First things first, this cover is awful. The font is fine, the tagline is fine, but something about that practically glow-in-the-dark red and that cover illustration really really sit the wrong way with me. Plus, I had to look at the cover twice to work out where all the words fitted. Court A Of Thorns Roses And? It is a mystery. This is definitely not a book I would have picked up if I'd only seen the cover; as it was I picked it up because I loved Throne of Glass and I am an absolute and complete sucker for anything about fey, bonus points if the subplot is about Intriguing and Mysterious Court Politics.
This book is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in a not-quite high fantasy world. There's a running plot of a past war between humankind and faekind, which as it relates to the book is very important as it sets our protagonists and most of the mortal characters in the book up to really hate fae. The actual plot is simple; girl takes something she shouldn't have, is whisked away to faerie palace by a possibly ugly masked man (or, as it really is, not a man) in order to fulfil a bargain. Chaos ensues.
I'll start by talking about the writing itself. Sarah J. Maas is really good at world-building; I understood what was going on, I felt like I was in Prythian, I really wanted to know more about all of these Fae courts and their histories and the bloody and confusing ties that kept them all bound together. Her writing was never really clunky; I didn't feel like I was reading a book. Sure, occasionally it was a very slow read and there were pages without any plot advancement, but this usually served for the better. The calm before the storm, if you will. It's not the kind of book that's going to have you howling in frustration because really can't the writer find any other words to describe the love interest's dazzling beauty? (PSA right now that there is quite a lot of that in A Court of Thorns and Roses).
Character-wise, I have a problem. They're all very solid characters; Feyre makes choices that tie in with her personality, she has a very readable and definitive tone all the way through the book. You get to know her. I just didn't connect with her, and I found myself getting angry at her a lot. Why couldn't she just listen and obey. I felt much the same way about Tamlin, although I really did like Lucien and Rhysand. Also, I feel it should probably be addressed that the relationship between Tamlin and Feyre veers occasionally into borderline-abuse, especially one scene about halfway through, so if that's going to upset you I would skip this one over.
I loved the plot. Let me put this on the table; I didn't care too much about the main protagonists, the writing was competent if never stunning, but I loved this book because I loved the plot. Like I've said before; court politics? Fey? Cute boys? Fairytale retellings? All of this is entirely up my alley. A few twists and turns in the plot were very predictable (especially the ending!) but it's worth it just to see how they get there. I'm already upset that the next one doesn't come out for a year.
My final thoughts are thus; this is a good book. It's probably not going to be the best book you've ever read, but it's definitely a fun way to pass a few hours. It's a solid four out of five, for me.
- Nat
