The first instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON and TikTok sensation, from multi-million selling and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas
Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan – Time
Harry Potter magic, Taylor Swift sass, Fifty Shades-level athleticism – The Sunday Times
With bits of Buffy, Game of Thrones and Outlander, this is a glorious series of total joy – Stylist
Spiced with slick plotting and atmospheric world-building ... a page-turning delight – Guardian
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Feyre is a huntress, but when she kills what she thinks is a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor, Tamlin, is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal Fae.
And there’s more to the Fae than the legends suggest.
As Feyre adapts to her new home, her feelings for Tamlin begin to change. Icy hostility turns to fiery passion that burns through every lie she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But shadows are creeping in, and Tamlin has a dark secret that he cannot share. Fate brought Feyre to Tamlin for a reason, but saving him from the darkness that threatens his world will lead her down a path that she can never return from.
Enter the world of Sarah J. Maas and discover the sweeping romantic fantasy that everyone's talking about for yourself.
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5* reader reviews
‘This is the first fantasy book I’ve ever read . . . I’m hooked. I’m addicted’
‘I’m a standard romance girl but this swept me off my feet’
‘Her writing is exquisite; her characters complex . . . and worlds all-consuming’
‘This book has ignited my spark for reading again’
- ISBN10 1526605392
- ISBN13 9781526605399
- Publish Date 2 June 2020 (first published 5 May 2015)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Format Paperback
- Pages 448
- Language English
Reviews
ktshpd
booksandcats
And it's an interesting concept, the world is quite nice, I like the worldbuilding, I like most side characters and all of that.
But dead god. Fayre is soo freaking annoying!! I almost stopped reading because she was just... arg!
First, she acts like such a freaking martyr! I hate that, I hate that thing where people are like "Oh, I do so much, nobody appreciates it but instead of speaking up I just bear this and deal with it but I still complain about it in my head ALL OF THE TIME!" Really??? Yes, your mother asked you to take care of them, but I'm sure she didn't mean all by yourself!
Then, she gets captured by a faery prince, put in a wonderful house, everyone is nice to her, her family is actually taken care of (!), like they are better off with her here, she can do whatever she wants and still, she isn't happy! WTH? What more does she want exactly?
Plus, she is just plain stupid! She knows faeries are dangerous for her, she knows, she has been told several times, "there is a ritual coming, a lot of dangerous faeries are going to be there, so just stay in your freaking room" and she goes... "nah, can't be that bad" and goes to watch, get's in a dangerous situation, get's rescued, told to stay in her room and she leaves AGAIN?!?
Also, that stupid riddle... are you kidding me? She couldn't solve that??
Seriously, the worldbuilding is nice and interesting, but the main characters are not it at all. In the real world she would be dead several times, too stupid to live, really LOL! :P
Emma (SCR)
One of the reasons I was excited about this book was that it's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I LOVE Beauty and the Beast and I'm really into retelling's at the moment. If you're expecting the Disney feel in this book though you will be disappointed. This is a grittier, darker version of the story for sure. Sarah definitely puts her own spin on the classic story.
Feyre lives with her father and her two older sisters. The first thing I have to say about Freyre's family is that they are rather ungrateful. Freyre risks her life in order for them to survive. I did warm to them slightly over the course of the book but only slightly. In the beginning Feyre is annoying but after she stops trying to escape she actually is quite likeable. Feyre goes through so much in this book and my heart was breaking for her as she goes through it all.
Slowly but surely I fell in love with Tamlin. At first he was a grumpy surly man but chapter by chapter as those walls came down I fell a more and more in love with him. If I was a fae I would definitely be in the Spring Court.
I can already see the makings of a love triangle and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I guess I will have to wait until I read the next book to see how it unfolds.
The beginning of this book is quite slow but the action picks up later on. The beginning has a lot of world building so I expect the rest of the series may not be as slow. I liked the writing style. Being a fantasy novel in a made up world there were a lot of unfamiliar words but Sarah easily explains everything for us.
This was the first book I have read by Sarah J Maas but it won't be my last I am eager to read the rest of this series and possibly Sarah's Throne of Glass series too.
Katie King
Were there conveniences that taped over cracks in the plot? Yes. Were there lame explanations of strange world details? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Yes.
sstaley
I've read many books about the Fae and I found that many were following the same pattern. A Court of Thorns and Roses felt different from the others. I liked the world that Maas wrote. I liked this new world of Fae and the problems they were facing.
As far as the main character, Feyre, she was amazing! She had her problems, but was no Mary Sue. She was tough because she had no other choice and was fiercely loyal to who and what she loved, even though some people didn't deserve that loyalty. She took risks, but I didn't feel that they were always
stupid like some women in novels. I couldn't help but like Feyre from the start. Even with the slow start in this 1st book, it picks up quickly in the middle and has an exciting 2nd half of the book.
As far as the men in this book, I liked the character of Lucien better than Tamlin High Lord of the Spring Court, Feyre's lover and boyfriend. Lucien was Tamlin's best friend and I really liked his wit and tenacity. I felt he brought out better things in Feyre than Tamlin did, but this is not a book where there is a love triangle. I also was intrigued by the High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand. There is something more with this character that I know will come out in the 2nd book.
I did want to say that this is NOT a YA book, but a New Adult book. I was surprised by a few explicit sexual scenes with her and Tamlin. I wouldn't recommend this book to most teens, especially younger than 17 or 18. There are also many scenes depicting violence, but this book does show a war in the lands of The Fae.
Overall, I really liked this novel and the new world that I want to keep exploring in the other books in this series.
Steph L
A novella that bridges the gap between the events that happened and the ones that will happen in the later part of the series will be released on May 1, 2018. The books are produced by Bloomsbury Publishing and have had much acclaim since their release.
I was late starting to read this series, having read the first book in early 2018. At the time of this review, I am in the middle of the third book in this series.
The plot follows a huntress named Feyre (Fay-ruh), a 19-year-old human who kills a wolf in the woods. What Feyre is not expecting is for a creature to show up at her family’s door, and demand retribution for the deed.
Tamlin (Tam-lin) the male creature known as “one of the most lethal faeries who once ruled the human world,” kidnaps Feyre. As Feyre is getting to know Tamlin better, the feelings of ice coldness that she once had for him become more passionate and heated, but what Feyre does not know is that Tamlin is lying to her.
As Feyre learns more and more about the fae culture, and the world that she now lives in, she must find a way to stop the upcoming war or doom Tamlin and his world to be forever controlled by another ruling Court; i.e., loss of all freedoms.
One of the best things about this book is the fact that Feyre is a heroine who is not afraid to speak her mind. Usually, in high fantasy series where the leading lady is typically the damsel in distress, it is refreshing to see Feyre speak her mind and not hold anything back. Tamlin is not a great character, but you do start to feel for him as he lies to the reader and to the woman that he claims to love.
The other marvelous aspect of this book is the world building. It might be the fact that I have not read a ton of fantasy stories, but I was so impressed with the amount of detail that went into the universe where the book takes place. Maas really takes you into the mythical world, and once you are into the story, it is the kind of place that you do not want to leave.
I also loved the pacing of the book. Some parts of it were slow, but this was only because Maas offers details that become important later. The action scenes and the fast-paced sections of the novel are fantastic; the way that Maas writes an action sequence or a fast-paced scene in the book is like no other.
nannah
Yikes.
Warning: this review will not be positive.
Book content warnings:
dubious consent
slavery mention
I'm completely shocked this book made it this far, that it has so many fans, and that it even got published in the first place. It reads like bad fanfiction: it's messy, it doesn't have a plot, and the protagonist is the most reactive protagonist I've ever read. This is like an example of what not to do in fiction. And yet, and yet, and yet . . .
Feyre (pronounced Fay-ruh ??? awful, awful) is the only provider of her once-wealthy family, struggling to get her disabled father and two sisters fed through the harsh winters. One day out on the hunt, she accidentally kills a faerie in the shape of a wolf, and when a High Fae comes for her in exchange for the wolf's life to take her back to his world, her life is changed forever.
Again, I only read halfway, but it was enough. I couldn't go on, and even getting this far was a struggle.
I think the plot is actually not about Feyre struggling to fit into this new life in faerie world, but actually about this magical blight affecting the faerie world and the faerie courts, etc. But if that's the case . . . it's the most lazy and un-immediate plot? It's only ever mentioned about every other chapter in passing, it never seems to affect Feyre (the protagonist!) personally, and the stakes aren't high. The plot is supposed to drive everything! It made this book a meandering mess. The plot's structure can be defined as
dangerous faerie land thing; High Faerie (Tamlin) warns Fayre not to be involved; Feyre does it anyway; bad thing happens.
and repeat.
Over and over and over and over and over.
That's it. Except after each repeat, Tamlin and Feyre become more attracted to each other. Hence the comparison to bad fanfiction.
But no, the comparison doesn't end there, because it also has dubious consent in the form of romance! Here for young adults to consume and be influenced by. :// In this case, their very first kiss was when Feyre was incredibly drunk on wine. But no! It's romantic. Plus there's some random Spring festival where Tamlin becomes crazed and animalistic (.... why ?) and """mates""" with "females" to bring in Spring, and he warns Feyre to stay in her room so he won't "smell" her and want to sexually attack her. What does she do? Leave her room. And he finds her and nearly sexually assaults her. What's worse? She likes it. While knowing he has no control of himself. I really don't know which is worse.
In any case, I couldn't stand this book. There's more, but I've said enough and I don't want to spend any more energy on this. There's better books to read.
alindstadtcorbeax
Star rating remains the same!
Star Rating: —> 3.5 Stars
....the first half of the book was SO boring I almost DNF’d it... but then the second half/last third maybe... it was like BADABING! BADABAM! BADABOOM! FRICKING AMAZING! BADABANGGGGG! Haha. But I just can’t forgive how boring the book was to begin with. Doesn’t seem like typical Sarah J. Maas style, but oh well. Still loved it. Rhys foreverrrrrrrrr.
Nany
Then the last part came and Rhys makes his appearance, although I don't know what's going to happen in the second book that was kind of spoilery, now I want to read that book because I don't like Tamlin and want to know everything about Rhys.
Also, I hope that we can read more about Nesta because I think she was more badass than Feyre, and I like her better.