A Court of Thorns and Roses
(A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)
By: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Rating:
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
I am brand new to Maas’ work so I went into this with no expectations as to what to expect. I came out a huge fan. The world she crated was spectacular. There were intricate characters that left me rooting for even the questionable ones. Not to mention that storyline… that storyline was so much more than I was expecting. This isn’t just a story of how beauty met the beast. Oh no, this went above and way beyond that.
I finished this book a few hours before writing my review and I was still reeling from it. I don’t even know what to say that would portray all the emotions that this book contains without giving away all the surprises within. Because after all, the surprises are what make the book amazing. I honestly was expecting just a love story. A story where Feyre (Fay-rah) is captured and forced to live with Tamlin in the Fae realm. Where Feyre is supposed to fall in love with Tamlin to break his curse and they live happily ever after. But oh no, Maas doesn’t just give you that story. She throws so much into the mix that you are left wondering how you will ever be able to read another book after you’ve finished.
Okay, let’s start with the characters. Feyre is one of those strong-willed heroines. Her family is so pour that if it weren’t for Feyre going out into the dangerous woods to hunt, they would all starve to death. However, she isn’t revered as their savior. Her sister looks down upon her and her father doesn’t even acknowledge her. So when Feyre kills a faerie while on a hunt, she unknowingly signs her fate away to Tamlin. He gives her two choices, die now or go back to his world and live the rest of her life there. Obviously, we know which one she chooses, otherwise this would have been one very shot story. Her courage throughout the entire book was astounding. She never balked at anything. She always held her head high and wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself. The book is solely in her point of view. So I’m glad that she was as strong of a character as she was.
Tamlin is of course the beast. When he shows up to take Feyre away he shows up in his beast form which is mix between a bear body, feline grace, and a wolf’s head. He’s a shape-shifter and can change between his animal and human form. However, when in human form his curse shows. His court (the autumn court) are stuck wearing masquerade masks. They were at a ball when they were all cursed and are now unable to take the masks off. They also have very limited magical powers. Long story short, Tamlin needs Feyre to fall in love with him in order to break the curse. Just like with the Beast, Tamlin is unsure of Feyre. He needs coaxing from his right hand man in order to converse with Feyre. And just like Beast, he sometimes says or does something wrong. I love that the author still managed to bring the essence of Beast through to her character.
There’s not just Tamlin and Feyre though. There’s a bunch of characters in this story that bring it all together. Some that leave you questioning their motives, their loyalty, and sometimes their sanity. I like that the story didn’t consist of Feyre and Tamlin in his estate but incorporated the Fae world throughout the entire book.
I think one thing that I absolutely LOVED about this book was all the gruesome parts. Like I said, this is so much more than just a romance story. The romance is only the half of it. There was fighting, and not just throwing punches but the breaking of bones, the tearing out throats with your bare teeth. Oh my goodness there were so many amazingly written horrifying scenes in this book that left me on the edge of my seat with my heart in my throat. My minds reeling just thinking about them all.
Yeah, if you can’t tell by now, I loved this book… and then some. This is one of those stories that will stick with me for a long time. I love that it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. I was really expecting it to since that seems to be a trend lately but the author kind of wrapped up the story for us. I have no idea where she will go with it next but I will definitely be signing up for the rest of the series.
“I was as unburdened as a piece of dandelion fluff, and he was the wind that stirred me about the world.”
Great review! I’ve only read one book by Maas and while I enjoyed it, didn’t love it. This one sounds more my speed and now I can’t wait to read it! Love your enthusiasm for the story!
HaHa Thanks. I don’t get excited while writing reviews too often. I’ve picked up her other series from the library once before but couldn’t bring myself to read it for some reason. I don’t think I was in the mood for it at the time or something like that.
Ohhh I was wondering about this one 😀
LOL, everyone is going goo-goo-ga-ga over this book and I am JEALOUS! I need to buy it.
I often find myself disappointed over books that are all hyped up but this one was really good. I plan on buying a copy when it’s released.
I have this one waiting on my TBR for me. Now that I know you enjoyed it, I’m even more excited to read it 🙂 Maybe that will encourage me to get to it faster. haha
Great Review!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
It’s a great book. Make sure you read it. 😉
I’m a big fan of her Throne of glass series, I need to read that one !!!
This is amazing. I was actually on the fence about reading ToG but then I read this and knew I’d enjoy her other series as well.