A review by izzie_27
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

I was pleasantly surprised on my re-read of ACOTAR. I remember reading this series first in 2022 in a fever dream on a Bali holiday. Reading ACOTAR this week I wondered if I would feel the same. I expected to find the writing more basic and the story weaker, as I know the world building and complexity grows. 

Instead I was delighted to go back into the world and I felt that Maas did a great job of slowly introducing us to Feyre and Prythian. The characters I know and love were still present and still phenomenal in their early stories. 

I absolutely adored seeing Feyre and Rhysand. The moments of Rhysand discovering her and coveting her and knowing what seeing her in love with Tamlin would be like... Extra delightful on a re-read as I had no idea when initially reading.

Also a small moment for the fact that Feyre has absolutely no chemistry with Tamlin. She has more with Lucien! The first half of the story was more of a drag than I remembered.

While I might have minor notes, for a first book in a high fantasy series, I think this stands the test of the re-read. 

Stars: 5/5
Spice: 1.5/5 (very vanilla really!)