Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fantasy
Publication: 05/03/2016 by Bloomsbury
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #2
Pages: 640 Pages
Format: eBook
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
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Goodreads Summary
Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.


Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

My Thoughts
For the first time in a very long time, I cared so much about the characters I actually had a physical reaction to this book. I literally was vibrating in my seat waiting to see how this story ended. My poor heart was beating out of my chest. I can say I did enjoy A Court of Thorns and Roses when I read it last year, but this sequel blew it out of the water.

When I started reading this book, I knew it was getting a lot of hype and I didn't know where it could go. But this book was right up my alley. It gave me an emotional reaction, which doesn't commonly happen for me. Especailly the romance. This series is romance heavy, so if you're not into that avoid it. But I am a sucker for a good romance, and damn did I ever get one.

I knew I liked Rhys even from the first book. I knew there was more too him than what we originally saw. What we got in this book was even more than I ever expected. I am such a fan of Rhys that I even had a dream about him after reading certain parts. I have never had a crush on a book character this strong before. It's blowing my mind, how do people live like this!

This book also explored a lot of different themes. I liked how Maas didn't shy away from her characters having mental health problems, especially after the traumatizing events that occurred in the first book. Nobody would be able to walk away from that without having to work through something. I also really enjoyed how relationships were discussed in this book. There were abusive aspects of a certain relationship and they were never made to look okay. It wasn't romanticized and you could see how it was harming Feyre.

I just loved this book. It completely entertained me and melted my heart. I need more and I need more right now. I probably will be thinking this book for the next year waiting for the next installment. If you read the first book, definitely read this one. Even if you were on the fence with the first book, this one is amazing. Highly recommend.

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Oh man, this was definitely fun and a pretty good start to a new series. A Court of Thorns and Roses, is a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast but instead of a standard "Beast" there is faeries. This books has been everywhere and everyone seems to love it. However, in the beginning it took me some time to get into and I wasn't 100% sold on this novel. 

I found the first 100 pages quite slow, and it took me a decent amount of time to become invested in the story. But I do understand the need for a slow build. It is the first in a new series so you do need to set the stage for the rest of the books. Once the story, got going it didn't take a lot of time to get invested in the characters. 

And the characters in this book are pretty awesome. Our lead, Feyre, is "a normal human". I did like Feyre, she is strong and quite sure of herself. I enjoyed how she wasn't self conscious and remained true to herself and her feelings. The leading man in this book is Tamlin. I had a hard time picturing Tamlin, but I think I just wanted him to be tall dark and handsome instead of blond and etherial. However, there was some steamy scenes between Feyre and Tamlin. 

ACOTAR is classified as "New Adult" so there definitely is steamy. But I was a little let down and was expecting more steamy. I feel like I missed the part where Feyre went from hating Tamlin to loving him because I totally forget why it even happened. However, I think I just find the Beauty and the Beast story a bit far fetched to start with. 

The best part of this novel is end. I love the turn that the story took and how the Beauty and the Beast story intertwines with the story of the faerie kingdom. However, I am not sure about the potential love triangle that may be introduced. It may not happen but it may. I feel like what Feyre went through for Tamlin means they are meant to be together. 

(cough cough, this means you Rhys) 

Conclusions: Solid start to a new series and it's definitely enjoyable. Slow to start but the ending makes up for that. A solid steamy romance and lots of world building/politics. I can see this becoming a fantastic series with 2 more badass books. 

Rating: 4/5 Stars