A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author: Sarah Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Retelling
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Summary:
Now she must pay with her heart.
Lose yourself in the seductive and breathtaking new series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sarah J. Maas.
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin — one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it…or doom Tamlin — and his world — forever.
Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!
First Sentence: The forest had become a labyrinth of snow and ice.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.
My Review:
My whole body literally shook when I saw a Bloomsbury package in my mailbox. Never mind that I was in the middle of an important school assignment, never mind that I have a friend in the other room currently waiting for me – I immediately teared open the package and proceeded to jump up and down and scream, scaring everyone in my house because hello, it was A Court of Thorns and Roses so how could you not? I proceeded to stroke A Court of Thorns and Roses for awhile to the amusement of my friend (thank goodness she sort of understands my weirdness) and couldn’t wait until finals were over so I could finally sit down to read the beauty.
“MURDERERS!” the beast roared again, hackles raised.
…
I snatched another dinner knife off the table, the best I could do unless I found a way to get to the quiver. “Get out,” I snapped at the creature, brandishing the knives before me. (ARC 34)
A little less than the first half of A Court of Thorns and Roses was sadly slow for me. I understand why it’s slow – to develop the relationships between the different characters and to introduce us to the world of the Fae – but the beginning half of A Court of Thorns and Roses was nevertheless slow. It did eventually slowly pick up for me at around page one hundred and thirty, but it didn’t really reach a decent pacing until around page one hundred and sixty. From then on, A Court of Thorns and Roses had a decent pace.
The second half of A Court of Thorns and Roses was really intense. Like, it was so intense that I didn’t want to read on in fear of what would happen next. I had to put the book down awhile, tell myself that hey, since Feyre is the main character, nothing really life threatening will happen to her right? I mean, how would we have a story then? I had to take deep breaths and keep myself reading on, hoping that I was right.
“How old are you, anyway?”
“Nineteen.”
…
Lucien tsked. “So young, and so grave! And a skilled killer already!” (ARC 79)
As for the promised hot fae men, I sadly didn’t fangirl or swoon over any of them. It seems like there’s a pattern here: I never swooned over Chaol or Dorian in Sarah J. Maas’ debut novel, Throne of Glass, and now I didn’t swoon over any of the hot fae men in A Court of Thorns and Roses. Hopefully that will change in book two because I do want a favorite guy.
For people who were looking forward to reading A Court of Thorns and Roses because it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling, I can tell you that on that aspect, it definitely doesn’t disappoint. There are a lot of parallels between A Court of Thorns and Roses and Beauty and the Beast – being taken away to a whole another place, eventually returning home, and let’s not forget about all the dancing.
Overall, I’m extremely conflicted about how I feel about A Court of Thorns and Roses. A Court of Thorns and Roses had a slow beginning, but it does pick up eventually. I can’t forget how I was a little bored with the slow beginning though. Before I even started reading A Court of Thorns and Roses, I heard that A Court of Thorns and Roses was better than Throne of Glass, but that sadly wasn’t the case for me. So yeah, I’m still extremely conflicted about how I feel about A Court of Thorns and Roses to this day.
Ooohhh…conflicted emotions…still good tho. It was not a total failure…perhaps it will get better in the next installment. I am excited for this already!
I actually disagree with you on the slow part of the first half of the book. I enjoyed the whole book from start to finish. I thought that this book was amazingly awesome. I really enjoyed the world of the Fae more than I thought I would. Great review, Kelley.
Grace
Grace Fonseca recently posted…Sunday Love Affair #81: Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballentine and Tee Morris (Ministry of Peculiar Occurences #1)
I feel the same way about the beginning. I haven’t been able to get through it. Im glad to hear it pi ks up! This means I should probably push through today. I felt exactly the same way about ToG and it took me a month to get through the first half. If the same pattern keeps then the second book is going to be over the top amazballs, like Crown of Midnight was.
Amber recently posted…An Ember in the Ashes: Review Discussion
It’s actually pretty refreshing to see a review that isn’t totally raving over ACOTAR for once. I didn’t swoon over Chaol or Dorian, either, though I’ve still only read the first book. Sorry that this one was a bit disappointing for you!
Zoey @ Uncreatively Zoey recently posted…The Sunday Post {6}: Guilty! + Giveaway
Oh my God, I am so jealous!!! I am a huge fan of Maas, too… so I’m really curious to see how well it stacks up against the Throne of Glass series! Your review was super even-handed and rationale, which is pretty good seeing as though you were shaking when you opened the box. :)
Savannah recently posted…Review: The Heroine’s Bookshelf
I was going to pick this up because of the Beauty and the Beast aspect, happy to hear that part doesn’t disappoint! I’ve been seeing that a lot of people are enjoying it, but not loving it, so I think I’ll just lower my expectations a bit.
Thanks for the review, Kelly!
Cyn @ Book Munchies recently posted…Sunday Post (114) / Stacking the Shelves (94)
I am worried about this one, but nevertheless as soon as I have it in my hands, I will devour it. I hate that the pacing is slow, even if for good reason. And it is disappointing that the men aren’t swoon-worthy. Sigh. I will just have to wait and see what I think when I get this one, and hopefully I will enjoy it!
Jaime Lester recently posted…Brady’s Lost Blanket- a review by Crystalee
I have read mixed reviews for this one. I don’t like slow beginnings, but if it picks up, I might like it. :)
I’m really conflicted over whether I want to read A Court of Thorns and Roses or not…Maybe it’s because I haven’t read any of Sarah Maas’ other books? Though I’ve heard a lot of positive things about the Throne of Glass series so maybe I have to start there and see where it goes. Hopefully I’ll fall for Maas’ books like everyone else seems to have. :)
Aw, I’m so sorry you had some issues with this book Kelly :( I just read a DNF review for it, and I’m nervous. Love triangle thingy. Ugh. And you are not swooning over the boys? Not okay :( I DNFed her first book.. so I’m worried, hih, but also excited for this book :) Anyway! I’m really glad that you did like this book a whole lot, and that you didn’t hate it :) I hope you’ll like book two more sweetie. <3 Thank you for sharing about it :)
Carina Olsen recently posted…Cover Reveal: The Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett + Giveaway
OMG! I SO want this book! Thanks for your review!
It’s awesome you were so excited and I get why you didn’t like how it started slow, but I actually like it when a story focuses on characters and we get to know them well before the action!
Lovely review :)
It’s so funny how we’re all looking for hot fae boys!!!! Although all Sarah Maas’ boys are hot, it’s too bad you didn’t really like any of them in the new series!!
Lovely review :)
I gave it a rating of 3.5 stars as well – I really did like the romance and the plot of the book, although some parts of the actual concept annoyed me, I also didn’t like the slow pace of the novel in the beginning. The cover is gorgeous though, wonderful review :) Your blog design is soo pretty btw!
benish recently posted…Mixed feelings.. A Court of Thorns and Roses Review♥
It’s a shame about the slow beginning but it is a good thing that it picked up after a while as well. I love a good retelling so I am looking forward to enjoying this one for that aspect of things and I will definitely be reading it. But some people do say they found it to follow the pattern of her other series. Would you agree?
Olivia recently posted…Edge of Evil (Review & Giveaway!)
I completely agree with your review! I’m currently, well, I’ve been reading this book for aver a week and I’m only on page 182 because I’m just not that into it. I agree that it started off slow and that it’s not as great as ToG to me.
The characters, I’m intrigued by the Fey, but I’m not really a fan of the MC. Hopefully it gets better for me.
Awesome review! :)
The cover really grabbed my attention. I have been seeing it on so many blogs but never really took the time to see what it was about. I read your review and I love the sound of this book! Definitely adding it to my TBR list
I can’t wait to read this book, I love Sarah J Maas’ writing!
JJ recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #7
I’m so excited to read this. I’m not usually a fan of re-tellings but I think when it’s done correctly it can be strong as kind of a framework. I’m sad you didn’t have any swoon time thought :(
Amanda recently posted…Preview: Persuasion by Martina Boone
Great review! I kinda agree with you about the fact that the book is slow-paced nevertheless, I enjoyed it though.
I’m so looking forward to reading this… I didn’t love Throne of Glass, but I must say I have kind of a soft spot for Chaol so hopefully the characters in this will also work for me, and if it really has strong parallels with Beauty and the Beast even better :)
I’ve heard so many good things about this book. And even you have some good points, despite the bad. Now I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on this book. d:
This book had been hyping me up to read it. It’s a new book from a new series of Sarah J. Maas. I realized that it’s a retelling of beauty and the beast. Thanks for the review! You make me want to read it and I think it won’t really disappoint! :)
I’ve been seeing great reviews about this book but reading yours makes me want to buy one now! Wow fairies! :)