A Court Of Thorns And Roses Review: Your Favourite Fairy Tale Just Got A Lot More Interesting
When I was done with the Fever series, I thought no book can ever fill in the void left by those books. And then, A Court Of Thorns And Roses happened to me. I deliberately kept away from fantasy novels all these years because I did not find the point in reading something that is unreal. In fact, I hardly ever read any fairy tales. Fairy tales never really interested me. A Court Of Thorns and Roses is the modified re-telling of the fairy tales, Beauty and The Beast and East of the Sun and West of the Moon. I have never read or watched Beauty and the Beast. All I knew about it was that a cursed beast falls in love with a human lady and her love for him breaks his curse and transforms him into a man. So, I started reading the book with this minor outline in my mind. And I what the book delivered was way beyond my expectations. I was left utterly astounded by the time I finished the book. With the fairy tale’s premise, Sarah J. Maas has created a phenomenal new world with magnificent characters. I loved this book and here are my reasons why.
A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Synopsis: Feyre is a 19–year–old girl who lives with her father and two older sisters in a village. Her family is extremely poor and live hand to mouth. For survival, Feyre hunts animals in a forest close to her village. The forest is in close proximity to the lands occupied by mythical faes. During one hunting, Feyre accidently kills a faerie assuming it to be a wolf. This action changes her course of life as a mighty beast comes looking for revenge for the faerie’s murder. He tells Feyre that the punishment for killing a faerie is that she either has to live with him in his home in Prythian (faerie realms) or die at his hands right then and there. She chooses to live with him and leaves for Prythian.
Feyre is scared of the consequences she has to face for killing a faerie but is prepared for the worst. However, things do not go the way she thought it would. Instead of making her a slave the beast, who is actually a shape-shifting High Fae named Tamlin, treats her like a guest and offers her food clothing, shelter and everything else to make her feel comfortable in his house. She is free to do whatever she wants except returning to mortal lands.
As days go by, she grows fond of Tamlin and eventually falls in love with him. Tamlin, however, is hiding some secrets from Feyre. She later discovers the fact that she can help lift Tamlin’s curse and is willing to lay her life before the darkest of evil to set Tamlin free.
Points I Liked About A Court Of Thorns And Roses
Fantastic Feyre: Feyre is the main character and narrator of the series. She may be poor but she never lets go of her dignity and pride. She is trapped in a completely new world with strange new people but she doesn’t lose herself to either fear of the unknown or glamour that appears before her. She is strong and self-reliant, probably because of the years she spent in utter poverty. What is more touching about her is that despite being ill-treated by her family, she only cares about them. Her concern for her family is slightly distressing especially when you know that they do not really care for her.
Medium Paced: The story advances at a medium pace, which is fair enough considering its plot. Initially, the book felt a little slow but once Feyre is in Prythian things get faster and interesting.
Beautiful Writing: Sarah J. Maas’s writing is just too good. Even though you know how the story will end, her writing keeps you on the edge of your seat. Her writing is descriptive yet concise. She has ensured that the readers have something to look forward to by the end of every chapter.
Points I Did Not Like About A Court Of Thorns And Roses
Terrible Tamlin: I am someone who falls in love with almost every good male lead I read about. It needs a lot of effort on the part of the hero to make me dislike him. So, when I say I do not like a hero it means that the character must certainly be overly clichéd or extremely boring. And Tamlin was both. Firstly, the name Tamlin itself sounds so childish. The writer has plucked elements from different fairy tales and merged them all into one novel and Tamlin’s character is inspired by a ballad, Scottish Borders. But the name Tamlin is too soft for the character described in the book. The name paints a feeble picture of a lanky man and does not evoke any sense of admiration for a High ranked Fae.
Secondly, Tamlin falters heavily in the second half of the book. Feyre is badly hurt on several occasions in her attempts at saving Tamlin. But her efforts have no effect on him whatsoever. Though his behaviour is clearly justified in the book, as a reader it disappoints me. The central character ends up looking too weak, which robbed the sense of awe I generally feel for strong male characters. I do not expect perfect characters that always save the day with unbelievable actions. I just felt that Tamlin could have looked a little less weak. Now, that I have started reading the next book in the series, I understand the need for making Tamlin look the way he did.
Final View: Sarah J. Maas’s fictional world of Prythian is highly engrossing. It was an interesting read and I found it next to impossible to keep the book down. You will like the book for the following reasons:
- you like the original version of Beauty and the Beast
- you like fantasy and romance fiction
- you like strong female leads in a story
- you are a Sarah J. Maas fan
If none of these points apply to you then kindly do not cross this path. The fae realms might just claim your life.
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