A Court of Thorns and Roses: Enter the Epic Fantasy Worlds of Sarah J Maas with the Breath-Taking First Book in the Globally Bestselling Acotar Series (Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)

by Sarah J. Maas

A gorgeously written tale as lush and romantic as it is ferocious ... Absolutely spellbinding - New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken

Feyre is a huntress. And when she sees a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she kills the predator and takes its prey to feed herself and her sisters. But the wolf was not what it seemed, and Feyre cannot predict the high price she will have to pay for its death ...

Dragged away from her family for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding even more than his piercing green eyes suggest. As Feyre's feelings for Tamlin turn from hostility to passion, she learns that the faerie lands are a far more dangerous place than she realized. And Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

Sarah J. Maas is a global #1 bestselling author. Her books have sold more than nine million copies and been translated into 37 languages. Discover the sweeping romantic fantasy for yourself.

Contains mature content. Not suitable for younger readers.

• ISBN10: 1408857871
• ISBN13: 9781408857878
• Publish Date: 5 May 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 432
• Language: English
• URL: http://bloomsbury.com/

Reviews

[kiracanread]

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I definitely requested an arc of this book because of the hype, I don't read or enjoy a lot of fantasy, especially YA fantasy, so I was sceptical about reading this book and kept putting it off, but here we are, I've finally gotten around to it.

A Court of Thorns and Roses has some characters that are likeable and others that really aren't, and I think it gives this story a really good balance between love and hate for the reader and 'Rhysand' is quite a morally grey character, which gives him a lot of depth in this story.

I'm definitely going to have to pick up the next book in the series to see what happens next, I never realised I could get so hooked on a YA fantasy series, but i'm dying to find out what happens with my favourite character.

(I'm not telling you who my favourite character is in case something horrible happens to them and you're all reading this and pitying me)

But overall, I'm incredibly glad that I got the push I needed to read this book, I've never read any Sarah J. Maas prior to this, and hadn't intended to - but now i'm hooked!

[ambiancereads]

You know someone once compared this book to a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and honestly thats what stuck to me when I read it and I think it ruined it for me. If I were to re-read this now that I've read the whole series I know I would love it. It's not a retelling by any means. But I did have a harder time with this one, it felt slow to build. But by the end I enjoyed the plot twists and the characters.

[RoXXie]

Dornen und Rosen ♦ Sarah J. Maas | Rezension
Dieses Buch und seine Folgebände standen, nun lange genug auf meinem SuB und ich hatte jetzt so richtig Lust auf ein wenig Fantasy. Doch ich bekam mehr. Dies ist der Beginn eines Epos, welches mich mit solch intensiver Farbenpracht und Gefühlsachterbahn überrascht hat, dass ich, ehrlich gesagt, direkt weiterlesen muss.

Rezension
Cover

Das Cover des vorliegenden Hardcover – Formates finde ich unglaublich schön. Aber das liegt nicht an der jungen Frau im roten Kleid (eher finde ich diese vielen Frauen/Mädchen-in-Kleidern — Cover echt nervig), sondern an dem durchsichtigen Einband. Was für eine tolle Idee ❢

Inhalt/Setting

Es beginnt ganz langsam, mit vielen Erklärungen und Einsichten zur Gesamtsituation um die Menschen, auch oft als Sterbliche bezeichnet, und die Fae, die unsterblichen Wesen im Reich der sieben Höfe, auch bekannt als Prythian.
Doch bevor ich die Fae näher kennenlernen konnte, entführte mich Frau Maas in das Leben von Feyre und ihrer Familie. Feyre, die Protagonistin, wird durch viele verquere Umstände schon in jungen Jahren zur Haupternährerin ihrer Familie.

Während Feyre auf der Jagd ist, um ihre Familie für eine weitere Woche im kalten Winter über die Runden zu bekommen, tötet sie einen übernatürlich großen Wolf. Sie vermutet es, aber erst später erfährt sie, dass sie einen Fae getötet hat und nun muss sie ihre Schuld, ein Leben für ein Leben, begleichen. Dies geht aus einem Jahrhunderte alten Vertrag zwischen den Menschen und den Fae hervor.

In Prythian angekommen muss sich Feyre wohl oder übel ihrem Schicksal ergeben, auch wenn sie anfangs immer wieder, mehr schlecht als recht, versucht zu fliehen. Frau Maas hat eine Welt erschaffen, die farbenprächtiger und gewaltiger nicht sein kann und sie hat ein super Gespür dafür, was die Leser:innen in den Bann zieht. Jede Szene hat ihre eigene fulminante Atmosphäre, die mich immer wieder in Stauen oder auch Entsetzen versetzte.

Der heulende Wind schwächte sich zu einem leichten Säuseln ab. Der Schnee fiel jetzt träge, in dicken, großen Batzen, die sich in den tiefen Fluren und hohen Baumwipfeln gleichermaßen niederließen. Betörend, diese eisige, sanfte Schönheit des Schnees.
Dornen und Rosen, S.12 - Sarah J. Maas

Meinung

Dornen und Rosen von Sarah J. Maas ist ein Epos, welches sich gut und gerne neben Epen, wie „Herr der Ringe“ oder „Game of Thrones“ einreihen kann. Für mich war dieses Buch der erste Maas überhaupt, obwohl noch viele weitere in meinen Regalen schlummern.

[…] einen Augenblick lang wünschte ich mir, ich könnte Mitleid mit dieser toten Kreatur haben. Aber das hier war die Wildnis. Und es war Winter.
Dornen und Rosen, S.17 - Sarah J. Maas

Authentische Charaktere

Sarah J. Maas hat solch eindrucksvolle Charaktere geschaffen, die irgendwie alle einen inneren Kampf mit sich ausführen und doch entwickeln sie sich, jeder für sich, weiter und all das in einem außerordentlich passenden Tempo, dass der Story nichts vorweggenommen oder zurückgelassen wird. Jedes Gefühl, jeder Gedanke und jedes Handeln der einzelnen Protagonisten war schlüssig und überzeugend. Ob es sich nun um die Protagonisten Feyre, Tamlin, Lucien oder eben auch die Antagonisten Amarantha oder Rhysand dreht, selbst die Nebencharaktere um ihre Familie waren authentisch dargestellt.

Energie der Gefühle

Richtig gut, hat mir auch die Energie gefallen, die durch Legenden einen Hass auf beiden Seiten der Mauer, die zwischen dem Land der Sterblichen und Prythian liegt, hat wachsen lassen. Und dass dieser Hass in Verständnis und Mitgefühl, ja sogar Liebe, für die andere Seite wandelt, sobald frau* mehr Einblick in deren Situation hat.
Dies ist auch gut auf unsere Realität anzuwenden, und würde unsere Gesellschaft weiter voranbringen, anstatt gegen einander zu kämpfen.

Die Worte klangen so erstickt, dass sie kaum mehr als ein Flüstern waren. »Ich bedaure, dass in meinem Herzen ein solcher … Hass war. Ich wünschte, ich könnte es ungeschehen machen … und … es tut mir leid. Es tut mir so unendlich leid.«
Dornen und Rosen, S.185 - Sarah J. Maas

Wie oben bereits erwähnt, beginnt die Handlung langsam und das ist auch gut so. Denn es benötigt all die erwähnten Handlungen und Dialoge, die beim Lesen erst unnötig erscheinen, aber dem gesamten Werk und seinem Ausgang so viel mehr beimessen. Das letzte Drittel sorgt ordentlich für Pageturner after Pageturner. Ich konnte das Buch einfach nicht mehr aus der Hand legen.

Schreibstil

Maas hat einen Schreibstil, der mich von Anfang bis Ende in ihren Bann gezogen hat. (Sollte dies fortbestehen, wird sie wohl zu einer meiner Lieblings Fantasyautorinnen werden). Das Gesamtpaket, des locken leidenschaftlichen Schreibstils und des Worldbuildings, haben eine dickes fettes Awwww bei mir hervorgerufen.
Die Ich-Erzählung aus der Sicht von Feyre ließ mich als Leserin sehr intensiv miterleben, wie sie all ihre Eindrücke, Erlebnisse und Gedanken, ja auch Selbstzweifel, durchläuft.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fazit

Dornen und Rosen von Sarah J. Maas ist ein phänomenaler Auftakt eines bildgewaltigen, farbenprächtigen und emotionalen Fantasyepos. Voller Spannung, die mich gefangen genommen hat. Voller authentischer Emotionen, die mich in jeder erdenklichen Weise eingeholt haben. Der flüssige Schreibstil von Maas zieht einen erbarmungslos in ihren Bann.

Zusätzliche Zitate

Die Hand an meinem Hals rutschte dorthin, wo mein Herz toste, vor unbändiger Freude und unerklärbarem Leid und einer überwältigenden Demut. Demut vor dieser großartigen Kunst.
Dornen und Rosen, S.200 - Sarah J. Maas

»Weil mich deine menschliche Freude fasziniert ‒ die Art und Weise, wie du die Dinge erlebst und wahrnimmst in deiner Lebensspanne. So wild und tief und intensiv, das ist … bezaubernd. Ich fühle mich davon angezogen, obwohl ich weiß, dass ich es nicht sollte, obwohl ich versuche, mich dagegen zu wehren.«
Dornen und Rosen, S.205 - Sarah J. Maas

Ich weinte stundenlang. Um Tamlin, um mich selbst, um die Tatsache, dass ich eigentlich tot sein sollte, und doch überlebt hatte. Ich weinte, um alles, was ich verloren hatte, um jede Kränkung, die ich erfahren hatte, jede Wunde, jeden körperlichen und seelischen Schmerz. Ich weinte um diesen lächerlichen Teil von mir, der einst so voller Farben und Licht gewesen war und jetzt hohl, dunkel und leer in mir verdorrte.
Dornen und Rosen, S.422-423 - Sarah J. Maas

Diese Rezension findet ihr auch auf meinem Blog: Kommt gerne vorbei.

[Mad Soul Child]

Какая то бесконечная книга, еле добила. Но Ризанд душка, ради него буду читать остальные. В целом я знала чего ждать, поэтому ставлю 4. Но все равно была скукотища

[cornerfolds]

UPDATE 3/24/2020: Oops, I guess I've read this four times?? I never do re-reads but the coronavirus is ruining everything including my concentration so I decided to pick ACOTAR up again. Somehow I didn't realize I'd already read it three times... Good news, it was still great and I actually finished a book!

***

Like everyone else, I saw this book ALL OVER THE PLACE for months leading up to its release. Apparently unlike everyone else, I didn't actually pay attention to what it was about. I knew it was written by the author of Throne of Glass, which I still haven't read. What I didn't realize was that it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Don't ask me how I missed that bolded text at the top of the synopsis. I have skills.



Once I took a good look at the book on the shelf at Target I thought I might faint from excitement. A part of me was really irritated that I'd somehow missed it, but then again, at least I wasn't dying of anticipation for months like the rest of you!

Let's be real for a second. I've had a crush on the Beast since before I knew what having a crush was. When I thought boys were icky, I thought the Beast was the real deal. So, while I love most all retellings, I am a huge sucker for BatB retellings! After Cruel Beauty blew my mind earlier this year, Sarah J. Maas had a lot to live up to. And HOLY CRAP did she deliver!



I've found the whole fairy (faery? fae? you know what I mean) angle to be really hit or miss over the years. Some books have it and some just totally miss the mark. I wasn't sure how making my Beast a fairy was going to work out, but A Court of Thorns and Roses totally pulled it off.


---Characters---
Tamlin (Beast) was totally, 100% amazing. I absolutely LOVED the fact that he could shift between "man" and beast because it made my love of the Beast seem way less creepy. I liked that he wasn't exactly what I'd expect from the Beast. He was never awkward, for example. Tamlin was a gentleman from day one, which kind of threw me off a little, but it was honestly pretty refreshing. I feel like there are way too many jerk "heroes" in YA fiction these days, so it was nice to have one who wasn't an ass. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't warm and cuddly, but he was never outright mean either. Feyre, on the other hand...

The protagonist of this story, Feyre (Belle) was not initially likable. She wasn't particularly nice or relatable... But I will definitely say that Sarah J. Maas has mad character-writing skills because I ended up loving her. And despite the insistence in the book that her name is pronounced "Fay-ruh," it was always "Fair" in my head, because really? That's what it looks like. And... well, Belle/Fair. Come on.



Anyway, she was a total badass even when she was afraid and everything she did was ultimately selfless. She was an amazing character all around, despite the fact that she started out as kind of a not nice person.

Even the secondary characters in the book were amazing. I absolutely loved Lucien and, yes, even Rhysand, though he was supposed one of the bad guys. The big bad in A Court of Thorns and Roses is equally well-written and completely terrifying, although she isn't fully revealed until late in the book.


---Setting---
The world building was just as fantastic as the characters! I loved learning all about every part of the fairy world! I really enjoyed the map at the front of the book. I spent more than a couple minutes referring back to it. Every place Feyre went was almost tangible! Tamlin's estate itself was so much fun to explore with Feyre, getting to know all of the rooms as she did.


---Plot---
Just in case I haven't made it clear, I absolutely LOVE what was done with the story here! Not only is the Beauty and the Beast story totally recognizable and familiar, but there are so many new elements that it's just endlessly exciting and amazing and OMG I need book two to come out like, yesterday! The magical backstory added so much! I even loved that everyone was stuck wearing super mysterious masks...

But my absolute favorite thing about this book is that there were so many scenes that brought my love of the movie directly onto the pages... For example, this one:



I'll leave it at that, but suffice it to say there were others that nearly made my little heart explode with giddiness!


---In Closing---
A Court of Thorns and Roses is Beauty and the Beast for adults and it is perfect in every way! May 2016 honestly can't get here fast enough!

[llamareads]

I have a deep and abiding love for Beauty and the Beast (thanks, Disney!) so I will slog through pretty much any retelling of it. Even if I've been warned that this is NOT a romance, in the generally accepted genre sense of the word.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy reading this, as there's a lot going for the world building (such as it is) and Feyre's character growth. But Tamlin is just.... bland. Look, I know everybody's hammering on about self-rescuing princesses and I'm all for that, but the freaking love interest has to do SOMETHING to prove he's her equal. I was warned this wasn't a true romance before reading it, so it was pretty obvious when the ripped-from-the-Black-Jewels-series guy showed up what was going to happen, which pretty much makes all that "my twue luuuuuuuuuv" sacrificial stuff at the end completely meaningless. If I hadn't been warned, I think I would've felt a lot more betrayed and would've shoved it back into the library book drop with more force than necessary, never to pick up another Maas book again, but there's enough potential there that I'll keep going with the series.

[moraa]

A retelling of the Beauty and the Beast in a harsher, much darker world where Fae rule a world corrupted by shadows and sickness.
Tamlin and the rest of the Spring Court are eventually freed from the curse of the masks placed on them by Amarantha. Perhaps we could have known a little more about her other than the reason why she hates humans.
All-in-all, a good book.

Edit: I don't know why I ever gave it five out of five stars. smh

[mitabird]

3.25 stars

[mary]

Terrible. Surprised I made through it all and no idea why I did.

[thepunktheory]

**Spoiler warning**
Full review on my blog!

As I mentioned before, I had heard lots of praise for these books, so I added them to my reading list. To be honest, I didn't really know what the story is about, so I began A Court of Thorns and Roses ready to be surprised.

However, I didn't end that well. First of all, I wasn't too impressed by the main character, Feyre. I think the main problem is that she's just too much like the blueprint of your typical YA heroine. She's strong, she can fight, she has some serious issues. Despite not really realizing it herself she is beautiful. That description applies to all the women in The Hunger Games, The Lunar Chronicles, and the Divergent series. To be honest, I think if I hadn't read all those books before this one, I would have enjoyed ACOTAR far more. This way I constantly kept comparing and seeing similarities.

But wait a second. There are more issues I have with this book.
After Feyre kills that wolf, we learn that it was actually a High Fae and she is dragged to the realm of Prythian. There she is to live out the rest of her days in the grand mansion of a very good-looking Lord. We later find out that in order to break a curse he has to make her fall in love with him.
Does this sound like a copy of The Beauty and Beast to anybody else but me?

I might have been okay with a re-telling of that story, hadn't Tamlin (the good-looking Lord) annoyed the shit out of me. Obviously just about his only asset is that he looks hot. At least it's the only thing Feyre keeps wondering about. His attempts to make her fall in love had me rolling my eyes so many times, I actually was tempted to put down the book. I know many people out there were rooting for him and Feyre as a couple. But after finishing the book I kept wondering how long it took for him to actually care about her. Let's be honest, at least at first, he was only courting her because of the curse and not because he actually loved her. I don't at which point that changed by it seriously unnerved me. Apart from the fact that Feyre falling in love with him is a classic Stockholm syndrome.

Anyway. As the story progresses, Feyre finds herself under the mountain. I was completely flabbergasted that she couldn't solve the riddle! All she kept talking and thinking about was her love for Tamlin, yet she couldn't figure out that the (very obvious answer) is love? Come on girl, get your shit together.
Apart from that, I thought she passed the second trial somewhat too easily. It was over before it began and I simply couldn't believe Amarantha would sit by that calmly.