A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

My rating: 5/5 stars 

Well, this was a real surprise for me and I am very happy to have discovered it, even if it took me a while to begin reading this series. I’ve heard a lot about “A.c.o.t.a.r.” and believe me, the bell rang with a bit of a delay when I realised that we are talking about “A Court of Thorns and Roses”:))) Funny, I know 😀 After reading the blurb I came to compare it to “The Mortal Instruments”, because there were fairies involved and my only knowledge of those creatures was from that series, but soon I realised there is nothing to compare, because they are extremely different. Both beautiful, yet extremely different in many aspects.

Feyre lives with her dad and 2 sisters in a little town where luck seems to have left their side. Facing poverty, she fights everyday to support and feed her family, putting her needs aside. Even if at the beginning their economical situation was not like this, now Feyre’s family has to rely mainly on her, because she is the most skilled.. she can hunt. This need for food took her to dangerous places, far from the safety of her home. She will kill a fairy and use the money to keep her family alive. The context in which the plot is placed is very interesting, put in a simple way you can say that there are 2 worlds which collide, human and fairy, and based on a treaty, they try to not mingle. Even if ordinary people and fairies were once allies, now they are enemies, but on civilized terms. Humans are not allowed to kill fairies, or they will face the consequences and fairies have to stay away from human territory.

Well, Feyre did kill a fairy, driven partially by need, but also by hate and revenge. Having broken the treaty, the usual penance would be death, but not in her case. Tamlin, the fairy that will seek Feyre, will take her to his lands and force her to live amongst them. You see, the fairy world, or Prythian, is divided into courts: Summer, Winter, Spring, Autumn, Dawn, Day and Night. Tamlin rules the Spring Court and will keep Feyre there. At first, we believe that we wants to kill her, but throughout the book, we see a different side of Tamlin that will make us have uncertain feelings. They will eventually fall in love, even if the nature of this relationship is forbidden and slightly weird. 

Not only the plot is unique, addictive and alert, but the characters are crafted in an unique way, that won’t make you feel as taking a certain side. You will always feel conflicted, torn between happy and bad moments and until the very end you will have questions. Take Feyre for example.. I’ve seen better heroines than her, but she has this certain thing which I can’t pinpoint exactly which lead me by her side. She can be wild, stubborn and sometimes annoying, but she can be loial, loving and dedicated to her cause. Even if she is human, I felt that she belonged in the fairy world, being an example, not of perfection, but of human abilities, with pro’s and cons, but a example non the least. Her love story with Tamlin was a little unexpected, but extremely awaited by me, because I just wanted them to spare me and put me out of my misery with their chemistry and tension.

Sarah has a thing with dual, mysterious and charming heroes and she will make Tamlin and Rhys 2 of the most enigmatic male characters ever, because at the end of the day, you won’t know which one to choose. In this one, I was on Tamlin side for 80% of the book, the last 20% were not Rhy’s entirely, but not Tamlin’s either:)) if you understand my logic. I loved Tamlin for his courage and feelings towards Feyre, but I still feel guarded because I know he is hiding many things and in the end, spoil the image I have of him. I wait for Rhys to not be a d-bag in the second book, and prove a lot to Feyre and the readers, because some read spoilers reveled a looooot about this charming and complicated particular fairy.

So, this being said, great story, great plot, great characters, tangled relationships and mixed feelings, great love scenes and romantic tension, but also great vibe on crafting this fantasy universe. Great one, looking happily toward the second one, because I have a feeling the good part has just started 😀