Book Review: “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas
Håfa adai! Welcome to my spoiler-free review of A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first book of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas.
This book review consists of two parts: a spoiler-free plot summary and my thoughts on the story. In the second part, I give my personal rating and break down the setting and worldbuilding, storytelling, cast of characters, and themes. There may be some lightweight spoilers—such as how characters interact with each other and the world around them—but I will not give away any major plot twists or endings. I want to share my opinions of the book and maybe encourage you to purchase a copy of your own.
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Spoiler-Free Plot Summary
The woods north of Feyre Archeron’s village is a dangerous place. Inside it lies the Wall, the magical barrier separating the Mortal Lands from Prythian, the magical realm of the seven Faerie courts. But 19 year-old Feyre has no choice but to enter or else her father and sisters starve. She comes across a large deer and readies her bow when she realizes she is not alone. Stalking nearby is a monstrous wolf. But is it really a wolf, or a Faerie in disguise? Killing a wolf that size will give her a highly valuable pelt to sell. But killing a Faerie will violate the terms of the Treaty. She makes her choice, aims, and sets loose her arrow.
The next day, after selling the wolf’s pelt, the Archeron family’s cabin door is slammed open by a gargantuan beast with deadly claws and razor-sharp fangs. The wolf she killed was a Faerie after all. Feyre has violated the Treaty. A Faerie life has been taken, so now a human life must be taken in return. But Tamlin, the beast, gives her the choice: death by his hands right now or a lifetime of imprisonment to him in Prythian. Feyre chooses imprisonment and Tamlin takes her from the cabin, through the Wall, and to his manor in the Spring Court of Prythian. Once there, he transforms from the terrifying beast that stormed into her family’s cabin into a tall and strong Faerie with a human form.
She anticipates enslavement as mortals had once been the slaves of the Faerie, yet Tamlin gives her absolute freedom within his manor. Over time, her disdain and mistrust towards him is replaced by something warm and passionate. She adjusts to her new life in the Fae world, yet she longs to see her father and sisters again. But Tamlin warns Fayre that he cannot keep her safe if she were to leave his manor. A blight is spreading throughout the four Seasonal Courts (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and three Solar Courts (Day, Dawn, Night) of Prythian. And Feyre is now apart of a decades-long struggle she does not understand.
My Thoughts on A Court of Thorns and Roses: 3.5 stars
I give A Court of Thorns and Roses 3.5 out of 5 stars. Before I go into why I subtracted 1.5 stars, I want to talk about the aspects of A Court of Thorns and Roses that I truly enjoyed and appreciated: the worldbuilding, the complexity of the characters, and the representation of Feyre’s self image. As a side note, scenes of sex and intimacy in A Court of Thorns and Roses are graphic—taking a literal and explicit approach to describing the physical act of sex—but this had no effect on my overall rating. That being said, this story would be more appropriate for readers above a certain age group and/or for those who are more comfortable with such scenes.
The worldbuilding within this story was absolutely amazing. It captured and held my attention throughout the entire book. Sarah J. Maas provides vivid detail about Feyre’s life, the dynamic people within Feyre’s village in the Mortal Lands, and the conflict within the seven courts of Prythian. Within Feyre’s village, there are humans who hate the Faeries and those who worship them. Within Prythian, each court has its own aesthetic, traditions, and culture. Sarah J. Maas put tremendous thought into the world she created for this series.
In addition to the complexity of the worldbuilding, Sarah J. Maas created many complex characters with unique internal conflicts and misbeliefs. The characters throughout A Court of Thorns and Roses are not rinse and repeat remixes of each other. They feel like unique individuals with their own desires, fears, misbeliefs, internal conflicts, and motives.
Another aspect that I truly appreciated throughout A Court of Thorns and Roses is Feyre’s self image and internal dialogue as well as her complex feelings towards her family. She loves and cares for her family, but she is deeply frustrated with them. Feyre is the one making sure they all survive, yet one of her sisters is especially awful towards her. Her sister’s explicit words become Feyre’s internal thoughts about herself. It is a heartbreaking yet authentic representation of how we internalize what we are told as children and how it becomes the foundation of our self image.
Despite the aspects I appreciated in A Court of Thorns and Roses, there were things I just could not get past. In the order they become apparent to the reader, these things include: (1) the uselessness of Feyre’s older sisters, (2) the limitless magic system, (3) the context of Feyre and Tamlin’s romance, (4) the Antagonist’s motives, and (5) something that happens at the very end.
First, Feyre’s sisters suck. A Court of Thorns and Roses is based off Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s 18th-Century fairy tale La Belle et la Bête; known to children of the Disney Renaissance as Beauty and the Beast. Feyre is supposed to be Beauty from Villeneuve’s tale, who is the youngest and most beautiful of her sisters. Feyre is the youngest of her three sisters, yet she alone is tasked with keeping them and their father alive. Her father is unable to hunt or work due to an injury and her older sisters are simply unwilling to pull their weight. This is why Feyre must risk her life to enter the woods north of the village. Did Sarah J. Maas have to be so faithful to Villeneuve’s original tale? Did Feyre’s sisters have to be so infuriatingly useless?
Second, there seems to be no limit to the magic system within A Court of Thorns and Roses. The entire ecosystem and environment of the Spring Court is “magicked” to be in spring at all times. Of course, magic systems are one of the most fun parts of fantasy writing and worldbuilding. But there must be rules and limits to the magic that can be performed. Of the five things I could not get past, this was the biggest one.
Third, the reason why Feyre and Tamlin are in close proximity makes me question the genuineness of their feelings for each other. The romance part of A Court of Thorns and Roses follows the “enemies to lovers” trope reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast: a beautiful young woman volunteers to be taken prisoner by a monster, the monster gives her some freedoms within the terms of her imprisonment, their feelings towards each other transform, and the monster gives the woman the choice to leave or stay. Would they have developed feelings for each other in a different context? Or are their feelings for each other an act of survival?
The fourth and fifth things I could not get past in A Court of Thorns and Roses are the Antagonist’s motives and something that happens at the very end. I cannot go into detail about these two things without giving away the plot and ending. So I won’t. But I will say I can definitely think of different ways in which these two things could have played out.
So would I recommend A Court of Thorns and Roses? Maybe. Sarah J. Maas is a very talented writer. Throughout the story, I was captivated by the immensity of the worldbuilding and the complexity of every character. I deeply related to the way Feyre’s self image has been shaped. Ultimately, this book just might not be for me. But I know many people who are not bothered by the same things I could not get past. And those individuals love this series!
Dångkulo' na' saina ma'åse'! Thank you so much for reading my review of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
Rating Cheat Sheet
4.75 - 5.00 stars: Everyone should read this book! (If you’re into that sort of thing.)
4.00 - 4.50 stars: I appreciated many aspects of this book. I recommend it!
3.00 - 3.75 stars: I liked some aspects of this book. I won’t revisit it, but someone else might really like it.
2.00 - 2.75 stars: There were some things I appreciated about this book, but I do not recommend it.
0.25 - 1.75 stars: I do not recommend this book. I did not enjoy or appreciate the experience of it.
Post Date: 30 September 2024
Published: 5 May 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
