Book Review: ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ By Sarah J. Maas
Welcome to Prythian!
Welcome to the newcomers, and if you didn’t know, I am the resident critic! There are some books I will be reading with the community and some other novels that are trending. I have always wanted to read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas because Maude Garrett and the rest of the community have spoken so highly of the series.
Everyone has fallen in love with this series, and it was a joy to read along with our incredible community. As a new reader, I wanted to dive into as many series as possible this year. So not only will you be getting a review for the first instalment of this series, but the rest as well!
There will be SPOILERS below, so if you haven’t read the series yet…BEWARE!
We have a dedicated channel in our discord for Sarah J. Maas and ACOTAR so come and join us!
Synopsis:
Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...
Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
Quotes
“We mortals no longer kept gods to worship, but if I had known their lost names, I would have prayed to them. All of them. Concealed in the thicket, the wolf inched closer, its gaze set on the oblivious doe.” - Feyre
“Whatever you do,” I said quietly, “Don’t marry Tomas Mandray. His father beats his wife, and none of his sons do anything to stop it.” Nesta’s eyes widened, but I added, “Bruises are harder to conceal than poverty.” - Feyre
“That’s what happens when you’re responsible for lives other than your own, isn’t it? You do what you have to do.” - Tamlin
The music fluttered through my memories, binding them together, making them into a quilt that wrapped around me, that warmed my bones.
“Because I wouldn't want to die alone," I said, and my voice wobbled as I looked at Tamlin again, forcing myself to meet his stare. "Because I'd want someone to hold my hand until the end, and a while after that.
That's something everyone deserves, human or faerie.”
“I found him carefully studying me, his lips in a thin line. “Has anyone ever taken care of you?” he asked quietly.
“No.” I’d long since stopped feeling sorry for myself about it.”
“Because your human joy fascinates me—the way you experience things, in your life span, so wildly and deeply and all at once, is … entrancing. I’m drawn to it, even when I know I shouldn’t be, even when I try not to be.”
“Of course, we can lie. We find lying to be an art. And we lied when we told those ancient mortals that we couldn’t speak an untruth. How else would we get them to trust us and do our bidding?”
“We need hope as much as we need bread and meat,” he interrupted, his eyes clear momentarily. “We need hope, or else we cannot endure.”
Themes
Sacrifice for Love
Flowers
Painting
Weight of Duty
Consequences
Masks
Found Family
TROPES
Enemies to Lovers
Overprotective main guy
The too-frequent trope of an obstinate heroine who makes annoyingly poor decisions because she thinks she knows best, even when others are trying to give her good advice.
Possible love triangle
Both parties engaging in non-committal sex
Royalty man with the poor girl
Forced proximity
One true love trope
Slowburn
Tragic backstory
Fable being real
Older man, younger woman
Pacts
Characters
Rhysand: he is the most powerful High Lord and the current ruler of the Night Court. He is incredibly handsome and appears arrogant, careless, and cold… at first. He is extremely dark in his behaviour and has an air of mystery, swagger, and sensuality surrounding him. He handles things with a certain level of casualness and grace. Under this mask, he is a kind, generous and humble person. He is the most powerful Fae in the history of Prythian. Rhysand can manipulate and control shadows and darkness. He is a Daemati, meaning he has powers relating to mind control and invasion. This includes memory manipulation and mind reading.
Feyre Archeron: she is the High Lady of the Night Court. She was originally a mortal but was resurrected as a High Fae by the seven High Lords after her untimely death Under the Mountain. For some time, Feyre resided at the Court of Dreams in Velaris after leaving the Spring Court. She is hardworking and dedicated to family, spending most of her days providing and caring for her father and sisters by hunting and selling animals at the market. She wants to protect her family at all costs, and she feels great hatred for the Fae due to her upbringing, her surroundings and earlier experiences of spending time at the Spring Court.
Feyre’s abilities and the corresponding courts:
- Spring Court (Shapeshifting)
- Summer Court (Water Manipulation)
- Autumn Court (Fire Manipulation)
- Winter Court (Ice Manipulation)
- Dawn Court (Healing Abilities)
- Day Court (Air Manipulation)
- Night Court (Darkness Manipulation)Tamlin: he is a High Fae and High Lord of the Spring Court. He brings Feyre to his court in Prythian after Feyre kills his friend Andras. He is very strong but a very quiet person. He feels like he isn’t good at making friends or talking to people. He believes he is only good at war and killing people, aside from his skills at playing the fiddle. Tamlin has always shown kindness to humans and refused to harm them after what his father and brother did to them. He has shown his short and explosive temper. He can shapeshift and also change the shape of others. As a High Lord, he has something called glamour magic. He can make people see and think things that he wants.
Amarantha: she is a High Fae and former General of Hybern who proclaimed herself as the High Queen of Prythian. She is cruel and vindictive and delighted in torturing others both physically and emotionally. Even though she was cruel towards others, she truly loved her sister. She believed that mortals were inconsistent and unable to feel true love for faeries. She has physical enchantments like advanced healing, immortality and increased speed, strength and stamina.
Cassian: He is a childhood friend of Rhysand and Azriel. He rose to become the General Commander of Rhysand’s - the Night Court’s - armies. He is considered to be one of the most powerful Illyrians. He can fly and he has a siphon shield as well as other Illyrian magic.
Alis: She is a faerie of the Spring Court who is originally from the Summer Court. When Feyre arrived, Alis became her maid for her stay. She has two nephews to look out for after Amarantha came to Prythian and killed her sister. She sent the nephews away to keep them safe.
Nesta: she is the sister of Feyre and Elain. They lived together alongside their father at the beginning of A Court of Thorns and Roses. She is the eldest of the Archeron sisters and Cassian’s mate. She was mortal but was Made into High Fae after being thrown into the Cauldron by the King of Hybern. She comes off as a hot-tempered woman and is initially portrayed as guarded and stubborn. She is honest and direct and will speak her mind. Feyre refers to her sister as a Queen without a throne, stoic, poised, regal and judgemental. Her abilities are unknown.
Amren: she is a High Fae who lives in Velaris. She is the second-in-command to the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court and is part of Rhysand’s Inner Circle. Amren is said to be vain, cunning, and temperamental. She is also selfless and sacrifices herself to save Prythian. She is very smart and develops a love of jigsaw puzzles. She is immortal has illusion manipulation and can cause death by illusion. She has healing powers and can detect wards. She has flame and light inside of her and can also levitate objects.
Lucien: he is a High Fae and former emissary to the Spring Court. He is the current emissary to the Night Court. He is clever, sarcastic, and witty, but kind and loyal to a fault. He is also perceptive and notices a lot of things other people don’t. He wields fire magic which he inherited from his mother, the Lady of Autumn Court, who hails from a family with a strong magical bloodline of flame wielders. He has healing powers and can winnow (teleport to a destination).
bOOK cHAT: A cOURT OF THORNS AND ROSES
Review
Does Sarah J. Maas make you believe in Faeries?
In short, Maas does make you believe in faeries and Prythian when reading A Court of Thorns and Roses. The world-building in this novel is incredible because of how the story unfolds. There’s a simplicity in knowing a division between the human world and the Faerie world with one common enemy, Amarantha. Not only does Maas show the contrast in how they live, but she describes Tamlin and the Spring Court with beautiful imagery and prose to make you feel present on their land.
Once Feyre is with Tamlin and Lucien in the Spring Court, you’re exposed to their lifestyle from her perspective. It comes down to her beautifully composed descriptions of the Faeries and their world. Even during the darkest moments, Feyre’s hopefulness to do right by the Faeries shows her growth from the beginning.
Is the division of the Courts hard to comprehend with the High Lords?
Once Feyre gets to the Spring Court, Tamlin doesn’t bombard her with the lore of all the Courts but just his own. The way Maas ends the novel is very telling as to how she will explore the other Courts in the series and how they will all come together. She plans on going into great detail in the other novels and doesn’t overstuff the first book.
Maas does include a map on the front pages and only addresses two courts in particular because of Feyre’s divide at the end of the first instalment. The way Maas introduced Rhysand so subtly was effective. The more we learn about him and the Night Court, the more the reader's perspective changes when they are Under the Mountain. What happens with Rhysand and Feyre in the last couple of chapters changes both of them entirely, which makes their relationship worth rooting for.
Is Feyre a likable character?
Towards the beginning, Feyre is like any other female protagonist, and she doesn’t have a personality. It’s hard to continue reading when the main character is unlikable. Or rather, you feel indifferent towards them. When Feyre is with Tamlin, it’s a textbook romance. One that we’ve read about many times before, but there’s a sweetness between the two of them.
However, the sweetness and the spice that blooms in the relationship lacks chemistry on the pages. The saving grace when Feyre is with Tamlin at the Spring Court is Lucien. Without Lucien adding some quips, nothing would have been pulled from Feyre. It’s almost like Feyre is a character who adapts to other personalities because she doesn’t have her own. Towards the end, Feyre does get better, but not enough to call her one of your favourite female characters.
Team Rhysand or Team Tamlin?
This is the question, isn’t it? We had Team Edward vs. Team Jacob, Team Peeta vs. Team Gale (we will never know why this was a thing), and even Team Xaden vs. Team Dain. For as long as I can remember, the love triangles always hook everyone in. Maas constructed RhysandxFeyre and TamlinxFeyre most uniquely for their relationships to differ from other triangles. As mentioned above, the TamlinxFeyre relationship doesn’t have the kick I had hoped for while reading ACOTAR.
Instead, the evolving relationship between Rhysand and Feyre makes a much more interesting dynamic because of their bond and pact. This is my first read-through, so my feelings may change, but I went from neutral and bland with TamlinxFeyre to instant intrigue with RhysandxFeyre. Additionally, without Rhysand, Feyre wouldn’t have any personality. He brings out the best side of her.
Why is Lucien the best character?
My dear Lucien, who has the best one-liners and the biggest heart once Feyre gets to know him. He is loyal to a fault and would do anything for Tamlin. In being his emissary, Lucien’s loyalty also extends to Feyre when Under the Mountain. Throughout the novel, when Feyre is curious about the Spring Court and finds out more, Lucien is the one who gives her clues to help her understand.
Lucien carried the first half of this book because of his banter and sassiness towards Tamlin and Feyre. The bond Lucien builds with Feyre is natural, and that’s why when he helps her during the trials, there is genuine care. Even though Lucien appears to have a tough exterior, he has a loving heart that will extend to anyone who shows him kindness in return. He doesn’t trust many people, but the ones he’s comfortable with, he would ultimately die for them.
Did Tamlin take away Feyre’s right to choose Under the Mountain?
The moment Under the Mountain, when all the High Lords come to save Feyre and turn her into a Faerie, was touching. After what Amarantha had done to torture all of them and hold them captive, it was a moment of unity for all of them with Tamlin at the helm. However, in hindsight, Feyre didn’t choose to become a Faerie, and this is something that Maas steps over without it being an issue for Feyre. In other novels, especially ones involving vampires, the mortal/vampire crossover is heavily discussed regarding immortality and growing old. It’s a possibility that Feyre could have these discussions with Tamlin later on. But with the way Maas glossed over her right to choose because Feyre was dying, it doesn’t seem likely.
Am I reading too much into it? Let me know in the comments below!
What did you think about A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas? Is it better than Throne of Glass? Let us know in the comments below, or join our discord today!
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