Reviews with content warning for Classism - A Court of Mist and Fury

Okay, so like the first book in the series, I have a lot of feelings. Yes, I am back on my laptop instead of my phone. I'd like to start off by acknowledging that I believe Sarah J. Maas to be a problematic ~~author and though I gave this book four stars~~ to the point where I had to lower my rating to three stars a month later 75% through ACOWAR (and again to 2 stars a year later). There are many issues with diversity, ingrained/internalized sexism, and blatant gaslighting that cannot and should not be ignored, no matter how enjoyable the story is.

**Spoilers for the first book, A Court of Thorns and Roses**

What I Liked:

- World building: Prythian, Hybern, the mortal realm, and the faerie continent are extremely cohesive and well-crafted. I loved learning about Prythian and its different courts, as well as the powers Feyre had gained from the High Lords at the end of the first book.
- Action and magic: I have to say, I think this series has some of the most interesting combat scenes and such a unique take on magic that hasn't really been explored before, at least not to my knowledge. Everything is fascinating to me, and I just wanna know more and more about all of it.
- Mental illness representation: Feyre's PTSD and depression are very accurate. As a person who struggles with those same illnesses, it's nice to be able to read a book in which I feel like I understand the main character's struggles on a personal basis, something so rarely found in fantasy novels.
- Feyre's character development/the Found Family trope: in addition to her mental illness rep, I love that we got to see Feyre process her trauma and work through it. She learns to love and to trust people once again, and she surprises herself when she forms meaningful friendships. Which brings me to my next topic...
- Literally every character except for Rhysand: Cassian reminds me of my husband so he is my book boyfriend for this series. I desperately want Azriel and Mor to end up together. Amren terrifies me, which I think is the point, and Feyre's sisters are so important to me.

What I Didn't Like: Rhysand
(I was gonna make this a whole list with different sections like above but tbh it literally all boils down to Rhys so here we go)

Okay so I already didn't like Rhys in the first book. He drugged Feyre and used her as a means of getting revenge on Tamlin when he knew she cared about him. He dressed her in sheer clothing that exposed her breasts and ass and made her give him lap dances. He kissed her without her consent to make her then-partner jealous. I honestly don't know why no one talks about this, because to me, he's just as bad as Tamlin. I'm just gonna make a list of all my reactions about Rhys in the spoiler section:

Spoiler

1. I checked out during Rhys explaining how he met Cassian and Azriel because I literally Do Not Care about this man in any way, shape, or form. Learning about his mom bored me. Oh, and the fact that he tried to make it evident he cares so much for women because of how his mom was treated in the Illyrian camp? But you're perfectly okay objectifying and drugging them without consent.

2. He continually made excuses for what he'd done to Feyre Under the Mountain instead of owning up to it. He never even fucking apologizes to her.

3. Everything Rhys does "for Feyre" has an ulterior motive (i.e. "You should learn to read cuz I need to know what the Book of Breathings says", "I'm gonna put you in danger to get your own wedding ring cuz I need to know if you can sense magic objects", "I think the Attor is hunting you but I'm not gonna say anything and just use you as bait for confirmation")

4. Every time Rhys said "Feyre darling" it made my skin crawl.

5. Feyre literally will not STOP romanticizing Rhys, like you can tell SJM really wanted you to forget all the shitty stuff he did in the first book. It's almost as if she just changed her mind with Tamlin and Rhys' characterizations at the beginning of this one.

6. The ELEVEN PAGES (not an exaggeration, I counted) Rhys spent talking - uninterrupted, I might add - about how he was captured by Amarantha and making excuses for himself as to why he did the things he did Under the Mountain. First of all, this wasn't until 83% of the way through the book, like why did you take so long to talk to her about it? Plus, you still didn't apologize for any of it! I had to take a break from the book and come back to it because it was so exhausting.

7. Chapter 55 was cringey lol. I had to skim because it took everything in me to not vomit my breakfast.

8. The fact that we're expected to hate Tamlin because he got possessive and controlling of Feyre in the beginning of the book, but as soon as their mating bond kicks in and Rhys gets possessive and controlling it's supposed to be attractive??? Like I don't understand why SJM made this a thing. Please make it make sense.

At this point, I love the plot of the series and I am incredibly interested in what might happen next, but I'm really just holding out until I get Spicy Cassian in ACOSF.

Content Warnings

ruby85's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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