again. They really love him and it's so obvious.
MOR & CASSIAN & AZRIEL : I'm... kind of not liking it? Or at least not sure how I feel about it? Didn't really see anything between Cassian and Mor until Feyre insisted otherwise, and it felt kinda too much. And I'm actually loving the quiet love that Azriel has for Mor. Even though I feel like she should either get with him or make it clear that it's never going to happen. Although knowing Azriel, it wouldn't change how he looks at her. So yeah, not sure how I feel about all of that.
NESTA & CASSIAN : Loved their fire and the "hate" they have for one another (pretty sure they're gonna become a couple soon).
ELAIN & LUCIEN : Um... Where is that coming from?? That's the only thing I have to say about that. Although I guess I liked their reactions when learning about the mating bond?
Okay, done with that too!
On to the worldbuilding (or what I call worldbuilding anyway). A lot of descriptive writing when talking about the new characters, about Velaris, and a lot of backstory, even on characters we already knew.
But those same backstories allow us to learn so much more about the characters and fall in love with them even more. Let's take the Tamlin & Rhysand story, for example. I had no idea why Rhysand despised Tamlin so much, and let me just say, after what he did to Rhys's family, I now completely understand. Or there's also the stories we learn about the Inner Circle, which made me hate Mor's family's guts and made me want to kill them, and also made me love her so much more for being so resilient and surviving something like that.
And now the pacing . I guess the same thing could be said than in ACOTAR. The beginning was slow, a lot more focused on the characters, their introductions and relationships, the new places discovered, but it didn't bother me at all, unlike in Book 1. It's just that I think that whole introspection part was very much needed, and it brought me to tears multiple times over when learning about the tragic backstory of each character.
And then the ending . Again, so spectacular and action-packed.
I... don't actually have a single thing that I didn't like about this book. Not that I can think of right now anyway. So I'm leaving you here (again, without any quotes because physical book)!
5 golden, very emotional and brilliant stars!
___
GOLD. PURE GOLD. Every single bit of this book is PURE GOLD.
So read this (after ACOTAR, obviously) if you like:
- faes
- beautiful relationships
- complex introspection
- spectacular endings
- poetic writing
And if you're not afraid of rather dark themes, because there is a lot of toxicity, manipulation and talk of self-deprecation. I mean, it does deal with the aftermath of ACOTAR and Amarantha, so...
And now to develop (which will be full of spoilers and with a kinda colorful language, so read further at your own risks):
First, the characters :
FEYRE : I was a little (read: a lot) frustrated with her and how she always found excuses for Tamlin at the beginning, even when he was so obviously being an asshole. And then Rhys brought her to the Night Court and she became that High Fae that I came to LOVE. Taking control of her own person and her new powers, and becoming stronger and stronger with every chapter, sacrificing things for the people she loved at the Night Court... She's even more lovable than in ACOTAR for me.
RHYSAND : Pure gold. And yeah, I thought no one would top Maxantarius Farlione as a book boyfriend from the romantasy books I've read so far, but Rhys proved me wrong. Oh so wrong.
I loved how when we first saw him, he was so like his old self from ACOTAR, oh so very sarcastic and playful, and then he saw Feyre and how damaged she was and I was screaming at her that he was the man/male (don't like that term)/Fae for her, because he helped heal her and make her stronger, taught her how to read, how to use her powers, gave her a family, gave himself to her, and God, I just love him so much. But the thing I liked best about him was how he was always willing to let her choose things for herself, especially where she was concerned, something that Tamlin definitely didn't do.
The INNER CIRCLE : I'm gathering them all together, even though I probably shouldn't because this is gonna become a long-ass paragraph because of it, but the idea is: I love them with my whole heart too!
Mor and Amren are two extremely powerful women/females (I still don't like that word), and Mor was always so supportive of Feyre, even at the beginning, and I fell in love with her right away. To be honest, Amren is probably the Inner Circle character I liked the least, and yet, the fact that she, a being thousands of years old and unlike those we've seen before, cared for Rhysand and Velaris and the people in it, was just amazing. And the bat boys! Cassian and Azriel! Loved Cassian's rashness and the fact that he was full of humor, loved Azriel's calmness and quiet love/admiration for Mor, loved how powerful they are too. The few scenes where we saw them in action were so amazing too!
NESTA and ELAIN : I'm gonna start with Nesta here and just say that I still love her very much, despite how she acted towards Feyre the first time she saw her as High Fae. She was just so like the Nesta we knew in ACOTAR, and so brave and fiercely protective of Elain, and do I need to mention that death promise to the King of Hybern? Such a badass woman! And I found myself caring a lot more about Elain here than in Book 1. I thought she came into herself more, and actually started speaking for herself at times. She was more than just the kind sister to me, and displayed some kind of bravery too. Anyway, I really liked them both!
TAMLIN and LUCIEN : Yeah, I'm basically putting them in the same basket because I was so disappointed in them both. But especially in Lucien, because I kind of expected Tamlin to go down hill from the end of ACOTAR. And he didn't defy my expectations in any way, except that I hated him more than I thought I would. Such a toxic asshole, and how he treated Feyre like she was his possession, and how he LOCKED HER IN HIS MANOR even after he witnessed what Amarantha did to her... He'd have to have a formidable redemption arc for me to like him again.
But coming to Lucien now... He wasn't featured a lot, but the little I saw of him had me really disappointed, like I said before. So submissive to Tamlin, and it feels like he didn't even see what Feyre was going through at the beginning of the book, when he was supposed to be her friend! And then when he came for her in the Night Court and begged her to come home, and even tried to bring her against her will... The only thing I liked about him was how he reacted after Elain came out of the Cauldron. Rather kind, but maybe he wouldn't have done it if she wasn't his mate?
And finally, the OTHER VILLAINS , a.k.a. the King of Hybern, who's a terrible asshole that I'm not going to forgive anytime soon for what he did to Cassian, Elain and Nesta, the bitchy human queens who betrayed Nesta and Elain, Ianthe who's just another little bitch who's also a would-be rapist in my opinion (what she did to Rhysand and maybe Lucien too...), and Jurian who I'm never gonna forgive for what he did to Azriel.
But I really like the fact that the King of Hybern storyline isn't over yet, and I think he's gonna make a great villain in the next book.
I'm gonna stop there for the character part, but to sum it up, I really loved how they were all portrayed, and I even loved hating on the villains and on Tamlin, so kudos to SJM for that!
Second, the relationships :
FEYRE/RHYSAND : Just pure gold. PURE. GOLD. I loooooved seeing their relationship evolve throughout the book, and when I found out that Rhys knew that Feyre was his mate (don't really like this term either) from the beginning and didn't tell her, and was even willing to let her be with Tamlin if she was happy with that... That's some real love in my opinion, to sacrifice his own happiness for hers. And I also liked Feyre's reaction when actually learning that he was her mate, because I agree with her that he should have told her before she was told by someone else. But that whole chapter where we learned everything about the mating bond might be one of my favorite chapters EVER and brought me to tears multiple times over, so.
Also, I might not like the idea of fated mates and mating bond, but I still screamed when I thought their bond was broken, so.
FEYRE/TAMLIN : HELL NO! Pure toxicity. Need I say more?
FEYRE & THE INNER CIRCLE : I love the concept of a found family, and this one was amazing.
RHYS & THE INNER CIRCLE : Found family again, amazing again. I also really liked how they were all affected by Rhys's time Under the Mountain, and how they described Rhysand time and time again. They really love him and it's so obvious.
MOR & CASSIAN & AZRIEL : I'm... kind of not liking it? Or at least not sure how I feel about it? Didn't really see anything between Cassian and Mor until Feyre insisted otherwise, and it felt kinda too much. And I'm actually loving the quiet love that Azriel has for Mor. Even though I feel like she should either get with him or make it clear that it's never going to happen. Although knowing Azriel, it wouldn't change how he looks at her. So yeah, not sure how I feel about all of that.
NESTA & CASSIAN : Loved their fire and the "hate" they have for one another (pretty sure they're gonna become a couple soon).
ELAIN & LUCIEN : Um... Where is that coming from?? That's the only thing I have to say about that. Although I guess I liked their reactions when learning about the mating bond?
Okay, done with that too!
On to the worldbuilding (or what I call worldbuilding anyway). A lot of descriptive writing when talking about the new characters, about Velaris, and a lot of backstory, even on characters we already knew.
But those same backstories allow us to learn so much more about the characters and fall in love with them even more. Let's take the Tamlin & Rhysand story, for example. I had no idea why Rhysand despised Tamlin so much, and let me just say, after what he did to Rhys's family, I now completely understand. Or there's also the stories we learn about the Inner Circle, which made me hate Mor's family's guts and made me want to kill them, and also made me love her so much more for being so resilient and surviving something like that.
And now the pacing . I guess the same thing could be said than in ACOTAR. The beginning was slow, a lot more focused on the characters, their introductions and relationships, the new places discovered, but it didn't bother me at all, unlike in Book 1. It's just that I think that whole introspection part was very much needed, and it brought me to tears multiple times over when learning about the tragic backstory of each character.
And then the ending . Again, so spectacular and action-packed.
I... don't actually have a single thing that I didn't like about this book. Not that I can think of right now anyway. So I'm leaving you here (again, without any quotes because physical book)!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence