A review by prunella
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

 Just bleck. I finished because I truly did want to know how the final battle ended...but that is the only reason this got 2 stars. Otherwise, this is a one star book.

I read book two, and liked it well enough to go right into book three. But - oye. I'm done with this series, maybe with SJM books in general. Why you might ask?

1. The writing is SO BAD. SJM needs a thesaurus or an editor, likely both.
I wish I knew how many times that someone's 'throat bobbed' or how many times a character made a 'vulgar gesture' at another.

2. NO likeable characters. I ended this book disliking basically everyone (the firebird queen seems cool... but she had like 2 lines, so). It's a sad day when you find yourself hoping for the demise of main characters. People (and fairies) die, can we just have a character die and deal with the loss? Apparently not.

3. The steamy scenes feel gratuitous and just more bleck. I don't want to read about people licking each others tears. gross.

4. What was happening here with gender? Why are we constantly using the word male to represent description? Which leads to a larger question, in a book that is SO excessively LONG, why is there no true character development? Also, the token bisexuality that's tossed into the story seems like a marketing ploy more than true character development.

5. Lastly, the whole concept of 'mates' in this series is inconsistent and tiresome. Can a female actually opt-out to a 'mating bond' which is always 'snapping into place' around them? The answer here is not clear. Yes? No? Is there free will in these relationships? Which plays into themes of co-dependency, and just more yuck.

Goodbye ACOTAR. I wanted to like you, lose myself in a fairy world.

Instead I could use a palate cleanser. Onto better books! 

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