A Court of?

So, after getting told repeatedly, I finally read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I mean wow I flew through this book, I could not put it down. Along the same lines, I couldn’t put the whole series down, but to avoid spoilers I will talk mostly of book one. There is no way I could encompass the greatness of this series in one review or even multiple, so please know there is so much more than just what I’m about to write. I started these books in May and finished them in June, any time I could read I did. People probably thought I was mindlessly scrolling through social media, when in reality I was reading. Book one, A Court of Thorns and Roses, was just everything you’d ever want out of a book. If this was a singular book it would still be a top tier choice. Feyre Archeron is the youngest of three sisters that live in a small cottage with their father. Their family has fallen on hard times and lost their fortune, their dad was beaten so bad by debt collectors that his legs don’t work like they should. Always on the brink of starvation, Feyre learned to hunt in order to feed her family. This is not only incredibly dangerous because of wild animals, but also for the Fae lands that they border. Fae and faeries are known to hate humans and hunt them for the fun of it. Humans stand little chance against these beings with special powers. While hunting Feyre runs into a wolf that is after the same prey she is, she stays hidden and realizes that it is no ordinary wolf, but Fae. Feyre has one arrow made of ash, one of the only weapons that humans have against Fae, and kills the unsuspecting wolf. This is where her journey begins, when another wolf breaks down her door and demands retribution for his friend’s death. He offers Feyre to live in Fae lands to repay this debt. Feyre agrees to save her family and leaves her home with the burden of knowing her family may not survive without her. She finds out she is not just with some random faerie, but with the High Lord of Spring Court, Tamlin, one of the most powerful in the Fae lands. She slowly acclimates to the court and starts to warm up to Tamlin. There is more going on in the Fae lands than any human knows, a blight is taking over and dark creatures lurk through the land. When Feyre is threatened, Tamlin decides to let her go and send her back to her family. Fayre goes with a mixture of emotions, wanting to be with her family, but also in love with Tamlin. She arrives to a giant mansion, with servants, and riches, Tamlin had promised to take care of them, but this was way more than she ever imagined. It doesn’t take long for her to realize she needs to get back to Tamlin and help. She returns to find the palace in ruins and finds out Tamlin was taken to Under the Mountain, a sacred middle ground in the Fae lands. The evil Fae Amarantha had taken over the Fae lands and Tamlin was the last court to fall. A bargain was made that Tamlin had 50 years to make a human that hates Fae fall in love with him. When Feyre left that time was up and he was now meant to spend his life with Amarantha. She had taken most of the powers from the High Lords and hated humans. Feyre appears before her and begs for Tamlin’s freedom, this is when Amarantha lays out the deal to free them all. If Feyre survives three trials all will be free or she can solve a riddle that she will have one shot to do. Feyre, who cannot read, has no idea what the answer to the riddle is and focuses on the trials. She survives the first one, barely, and is dying, but the High Lord of the Night Court has taken an interest in Feyre and offers a bargain to save her life. With this bargain she is saved, but a giant tattoo wraps itself around her arm and down to her hand. This bargain saves her in the second challenge which she needs to read a riddle to stop her and Tamlin’s right hand, Lucien, who Feyre has become close allies with. Feyre doesn’t trust Rhysand’s motives and despises the way he is towards Tamlin, not to mention he has been working for Amarantha these past 50 years. I have called books and series rollercoasters before, but I have never been thrown like this. After all five books I can say each one will make you laugh, cry, fall in love, angry, and keep you on the edge of your seat. There is everything you need in this series and it is beautifully written. In the next parts of the series you get to know Feyre’s sisters, Nesta and Elain, more and see the impact they each have on each other and the ones around them. Finally, I can tell you that the word smut was not in my vocabulary until this series. It separates this series from any other fantasy series, and is done incredibly well. I will always, always, recommend this series and the journey it will take you on.

Top Quotes – “Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.”

“I love you,’ he whispered, and kissed my brow. ‘Thorns and all.”

“I threw myself into that fire, threw myself into it, into him, and let myself burn.”

“Everything I love has always had a tendency to be taken away from me”

“Don’t let the hard days win.”

“And I wondered if love was too weak a word for what he felt, what he’d done for me. For what I felt for him.”

“I was his and he was mine, and we were the beginning and middle and end. We were a song that had been sung from the very first ember of light in the world.”

“To the stars who listen- and the dreams that are answered.”

“Only you can decide what breaks you, Cursebreaker. Only you.”

“I would have waited five hundred more years for you. A thousand years. And if this was all the time we were allowed to have… The wait was worth it.”

“I have no regrets in my life, but this. That we did not have time. That I did not have time with you, Nesta. I will find you in the next world – the next life. And we will have that time. I promise.”

“You bow to no one”

“You do not fear. You do not falter. You do not yield. “