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A review by arson_9
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
**spoiler alert** i swore to the good lord above i wouldnt read this book BUT then i got attached to a character while watching a plot summary of the holiday novella
I have encountered SJM before by reading her Throne of Glass series which i have… opinions of thats for sure. Ive put way to much thought into this book so this will be quite a critical review
The positives first. It wasn’t the worst book ive ever read. The writing was sarah J mass but i don’t mind her style. The stakes were there and Feyre is a female main character i do like. in the first book.
Now the fun
I cant tell exactly what folk/myth sjm was basing this one off. Its marketed as vague beauty and the beast which yes! theres b&tb references and such but i also picked up on Eros and Psyche (the three trials under the mountain) Hades and Persephone (stealing the ‘naive’ or ‘innocent’ maiden. but acomf is also supposed to be H and P so??) The ballad of Tam Lin (this one is obvious) and Cinderella (picking the lentils out of the fireplace) so my brain was kinda going all over the place. I read acotar knowing what happens in the rest of the series so i was keeping eyes on Tamlin this read really solidified that idk WHY tamlin became the villain in the later books. Ive written many a essay about this on tumblr so i wont go too in detail but i feel his vilification very personally as sjm used anger issues to make him an antag (again. i have opinions on this) Also what was the point of Rhysand in this book??? By itself him in acotar makes sense but in acomf and on i just don’t get it. As a reader i can understand his motives and why he did some of the stuff he did but some i again don’t understand at all. We are supposed to forgive rhysand in the 2nd book for the downright gross stuff he did to feyre. The SA (yes thats SA. It wasn’t consensual end of it) was unnecessary as well as the sympathy i know sjm was trying to make me feel. I acknowledge the sexual abuse rhysand went through because of amarantha and its horrific and i feel for him but that does not excuse his gross actions to feyre and the random stuff he tells her. It didnt feel a natural way to gain support from readers.
Acotar could have been a standalone if you take out the hints of the mating bond between rhysand and feyre (again. why?) and i would have given it at least a 3.5 but no sjm does god knows what and why in acomf and beyond. I am not a poor reader who doesn’t understand nuance, i’ve been reading for years the last like 30% of this book just doesn’t make sense. I wont actually be reading acomf just making highlights for the Tamlin fix it fic i plan to make because the character dissolving just doesn’t make sense.
I have encountered SJM before by reading her Throne of Glass series which i have… opinions of thats for sure. Ive put way to much thought into this book so this will be quite a critical review
The positives first. It wasn’t the worst book ive ever read. The writing was sarah J mass but i don’t mind her style. The stakes were there and Feyre is a female main character i do like. in the first book.
Now the fun
I cant tell exactly what folk/myth sjm was basing this one off. Its marketed as vague beauty and the beast which yes! theres b&tb references and such but i also picked up on Eros and Psyche (the three trials under the mountain) Hades and Persephone (stealing the ‘naive’ or ‘innocent’ maiden. but acomf is also supposed to be H and P so??) The ballad of Tam Lin (this one is obvious) and Cinderella (picking the lentils out of the fireplace) so my brain was kinda going all over the place. I read acotar knowing what happens in the rest of the series so i was keeping eyes on Tamlin this read really solidified that idk WHY tamlin became the villain in the later books. Ive written many a essay about this on tumblr so i wont go too in detail but i feel his vilification very personally as sjm used anger issues to make him an antag (again. i have opinions on this) Also what was the point of Rhysand in this book??? By itself him in acotar makes sense but in acomf and on i just don’t get it. As a reader i can understand his motives and why he did some of the stuff he did but some i again don’t understand at all. We are supposed to forgive rhysand in the 2nd book for the downright gross stuff he did to feyre. The SA (yes thats SA. It wasn’t consensual end of it) was unnecessary as well as the sympathy i know sjm was trying to make me feel. I acknowledge the sexual abuse rhysand went through because of amarantha and its horrific and i feel for him but that does not excuse his gross actions to feyre and the random stuff he tells her. It didnt feel a natural way to gain support from readers.
Acotar could have been a standalone if you take out the hints of the mating bond between rhysand and feyre (again. why?) and i would have given it at least a 3.5 but no sjm does god knows what and why in acomf and beyond. I am not a poor reader who doesn’t understand nuance, i’ve been reading for years the last like 30% of this book just doesn’t make sense. I wont actually be reading acomf just making highlights for the Tamlin fix it fic i plan to make because the character dissolving just doesn’t make sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts