A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jan 23, 2016 Carrie rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, library, magical, fantasy-romance, fae, fairies, need-to-buy-in-paperback

Dec 2020 update:

Going back and rereading this after being caught up in the series is such a different feeling, catching the hints and reading between the lines. Knowing the characters and the why. An insider rather then an outsider.

Also I never realized that this reread was almost 5 years later.

Jan 2016
If you are a lover of Beauty and the Beast retellings, if you like your fantasy to involve magical realms, fairies, romance, a wickedness that is just too good then you'll enjoy this book.

Can n ...more

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Feb 19, 2017 Thenia rated it liked it

Shelves: r-ab, reviewed, series, 2017, fantasy, shifters, magic

The story of Feyre, a young huntress who's struggling to take her of her family in a poor village, in a world where the Fae once ruled everything before the war that separated the two races, putting a wall between them.

Feyre hates the Fae for what they've done to humans, and would have never imagined meeting any, much less living with them, but that's exactly what happens, after one of them comes to avenge his fallen friend whom Feyre had taken down.

Tamlin is not at all what Feyre imagined the F The story of Feyre, a young huntress who's struggling to take her of her family in a poor village, in a world where the Fae once ruled everything before the war that separated the two races, putting a wall between them.

Feyre hates the Fae for what they've done to humans, and would have never imagined meeting any, much less living with them, but that's exactly what happens, after one of them comes to avenge his fallen friend whom Feyre had taken down.

Tamlin is not at all what Feyre imagined the Fae to be and she finds her misconceptions crumbling slowly, while at the same time she learns more and more about the Fae and realizes that not all the stories of her childhood were pure fiction.

Things, however, are pretty bad on the other side of the wall as well, and the Fae seem to have problems of their own. Feyre refuses to listen to anyone, or even ask any questions, stubbornly insisting on finding a way to return to her previous life, despite being told numerous times that doing so will hurt her family.

Fayre's stubbornness got on my nerves in parts and I was impatient with her attitude. She even admits that "I should have been smart enough to ask", which yes, she should have been.

Eventually, when it's a bit too late, she finds out the truth and (view spoiler).

The first hurdle might have been overcome, but war is coming and Feyre has new demons to fight and promises to keep. Her story continues in A Court of Mist and Fury.

(view spoiler). ...more

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May 12, 2015 Nancy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fairy-tales, audiobook, romance, fae, on-kindle, magic

I loved this book. I'm not sure what else to say really. I loved how I was on an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end. Feyre was so prickly, so narrow-minded and so difficult to start with and her circumstances were so terrible that I wasn't sure I could keep going, but once the romance started, and then the development of the characters and the trials and...well...I'm somewhat breathless. Because I listened to it, I think that emotional reaction was heightened, but really this book wor ...more

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Sep 18, 2016 Lauren⁷ 💜 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, romance, young-adult-teen-new-adult, library-has-a-copy, fantasy-science-fiction, best-books-read-in-2016, book-boyfriends

This was a change of pace but not for Maas. Whereas the Throne Of Glass series is fantasy/romance with the romance being secondary, this was romance/fantasy with the romance coming more to the forefront. Don't get me wrong, the fantasy was here in droves and certainly did not suffer for the romance, but the romance came first. And that's okay by me. According to Maas, this book does exist in the same Megaverse as TOG and I did pick up some similarities. I really liked how Maas wrote the fae in t This was a change of pace but not for Maas. Whereas the Throne Of Glass series is fantasy/romance with the romance being secondary, this was romance/fantasy with the romance coming more to the forefront. Don't get me wrong, the fantasy was here in droves and certainly did not suffer for the romance, but the romance came first. And that's okay by me. According to Maas, this book does exist in the same Megaverse as TOG and I did pick up some similarities. I really liked how Maas wrote the fae in this book. They're almost nothing like the fae in TOG. Here, they are truly the fae of legend, many are utterly terrifying, others are good and decent and still others are somewhere in between. She explored fae nature and the faerie courts in a lot of depth which I greatly enjoyed. This is supposed to be a loose retelling of Beauty And The Beast with elements from other myths and legends and I though that Maas did an excellent job of taking all those elements and making them into a unique and beautiful story all her own. I'll start with the characters. I really liked them all. Feyre had quite the journey here, from being a very angry and closed off person to being one who opens herself up to Tamlin's love and softens and grows and changes and ends up making an enormous sacrifice at the end of the book. Tamlin was so refreshing for a love interest, instead of being this douchebag who magically gets reformed by love, he's a good guy from the onset and one that I rooted for, he had some nice growth of his own. I found that Maas kind of flipped the Beauty And The Beast trope on its head with Feyre being more the Beast and Tamlin being more the Beauty. Lucien was another great character and I was so glad that (view spoiler). (view spoiler) I didn't think much of Feyre's family, they were pretty crappy to her. (view spoiler). The plot itself was great! It was very action packed and moved swiftly and was also very suspenseful! (view spoiler)[Having Feyre kill Tamlin's friend (whom he'd actually sent out for just that reason) and Tamlin then coming to get her to live in the Spring Court for the rest of her life as atonement was an original spin on getting two characters together. I enjoyed seeing Tamlin and Feyre's relationship slowly blossom from fear and suspicion on her part to friendship to love. Theirs was a very sweet and believable romance that I loved. The descriptions of the Spring Court were just gorgeous and it's a place I'd love to visit. Rhysand and Feyre's first meeting was interesting to say the least and I never dreamed that he'd end up playing such an important role in the series. I just figured he was another jerky guy. I'm not sure if the idea for Amarantha having cursed Tamlin having 50 years to meet a human girl who killed a fae out of hatred and then make her fall in love with him so that the curse may be broken is from a myth or legend or it's a wholly original plot, but I liked it quite a lot and I felt that it was a good and organic way of creating conflict. Under The Mountain was a very interesting if extremely sinister place. Rhysand ended up playing a most interesting role, even saving Feyre's life in exchange for her agreeing to spend one week a month with him in the Night Court for the rest of her life, which ends up playing a big role in the next book. The three tasks Feyre must complete to free the Tamlin and the other Courts are, ah, well, interesting to say the least. The first task, defeating some behemoth worm thing was a clever way to show off just how resourceful Feyre really is, it was a well written scene and pretty harrowing! The second task, read and solve a riddle on the wall or be impaled by spikes on a slowly descending chandelier was reminiscent of more than a few action movie scenes, especially a scene in Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom. Rhysand of all people came to her rescue there, telling her the answer through the mental bond forged by the bargain they'd struck. The third task broke my heart, kill three innocent fairies or the Courts and Tamlin remain enslaved forever, I couldn't imagine having to make such a choice myself. And to have Tamlin be the third fairie she has to kill? My jaw dropped. I was so thankful that Feyre was able to put two and two together and realize that he had a literal heart of stone and could not be killed by being stabbed in the heart. And then having Amarantha decide to be the biggest you know what ever and not release everyone?! And then to begin torturing and killing Feyre because she's so mad that Feyre had was able to do it? Oooooooooh! I was steaming. But seeing Feyre, with her last dying breath, gasp out the answer to the riddle Amarantha had presented her with earlier in the book and the curse be instantly broken so everybody could unleash whoop you know what? Oh, yeah!! And Tamlin and the other High Lords saving her and turning her into a High fae?!?! BOO YEAH!!!! What an ending! (hide spoiler)] This series is a nice change of pace for Maas and one that is superbly written and highly enjoyable and one that I recommend to all fantasy fans and fairy tale retelling fans. This is not for the younger fans though, this is new adult for sure and does have a steamy and frank sex scene. ...more

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Feb 07, 2020 Nancy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, fae, re-read

I'm not sure what I can add to this book that I didn't say when I first read it. A Court of Thorns and Roses is one of those books I go to when I know I want something I'm going to love. I know what is going to happen in the end, I know how the story goes and I know the feelings it is going to give me. This book is one of the perfect examples of why I love re-reading books. Falling back into the world was so wonderfully familiar and it did not disappoint.

The great thing was, as this was a re-rea ...more

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Mar 20, 2019 shalini rated it liked it

Synopsis:
Humans and fairies are at war and the former hate the latter with a vengeance. Years ago the land was divided into two realms - a huge one for the fairy folks and a tiny one for the humans. The magical land called Prythian was cordoned off by an invisible wall to prevent any accidental straying by either sides into either lands.Feyre is a 19-year-old human girl living in abject poverty in a village on the fringes of the wall. Her family was once rich and after the financial downfall, he Synopsis:
Humans and fairies are at war and the former hate the latter with a vengeance. Years ago the land was divided into two realms - a huge one for the fairy folks and a tiny one for the humans. The magical land called Prythian was cordoned off by an invisible wall to prevent any accidental straying by either sides into either lands.Feyre is a 19-year-old human girl living in abject poverty in a village on the fringes of the wall. Her family was once rich and after the financial downfall, her father became an invalid while her two older sisters never forgot that they had been rich. It fell on Feyre's shoulders to cook, clean, and hunt to make sure she and her family survives.One bitter cold winter day, Feyre is out hunting when she chances upon a wolf that she thinks might be a fairy in disguise. She manages to shoot him down, skin off his pelt which she then trades in the market for a fair price.Thats when the horror hits home, literally. A huge beast bursts into their house the next time demanding a life for a life according to the treaty between the Humans and fairy folks. He threatened to kill them all if Feyre didnt comply.Being of practical mind, she agrees to go with him, all the while searching for a plot in her head to escape from him.Once at the beasts estate, she learns about a blight that's struck disaster at the Magic folk and all sorts of foul creatures waking up in the realm. The magical world was fighting a war on its own from within. The beast was actually the high lord of the Spring Court - Tamlin. Plot thickens when an evil Black queen Amarantha appears on the scene who apparently desires our hero and kidnaps him. Feyre now has to complete three impossible tasks or solve a riddle set by the Black queen to win back everything good. She is aided by an anti-hero who has his own motives.So what happens next- does she complete the three tasks or solve the one riddle? Does she take the hero home or is she now rooting for the anti-hero? Is all righted in the end?

Impressions on me:
I am going to say it outright, right here - I am disappointed!!! I had been really looking forward to this series and am heart-broken. Let me vent out my angst here.First of all the characters like Feyre who is supposedly a 19-year-old but going by her thought process she is a dithering idiot. I have no clue how she could have been the saviour of her family, when she can't even think or articulate clearly.I had deja vu as I started reading the first few chapters. Hunger games came to my mind along with Cinderella and then the beauty and the beast took over the tale. Yup there are a few concepts borrowed and rehashed here to formulate the plot lines for this one.To be honest, the first 100 pages were dull and I kept wondering if it will get any better. The only thing that kept me going is that the writing quality is good. The writer has a firm grip on the language even if the plot is sketchy and thin.The sex scenes are quite detailed and reminded me of a racy M&B read. Actually this was the best part of the book as I loved Rhysand - the anti-hero who though was villainous, had some gumption unlike the other male characters in the book.Her family is sketched out to be vain, pathetic, selfish, and helpless in the first half when they are poor. Then all becomes okay when they become rich again.The development of a relationship between Tamlin and Freyre is so poorly done- its like the author can't make up her mind as to will they or will they not. Too much teeth gritting over this and quite unnecessary.The concept of seven courts is interesting though the politics seemed to be borrowed from Game of thrones. The evil queen is truly evil as can be and a master at draining out magical powers. Her rise to power story is pretty clichéd and doesn't convince the reader at all.The biggest baloney in the book is the spell she cast on Tamlin - it is the most unimaginative and stupid spell I have ever come across. And yes it breaks when his true love, loves him back. Biggest sham on Beauty and the beast I could have ever imagined.With the tasks, the Hunger games take over and it gets pretty predictable. The ending had a wrench thrown in when it seems that the anti-hero might have captured our heroines heart, though she does walk off into the sunset with the hero.I wish the plot line was tighter and well-edited. The characters too were more fairy tale than fantasy and didn't feel real. The writer alternates between fairy tale settings and fantasy fiction, moreover borrowed from already existing tales; which I found very annoying. I was expecting a lot more from SJM and am pretty disappointed to say the least.

My rating:
Needless to say, my rating is not very complimentary. I won't be picking up the next in line in this trilogy nor investing in another Sarah J Maas book - her writing didn't find flavour with me at all. My rating is 3/5 stars. ...more

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Apr 18, 2019 Deyara rated it it was amazing

4.5 stars. Started off slow and then finished a bit too quickly, though if I had book 2 here I’d have leaped in straight away. Enjoyed the characters and world, even the “bad” characters :)

(view spoiler) ...more

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Oct 07, 2021 Samantha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook-own, fantasy, magic, 2021

Omg, I’ve stopped and started this book for ages. I was never able to get past the first few chapters, but this time I was determined! And I find that I’m actually pretty happy that I did. Does this story go on for ages? Yes. Am I still going to continue the series? Yes, because for some reason I’m really feeling some over the top drama at the moment.

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