Rachel Reviews: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I'm not going to lie to you: I was filled with many reservations before starting this book, recommended to me as it was by a friend who, having been lured into it by people around her, found that it lacked a certain something for her. My vision of my reading was one of endurance, where I had to try and get through it for her sake so that we could then tear it apart and examine its parts in a derisory and scathing manner for our own amusement. In the context of the action of the book, this is quite apt.

It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. In many ways, it was not bad at all. Okay, I will admit to quite enjoying it. It's not normally a read that I would choose, it being fantasy romance - faeries and humans - but what the heck? I'm an eclectic reader and I am a great believer in forming your own opinion about something rather than being led there by what someone else thinks.

And so, I entered the faery realm.

The story is told in the first person by Feyre who starts the book in poverty, living on the edges of a forest in a dilapidated hut with her father and her two sisters. Feyre is the provider, hunting and bringing home the bacon, as it were. They were previously financially secure and so for her sisters, their fall from grace has been particularly hard.

When Feyre kills a wolf in the forest, her life changes forever and she is whisked off beyond the wall by Tamlin, a High Lord of one of the faery courts. She is essentially a hostage and there she lives in relative luxury but in a world which is plagued with danger.

As a result, Tamlin is constantly having to fight to protect himself and Feyre and his minions.

This book reads well. Feyre is gutsy but I found being inside her head all the time a bit annoying. The menace is well conceived and there is violence galore as well as passion. I thought Tamlin as the main love interest was a bit bland and preferred other faeries like Lucien and Rhysand as characters, feeling I had a greater awareness of their personality. But there is plenty of action, threat, world building. There were some things that I thought were a bit naff but I'd have to add a spoiler alert and so I'll leave you to find out for yourself.

Entertaining faery fluff.

Rachel Rating: 4/5 stars

Parts of this review were first published on Reedsy Discovery:

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