A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. MaasSeries: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Published by: Bloomsbury USA Childrens on May 5, 2015
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 432
Source: ARC From Publisher
Book Details
Rating: ★★★★½
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.
Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!
It was so easy to fall in love with A Court of Thorns and Roses! It was an insanely quick and easy book to read, despite being 432 pages. I read it in one sitting and the time flew right by!
A Court of Thorns and Roses felt like something refreshing and new, but at the same time, it was also so clearly a Sarah J. Maas book. It has a different tone and story than Throne of Glass, but I still think it was pretty easy to see Sarah’s voice and style in the book. It almost made me feel like I was reading (and loving) Throne of Glass all over again. The stories are totally different, but I just felt right at home with Sarah’s writing and epic storytelling.
I absolutely ADORED the faerie lore, politics, and history. Sarah J. Maas has created another freaking EPIC world and the fact that it tied into Beauty and the Beast just made it even better.
A fantastic touch of new adult!
What’s this? A fantasy new adult book? HELL YEAH!!
One of my favourite parts about A Court of Thorns and Roses was the new adult vibe. It didn’t feel like young adult, which was kind of refreshing for me. At the beginning, Feyre describes her “friends with benefits”-esque relationship with another guy in her village, and then later on we actually get a few hot-n-heavy scenes. Plus the tone of the book just felt more mature than your typical YA.
AND OF COURSE WE HAS SWOONY BOYS!!!
Tamlin was a HOOOOTTIIEEEE!! He was a perfect representation of “the beast”. I loved how he had the different sides to him: the powerful, dark, and dangerous warrior; and the sweet, gentle, sincere faerie. But I really appreciated how even when we saw his powerful/dark side, he wasn’t an asshole. He was still a nice guy.. just with a bit of an edge.
His romance with Feyre slowly developed over the course of the book until it became this hot, passionate piece of DELICIOUSNESS! Their chemistry was over the top delish *_*
A few minor complaints
Sadly, I didn’t think this book was quite perfect. But my complaints are pretty minor:
- Feyre had a few annoying moments. She had a stupid habit of doing things she was told not to do. For instance, Tamlin would say, “It’s going to be really dangerous tonight. Please stay in your room until dawn. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Then, naturally, she’d leave her room, get into trouble/danger and require saving. This happened multiple times and it started to annoy me… Especially because Tamlin always had a good reason for saying these things; it’s not like he was just trying to control her.
- There were a few long periods of time where nothing was really happening. Feyre was just wandering the grounds or exploring the manor. To be fair, I wouldn’t say I was bored during these periods, it just wasn’t exactly “action packed” or “edge of your seat”. I still enjoyed reading the book, it just wasn’t super gripping during those parts.
- I though the ending was a bit rushed. View Spoiler »
I’m addicted!
I’m so ready to dig into this new series! I’m DEVASTATED that I don’t have the whole thing in front of me to binge read. I feel like this is exactly the kind of series you’d want to read straight through. Everything felt so real and vivid; I could have slipped into this universe without even realizing.
The Verdict
I really want to read this one so it’s good to know it’s amazing..lol. 🙂
I hope you like it too! 🙂
I was totally under the impression that this was YA but I’m actually quite intrigued by your description of it as Fantasy NA. All I see in the NA genre is contemporary and romance so it’s super interesting to see more variety in the types of NA books available now. I just finished reading Heir of Fire recently so am in desperate need for more Sarah J. Maas because she is just so wonderful. Now, I can’t wait to start this series! From everything that you’ve said in your review, I definitely think it’s a book I’ll enjoy even though I’m a little iffy on fae typically. Anyway, great review Ashley! 🙂
I think they are putting it under YA but to me it felt so much more mature than you’d usually find in YA. That’s why I’m calling it more of a NA book. 🙂 I LOVED that element; it made the book feel so much different from everything else in YA. It wasn’t an adult book by any means, but it just had a more grown up feel to it, you know?
Sarah J. Maas can’t do wrong! I’ve only read The Assassin’s Blade, and I’m hooked 🙂
Wow you have so much awesomeness ahead of you! 🙂
I didn’t except anything less from Maas. 🙂
I know, right. 😀
I can’t believe you actually have a copy of this book!!!! I’ve been waiting forever for it to come out! I love everything Sarah J. Maas and now with your review out, I’m even more excited, though I did avoid the spoilers, to keep myself curious. 😀
It’s wonderful Stephanie!! I can’t wait for you to read it. 🙂 You’re going to love it too!
I haven’t read anything by this author yet, but have this one on my TBR. Loved your review. Just made me want to read it more.
I adore Sarah’s Throne of Glass series!! 🙂 You should check it out.
I am dying to read this book!Ever since I heard about ACOTAR,I’ve been wanting to read it.I adore Sarah J.Mass,and I am quite excited for this book because I like to read mature fantasy novels,and this one sounds perfect.
Wonderful review Ashley!
Thanks Mishma! I hope you love it too. 🙂
I’m sooooooo intrigued about this book! I’ve only read the first book of the Throne of Glass series and I really liked it so I can’t wait to read more of this author, besides all of the reviews of her books are good. Also the part of her not doing what she was told to do reminds me of sooooo many characters that whenever that happens I just roll my eyes, now. Lol
Yeah you’re right, that kind of thing happens ALL the time. *sigh* If only characters were as smart as we are.. 😛
Totally agree, this book was awesomesauce! I just loved the interactions with Tamlin and Feyre. I have a theory about the next book, but I won’t post it here lol. Anyway, I can’t wait for the next one!
Yay!! I’m so glad you loved ACOTAR 😀 I am SO excited for this one because Sarah J. Maas is freaking epic. Awesome review!
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
Fantastic review Ashely! I’ve seen this book classified as both YA and NA, but I’m glad to hear that the content seems more mature, both in sexiness and character development (it’s nice to hear that it wasn’t the typical one dimensional rude-bad-boy male love interest). I can’t wait for my pre-order to come in, I recently fell in love with Maas’ writing after reading Crown of Midnight!
I was so happy after finishing this book, because it’s everything I could have wished for. Beauty and the beast is my favorite tale and it’s great how she twisted and turns it into this story. And yes, wasn’t that world-building vivid and detailed? I loved exploring it and I can’t wait to reread it already 😀
Hello Ashley!!
My question is, have you read the rest of this series yet??? If so please link me to your post!
If not, I have to tell you to READ IT! It deals very much with Feyre’s new immortality and there is much more about the queen…even though she’s dead she still left an impression in the poor dark prince, whom I just LOVE WITH ALL MY HEART AND WISH HE WAS REAL) It is AH-MAZING what Maas does with a new type of love triangle. (Never saw it coming! And it explains so much about Feyra’s behavior in the 1st book…)
It is my FAVORITE series because of how much it evolves and sticks with you (Not just the romance but the underlying story themes). And it definantly cranks the adult scenes up a notch….Or five. I was salivating over the last two books and my heart actually HURT sometimes while reading. I could write my own blog about how much I adore it.
*deep breaths* okay I’ll stop before I write my own blog:)
I am new to your blog but have been reading it for over 45 minutes…I just love your descriptions and how you have almost the same opinions I do. Which makes it very exciting that I will be able to devour all the good books you’ve reviewed! I’ve been in a book slump because I can’t find a new great series after finishing The Sea King. I just LOVED it. (I actually found your blog while looking for books similar to the sea king!)
Hi Hannah!
Yes I read the rest of the series. 🙂 A Court of Mist and Fury ended up being my favourite but I didn’t review it. I did write a mini review of A Court of Wings and Ruin here: https://www.nosegraze.com/traitorous-kisses-dragons-disappointing-but-still-good-book/#book-510
I’m so glad you loved The Sea King! Have you read the Tairen Soul series also by C.L. Wilson? I adore it so much – maybe even more so than The Winter King / The Sea King. I highly recommend it!