Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale
My Rating:
Release Date: 5th May 2015
The breathtaking start to a seductive high-fantasy from New York Times bestselling author of Throne of Glass series.
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.
I am a huge fan of Sarah J Maas, have been ever since I read Throne Of Glass, so when I was given the opportunity to read a copy of it on Netgalley I instantly requested it and was thrilled to be approved. It is the second really big book I was approved for and so you can imagine my excitement. I initially thought I would simply review this book on my blog for you all and be done with it, but that didn’t so the book justice, it deserves more than a review where I struggle to find the words to describe my love for this book and how I enjoyed it. I decided, instead, to tell you why you need to give it a chance instead.
It’s original. I know that sounds like a ridiculous reason to read a book, but it’s true. This is a book which I cannot compare to any other book I’ve read before. Maas has created this magical world that is a bit like a fairy tale, but so much beyond that at the same time. She has fairies and monsters in this book, and people struggling through abject poverty which their neighbours can so easily ignore, and it is all done in a way that makes it unique and really standout that it’s fantastic.
Fairies! This is another reason to read which probably seems like a ridiculous reason to even bother, but it’s true. The fairies which Maas writes about are not like what you envision. There is no Tinkerbell, and they definitely aren’t the same fairies you see in True Blood either, they are different. They are closer to the folktales of fairies, I think. They are powerful and awe-inspiring, but vicious and cruel as well. They are not friends to humans, but nor are they necessarily evil, they just believe themselves to be so utterly superior and humans so beneath them that they do not view them as an issue.
The big bad is really big and awful. You know how there is always a ‘big bad’ in Buffy, there is the same thing in books. I know it’s actually the antagonist in the book, but big bad sounds better. The big bad of A Court of Thorns and Roses is wicked, and cruel. It lingers on the outskirts, hinted at but never mentioned out right through the first half of the book. You never know what it is until the big reveal, and at the point Feyre is in too deep and the story too far gone than for the inevitable to happen. and the inevitable in this book, the confrontation that occurs is so good, it is not what you expect, and it carries on far longer than you believe.
Nothing is black and white. I entered this book with some very obvious misconceptions about what was going to occur looking back. I didn't know this, I thought I could vaguely predict what was going to happen, and Maas blew that all out of the water with what she actually wrote. You think you know what is happening when you read, but you really don’t. You think you know who you should like and hate, but that isn’t true. Nothing and no-one is as they necessarily appear. That can sound ridiculous and possibly disconcerting, but it just makes for a good read that is really intriguing.
I hope you all get a chance to read this book and that you enjoy it. If you agree with my reasons for reading, or if you can think of anymore let me know!
Posts
Social Icons