Sarah J Maas is a phenomenal author. She has a way of weaving a story that instances you from the first page. Here is one of my all-time favorite book series by her, the Court of Thorns and Roses with all the books in order.
Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR Book 1)
This particular story is a mix of Beauty and the Beast and the folktale of Tamlin. The story starts with Feyre, a nineteen-year-old huntress, trying to provide for her family. While hunting, she killed a wolf, who turned out to be a Fae on the wrong human side of the wall. The Fae was a sentinel for the High Lord of the Spring Court, and the lord wants retribution.
Dragged to a dangerous side of the wall, filled with creatures she knew about only from legends, Feyre starts snooping around the Spring Court. It turns out nothing is as simple as it seems, and the mansion and its Beast of a lord are shrouded in more mysteries than human legends tell.
An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and an ordinary human girl will find herself in the middle of it all.
This book you guys! It has it all. Enemies to lovers, folk tales retelling, evil queens, and creatures from dreams and nightmares. Maas creates a truly magical world filled with humor, love, passion, mystery, and everything else that you might be looking for in a quality fantasy series.
Court of Mist and Fury (ACOTAR Book 2)
(Note: From this point, I’ll be deep diving into the series and include some major spoilers ahead)
In my opinion, this second book is the gem of the whole series. I’ll go as far as to say that this is the best book Sarah J Maas has written so far. The story and structure are impeccable and the book has a very good message, featuring getting out of a toxic environment.
If the first book was based on Beauty and the Beast, this one follows the narrative of Hades and Persephone myth, but with a twist. Imagine if Persephone was stuck in a toxic relationship.
This book told in a fantasy world, features one of the most common and real problems that I’ve seen, losing yourself because of someone you love, and how sometimes this beautiful emotion might become a poison.
“Too much love can be a poison”
Maas’s characters often face emotional traumas, but what makes this book so special is that we see the process all the way, how Feyre falls into this pit of loneliness when her love, Tamlin, is right next to her. How Tamlin, buried in his own trauma, abandons Feyre and leaves her in this battle alone instead of working through their experience together. And on top of that, Tamlin’s fear of losing her makes him make selfish choices. For the peace of his mind, he locks Feyre up and disregards how she feels about that.
And when Feyre is at her lowest, there comes Rhysand, High Lord of the Night court and Tamlin’s mortal enemy. He seemed like the villain in the first book, but surprisingly, he is the one who coaxes her out of this emotional pit day by day and step by step.
And keep in mind that Rhys has his own demons to battle with.
You also have a wonderful group of side characters who we get introduced to as Rhysand’s Inner Circle. They have a great dynamic. Mor, Amren, Azriel, and Cassian left me longing for friendship like theirs, a family you choose.
“I was a dreamer born into the Court of Nightmares.”
I don’t often see friend groups this close-knit in YA books and this is what enriches this second book even more. Feye is not just focused on her love life, but on these people, who open themselves up for friendship with her. It is just as important to have good friends as it is to find a good partner.
I feel like I have to mention Nesta and Elaine, Feyre’s sisters, who we get to know even better here. When I was reading the series, only these two books were out but even as a side character, Nesta managed to capture my attention.
Each new character has a very interesting personality and a story and the book overall is very enjoyable. The plot is moving fast, there is love, there is passion, fights, secret cities, and a new villain which we get introduced to.
If you liked the first book, you will love this one, but even if you didn’t like the first one, trust me, the second book will make it up to you. Especially Chapters 42, 49, and 55. (if you know you know)
Warning: The book ends with a very very very bad cliffhanger so make sure you have the third book ready to start right after finishing it.
Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTAR Book 3)
I will not lie to you, this book is not as good as the second one, but if you’re here for smut, I think you’ll appreciate extensive and detailed chapters here.
After the killer cliffhanger, Feyre is returned to the spring court as a wolf inside sheep’s skin, the High Lady of the Night court. She has some newfound abilities, magic, and kick-ass-wise, and damn people she is ready to use them. She is determined to gather information on Tamlin, who has allied himself with the main villain, the King of Hybern.
I honestly don’t like sneaky backstabbing stuff, I always prefer to face an opponent head-on and think backstabbing is just immortal, but I also understand why Feyre did what she did and to be honest the plan to infiltrate Spring Court and gather information was pretty interesting.
The book starts with Spring Court, but we are back shortly in Velaris, the hidden city of the Night Court where Rhys is, then there are some really cool quests following the trend set in the second book. At last, of course, there is a final epic battle.
This was a really good wrap-up for Feyre and Rhysand’s story. I think it could have been better and the author repeated some stuff that she knows works for the audience but hey, you can’t get a masterpiece like A Court of Mist and Fury every time and this was the second-best thing so no complaints.
For me, one more thing that made this book very enjoyable was the romantic tension between Nesta and Cassian. I think their story was what caught my attention the most. I love Nesta with her attitude and badass vibe and Cassian the comic relief of the group but equally as lethal at the same time. If you want to end the series here you can, it wraps up nicely and Feyre and Rhysand’s story is basically done but Sarah J. Maas did a little Sheherazad on us and started a very good Ship with Nesta and Cassian here which will be continued in the next books.
Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOTAR Book 3.5)
This next book in the series is not crucial to the plot. It’s more like extra content for the fans, but it gives you a better idea of the characters and their emotional state after the war, what mark did the war leave on each of them, and how they are trying to navigate through life with these new scars. But even after all of this, the Inner Circle is getting ready to celebrate the winter Solstice together and bring some warmth and a sense of normal back.
The book itself consists of multiple short stories. I remember them as very enjoyable, and heartwarming but at the same time immensely sad.
The part that I especially remember was when Feyre meets a widow weaver, who shows her artwork to her. Artist to artist, Feyre sees woman’s pain through her art and relates to it.
I will make it no secret that Nesta Archeron is one of my favorite characters in this series and in this little novella, we see what toll all of the events in the books took on her. The lady who makes these immortal creatures shudder is broken inside and she is trying to find a way to numb the pain inside her. She isolates herself from everyone and is going on a self-destructive path. But her sisters and her friends won’t let that happen.
Court of Silver Flames (ACOTAR Book 4)
This late book is not a YA, but an Adult fantasy, so if you are not 18+ shoosh away now.
This book is about Nesta and Cassian (Woohoo) and reflects the same mental and emotional struggle the author herself was facing.
The book introduces us to a new quest taken from the loose threads of previous books. We have a new main villain who was foreshadowed in Court of Wings and Ruin and some awesome new characters.
Nesta starts off this book alone, miserable and deep in her mental trauma. She seems to be in this Limbo she can’t get out of. She spends her nights drinking and sleeping around, distanced from her sisters and friends. At some point, her loved ones decide that enough is enough and they drag her outside and send her off to Illyrian war camp for training.
And Cassian is overseeing all of this.
That book, like all of Sarah J Maas’s books, kept me up all night. As I said, I was shipping Nesta and Cassian for a while and I was glad to see so many of them. I love their dynamic, from Cassian’s chaotic nature to Nesta’s more reserved one, Cassian who loves so openly, and Nesta, for whom it comes so hard to express her feelings but who loves just as fiercely.
Also, they have A LOT of sex. And by a lot, I mean almost half the book. And oh boy, what a ride. No complaints, keep up the good work pals.
I also loved the side characters. Azriel was amazing, serious but with a subtle sense of humor. I think the best part of the book was the female friendship that Nesta, Gwin, and Emerie share. Most of the time, YA books focus on love interests and there is no room for friendship, but this book outdid itself in that aspect.
I loved the impersonation of the house. I think it gave the book this old-school magic that I loved so much as a child.
Many people say that this book ruined Rhys’s character for them, but I personally liked to see him from other’s point of view, someone who wasn’t the love of his life and saw flaws in him, because let’s admit it, everyone has some flaws, and Rhys shown from Nesta’s POV made him more real to me. Altho let’s admit, he really was acting like a total a**hole.
That being said, I think plot-wise, this is one of the worst Sarah J Maas books I’ve ever read.
The book had such good potential. The quest to find three powerful artifacts, the evil human queen, the evil ancient wizard lurking somewhere, and the unimaginable power Nesta possesses, which is rumored to exceed even Rhysand, pave such a good path for interesting plot twists.
But unfortunately, I think the narrative escaped the author and in the end, we got Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1.
Although Feyre was not the main character, her pregnancy became the main turning point, which took the wild card of using all three artifacts AND the reason Nesta GAVE UP her powers without properly using them. TWO BOOKS GUYS. We were waiting to see what Nesta was capable of for TWO BOOKS and turns out, her biggest strength was being a midwife.
Also how many more times does the author plan to resurrect Feyre or Rhys? The third one’s the charm? Fourth?
Despite that, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy reading it. It kept me up all night and made me laugh and cry. I was just expecting more from the author who wrote ACOMAF.
Conclusion
Overall, with its good and bad, A Court of Thorns and Roses series is a book worth reading at least once. It’s still one of my favorite books and I can’t wait for the Next book in the series. It should follow Azriel, Elain, and Lucien, with our loved characters making appearances and a new member of the group, baby Nyx.
I can guarantee you will be entranced in this beautiful, scary, and dangerous world.
Have you read the books? Which is your favorite? Please tell us if you agree with our critique. Feel welcome to share your thoughts here, at the Library of Eleanor Rigby.
