A Reader's Guide to Books and Reviews

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Series:
A Court of Thorns and Roses #1

Genre:
Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings, Romance, Romantasy, Book Series, BookTok, the Fae, Faeries, Magic, First Person Point of View, High Fantasy, Fairytales, Paranormal, Spicy Romance, Science Fiction, Hades and Persephone, Beauty and the Beast, First Person Point of View

Publication Date:
May 5, 2015

Pages Numbers:
419

Read Date:
December 1st, 2023

Date Finished:
December 2nd, 2023

Rating:
4.35/5

Blurb:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore into an unforgettable read.

Review:

I had been promising myself that I would read this series but I always kept putting it off. Mostly, this was due to the fact I had read A Throne of Glass a long time ago and found the female lead not readily to my liking. I had always promised myself that I would eventually give it another try but first, I wanted to read A Court of Thorn and Roses. I had been hearing a lot of mixed reviews but my friends have mostly been the ones telling me that the series was much better once you started reading it.

I won't lie when I have been told that the series is a mixture of Hades and Persephone with Beauty and the Beast. I have always been a sucker for these and I had placed this series on my TBR. Now that I had time, I decided this would be the series for December. The final books that would end my 2023 reading year.

But now having read the series, I am a bit torn about where to rank it. While the story felt slow - too slow for that matter, it did have its moments. But again, the female lead is what drove me insane. I don't what it is about Maas's female leads but they end up being extremely annoying. I don't feel she improves much. I don't want to give too much away, but I found her decisions and actions frustrating at times. However, there were also moments where she showed strength and resilience, which I appreciated.

On the other hand, the world-building in this series was phenomenal. Maas has created a rich and vivid world, filled with different courts and creatures. I was completely immersed in this fantastical world and loved learning about the various realms and their politics.

The romance in this series felt slow. For one thing, I am glad that this was not some insta-love with both declaring how much they were made for each other, blah blah blah but it was taken slowly allowing the characters to see each other's flaws and strengths but at the same time I also felt that it was at a crawl. It could be frustrating at times and at other times it felt right.

Final Thought:

Despite its flaws, I did enjoy reading the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. The rich world-building and captivating romance kept me engaged despite some of the frustrations with the main character. I would still recommend giving it a try, especially if you enjoy fantasy and romantic elements.

Similar Books:

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Title: The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (Throne of Glass 0.1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Format: Epub
Rating: 1.5/5
Status: Finished
Reading Date: June 1, 2018 to June 2, 2018
Book Summary: A Throne of Glass novella.

On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She’s been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes—and she will risk everything to right the wrong she’s been sent to bring about.
Book Review: This series was part of my book club's book of the month. Actually the first book is but I hate getting into a series without going in order. I thought that since these books are pretty much easy reading this would be a piece of cake and I would find a new series to enjoy.

Unfortunately this turned out to not be the case at all.

I found the lead female to be nearly Mary Sueish in character. She was annoying as hell, young, full of attitude that made her seem like she had a stick so far up her ass that it had probably been lodged there since birth, and a plain out spoiled brat. Seriously I want to know why no one has taken over their knee and beaten her ass. During the beginning of this book, she really seems like she needed it.

Does Celeana ever become likeable in this series? Because if she doesn't, I feel this entire series will be tossed over onto the "Not Gonna Touch These Again" pile.