A review by francestal
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’m not really the type to like “bad boy” romances because I feel cheesed out by them and… why would people willingly go for red flags, I’ll never know… but SJM got me in this one. However, that was only made possible by practically demolishing any of Tamlin’s moral framework to smithereens to be able to spotlight the (seemingly) refreshing extreme of Rhys inventing feminism. While appreciated, I found it so hard to believe that Feyre — the girl who hunted and provided for her family for years and supposedly “saved all of Prythian” — needed Rhys to make her magically realize that yes, women can make choices! Because of the way SJM wrote Feyre’s character development, it felt this book completely negated any of her existing values and strengths from the first book. 

Another complaint I have, which is consistent with my thoughts on the first book, is how SJM once again slaps us with the final act of the plot. This time, it felt even worse and more rushed than the first book, as if everything happened within the last 50 pages or so.

BOOM, Tamlin and Lucien are dirty traitors. BOOM, Elain and Nesta are fae. BOOM, Elain and Lucien (who met each other five minutes ago) are mates???

Can we ever have a normally paced unfolding of events rather than shredding through plot reveals just to set up the plot of the next book?

While I did enjoy getting into Rhys’ backstory, the side characters saved this book. Thank you Azriel, Amren, Cassian, and Mor for making this book interesting. If you’re a fan of the “found family” trope, you’re gonna love this one.