A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) in READALONGS WITH APRIL

Jun 13, 2016 Halley Hopson rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2016

** Updating this star review years later to a 1.5 stars because I actually dislike this book just so much. Also this review cracks me up to read now because I still agree with everything I said in it but man was I sassy about it lol **

Original rating: 2.75 stars.
Where to begin.

I think I might not mesh well with Sarah J Maas's writing style because I found the writing in this book rather bland and boring. It involved too much telling rather than showing and I felt like so many things weren't exp ** Updating this star review years later to a 1.5 stars because I actually dislike this book just so much. Also this review cracks me up to read now because I still agree with everything I said in it but man was I sassy about it lol **

Original rating: 2.75 stars.
Where to begin.

I think I might not mesh well with Sarah J Maas's writing style because I found the writing in this book rather bland and boring. It involved too much telling rather than showing and I felt like so many things weren't explained enough for me to understand what was happening.

The beginning was rushed in my opinion. So much happened so fast and it was a little difficult to follow. And then even throughout the story so many different kinds of Fae were introduced that I couldn't even begin to keep track. They were quickly explained through an encounter with Feyre and then never mentioned again. It almost seemed like lazy world building on Maas's part whenever things were conveniently explained to Feyre by a side character, after each encounter.

The only character I found myself actually liking was Lucien. Feyre was too bipolar and bratty for my tastes, one second being all 'I'm so weak and can't do this' and the next second she's suddenly brave and does something with bravado. I felt like her character was giving me whiplash from her mood swings. She was specifically told multiple times by Lucien and Tamlin not to go somewhere or to not drink something but she would just blatantly ignore them and do it anyway, putting her life in danger again and again and just honestly made so many dumb decisions.

I didn't particularly enjoy Tamlin either. The Fae themselves where just kind of sadistic and terrifying. The weird mating ritual thing that took place on fire night where they give into the animal within and mated with whichever female 'appealed to their instincts' was just incredibly uncomfortable to read about. No to mention the cringe worthy scene that takes place that same night in which he is basically drunk and assaults her. She does slap him for it, but the next day everything is fine and the moment is never brought up again.

The point in the the story where the curse is explained doesn't happen until entirely after the fact of its usefulness and it was info dumped over the course for 4 or 5 pages of just dialogue from a side character; therefore not having any sort of shock value at all. It almost felt like she tried to hard to make the beauty and the beast storyline fit in with the world she had created.

I'll even admit that parts of the ending were fast paced and much better than the majority of what I had read, but there's a moment at the end that I felt was a very convenient 'out' from the situation with absolutely not explanation of how such a thing could be possible; if you've read it you probably know what I'm talking about.

As a side note, I will admit that while Rhysand is quite obviously a bad guy, he knows that he is and we are quite specifically told that he is, but his character did at the very least intrigue me in a way that Tamlin never did, so I am looking forward to seeing more of him in the future books.

On the note of gore, can we just talk about how Feyre was for some reason always bleeding? Or being bled on? And that she always magically had the ability to 'ignore her pain' every single time she was hurt?

I'd also just like to say that this should NOT be marketed as young adult in any way. It's definitely new adult/adult especially when it comes to gore and the explicit sex scenes that left nothing to the imagination. It is not a book for young readers.

I've heard better things about the sequel so fingers crossed. ...more

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Aug 03, 2015 Debbie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, reviewed, fantasy, read-in-2016, re-telling

Omg thank god the next book comes out soon!
Loved this!!!! Loved how it was a retelling of beauty and the beast. That is my favourite Disney movie so I thoroughly enjoyed this.
Feyre is such a strong, brave women! She helped save herself and her family when they had no money. Comparing her to Belle, Feyre's passion was painting. I fell in love with they way she described colours, people and landscapes. She was so brave throughput the last part of the book when she was fighting for her life agains ...more

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Nov 03, 2015 Beatrix Haase rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016, 2016-favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 03, 2015 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I wish I could give this book all of the stars! Words can't even explain how much I love this book and I think it was even better the second time around. I can't wait to dive into A Court of Mist and Fury!!Thank you Sarah for yet another epic book. ❤️ ...more

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Jul 26, 2015 Angelia ❁ rated it liked it · review of another edition

i was extremely busy and after almost 3 weeks being with this book.. i felt like something was missing, i enjoyed reading this book, nice storyline (i wouldn't say awesome). i was actually hoping for more about the faery courts, not the creatures. IMHO, this book has lack of chemistry. sorry to say that, no offense acotar fans.. i hope ToG is better than this, LIKE A LOT...!!! ...more

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May 04, 2017 Lisbet Hill rated it it was amazing

REREAD 2021:
So fun to reread this book and pick up on little things you didn’t pick up the first time around which are little hints to things that are explained later in the series. Just like the first time I read this, I loved it of course. I’m going to read A Court of Mist and Fury now as I continue rereading this series to finally pick up A Court of Silver Flames

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Wow the hype for this book is real! The beginning felt a lot like hunger ...more

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Feb 13, 2016 Marlo rated it it was amazing

Okay...first thing
The feelssss
The damn bloody feels
That's all I can say
Read the damn book ! ...more

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May 03, 2016 Debbie DeFevers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, read-owned, re-read

This book was phenomenal I picked it up in the morning and couldn't put it down i went to bed way to late and have zero regrets. The story the writing and the characters were all just perfect, I was invested in knowing what happened to the characters and the story development. Sarah J. Maas just has an amazing writing style and I know I will read anything she writes

Even reading this a second time it was just as good and it was nice seeing the foreshadowing ...more

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Jun 18, 2015 Sarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

totalyy saw the tamlin thing at the end
the riddle answer was so obvious
the 3 months was kinda dodgie but good probs cause i didnt have time to read
but damn the sexual tension in the first 250 pagesss

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