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A review by bookwormpersephone
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
5.0
**Major spoilers, proceed with caution!**
I'd like to start this review by saying I've been spoiled way before I got my hands on this book. Months before I decided to purchase a copy, I already knew Rhysand, a dark-haired, violet-eyed hottie is the one our MC gets to end up with....
Which is why it confused me to no end when Tamlin was there implied as THE love interest.
Thank the cauldron that's the only thing I was spoiled about, and not /why/ our lovely MC Feyre switched from blond, green-eyed sun-god Tamlin to literally-the-greek-god-hades Rhysand. If I did, I wouldn't have rated this book a 5*.
This book was a RIDE. It gripped me from page 1 until the very end, clutching the edges of my paperback book like my life depended on it. Would you believe I started this book during midnight, couldn't stop even if I wanted to, and finished by the time the sun was up?
I loved how Tamlin went from an aloof, awkward high fae to a warm, loving and protective figure.
I loved Feyre's selfless and absolute devotion to her family, even at the expense of herself and her welfare. It just proves how deeply she can love, and how wonderfully genuine it is that she doesn't ask anything in return.
I adored Lucien, the funny, sarcastic, rake-character that has more to him under the surface. He's the perfect buffer for Tamlin's seriousness and Feyre's detachment. He has his own story to tell, his own struggles and traumas to hide.
Here, I despised Nesta, Elaine, and Feyre's father. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why the youngest of the three siblings was subjected to finding food for a family of four.
And... Rhysand. Oh Rhysand. I hated you and loved you the first time I met you in this book.
Sarah made it her mission to endlessly confuse me with regards to the romance aspect of the book. Here I was, warming up to Tamlin, rooting for him, despite knowing Rhysand was the one Feyre will choose. I resisted, prayed to the cauldron to somehow make a way for Tamlin to move on from Feyre unscathed, maybe to find someone else? Oh boy... My thoughts did not age well.
As I re-read again (at this point I've finished the 2nd & 3rd book) just a few days earlier, I kept some colored tabs with me and place those transparent bookmarks where I found foreshadowing, clues, and most especially, the signs of Tamlin's toxicity.
I found more than just two or three.
There were SIGNS EVERYWHERE. I didn't notice it because I was too enthralled by Tamlin's sweet poem reciting, his efforts to bring her paint, his obvious want and need of her. The writing was too beautiful it ended up covering up this fae's true nature placed too casually you'd miss it the first time.
Or maybe I'm just a sucker for the "I-changed-for-you" shtick.
And don't get me started about his utter inaction during the last arc, when he blatantly wanted to have sex with her instead of smuggling her out the night before the last trial.
I digress.
This book can have me ramble until your ears bleed, but here's the bottom line: it's something else for a first book. It basically sets up a scenario for you to get used to, only to go 180 on you at the second book. It will lead you on like a dog on a leash and then kick you into a warzone with training that turned out to be lies.
It's clever that this book's POV is first person (from Feyre's perspective), so it's as if we realize a lot things alongside her, feel the disappointment, guilt, dilemma, and love through her eyes. This POV plays a big part in masking the many different secrets that would have been revealed if it were a multiple POV or a 3rd-person POV.
Thank you for reading. Sarah's books are nothing short of amazing, and they made me feel a lot of feelings, both intense and deep. If you wish to get into her books, it's best to start here.
I'd like to start this review by saying I've been spoiled way before I got my hands on this book. Months before I decided to purchase a copy, I already knew Rhysand, a dark-haired, violet-eyed hottie is the one our MC gets to end up with....
Which is why it confused me to no end when Tamlin was there implied as THE love interest.
Thank the cauldron that's the only thing I was spoiled about, and not /why/ our lovely MC Feyre switched from blond, green-eyed sun-god Tamlin to literally-the-greek-god-hades Rhysand. If I did, I wouldn't have rated this book a 5*.
This book was a RIDE. It gripped me from page 1 until the very end, clutching the edges of my paperback book like my life depended on it. Would you believe I started this book during midnight, couldn't stop even if I wanted to, and finished by the time the sun was up?
I loved how Tamlin went from an aloof, awkward high fae to a warm, loving and protective figure.
I loved Feyre's selfless and absolute devotion to her family, even at the expense of herself and her welfare. It just proves how deeply she can love, and how wonderfully genuine it is that she doesn't ask anything in return.
I adored Lucien, the funny, sarcastic, rake-character that has more to him under the surface. He's the perfect buffer for Tamlin's seriousness and Feyre's detachment. He has his own story to tell, his own struggles and traumas to hide.
Here, I despised Nesta, Elaine, and Feyre's father. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why the youngest of the three siblings was subjected to finding food for a family of four.
And... Rhysand. Oh Rhysand. I hated you and loved you the first time I met you in this book.
Sarah made it her mission to endlessly confuse me with regards to the romance aspect of the book. Here I was, warming up to Tamlin, rooting for him, despite knowing Rhysand was the one Feyre will choose. I resisted, prayed to the cauldron to somehow make a way for Tamlin to move on from Feyre unscathed, maybe to find someone else? Oh boy... My thoughts did not age well.
As I re-read again (at this point I've finished the 2nd & 3rd book) just a few days earlier, I kept some colored tabs with me and place those transparent bookmarks where I found foreshadowing, clues, and most especially, the signs of Tamlin's toxicity.
I found more than just two or three.
There were SIGNS EVERYWHERE. I didn't notice it because I was too enthralled by Tamlin's sweet poem reciting, his efforts to bring her paint, his obvious want and need of her. The writing was too beautiful it ended up covering up this fae's true nature placed too casually you'd miss it the first time.
Or maybe I'm just a sucker for the "I-changed-for-you" shtick.
And don't get me started about his utter inaction during the last arc, when he blatantly wanted to have sex with her instead of smuggling her out the night before the last trial.
I digress.
This book can have me ramble until your ears bleed, but here's the bottom line: it's something else for a first book. It basically sets up a scenario for you to get used to, only to go 180 on you at the second book. It will lead you on like a dog on a leash and then kick you into a warzone with training that turned out to be lies.
It's clever that this book's POV is first person (from Feyre's perspective), so it's as if we realize a lot things alongside her, feel the disappointment, guilt, dilemma, and love through her eyes. This POV plays a big part in masking the many different secrets that would have been revealed if it were a multiple POV or a 3rd-person POV.
Thank you for reading. Sarah's books are nothing short of amazing, and they made me feel a lot of feelings, both intense and deep. If you wish to get into her books, it's best to start here.