A Court of Mist and Fury (Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)

by Sarah J. Maas

The # 1 New York Times bestselling sequel to Sarah J. Maas' spellbinding A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court--but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms--and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future--and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

• ISBN10: 1619634465
• ISBN13: 9781619634466
• Publish Date: 3 May 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 3 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Imprint: Bloomsbury YA
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 640
• Language: English

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

This is my third time reading A Court of Mist and Fury; I swear each time I read it, I love Rhysand and Feyre even more. These two will always be one of my favorite couples in a Fantasy series. Rhys was a villain in the first book, but in this one, the truth comes out on why he is that morally grey character that everyone loves to hate. 

Storyline/My Thoughts: If you read the first in the ACOTAR series, you would understand why Feyre didn’t act like herself in this book. She had been through so much underneath the mountain with Amanrantha, and she did die, which didn’t help. She became something else after the High Fae helped her live. At the end of ACOTAR, she goes back to the Spring Court with Tamlin, and he has changed since watching Feyre die. He becomes way too protective and overbearing. He doesn’t allow Feyre to do anything except paint. He doesn’t care that she has nightmares, throwing up every night and withering away. It takes her calling out for help during her wedding with Tamlin for someone to save her. Rhysand has called in the bargain he did with her when she was held captive underneath the mountain. Thank goodness because I didn’t particularly appreciate how Tamlin was treating Feyre, although I was a little skeptical with Rhys at first until truths are revealed in this book.

Yes, many will say he seems to be a villain, especially after what happened in the first book, but I’ve grown to love him more after reading this one. He’s the character everyone hates (the morally grey character) because he shows a different side of himself to others, making him the villain. That is what Tamlin and Lucien have both Feyre until she discovers Rhys has a different side that is hidden from everyone else but his family and friends. He has a sweet side.

Feyre would’ve been considered an annoying character on how she turned a 360 in this book, but I adored her even more. She’s not frail anymore. She was made to be a High Fae, and all she wants is to be included and learn how to fight her own battles. She doesn’t want to be treated as a child, and she wants to understand the High Fae world because now she’s a part of it. I understood her frustration with how Tamlin treated her and felt her pain.

The second book takes the reader from the Spring Court to the Night Court, where Feyre will learn everything she can about the real Rhysand. Oh, yes, Rhysand is very dreamy in this book. He is the bad boy that can be a good boy too. There are far more adventures than Feyre will have to go on because a fiercer villain is coming to change the world as they know it. You thought the first villain was terrible; you haven’t met the King. Don’t even get me started with what Tamlin does to Feyre at the end of this book. If he were entirely erased after this book, I would be happy. I couldn’t stand him in this book.

I did love getting to know Rhys’s inner circle too. Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Amren. Amren scares me with how she is described in this book, but I’m intrigued to learn more about her. Mor is Rhys’s cousin who has been there for him and is his third in command. Cassian and Azriel are Illyrian warriors, and both have unique qualities. Cassian and his smart mouth, especially when he tells Feyre, they won’t bite. Azriel is interesting, too, with his shadows and Truth Teller (the dagger he carries around.) He’s also Rhys’s Spymaster. I can’t wait to learn more about these characters in the third book (I’ve already read the book before, but I’m rereading it.)

I was not prepared for where this story was going, but Sarah J. Maas had me constantly turning the page to find out what happened next to the characters. The best part was the ending of the book. I won’t give it away but be prepared for some shockers—lots and lots of shockers.

(I’m going to say it, and I know other readers have noticed, but Sarah J. Maas never has the female MC stay with the first love interest. (I’m praying that’s not true with another series she’s written, but we’ll see.) It’s true in ACOAR and TOG, though, and I’m glad. Feyre was never met to be with her first love interest. She’s meant for someone who challenges her and lets her be free.)

I give this book five stars. If I could give it more stars, I would. It’s my favorite of the series (so far). Chapter 55 will forever be one of my favorite chapters in the series. If you haven’t read this series, what are you waiting for?

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the ACOTAR series, and I highly recommend reading in order.

Steam/Spice: ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

Cliffhanger: Yes.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I highly recommend this series to fans of New Adult Fantasy. If you enjoy stories with Fae characters, characters with wings that will unalive you, magic, and secrets galore, this series is for you. This book does have spice in it, especially in Chapter 55, which is why it’s categorized as New Adult and not Young Adult.

[ambiancereads]

Absolutely loved it. It really picks up pace here and I couldn't put it down. Loved all the plot twists and the character development. I would LOVE to have a book about the other members of the night court especially Az.

[Renee]

It was a lot better. But I thought the ending was a bit messy and I hated the fact that there was no communication in the beginning between Feyra and Tamlin. 

[vagasker]

This book is much better than the first, mostly because the plot was not as predictable. I was not a fan of the spicy themes in this book and it didn't add anything to the story but I kinda just skimmed it. I still did very much enjoy this book as a whole.

[chillywilly]

The second book in A Court of Thorns and Roses series, what to say about it other than that this was by far better than the first. Of course, you can't have this one without that one. This book did make me dislike Feyre a little bit though (Chapter 51). I understand her anger, but not the way she went about it. My dad had anger issues and wouldn't speak to my mom for 3 days if he was really mad, so this really bothered me. If Feyre really loved him at that time, she wouldn't have just left him in the mud before taking off. She would have made sure that he made it into the house and was going to live. And really, I feel like the author wrote this chapter for her to get Chapter 55 (the one that everyone talks about). I think that really is my only complaint with this book. I like Feyre progression of healing that is taken after book one and you don't realize some of the things Tamlin did until reading this book. And I feel like I can't give a proper statement on that until I go back and reread book one. Rhysand is a complex character and I feel like Maas took her time with creating him. He clearly has issues and the way he's written makes the reader feel for him and want to help him. I can see why he's coveted as a book boyfriend to so many.

[herseriallife]

Just re-read but with the audiobook version to get ready for the release of A Court Of Silver Flame. ACOMAF is my favorite of the series so far and it was very interesting to rediscover the book in a different light. Still loving (and obsessing over) the ACOTAR series!

[Cocktails and Books]

The best book I've read this year, hands down. Sarah J Maas has created a heroine who was easy to root for, a hero who showed you his gooey center (even if what he shows everyone else is scary as hell) and secondary characters that defined what a family is. I can't wait to see what happens next!

[Mad Soul Child]

Я не ошиблась и Риз спас эту книгу. Моя прелесть

[whisperingchapters]

ALWAYS 5 STARS!

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Initial reaction:



A Court of Thorns and Roses was one of my top books of 2015 - possibly even my number one. I have been (not-so-patiently) waiting on A Court of Mist and Fury literally since book one ended and obviously preordered a copy as soon as I could! Upon receiving it in the mail, I quickly started reading but didn't want to read it too quickly. This is one of those books you also want to savor! Especially knowing that I'll have to wait an entire year for the final book in the series. Before I jump into this review, let me say that I do not think Sarah J. Maas can do no wrong. I read the first two books in her Throne of Glass series before giving up on that one. But THIS series... In this series she can do no wrong because every single word of this book was perfection.

This book picks up where the first left off, with Feyre, Tamlin, and Lucien back at the Spring Court working on getting the Court back to its former glory. With all that she has been through, Feyre has been left a shell of her former self. Unfortunately, everyone seems to be more worried about keeping up appearances than making sure their Cursebreaker has what she needs to heal and live with her actions. Where A Court of Thorns and Roses was a love story about a girl risking all to save her Love, A Court of Mist and Fury is a story about a girl learning to respect herself, finding out who she really is after a huge trauma, with a love story weaved in. Feyre's character growth in this novel was incredible. I said in my review of ACOTAR that she was an unlikable character who I came to really love. Now I can honestly say that Feyre is an amazing, strong female character and the kind of role model I wish teens could read more about (as opposed to the weak female characters who allow a man to define them).

As I'm sure you have probably gathered, in this book Rhysand gives Tamlin a run for his money. As the synopsis says, Rhys has not forgotten the bargain he made with Feyre under the mountain and he plans to make good on it. While I did like Tamlin in the first book, I have made it abundantly clear over the last year that I did not know enough about Rhys to choose a "team" and would have to wait until the next book was released to decide. I can now say I am firmly #TeamRhysand at this point and I don't see that changing. Rest assured, there is no love triangle in this book whatsoever, which is a huge relief considering that's what most YA fiction gravitates towards.

Relationship spoilers:

I need to just take a minute here to fangirl over the relationship between Rhysand and Feyre - THIS is what love is. I love so much that Rhys gives Feyre every single bit of room she needs to heal and then some! He allows her to be her own person from the beginning of this book. Yes, he did some despicable things in ACOTAR, but yes, they were justified in this book. Usually I cannot stand the justification of borderline-abusive behavior, but Under the Mountain was a very unique situation and I can fully forgive Rhys for everything he did, especially knowing now that he always knew that they were mated and did literally everything within his power to protect her in the long run.

Now, Tamlin... I know a lot of people have complained that he is totally out of character in this book, but is he really? I did a re-read of ACOTAR right before this came out and I can totally see his extremely controlling tendencies. I believe he had to keep it in check if Feyre was going to break the curse, but he was always extremely controlling of her from the very beginning. Does anyone else remember all the times when he said he just couldn't control himself and had to apologize for things? Does anyone else remember when they were going to have sex and he told her he couldn't stop if they went any further? Bullshit. I think that once Feyre had broken the curse and Tamlin no longer needed her help, he was able to show how extensive his controlling nature went and I, for one, am SO glad that Feyre escaped from him!

And then there's Lucien. I know there are a lot of mixed feelings about Elain being his mate, but I am super excited to see where this goes in the next book!

I actually loved almost every character in this book, whether I loved them because they were so perfectly wonderful or horrible. The villains are just as terrible as they should be (although Amarantha is going to be damn hard to beat) and the new characters that Feyre aligns herself with grew on me as the story progressed. Surprisingly, I came to like Nesta much more than Elain, which is the exact opposite of how I felt about them in A Court of Thorns and Roses.

One of my favorite things about A Court of Mist and Fury (and honestly, there are so many) was the world building. In book one, we only got to see the Spring Court, Under the Mountain, and the human realm. This time we I got to travel with Feyre all over Prythian and, obviously, my favorite was the Night Court, which was anything but what I expected! Sarah J. Maas' beautiful writing style contributes so much to the love I have for this gorgeous world. I think a lot of other authors would have a really hard time making me care as much as I care about every single location Feyre visits. I'll admit, I usually skim when I get to descriptions of cities and such, but here I took my time to take in every single word on the page.

And then there's the story. Oh, the incredible, beautiful, heart-wrenching story. I loved every single agonizing minute of it. As I've already said, this book is about Feyre discovering who she is after Under the Mountain and she is stronger than anyone realized. There are multiple conflicts for her to deal with - mentally, in her personal relationships, and with a potential war brewing. The journey this book takes over 600+ pages is brutal and extraordinary and heart breaking and I adored it. I was actually a little worried that over 600 pages would be too much, that the story would get bogged down or that it would lag, but it didn't. There wasn't non-stop action, but everything that happened was relevant and I couldn't name anything that served only as filler.

Something to definitely keep in mind is that this book has significantly more sexual content than the first, but I'm totally okay with that. As a 28 year old lover of YA, I was thrilled for the authenticity this little bit of extra explicitness brought to this story. I mean, when characters are talking about marriage and are fighting wars, it's not out of the question that they're probably going to be having more adult relationships. But I do think it's important to point out for those readers who perhaps don't want to read steamier scenes. (I'm sure you could easily skip past them.)

As you can probably tell, I loved this book. I don't have a single bad thing to say about it, which is unusual for me, even when I rate a book five stars. I loved Feyre, I loved Rhysand, and I loved their constant bantering back and forth. I loved that Feyre learned to respect herself. I loved the gorgeous writing and world building and storytelling. I honestly cannot go on without becoming a total fangirl so instead I'll leave you with what I have dubbed Rhysand's theme song (you're welcome).