A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

May 02, 2023 Teenage Reads rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2023, series, books-i-own

Plot:
Feyre promised her dying mother that she would make sure her family survived. With her father unwilling to work, and two older sisters who refused to dirty themselves, Feyre learned to hunt to feed her family. A forest is a harsh place, one that almost killed Feyre a few times, but one that she comes back to, day in and day out, in order to survive. When a wolf made himself an easy kill for her, Feyre does not hesitate. It turns out that wolf was a fae, which caused a beast to come to Feyre Plot:
Feyre promised her dying mother that she would make sure her family survived. With her father unwilling to work, and two older sisters who refused to dirty themselves, Feyre learned to hunt to feed her family. A forest is a harsh place, one that almost killed Feyre a few times, but one that she comes back to, day in and day out, in order to survive. When a wolf made himself an easy kill for her, Feyre does not hesitate. It turns out that wolf was a fae, which caused a beast to come to Feyre's family, threatening to kill her father. Revealing herself as the huntress who killed the beast's friend, the beast offers to either end her life on the spot, or she is to live out the rest of her days in his palace as a guest. Choosing to live, Feyre is swept into the world of the faerie, with Tamlin, the beast, keeping his promise to provide for her family, letting her live in comfort in the Summer Court, despite her never being allowed to see her family again. Feeling protected but scared for her life simultaneously, Feyre must navigate this murderous world as she learns more about faerie politics, their struggles, and an evil queen. She wants to wipe all humans off the face of the earth. With Tamlin surprising Feyre at every turn with his kindness, Feyre starts to learn who she is and discovers what love and loyalty are all about.

Thoughts:
Sarah Maas opens up a new series with this retelling of beauty and the beast if Belle was into hunting and if the beast was a faerie lord. With captivating writing, Maas makes this book fly through your hands, keeps twists and turns coming, and gives you a satisfactory ending. The story is told first-person through the eyes of Feyre and really lets you see all the mental gymnastics she has to do to understand the new world she is forced to spend the rest of her life in. Where her relationship with Tamlin seemed to go from "a hot guy" to "I love him”, very fast, it is not unrealistic given Feyre's lack of experience with love and the fact that her dating pool got a lot smaller. Maas made this one more romance than action to distance themselves from previous work, as Feyre is considered a 'huntress' out of necessity and not out of want. Feyre does not enjoy killing, and thus, if given the option, does not kill unless necessary. This adds to her character; it also slows the book down, making it a lot more of having lovey eyes and less fighting/being a badass. I am so excited to see what Maas does with Rysand, the introductory bad boy who plays a minor role in this book, and other characters such as Lucien (who I loved) and Feyre's sisters. The fatal flaw for this novel is that it ended too cleanly, as it could be a stand-alone novel and be perfectly fine. It will be interesting to see where Maas plans to make this another major series, and I am excited to be along for the ride. ...more

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Dec 30, 2019 Polly Summers rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fae, romantasy, high-fantasy

This series (and book) was one of my all-time favourite reads as a teen. Re-reading this as an adult does not disappoint as it is still a wonderfully written, magical fairy-tale featuring an imperfect heroine with a complex and terrifying villain. I give it only 4 stars because I know the best is still to come with the next book!

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Jul 30, 2023 Anke Zweel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, kindle, first-reads

Let's me start off with saying, you will hate me.

I DID not like the book. I ended up reading ACOTAR after Fourth Wing since many suggested it. Well now. disappointment is an understatement.

I did not like the main protagonist Feyra at all. I found her irritating and a pain in my ass.

I do have to say that the ending was perfect and a bit unexpecting.

I know Everyone says on booktok, book 2 is so much better but will I put myself through this torture and read book two in the hopes its good. I do n ...more

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Dec 23, 2015 BooksNerd14 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, cute-couple, creeptastic, nearly-ruined-my-life, destroyed-me

I absolutely loved this book but my stupid reading slump overtook me right before I finished it. Took me 4 months to finish a book that usually takes me a week. -_-
Sarah J. Maas you are a real hero. I don't know how you do it but I hope you never stop. Your writing is so captivating and I love every single character that you've ever created. I love that you took a leap of faith and published this book. It's a scary writing world out there. Love it! ...more

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