A review by bookshelf20
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

I felt like this book was well done. I had been told about this book a lot over BookTok, and finally picked it up to read it. I felt the pacing of the book was pretty good, I really liked when things picked up towards the end with the events and trials that Fayre had to go through. I liked the character development of Fayre, how she went through a lot of emotions and trials to prove herself and change her approach to things and different situations. I liked her curiosity to the world around her.  I liked the push and pull of the relationship. I liked that Fayre had to depend on others to help her through different events in the book. I'm all for female empowerment and strength, but it was nice to see that even though Fayre was strong, quick witted, and clever, she was also able to get some help from fellow male characters throughout the book. It created a nice symmetry that allowed for a push and pull. 
I really liked that the first book sets up the assistance between Rhys and Fayre. She saves him from the curse, he saves her life bringing her back from the dead, heals her arm, helps her through the trials when she can't read. I really liked that they depended on each other.

Another thing I'll mention is that I knew a lot about the series and the plot development and the characters before I read this book, so the whole time Tamlin did anything 'nice' or 'sweet' or 'romantic' etc. I couldn't help but gag and get frustrated. Mostly because I knew how he'd be later on and that Rhys was her true mate. So I wish I could've enjoyed this book a little more honestly, without that knowledge, oh well.

I will say that I had a lot of people recommend this series, stating that the smut in it was great and it would be "a nice spice to your marriage" but as I read through it, I felt that yeah, I guess the spice was nice...but it wasn't fantastic. I've read spicier books that were more exciting. So I'm definitely reading this book for the romance/plot, not the smut. 
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