A Court of Thorns and Roses is a high fantasy series by Sarah J. Maas. The novels focus on the idea of a Fae world, following the protagonist Feyre as she is thrown into a world of unknowns, wars, plots and of course, magic.
The A Court of Thorns and Roses Series currently has 5 instalments, with the latest, A Court of Silver Flames, having been released on the 16th of February 2021. Rumour states there is another sequel in the making but no confirmation as of yet!
In this review, I am going to briefly look at each instalment individually, but also the series as a whole as I think all the books lend to each other incredibly well.
First off, we start with A Court of Thorns and Roses. Now, as I’m sure you know there is a lot of hype over these books and so I picked up ACOTAR with a lot of expectations. And, if I’m honest, I would personally say the first book in the series was a bit of a disappointment.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the book is good. It is a solid story with an interesting plot and fleshed-out characters, I just couldn’t quite connect with it! However, if you are looking for a strong fae novel then it is perfect. The mystery of ‘the outside world’ is one cleverly built, with parts being revealed slowly but whilst keeping you engaged. And, when things really start to kick off, the book was so easy to fly through, even if I did disagree with and not understand Feyre’s reasoning most of the time!
My biggest issue with A Court of Thorns and Roses was my massive disliking Tamlin, who is a pretty important character in this novel. That’s not to say he isn’t a well-thought-out character or even bland, I just couldn’t bring myself to trust what I was seeing with him and I also found the romance that circles him incredibly unbelievable and fake. This is no fault to Maas or her writing, as I can look at it all objectively and see how people can love his character, I just didn’t feel it.
If I must be honest, I was a little more interested in the characters we knew little about, and how they could potentially grow, like Lucien and Rhys, and maybe my love for the underdog is what hindered the Tamlin vibes for me.
Next up we have A Court of Mist and Fury, now this is where I got hooked on this series. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to give this a go after the disappointment I felt after ACOTAR. However, I decided to give ACOMAF a go because as I mentioned, I was keen to see more of those side characters and this book had promises of a lot more Rhys. And boy, I was NOT disappointed. ACOMAF is by far my favourite book of the whole series, the way the already strong-built characters, relationships and dynamics constantly shift and grow and just get more and more interesting without getting boring is incredible.
What really hooked me during ACOMAF (alongside the incredible Rhys content) is the way the plot completely changed direction, yet still kept the law and the energy, and tension just grew. The book is beautiful, giving some incredibly tender moments between characters, action-packed arguments and fights, and introducing mystery and wonder more and more as all is revealed. I honestly don’t think I have a single bad word to say about this book, maybe not enough content from my best boy side characters, but that is easily remedied in the later instalments of the series.
The third instalment of the series is A Court of Wings & Ruin. I can’t express how much I adore, how seamlessly ACOWAR melds into the ending of ACOMAF, both of these books are fairly large in size (around 600-700 pages each) and they feel like some of the quickest things I’ve ever read. ACOWAR compliments the previous novels so much and just keeps Maas’ consistency with fun, interesting and beautiful writing, flowing.
In this novel, the tension really amps up. With stakes getting higher and consequences getting more serious. I absolutely steamed through this novel, with a high investment in every single character I knew, even the less likeable ones held an edge of intrigue as to what will happen next, what will they do. There is just so much jumping around as a reader, you love someone one moment, then you hate them; you trust in someone and then they betray it; you think you know what’s going to happen and something totally different happens.
The Fae world that Maas has built also just continues to expand throughout ACOWAR. More magic, more lore and yet it is introduced so easily that you never have a chance to be confused, only the opportunity to experience whatever emotion is meant to be triggered at that moment.
We’ll have a brief moment here to appreciate A Court of Frost and Starlight, a little 3.5-esque novella from Maas set between the 3rd and 4th novel. This is a very small story, with a few previous chapters from different character pov’s and a little bit of fluff and daily life which I adore. But this is very much a roundup novella to semi-close the door from the last few novels, making way to introduce the next big plot.
The current final instalment of the ACOTAR Series is A Court of Silver Flames, but I am going to bring you a separate review for this one as it brings us, yet again, something different and brand new to the astounding world we already know and love.
Overall I would say these books are honestly a hit and I can completely understand the hype behind them. I had been in a real reading slump before picking up these novels and it had been so long since a book started to take over my everyday thoughts. In my opinion, if you aren’t feeling it after the first book, I would plead with you to still give ACOMAF a try as it just opens up the best world to you.
I would recommend these novels for both young adult, new adult and adult readers, however, be aware there are some spicy scenes for the younger readers around. This is definitely not an easy, simple read, so this is for anyone looking for something to dig their claws into and embrace.
RunawayChelsie 