A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) in Book Con Attendees

Dec 02, 2014 Bobbi rated it it was amazing

This book was soooooo freakin good! Sarah J Maas is my favorite fantasy author so I was expecting to love it. I wasn't expecting to fall in love with this series even more than the Throne of Glass series. I really loved these characters and this world that Sarah created. She has mad skills as an author. Her writing is breathtaking! Feyre and Tamlin are my new favorite couple. I can't wait to see where this story goes. And we are getting 8 of these beautiful books! Yes!!! ...more

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Jan 20, 2015 CynthiaElleReads rated it it was amazing

Edit— 2021

I actually never finished this book. I don’t know why I gave it five stars. I was young and impressionable. My bad. In reality I give it 1 star because I didn’t like it and as mentioned never finished the book.

I NEED MORE!!!
I love anything Sarah writes and I can't wait for the next book!!
TAMLIN <3 ...more

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Jan 03, 2015 Melissa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Sarah has done it again! Ahhh such an amazing, wild ride! And the romance, THE ROMANCE!!! Epic!

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Apr 23, 2024 Reka Beezy rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really wanted to like this; I did. I vaguely remember liking the first two books of the Throne of Glass series, but after reading this, maybe I was just young? I did the audio version of ACOTAR, which was probably a big mistake because I have so many thoughts that I can’t keep them straight. I like to go back and quote things, but that format doesn’t allow me to do that well. Anyway, let’s get into it…

The Plot – The book was boring until about the 80% mark. Everyone has to suspend disbelief wh I really wanted to like this; I did. I vaguely remember liking the first two books of the Throne of Glass series, but after reading this, maybe I was just young? I did the audio version of ACOTAR, which was probably a big mistake because I have so many thoughts that I can’t keep them straight. I like to go back and quote things, but that format doesn’t allow me to do that well. Anyway, let’s get into it…

The Plot – The book was boring until about the 80% mark. Everyone has to suspend disbelief when reading fantasy, but how Feyre was still alive during this whole thing was completely unbelievable.

Feyre – This damn girl. Where do I begin? Why would you spell her name this way and pronounce it as “Farah,” when you had the perfect opportunity to pronounce it as “fairy”?! Talk about a missed opportunity! This literal faux pas set the tone for the whole character. Fayre is the most annoying female lead I’ve come across in the past few years. Her extreme dedication to a foolish promise was admirable but senseless. Her family didn’t give two flying fucks about her. Wild behavior for those idiots. Feyre was bland, unappealing, and hard-headed for no reason. Ma’am, just because a man tells you to do something, it doesn’t automatically mean for you to do the opposite to show your feminist free will. At least consider the recommendation to see if it has merit! For her to be a badass hunter with her bow (ok, fake Katniss), she had no reconnaissance skills whatsoever! Girl, don’t you think you should learn more about the fairy world before you start going off into the woods?! Everything can kill you, yet you know nothing. Pathetic! I know she’s illiterate, but how do you figure out that Tamlin has a heart of stone in 2 minutes (from recalling every snippet of every conversation since being in fairyland), yet you couldn’t figure out the answer to the riddle was “love”?! GIRL HOW?

Tamlin – Where was the swoon? Where was the chemistry? Sir, you’re trying to get a girl to fall in love with you...SAY SOMETHING, I’M GIVING UP ON YOU! Also, the man had a mask on the whole time with no personality…explain the love. He also did not exhibit king behavior. You can’t let the girl walk out; you have people depending on you, dammit! Save them, even if you don’t want to try for yourself!

Lucien – He had more chemistry with Feyre than Tamlin did. I would’ve preferred to read about Lucien’s romance than this crap.

Rhysand – Where did this MFer come from? Why are you here you, sexual menace? Feyre was more animated with this tool than Tamlin. I know the author is setting this guy up to take the place of Tamlin in Fayre’s heart, but I’m not all that forgiving of sexual coercion—so, no thanks to shipping this dark-haired idiot.

The Family – They reminded me more of Cinderella as family members, as opposed to Beauty and the Beast. Where was the love? Nessa (or Nesta, whatever) tried to redeem herself, but it didn’t work. Don’t be nice now, heifer!

I can’t continue this series. I don’t love the characters enough to do so. ...more

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May 17, 2015 Alice rated it it was amazing

My love for YA literature first began with The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, which was also set in a faery world. After that, I read many of the popular YA faery books at the time and for a while faeries were the only thing I read about. Some were great, some were okay, but none met the expectations that The Iron King set - until now. A Court of Thorns and Roses is truly a magnificent piece of work that captures and holds your attention throughout the entire story.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, whe My love for YA literature first began with The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, which was also set in a faery world. After that, I read many of the popular YA faery books at the time and for a while faeries were the only thing I read about. Some were great, some were okay, but none met the expectations that The Iron King set - until now. A Court of Thorns and Roses is truly a magnificent piece of work that captures and holds your attention throughout the entire story.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, when I found out this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, I thought I had it all figured out, but nope - I was definitely taken in surprise. Sarah Maas does a great job keeping the reader constantly at the edge of their seat. I also really enjoyed the setting and "format" of Prythian aka Faerie World, and I could almost imagine how some of the scenes that took place look like thanks to the great detail that Maas puts into her setting development. A unique thing about Maas's faerie world are the faerie courts and rulers - usually, there's only the standard Winter and Summer courts, but there are seven in this series an I loved the bits of insight we get to each one.

The book has a great cast of characters; Tamlin, Rhys, Feyre, Lucien - they all have so many layers to them and it was fun going through each of their "layers" as the story progressed and we learned more and more about them. They're very multi-dimensional and Sarah does a fantastic job developing each and every one, including the villain; even Amarantha has more to her as we discover the story of her sister and her "love" for Tamlin.

I definitely see a love triangle coming into play, and I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. On one hand, if Feyre ends up with anyone other than Tamlin, that'll be a little odd since the entire first book focuses on Feyre and Tam's relationship and the obstacles they had to go through. On the other hand, I am 100% ready to get more of Rhys in the second book.

Overall, if you like fantasy, retellings, or just need a good book to read, get this one! ...more

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May 21, 2019 Gabriela rated it it was ok

Shelves: own, much-hype, maybe-this-will-fill-the-void

I'm a bit disappointed, to say the least. There was soooo much hype surrounding this book and Sarah J Mass in general, and a lot of drama concerning her as well. I thought this book was going to be life changing based on all the reviews and how many people swear by it, but it really just was not that good. One thing that I really just did not appreciate is the sucky romance. I was expecting an epic, angsty, heartbreaking story but it was really dry. The second half of the book is centered around ...more

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May 03, 2016 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Still love second time around

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Feb 22, 2023 Janis Kay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: new-adult

I did not plan on reading this book. Hype books don’t really work for me, but I’ve started listening to the podcast, Those Forking Fangirls, and they have this segment called ‘Chapter Chat’. They decided to reread ACOTAR and have a 20-ish minute talk about the next chapter near the end of each episode. So, I’m listening to this for a few episodes and thinking, “ok this sounds at least somewhat interesting”. ADHD dopamine kick started: let’s read a sample on Libby and see if it’s worth it. Becaus I did not plan on reading this book. Hype books don’t really work for me, but I’ve started listening to the podcast, Those Forking Fangirls, and they have this segment called ‘Chapter Chat’. They decided to reread ACOTAR and have a 20-ish minute talk about the next chapter near the end of each episode. So, I’m listening to this for a few episodes and thinking, “ok this sounds at least somewhat interesting”. ADHD dopamine kick started: let’s read a sample on Libby and see if it’s worth it. Because this book is so dang long (my opinion), I was able to reach midway through chapter 4. So, I became intrigued enough and got a physical copy from the library (Libby’s wait was stupid long). Read it in a few sittings. I went in expecting nothing. Why? Years later, the fandom-fueled hype is still going strong and I like to make up my own mind instead of expecting it to go one way or the other from the start. Well, I definitely formed my own opinions.

Here we go! This was extremely easy to read (this is NOT a negative criticism). I’d been mulling over this for over a week since finishing so I could explain this as best I can. Maas -at least in this instance- writes in a style similar to James Patterson. DON’T GO IN AN UPROAR! Hear me out:

>>the language isn’t a complex prose that is what I consider “typical fantasy verbiage”;
>>she writes in first person POV (Feyre is talking to you as her best friend);
>>it’s plot-driven: no multitude of literary devices, timelines, and backstories to distract you from what’s really important;
>>the chapters are easy to read through (not too long, not too short) and end in a way that encourages you to keep going;
>>plenty of conflict and dialogue, but nothing over-the-top or unnecessary; and finally,
>>Maas definitely did her research when creating a world based on Anglo-Irish folk religion and she seamlessly created an easy-to-digest world that she owns.

If you don’t believe me, just google “James Patterson writing style”. I’m sure I can’t be the first reader to experience this, but I might be the first to quasi rabbit-hole like this. It makes so much sense, though! I was only 5 chapters in when I realized that I wasn’t having my typical waning interest (as I’m wont to have when I read high fantasy) and was actually engaged in the story. AND I was BLASTING through like a hurricane! This never happens when I read higher-than-middle-grade-level fantasy. Generally: I pause, take a break, pick it up later…or never. Fantasy and SciFi require a lot of active reading from me (looking for plot devices, etc.), but ACOTAR didn’t. It’s easily digestible in that it doesn’t require any more from me than to just sit back and enjoy the show. If that doesn’t fit your bill, then this book is not for you.

Continuing the review: I love me a good fairy tale retelling and ACOTAR is an interesting take on ‘Beauty and the Beast’ without it being too obvious at first look. Here are the elements (I’m going to try to keep my snark from taking over): girl gets taken ‘prisoner’ by beast, she gets the awkward “welcome to your new home” speech, she learns about a curse affecting the land and told not to ask too many questions, she finds out that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and falls in love because you know why, he sends her back to keep her safe, she can’t stay away because she knows something’s wrong and returns to find him in danger. I think you know where I’m going with this. ANYWAY, that’s the skeleton outline. Everything else is completely made up by Maas and is brilliantly done. Do I want to get into more detail about the characters and other literary devices? Not really. There’s so much of that in other reviews that I think I’d be repetitive. In brief, I really liked the characters’ personalities and can see how they’ve endeared themselves to the ACOTAR fans. All the beauty/beast elements were woven into a unique story that I genuinely enjoyed. Will I read the next one? Not likely...I'm aware that there is a LOT of drama that unfolds in book 2 and that's not my scene. ...more

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Jul 01, 2022 Tameeka rated it liked it · review of another edition

I spent most of the book wondering how the act that brings Freya and Tamlin together made sense. It did not seem like a fair trade to me. Maybe knowing Freya would have to live with the guilt for the rest of her life....but that seemed like a bit of a stretch.

I won't harp on some of my other issues with this book. Much of the same has been said in other critical reviews. ...more

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Sep 10, 2013 Kairee-Anne rated it liked it

This was so damn beautiful. The story was so magical and Sarah did a fantastic job adapting into the 'new adult' way of writing. I loved Feyre. I loved Lucian. I loved Tamlin. I loved everything about this book. I can't wait to get the finish product of this great tale. Beauty and the Beast has returned everyone, and this book is the start of awesomeness. :) ...more

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