Minor spoilers in this review because I want to discuss some of the key topics in this series: relationships and abuse. Trigger warning, but I think this series does a nice job with the topic.

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book One)
by Sarah J. Maas
Published by: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Form: Hardback and Kobo eBook
Big Themes: Magic, War, Painting, Love, Relationships, Trauma, Abuse, Recovery

Summary from Goodreads (Book 1): Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

My thoughts:
This series has a huge following and the fans are intense. There is abundant fan art, candle scents in honor of characters, book-inspired jewelry, clothing, and more. I’d heard so much about the series–to the point where I even recognized the characters names without having read the books (Feyre, Tamlin, Rhysand).

However, I’d also heard that the second book in the series, not the first, is what really blew people away. But with book one being over 400 pages and book two being over 600 pages… this was a big investment of my time. Was the second book really going to have the payoff to make it all worth it? (And yes, it’s very much necessary to read ACOWAR first in order to appreciate book two.)

The first book is loosely based around the story of Beauty and the Beast. It was a slow read for me. I enjoyed the main character’s love of painting. The world and descriptions were vivid and interesting. And this author can write action really well! There were some really memorable fight scenes.

But the relationship/romance made me cringe, and the logic of some plot points left me confused. I couldn’t understand why Feyre felt forced into certain positions or made certain decisions.

But what the author is setting up in the first book is an unhealthy relationship. But you won’t necessarily know the relationship is unhealthy as you are reading it right away. Something about it just feels off–yet it’s so similar to a lot of relationships you read in novels (YA or adult). She creates a character who is strong and worthy of love, shows them falling in love, and then shows how the character changes–but changes in an unhealthy way as a result of her relationship. And yet, there were a lot of readers supporting this relationship when this book first came out. The author is forcing the reader to questions and think about how relationships are portrayed in novels.

What makes the second book in this series so excellent is how Sarah J. Maas is flipping expectations and stereotypes, and forcing readers to consider some very heavy issues.

Stay tuned for my next post where I tackle book two: A Court of Mist and Fury