A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) in Better Read Than Dead Book Club

May 15, 2015 Sahar rated it liked it

I just fell in love with this book sooo fast !!! The story, the characters, the development, it was awesome XD
I loved every minute of it and I couldn't stop reading. I devoured the last hundred pages. So gripping !
Anyway, can't wait to pick up the sequel !!!! ...more

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Mar 10, 2017 Gaby rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2017, fantasy

4.5 Stars.

Hooked!

I need the second book!

Really looking forward to Feyre's visits to Rhysand

And can she please stop saying: My High Lord. Ugh it bugs me so much
...more

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Jun 25, 2015 Lauren Gladding rated it really liked it

This was my first Sarah J. Maas book and I really enjoyed it! Her writing style is beautiful with very rich and descriptive words and phrases that truly allow you to visualize the story. I am very excited to read the next book in this series and see where the story continues following the events that happened in this first book.

Despite liking this story very much, I did have quite a few issues with it. I plan to film a review video on all my opinions so I won't go into them too much here - stay ...more

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Dec 30, 2014 Gabriella rated it it was amazing

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When I first heard about this book it was on Booktube and everyone was saying it was going to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Being that Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite, I was so going to make sure that I read it. Despite having preordered it, I hyped myself up too much and didn’t end up reading it until now. Which worked out since I made it the Better Read Than Dead pick for December.

Now this may be kind of irrelevant, but I use an Android app called “Read Tracker” that When I first heard about this book it was on Booktube and everyone was saying it was going to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Being that Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite, I was so going to make sure that I read it. Despite having preordered it, I hyped myself up too much and didn’t end up reading it until now. Which worked out since I made it the Better Read Than Dead pick for December.

Now this may be kind of irrelevant, but I use an Android app called “Read Tracker” that tells me how long it takes me to read. When I found out that it took me 17 minutes to read just 12 pages, I immediately snapchatted my friend Grace about how this book was going to take me absolutely forever to read. Boy was I wrong, I had read all 416 by the following evening. Sarah J Maas blew my mind! At first I was prepared for things to go slow considering the first couple of chapters hadn’t grabbed me yet, but once Feyre was taken away I couldn’t put it down.

Now to take a better look at things. Feyre, our main character, is not someone I found myself focusing on too much. Maybe it’s because in some odd way, I wanted to be her or maybe it was just because she was surrounded by cooler characters. I’m not saying that I didn’t like her because I did, I just enjoyed the men in this novel a whole lot more. I loved Tamlin’s awkwardness despite his strength and “celebrity”. I definitely found myself being drawn in by his charm. However, Lucien might be my favorite. Throughout this novel he is so sassy and he is unafraid to express himself. I often found myself giggling at his remarks, they’re just gold. Rhysand though, I couldn’t trust him one bit. This didn’t stop me from falling in love with him though. The way he was first described really drew me in, but his personality and the way he presented himself kept me around. I am looking forward to seeing more of him in A Court of Mist and Fury.

Lastly, I didn’t really care for Feyre’s family. They seemed quite ungrateful to me. They may have shown another side, but I’m still not quite sold. A few things that I absolutely loved were that our main character wasn’t portrayed as some fragile, innocent virgin like so many YA novels have the tendency to do. In fact, her virginity wasn’t discussed because it was long gone. I appreciated that the sex scenes weren’t fluffy. While not graphic, Maas did not beat around the bush. We all knew what was happening and it was damn good. Now I’ve seen a few reviews talking about a particular moment being kind of “rapey” or having been an assault. Now I am not encouraging this behavior in the real world whatsoever, but, and this is a big but, this is a YA fantasy novel where one of the characters in question is quite literally animalistic in several aspects. The man has claws for christ’s sake. However, I do see why those things are being said and I actually would love to hear what Maas has to say about it.

Overall, I enjoyed ACOTAR. I honestly would have given it more than 5 stars had that been possible. If any of you have read this, please leave a comment. I am dying to talk about it! Meanwhile, I will be not so patiently waiting for the sequel to come out in May 2016. ...more

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Sep 26, 2015 Grace Lucy rated it it was amazing

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I love Sarah J. Maas, and for that reason I was a little tentative going into this novel, because I thought it may be too similar to the Throne of Glass series - but I could not have been further from the truth. Maas, you can do no wrong. I was so obsessed with this novel, I found it hard to concentrate on my holiday, because I just wanted to keep reading. It's one of those stories that gets you so invested you just have to know what is going to happen next.

I know that edge-of- My Blog | Twitter

I love Sarah J. Maas, and for that reason I was a little tentative going into this novel, because I thought it may be too similar to the Throne of Glass series - but I could not have been further from the truth. Maas, you can do no wrong. I was so obsessed with this novel, I found it hard to concentrate on my holiday, because I just wanted to keep reading. It's one of those stories that gets you so invested you just have to know what is going to happen next.

I know that edge-of-your-seat page-turner books don't just happen by chance - they happen through great writing. Maas really built a believable and intricate world, a world that I genuinely felt like I was living in when I read A Court of Thorns and Roses. I definitely believe that epic fantasy novels need a believable world to work at all, and this one absolutely had that. I got lost in Feyre's human life, as well as her life among the fae - beautiful descriptions of both the places and their customs ensured this. I am a huge fan of Maas' previous series, but this novel went above and beyond even that series in world-building terms.

The characters in this novel were all complex and multi-layered. A lot of books based in fae mythology tend to get bogged down with excessive details and ridiculous amounts of fairy species. Luckily, this was avoided by A Court of Thorns and Roses completely. I was also a tad worried to start with that Tamlin would be too similar to Rowan from Heir of Fire, and although there were definitely parallels, the two characters stand on their own. No character felt external or superfluous to the story line, and even the morally questionable characters were somewhat sympathetic and extremely interesting (is Rhysand anyone else's favourite character?) Feyre was equal parts likable and realistic - a good combination for a protagonist. I did not love her as much as Celaena from the Throne of Glass series, but she was a strong and interesting character nonetheless.

A Court of Thorns and Roses was the perfect balance of action, mythology and romance. Speaking of which, I adored the main romance plot of this novel. As you know, it is based on Beauty and the Beast, which is a story I have long adored. The romance in this novel strongly resembles its fairy tale predecessor; there are very few surprises where the relationship is concerned (at least, early on). One thing I feel I must mention is how sex positive this novel is. I am a strong proponent of sex in YA novels (think tasteful scenes, not erotica), because it is realistic. Not every girl is a virgin, and not every couple holds hands for five years before taking things further. I love that Maas included a more sexual component to her novel, whilst keeping it limited enough so that it did not seem central to the plot.

Overall, this was a gripping and unique story with an interesting take on fae mythology. It is distinct from Maas' previous series, but with her customary beautiful writing style and kickass characters. I would recommend this book to practically anyone who could get their hands on it! ...more

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Nov 05, 2016 Andreea rated it it was amazing

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Sarah J Mass has done it again. This book left me drooling for more and I am definitely picking the next book up right after. Absolutely beautiful and fantastic. I adored the suspense, romance, action and fantasy features of this amazing book. The characters and world were just fantastic and I loved the antagonist in this as well. But, what really made this story come together in a very beautiful way was how all of it was a retelling of beauty and the beast. You can really see how the beauty and ...more

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