A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J Maas

• this review will be spoiler-free •

from the blurb:

Feyre is immortal. After rescuing her lover Tamlin from a wicked Faerie Queen, she returns to the Spring Court possessing the powers of the High Fae. But Feyre cannot forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people - nor the bargain she made with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. 

As Feyre is drawn ever deeper into Rhysand's dark web of politics and passion, war is looming and an evil far greater than any queen threatens to destroy everything Feyre has fought for. She must confront her past, embrace her girls and decide her fate. 

"I wonder if some part of me knew what was waiting for me. That I would never be a gentle grower of things, or someone who burned like fire - but that I would be quiet and enduring and as faceted as the night. That I would have beauty, for those who knew where to look, and if people didn't bother to look, but only to fear it... Then I didn't particularly care for them, anyway. I wonder if, even in my despair and hopelessness, I was never truly alone. I wonder if I was looking for this place - looking for you all."

I've been looking forward to reading this book ever since I finished A Court of Thorns and Roses. In fact, I was so desperate for it that when the copy I'd ordered didn't arrive on time, I went straight to town and bought a new copy (which happened to be a signed copy, so for once, I won't begrudge my impatience!) 

This book as a whole was a strong, addictive piece of writing - something that I've come to expect from Sarah J Maas. When it was announced that this would be a reselling of the story of Hades and Persephone, I think a lot of fans worked out what (or who) that meant that this book would feature a lot of. ACOMAF explores some new areas of Prythian as well as expanding on old characters and introducing new ones - almost all of whom I loved, especially Mor. As with ACOTAR, the majority of the action was definitely in the last third of the book, and once again this irritated me slightly but has also left me anticipating the final book in the series. Looking back, this middle section definitely had a lot of important character and relationship building parts, and I'm so glad that they were included. 

ACOMAF also deals with a lot of important issues, mostly related to what is right and wrong within a relationship, and the importance of equality. 

I was blown away by this book, and had no choice but to give it 5/5 stars! 

Is anyone else reading A Court of Mist and Fury at the moment? What did you think? Let us know in the comments! 

- Becky x 

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

"Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don't feel anything at all.”

A Court of Thorns and Roses is Sarah J. Maas's retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The story follows Feyre, a young girl who is forced to hunt in order to keep her father and sisters alive. However, when Feyre kills a wolf that turns out to be a faerie, she is taken across the wall that divides the mortal lands and faerie lands to pay for her crime by spending the rest of her life in the Spring Court of Prythian, where she will face trials that she could never have anticipated.

Angharad:

Oh wow, this book was a roller coaster of a ride.

I almost put the book down after 100 pages. It just did not hook me in any way and I found the huge information dumps about the fae world to just be monotonous. Although in its defence, I have never been a huge fan of fairy tales/stories. I was originally going to give this book 1 star but the last 100 pages saved it, in my opinion.

Before the last few pages, I was reading purely for the sake of reading. I found Feyre's time in the Court to be so uneventful that I nearly tore my hair out. Painting, eating, hunting, painting, eating, hunting and on and on and on. The occasional event happened but other than that, it was extremely boring.

On to the romance side of things. The relationship between Feyre and Tamlin, in my opinion, was quite problematic (the whole bite thing. Her fault apparently??) but other than that, it was... there. They were basically like horny teenagers. The three characters I enjoyed the most were the side characters - Lucien, Rhysand and Nesta. 

Basically, to cut a long story short, as soon as the trials began, so did the story. It's such a shame that we had to wait until the end of the book for that. I'll be in no rush to get the sequel.

Becky:

Well. What can I say about A Court of Thorns and Roses?

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

I haven't found a fantasy novel that I literally couldn't put down in a very long time (probably since I read Throne of Glass, to be honest) so I was so happy when I was immediately sucked into Feyre's story. 

I thought that Maas adapted the classic story of Beauty and the Beast enough so that it didn't feel as though you knew exactly what was going to happen whilst reading, but at the same time the inspiration for the book still very much shone through. A Court of Thorns and Roses really is a fairytale through and through - from the events leading up to Feyre's actions and the consequences of it, the way that the love story develops, the folklore elements, to the three trials at the end of the book. As always with Sarah J. Maas's books, it was written beautifully and I thought that the world building was perfect - I really could imagine what both the locations and characters looked like whilst reading. 

As for the characters, I loved Feyre from the beginning. The Hunger Games (as it did for many others, I imagine) ignited in me a love for girls who are good archers, and Feyre's passion for art touched a soft spot too. As well as this, I loved that she had shouldered the task of keeping her family alive, despite being the youngest and not really being noticed or appreciated for all that she did for them. Her strength and bravery carries on throughout the book, when she willingly goes with Tamlin to Prythian in order to protect her family yet again, and when facing the three trials. 

On to Tamlin - of course, I hated him to begin with, but as his and Feyre's romance developed, he grew on me more. However, Rhysand is the faerie that truly has a place in my heart after reading this book. 

I really enjoyed most of the other side characters as well, especially Lucien and Nesta (her development was perfect!) and Amarantha was an amazing antagonist. 

I did feel like this would have worked really well as a standalone book, but at the same time I am so glad that it isn't and I can't wait for the sequel!

I'd definitely recommend A Court of Thorns and Roses to all fantasy and fairytale lovers, and definitely to people who've loved the Throne of Glass series so far!

Have you read A Court of Thorns and Roses? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!