A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - Book Review

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.

“There are those who seek me a lifetime but never we meet,
And those I kiss but who trample me beneath ungrateful feet.

At times I seem to favor the clever and the fair,
But I bless all those who are brave enough to dare.

By large, my ministrations are soft-handed and sweet,
But scorned, I become a difficult beast to defeat.

For though each of my strikes lands a powerful blow,
When I kill, I do it slow... 

From everything that I've heard with this book, I had very high expectations. This was one of the books that was talked about in every single book group that I'm in on Facebook, with everyone completely in awe of this series and recommending it everywhere they go. I don't think I've ever seen a book get this much hype before, and I also think that this was the reason why I put off reading it for so long. I guess it's just something about me but whenever a book gets too much hype, then I won't read it until the hype is brought down or whatever the case be. Then eventually I forgot about it and it took years until I finally remembered this series for a book club. So thanks to the book club, I ended up buying the entire series and began my journey into Prythian.

One of the elements that seemed to be interesting after reading Hunted was that this also had some sort of Beauty and the Beast retelling. It seemed to be a story that a lot of people wanted to emulate in their books, and this was no different. I did like the fact that Feyre was a hunter as well, even if she only became one out of necessity and not enjoyment. It was also interesting to see that even though Feyre's family did come from money before the events of this book, she wasn't as educated and well-read as her fellow Belle counterparts.

In keeping with tradition, Feyre (spelled Fayre in English) means "Beautiful", so there's that as well.

I know that I'm in for such a wild ride here, and for the most part of me reading through this book I was at the edge of my seat. Especially towards the ending when Feyre had to go through her three trials, I was completely rooting for her and hoping that she would be able to break the curse that ravaged Prythian and all the Fae that lived there. Also her time within the Spring Court, her exploring the area and spending time with both Lucien and Tamlin was enjoyable to read as well. I personally like Lucien more than Tamlin, but that could also be because of all the comments people will say about Tamlin in the next two books. But without that outside influence, I thought that Tamlin was doing his best to figure out how to love again, or even how to like someone that wasn't a Fae again. He started to become more "human" in an aspect, and I liked that he was able to open up to Feyre in a way that didn't seem possible at the time.

I also loved seeing such a bad ass woman - even if she was an evil bitch - and no, I am definitely not talking about Feyre. Yes, she was pretty bad ass at some parts, especially with how she learned how to protect her family and feed them when her sisters and her father wouldn't do anything to help out. She was basically the core of her family, and the only reason that they survived for as long as they did. I feel like they treated her like shit because she was the only one that would get her hands dirty and hunt for them. Her sisters were not always kind to her, and her father was pretty much useless. She deserved better, and I feel like her leaving her home to live out her days in Prythian was a complete blessing for her.

I can't wait to read the rest, and my brain is so damn tired from everything else that I've been doing lately, but just know that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and now I understand the hype. If you haven't read it yet, I recommend doing it before the year is over.

Rated: 5/5 ★