Sarah J. Maas

BOOK REVIEW: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

/ E.A. Hoffmann / Leave a comment

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Audiobook Length: 23 hours and 16 minutes

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Read Start Date: August 31, 2021

Read Finish Date: November 29, 2021

Number of Book in Series: 2

Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads:  The seductive and stunning #1 New York Times bestselling sequel to Sarah J. Maas’s spellbinding A Court of Thorns and Roses .

Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she’s now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people.

As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre’s hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world in turmoil.

Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her dazzling, sexy, action-packed series to new heights.

My Review: A Court of Mist and Fury is the second book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. It continues the story of Feyre Archeron, a mortal girl who becomes entangled in the world of faeries.

The book begins with Feyre suffering from the aftermath of her traumatic experiences in the first book, A Court of Thorns and Roses. She is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and feeling trapped in her engagement to Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court.

Rhysand, the enigmatic High Lord of the Night Court, claims Feyre as part of a bargain they made in the previous book. Feyre is taken to the Night Court, where she gradually begins to heal both physically and emotionally. She forms deep bonds with Rhysand and his inner circle, which includes Amren, Azriel, Cassian, and Mor.

The book also delves into the politics and power dynamics of the faerie courts, as well as the looming threat of an ancient evil.

The central romance between Feyre and Rhysand is a significant aspect of the story, and I found it excruciating to read about. At nearly 24 hours long, this book is so long and painful. Everyone goes around “hissing” and “snarling,” calling each other “prick,” “bastard,” and “whore,” and the plot is just pointless. Snore. I also found it disturbing that the main character is supposed to be a teenager (19 years old?), and her fairy lovers are grown men. And I don’t mean that they are like 1,000 years old, but in fairy years, that’s a teenager…I mean, they are (maybe) 1,000 years old, and in fairy years, that makes them at least 30, if not 40 or 50! I don’t understand how this book is a YA novel (according to Goodreads). I wouldn’t want my teenager to read this book. There are way too many graphic sex scenes! I also don’t understand why people are so thrilled at the relationships between the main character and the 2 fairy lovers…they are abusive! The relationships are abusive! How many times in the book did we hear that Tamlin “locked me up!” (like 100…we get it! He LOCKED YOU UP!!) Even though Feyra left one abusive relationship, she is a “traitor” for getting into another relationship? What?? Great message: leaving an abusive relationship is wrong…huh? Rhys is suddenly a great guy, when in the last book, he was a class-A jerk, because he is Feyre’s mate? (another word beat into the brain: mate, mate, mate, mate, mate). “My mate”…yes, we get it, Maas, Rhys is Feyre’s mate…you don’t need to repeat it 200 times. And then Feyra stopped referring to him as Rhys and started saying, “My mate.” I had a giant eye roll at that. Sorry for venting, but I could not even with this book.

I didn’t really like the first book, but thought that I would give the second book a try. I liked the second book even less than the first.

Stats: As of the writing of this post on October 9, 2023, this book has a rating of 4.64 on Goodreads. So clearly, my review is not tot typical reception that this book usually receives.

Recommended? No, but as stated above, my opinion is the minority.

BOOK REVIEW: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 3 Comments

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Audiobook Length: 16 hours and 8 minutes

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Read Start Date: July 11, 2021

Read Finish Date: August 22, 2021

Number of Book in Series: 1

Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads:  When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore into an unforgettable read.

My Review: The first book in the series, the story follows Feyre Archeron, a young huntress living in a realm divided between humans and faeries. The faerie lands are split into the mortal realm, known as the Spring Court, and four other courts, each ruled by powerful faerie High Lords representing different seasons and aspects of nature. Due to a long-standing treaty, the two realms are separated by an invisible wall, and humans must be cautious not to venture into faerie lands.

Feyre’s life takes a drastic turn when she kills a wolf in the woods, only to discover that it was a faerie in disguise. Up until this point, the story was good. There was action, stakes (Feyre is hunting to feed her poor, starving family), and it was paced well.

As retribution, a beastly faerie lord named Tamlin arrives in the human realm to claim her. This is the point in the book where I began to get both annoyed and bored.

She is taken to the Spring Court as a “mercy” because the Treaty between the two species demands a “life for a life”. This means she can choose to be killed, or choose to live out her days in the faerie world of Prythian. I’m very confused. Why would this be an option for killing a faerie? Living in wealth and luxury? The Treaty also forbades slavery — although taking her as a servant would have made more sense as “punishment,” than living her days being able to do as she pleases. But I guess Maas couldn’t think of any other reason why Feyre would have to go to Prythian.

Once she gets there, she learns that a curse plagues the land and its inhabitants. A malevolent blight, threatens to destroy the faerie world, and Feyreis’s presence is entwined with the court’s salvation.

As Feyre navigates the unfamiliar and treacherous faerie realm, she begins to unravel the layers of secrets shrouding the curse, the court, and its enigmatic inhabitants. She also forms a complex and evolving relationship with Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court, which transforms from hatred / fear to passionate affection.

And there is where Maas totally lost me. Beyond the repetitive use of the same words over and over (e.g. growl and snarl used over a hundred times), there was the creepy, predatory, abusive relationship between Tamlin and Feyre. Okay so you know how in Twlight, Edward is perpetually 17? It was like he never matured past being a teenager. So in human years he was 100+ years, but in vampire years he was 17. Well, Tamlin might “look young” but he is well over 500 years old in human years — and in fairy years he is like 40. At least that was my impression. There was nothing about Tamlin that indicated that he was a fairy “teenager.” Maybe this is why Feyre is hitting the end of the age range for YA fiction.

That being said, I was completely shocked when I learned that this book was YA. I would NEVER want my daughter to read this and think that abusive relationships are “hot.” Or even “okay.” Also I would be uncomfortable if my daughter read such graphic, explicit sex scenes. Maybe that makes me a prude, but whatever.

I first read this book as an audiobook in 2021 and disliked it. Then I thought I’d try it on Kindle because it seems like a popular series. I DNFed at 50%. I just couldn’t anymore.

This book was supposed to be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I didn’t see it. Tamlin was the opposite of the Beast — he was good-looking on the outside and ugly on the inside. And where were the “Thorns and Roses”? I don’t remember seeing any. They weren’t intricate to the book.

Stats: As of the writing of this post on August 20, 2023, this book has a rating of 4.20 on Goodreads. So clearly, my review is not tot typical reception that this book usually receives. This book was also a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee in 2015.

Recommended? No, but as stated above, my opinion is the minority.