A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

Oct 02, 2024 Esther rated it really liked it

Shelves: author-female, __mine-and-i-m-keeping-it, e-book, fantasy, series-loved-or-to-continue, zz-2024

I normally avoid books with so much hype but several friends and acquaintances have recommended this book to me.
Then my daughter told me she really loves this series and wanted me to try it so I picked up a sample on NetGalley.
And enjoyed the first chapters enough that I couldn't wait to get hold of the paperback and bought the Kindle version.

My full review:
OK so this was bit of a weird one for me. Although I really enjoyed it and it easily earned 4 stars I definitely got the impression it was w I normally avoid books with so much hype but several friends and acquaintances have recommended this book to me.
Then my daughter told me she really loves this series and wanted me to try it so I picked up a sample on NetGalley.
And enjoyed the first chapters enough that I couldn't wait to get hold of the paperback and bought the Kindle version.

My full review:
OK so this was bit of a weird one for me. Although I really enjoyed it and it easily earned 4 stars I definitely got the impression it was written for a different generation.
The overall tone of the story didn't make me angry or annoyed but I also didn't quite identify with the characters. It didn't play to my opinions or emotions because it wasn't really interested in them - I am not the target audience. That would be my children (and their generation ) so I can completely understand why my daughter loves this series so much.

I felt this phenomenon most markedly in my attitude to the main character. I found her weak, naïve and disappointing. She seemed to stumble from one crisis to another with no inner core of beliefs, principles or emotions to guide her. Her only insights were for aesthetic considerations connected to her painting and nearly all her agency was derived from outside forces.
Heroes surviving impossible situations due to a stroke of luck or unexpected assistance is a perfectly acceptable plot twist but in this case it really did feeling like cheating or that our MC was simply a tool towards a greater end such that her identity was almost irrelevant.

Having just written that I am sure some people are wondering why I felt this was a 4 star book. And the answer is the world and character building.
The fairyland and its in habitants were brought alive for me. I was concerned about the fate of our protagonists and intrigued about the true nature of what was happening.
I may not have liked our main protagonist but her character development stirred my emotions enough for me to write the above paragraph on the subject.

Tamlin is the strong, silent type so I feel I barely know him yet and I love Lucien's loyalty and humour. But I have a taste for the bad boys (with a heart of gold) so I will definitely be rooting for Rhysand to play a greater role in the next books.

And yes, I will be continuing the series.

ETA I was warned this was 'spicy', even 'very spicy'.
It fact it was medium spice, with some background spice suggested and only one quite spicy scene that fit in perfectly with the plot development. ...more

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Dec 28, 2017 Jennie rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5. Sexy and fun.

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 02, 2020 Kate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: age-ya, 2020, fantasy, fairytales-and-mythology

In this Beauty and the Beast retelling, Feyre takes care of her two sisters by hunting. One day, she kills a Fae wolf, leading one of the High Fae, Tamlin, to come to her door and tell her that she has broken a treaty between the two kingdoms. Tamlin says that he will offer her the mercy of not killing her, but instead would allow her to live on his estate and never see her family again. At first Feyre is angry about this situation. As time passes, however, her feelings toward Tamlin change. The ...more

1 like · Like · see review