A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. MaasMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
This series has been super popular in my Facebook circles, and since the 3rd one just came out, I figured it's safe to pick up the series now that I won't have to wait eons between books. :)
For the most part, I really liked this book. I didn't realize it was a play on the Beauty and the Beast story until Feyre got to Tamlin's castle. I appreciated how it used the traditional story as a loose guide without feeling the need to stick completely to the story. Twisting the elements of magic and the curse so that everyone in the castle are faeries who have been cursed by another fae was really interesting, as was the reasoning behind the curse - that Amarantha cursed Tamlin not just to gain his power for her own and control him, but because she wanted him and and hated that he didn't love her and refused her. The curse itself was particularly twisted, and the fact that Feyre hit all the particulars to fulfill the curse was both fate and convenient for plot reasons. :)
The trials that Feyre had to go through under the mountain were all really fascinating. I love how many contributors there were to helping her succeed. The first task, hunting the giant worm monster, was a success mostly because of her own ingenuity and hunting skills, but it was a timely warning from Lucien that was the tipping point in that task. After the task, Feyre would have died without the assistance of Rhysand - no matter what Lucien says, that he would have come to help her, he was in so much pain he wouldn't have arrived in time. During the second task, it's Rhysand that basically solves the task for her. For the third task, yes, it cost Feyre her own soul to kill the first two innocents, but I'm not sure she would have been able to stab Tamlin had she not thought back to the advice Alis gave her, and played back the conversations she'd been purposefully let to eavesdrop on that told her Tamlin had a stone heart that couldn't be stabbed. After Feyre solved the riddle and was killed, it was the High Lords of all the Courts who pooled their power and brought her back to life, even if it was no longer as human. I will admit, I figured out that love was the answer to the riddle pretty early on, but I had not caught on to the whole stone-heart thing, so that was a nice surprise.
I really enjoyed all the characters and how their relationships were built. Feyre and Tamlin didn't fall in love at first sight, but were eventually drawn to one another and fell in love. I saw another review that was annoyed and called it "instalove," but that really didn't feel like the case to me here. They spent months together building that connection, and you can tell that when Feyre first arrives at the castle that she is truly terrified of Tamlin. Feyre's relationships with the other fae also built strength over time. Lucien hated and resented Feyre at one point, but eventually felt kinship and loyalty to her. Rhysand saw Feyre as merely an interesting pawn in his battle to regain his own life, but eventually was helping and saving her, even when it wasn't to his benefit. To be honest, I think he also fell in love with her. Maybe it's a trope, but there's something about Feyre's brokenness and loneliness that, combined with her probable beauty, really attracts these other broken, lonely people to her side. Someone that's never had to fight just to survive likely wouldn't have much in common with guys like Tamlin and Rhysand, and part of what they see in her is themselves, reflected. And although Tamlin and Feyre clearly love one another and are dedicated to each other, I could see a future where there is a bit of a love triangle, especially since Feyre will be spending 25% of her time with Rhysand in the Night Court. I can't imagine her betraying Tamlin, but I can see how she could start to really care for Rhysand, which could potentially cause drama in her other relationships.
We don't see much of Feyre's relationship with her family throughout the book, but I do appreciate the development we do get to see. Their connection at the start of the book seems to be purely superficial, and owed in large part to the vow Feyre made to their mother on her deathbed. After returning from the Spring Court, however, we really see those relationships blossom as she spends more time with each of her sisters. Elain has such a kind heart that she is easy to love and a joy to spend time around. The connection I was most touched to see, though, was Feyre's with Nesta. It's easy early on to write Nesta off as an uncaring, spoiled, proud woman, but she really is a complex person, so it was nice to see the two sisters to connect and finally be honest with one another. I love that Nesta was the only person the glamour didn't work on, and especially that she actually tried to go north to find and save Feyre. Nesta will be a good protecter for their family, but I'm kind of hoping that instead of taking the family south to safety on the continent, she sticks around so we get to see a bit more of her.
Not knowing much of the trilogy as a whole, I was kind of hoping each book in the trilogy would be about a different sister. Now that I've finished the first book and read the back-of-book blurb about the second, I see that isn't the case, but I hope we do get to see more of the sisters in the future. Maybe it's the matchmaker in me, but I could totally see Elain and Lucien together and Rhysand and Nesta together. :) I guess we shall see! It looks like the next book will have more relationship stuff and more conflict with the King of Hybern, now that Amarantha is gone, as well as Feyre dealing with the emotional (and possible other) consequences of killing innocent people, even if it was for "the greater good."
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