Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Even if you’re not necessarily into Fantasy Fiction, A Court of Thorns and Roses is easy to understand, follow, and fall in love with. (If you like Beauty and The Beast, you will like ACOTAR.) ACOTAR begins with the story of Feyre and her family. We learn about the struggles her family has gone through, including her father’s leg injury, poverty, and mother’s death.

In the first few chapters, readers come to see Feyre’s resilience and strength. She made a promise to her mother before she passed—she promised to take care of and provide for the family—and she continues to even when her family is ungrateful. Feyre is a likeable and inspiring character.

Honorable mentions: Lucien and Alis are wonderful side characters and their quick wit makes for some great laugh out loud moments. I found myself rooting for them and their happiness as well.

*May contains spoilers from here on! Skip to overall thoughts if you do not want to read any spoilers.*

Tamlin and Rhysand

From the moment we met Rhysand (pronounced Ree-sand) at Calanmai, I was in love with him. Something about a dark, tall and handsome man with violet eyes confidently swooping in to help Feyre gave me all the feels. I knew we’d see him again.

After Tamlin sends Feyre home, Feyre returns to find all the courts under Amarnath’s wrath. She heads Under the Mountain and basically sacrifices her life to save Tamlin. (Feyre makes a deal to complete a “task” at every full moon for the next three months and if she survives all three, Amarnath will free everyone.)

Note: Before Chapter 34, I was all for Feyre ending up with Tamlin.

But after everything that takes place Under The Mountain, I did not feel the same about Tamlin. I mean, Rhysand literally puts his life at risk MULTIPLE times to save Feyre and Tamlin just feels… lackluster in comparison.

Perhaps it’s when I discovered that Tamlin was basically lying to Feyre the whole time. That the wolf in the woods was preconceived, that he needed a mortal woman to marry, that she wasn’t actually forced to stay at his manor, etc. Tamlin kind of sucks.

Under the Mountain

Everything after Chapter 34 feels a little rushed to me. (I still love it all. But I feel like Sarah J. Mass could have added like 300 more pages.) We knew this huge impending event was going to take place and when it finally did, it was only 121 pages.

While I’m not exactly sure of the timeline, Feyre’s time Under The Mountain spans at least 3 months and yet is only roughly 3/4 of the book.

This is absolutely my only slight strife with the book. Also, that it could use more Rhysand in it. But from what I’ve dug up, I believe there’s a lot more of him in A Court of Mist and Fury (Book #2) and onwards, so problem solved!

Overall thoughts

Overall, I absolutely loved A Court of Thorns and Roses and am excited to continue on with the series. Everything about the High Fae and the creatures we meet along the journey fascinate me.

Additionally, It is rumored that Mass and Ron Moore are creating a TV adaptation for Hulu. While more details (including casting and release date) are still to come, I am looking forward to it!

Purchase a copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses, here or purchase the entire collection, here.