Scan barcode
A review by fairynanook
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Just meh! This series is so hyped up. I have been hearing about it for years and years. I guess I was expecting too much, but for me, it was just on the side of not bad. There were parts I really enjoyed and parts I didn't much care for. I mostly read rom-coms, so let's just take these things through that lens.
1) It was remarkably violent. I've skimmed the reviews of others where they said they wish it was more gruesome and gory. Obviously these people must read some hardcore violent books, because to me, this almost put me over the edge of what I was able to tolerate. A couple descriptions that happeed while I was eating a snack made me literally spit out my food and stop eating because they grossed me out so badly.
2) It wasn't really original...clearly meant to be Beauty and the Beast like, I didn't get the chemistry from our mains at all. I have no real reason to believe that Tamlin and Feyre would have fallen for one another, let alone been "in love".
3) I do think she did a good job with some of the mystery of things. At least, I didn't guess where stuff was going on some of those major plot points.
4) The cruelty and different social conventions of the fairies was well written I feel like. It didn't feel like they were just slightly mean humans to me. I did gather that they had an entirely different set of morals governing them.
5) Let's just talk about the spice for a minute. I've seen people slam this book as basically just erotica or porn. Did I accidentally read an abridged version that only left out the "erotic" scenes? Again, I mostly read stuff in the romance realm and this book was as vanilla as it gets. I barely noticed that their were (2) sex scenes in it at all. In what world is this considered spicy? Is it appropriate for young adults, where I have heard it has been shelved? No, absolutely not. But to call it erotica would indicate to me that you are incredibly prudish in your view of literature.
I haven't decided yet if I am going to continue on with the series. But it never ceases to amaze me which mediocre books become rock stars while absolute fantastic pieces go by unnoticed.
1) It was remarkably violent. I've skimmed the reviews of others where they said they wish it was more gruesome and gory. Obviously these people must read some hardcore violent books, because to me, this almost put me over the edge of what I was able to tolerate. A couple descriptions that happeed while I was eating a snack made me literally spit out my food and stop eating because they grossed me out so badly.
2) It wasn't really original...clearly meant to be Beauty and the Beast like, I didn't get the chemistry from our mains at all. I have no real reason to believe that Tamlin and Feyre would have fallen for one another, let alone been "in love".
3) I do think she did a good job with some of the mystery of things. At least, I didn't guess where stuff was going on some of those major plot points.
4) The cruelty and different social conventions of the fairies was well written I feel like. It didn't feel like they were just slightly mean humans to me. I did gather that they had an entirely different set of morals governing them.
5) Let's just talk about the spice for a minute. I've seen people slam this book as basically just erotica or porn. Did I accidentally read an abridged version that only left out the "erotic" scenes? Again, I mostly read stuff in the romance realm and this book was as vanilla as it gets. I barely noticed that their were (2) sex scenes in it at all. In what world is this considered spicy? Is it appropriate for young adults, where I have heard it has been shelved? No, absolutely not. But to call it erotica would indicate to me that you are incredibly prudish in your view of literature.
I haven't decided yet if I am going to continue on with the series. But it never ceases to amaze me which mediocre books become rock stars while absolute fantastic pieces go by unnoticed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, and Trafficking