Book Review: ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ by Sarah J. Maas

Brief Plot Summary

The first book in a series, ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ tells the story of Feyre a young woman from a previously wealthy family now struggling to survive. After she accidentally kills the wrong wolf, Feyre finds herself being taken over the wall to Prythian a realm of the Fair Folk who enslaved humans years in the past. Living with High Lord Tamlin, Feyre starts to learn to separate what she’s learned from the truth while facing a danger that is taking over the lands.

What I Liked

Fairies Aren’t All Good

If you know me and my interests you know I love folklore and fairy tales. You’ll also know I detest the modern depiction of fairies, mostly in children’s media, where they are friendly and helpful beings. It’s not that the fair folk can’t be good, more that their morality is a law in itself. This book doesn’t shy away from this fact with creatures from the hideous to the monstrous. When you have fairies literally enjoying the torture of people or being prone to eating the odd human or two then you know that these aren’t the sparkly beings you are used to.

References to Other Stories

My favourite thing about this book was the references in it to various folklore and fairytales while also building it’s own lore. In my next blog on ‘The Ballad of Tam Lin’ you’ll see for yourself that there are some crossovers in the story if you are familiar with this book. However, even more prevalent are the homages to the original ‘Beauty and the Beast’. From the merchant left in poverty from lost ships, the two sisters living with our main character, the capture of the young woman and the fact that Tamlin occasionally takes on the form of a giant beast you begin to quickly put together the pieces. I can’t spoil too much but it is made clear that things aren’t quite right and people are looking to Feyre to fix what she can, very much like the proverbial Beauty in the original tale.

Feyre Coming into Herself

Feyre is not the greatest female protagonist, but she does grow as a character and has to face some difficult parts of herself. She talks back and doesn’t shy away from sharing her thoughts which is admirable given the situation she is in. While she still makes some silly choices, overall she begins to realise her own abilities and limits.

What I Didn’t Like

Typical YA Romance Tropes

These are less egregious than in some Young Adult novels but they are still prevalent. From having Feyre lock herself up to prevent Tamlin from “ravaging” her while in an altered state to everything to do with her nights with Rhysand Under the Mountain, you start to fall into the trap of aggressive males and submissive females. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but when combined with dubious consent and the discomfort of the protagonist you begin to feel a bit wary when reading.

Pretty Much Everything Under the Mountain

When Feyre goes under the mountain we are reaching the climax of the story so I’m going to be doing a lot of work here to try and avoid massive spoilers. There are some cool things here, like references to chores given to maidens in fairytales (they actually have her sort the lentils from a fireplace ashes), and some gruesome moments of high tension and adventure there is definitely stuff here that is just ugly. This mostly comes in some scenes where Feyre is painted and taken in skimpy outfits to evenings with Rhysand at parties where he forces her to drink the strong fairy wine that leaves her completely vulnerable. When paired with the trauma she is going through, this just feels gross to read and makes poor Feyre more an object than a person. The end of these trials would lead to a great reference to ‘The Ballad of Tam Lin’ but was very rushed.

Favourite Quote

I think my favourite quote is this one moment that I ended up sharing on a large number of social media platforms:

“You actually snared the Suriel. A human girl.” Despite myself, despite the afternoon, my lips twitched upward. “Is it supposed to be hard?”

I enjoy this because it reminded me of that moment in ‘Legally Blonde’ with Elle telling Warner she’s in Harvard.

Overall Thoughts

I actually enjoyed this book as an easy read that I desperately needed. The writing quality is good and there are some stellar moments in there. It’s a good popcorn read but definitely not something to pick up if you are looking for a serious or deep read.