A Court of Thorns and Roses (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: 1619634457
• ISBN13: 9781619634459
• 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

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

Re-reading via audiobook. There is soooooo much I didn't remember!

He PURRED?!? Are you freaking kidding me?!? *headdesk*
_____________________
I have soooooo many feelings about this book. I loved it, but I have issues with it. I loved the characters, but I want to throttle them. This is my cherry pop for [a:Sarah J Maas|3433047|Sarah J. Maas|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1269281353p2/3433047.jpg]’ books, and I have to say I’m quite definitely hooked. I’ve already checked out [b:A Court of Mist and Fury|17927395|A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)|Sarah J. Maas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485259138s/17927395.jpg|25126749] from the library (thank the stars they HAD it for once). Sadly it will probably be waiting until next weekend, when I can devote an entire day to devouring it all in one go. I’m a bit confused by the GoodReads page for the series, because it lists 8 (count them! 8!) books…while the FAQ on Maas’ author website clearly says “third and final book in the series is slated to be published in 2017.” SOMEONE HELP ME UNDERSTAND!!!! Ahem. Anywho, barring some unforgivable deviation in writing, I’m sure I will be biting my nails for the next release. I’m already waffling on my book buying ban.

ADDENDUM: Oops. A little more digging revealed the big announcement! I am trying not to get my expectations too high as I haven’t read that much of her work yet, buuuuut…yeah. So much hope and potential.

My first impression, on page 7 (yes, page 7), was, “Holy shit does this woman know how to set the atmosphere!” As Fayre is stalking the wolf, my heart was pounding. I actually put the book down for a minute. I was startled at being that sucked in that fast. As the story continued, I continued to be impressed by the world building. Somehow she managed to do it without the massive info-dumps so many authors resort to using. Whoohoo! Mad props. And, I can feel the snow. I can see the poverty, and then the masked glittering court. Ooooh.

Characters. Ah, where do I even start. This could be a very long post. Fayre, we all love you. I do wish you didn’t have quite such a guilt complex though. About 1/5 of the way through the book, she has a dream about the wolf she killed – killed because all her life she was told that wolves were evil, as were the Fae, and would slaughter her and her family without pausing to think twice. And yet, after spending just a few days in the Spring Court, she is suddenly overwrought. Fayre dear, why so many guilty feels?

It was regret, and maybe shame, that coated my tongue, my bones. I shuddered as if I could fling it off, and kicked back the sheets to rise from the bed.

All very dramatic of course, but, um…knowing what she knew at that point in time, I think most of us with an ounce of backbone would have killed the wolf too. Just saying. I’m willing to chalk that up to her being 19 and impressionable. And horny.

Then there is the whole Tamrin Problem. Because while he has some great lines… (Um….possible SPOILERS? You’ve been warned…I tried to be vague but might not have been as vague as I thought)

Against slavery, against tyranny, I would gladly go to my death, no matter whose freedom I was defending.

…he’s a lying bastard who never even apologizes for his myriad deceptions! UGH! I actually kind of liked his over-flown, flowery, stilted mannerisms until his lies are all uncovered. And then even when Fayre is hit in the fucking FACE with them, she just accepts them and follows him to…er…some-indefinite-place-of-mortal-peril.

At least Fayre realizes, however briefly, that she’s caught a bad case of the hots.

I knew I was headed down a path that would likely end in my moral heart being left in pieces, and yet…and yet I couldn’t stop myself.

Well. Bravo to her for realizing it and consciously making the choice, at least. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. The key is personal responsibility, which Fayre seems to have in spades (albeit exhibiting itself most often as the aforementioned guilt complex).

Also, re: Tamrin – HOW, and WHY IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT’S HOLY, is it SEXY for your love interest to lose control and be a mindless beast? I get it, it’s Beauty and the Beast, yadda yadda. But. NOT COOL!! Thankfully that scene is short and not portrayed entirely positively…but it was still more sexy than horrific and it really disturbed me.

About halfway through I felt the story became really predictable. Maybe due to the Beauty and the Beast influence? Still a bit sad. However, Maas still has some lovely, lovely prose that actually stirred my little non-believing critic’s heart.

I was loosened, a top whirling around and around, and I didn’t know who I danced with or what they looked like, only that I had become the music and the fire and the night, and there was nothing that could slow me down.

Ahhhhh. Yes. Talk to me, baby. I kind of wished I was drunk while reading this, because I’m pretty sure I would have been spinning right along with Feyre.

Then we’re kind of back to the predictabilty. Boo. But then, a few interesting things happen. But then, there’s this riddle deal thrown in – was that supposed to be a big mystery? Because honestly. I hadn’t even finished reading it before I was mumbling the answer at the pages in front of me, and yet SOMEHOW it takes Fayre several more chapters to figure it out.

So, this is near the end. I was thinking this was a 3/5 star book. Then…Rhysand happened. Also there’s the little not-much-explained story of Lucien. And OMG Fayre. What happened to you, Love? She’s still Fayre and yet…her naivety and what innocence she had left gets wiped entirely clean. But there is still Rhysand…omg. What…what?? Dun-dun-dun, and it’s over.

Leaving me reeling in my chair and desperately checking the library catalog for the second one. Despite all the flaws. Despite my homicidal feelings toward Tamrin. Despite odd division of the story into 75% slow, sweet romance and then BAM! 25% knives and blood and confusion.

It was lovely, for all its flaws. I am going to be tearing my hair out until I get through A Court of Mist and Fury.

3.5/5 stars.

Oh, but…Fayre? Can you please, please get over your obsession with the “shell” of your ear?

[sarahjay]

Well, my feelings are super complicated right now.

[layawaydragon]

I've recently come back from a long hiatus to hear about Maas's new series everyone's losing their shit for. As a huge fan of her Throne of Glass series, of course I immediately put the book on hold at my local library. I'll admit, I also felt left out, not being able to take part in all the things.

As much as I tried, there was no escaping spoiler-y discussions and I didn't mind. I'm so far behind and didn't think it'd affect my reading experience.
I couldn't be more wrong. But let's start at the beginning. And yes, there will be SPOILERS. Because I fucked up.

When I first started reading, it was solid.. I fell into the world, except this niggling part in the back of mind. This is what everyone was talking about?

I DID enjoy it but it felt like waiting for the other shoe to drop. As I continued on, it became worse wondering Who the FUCK is Rhys? Why is nobody talking about Tamlin?

At Rhys's first appearance I shouted: THIS DOUCHE?!?

I devoured the rest quickly, loathing Rhys and wondering what the fuck was going on.

I loved A Court of Thorns And Roses. But I was so confused by the fandom. I saw others on Twitter talking about it so I jumped in trying to see what I missed. It was very simple.

EVERYONE ELSE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE SEQUEL.

I'm an idiot.

*SIGH*

Now I don't even feel right about reviewing this because all my notes boil down to "I LOVE IT. PEOPLE ARE STUPID, TAMLIN IS AWESOME. FUCK RHYS. Oh, okay Rhys. Nesta can have your ass and teach you to act right cuz she don't play that bullshit, asshole." She can literally withstand your mental BS, why does no one else see that?!?

Oh well.

I wouldn't be that upset except I'm so fucking nervous about continuing the series now. After all the shit Tamlin and Feyre went through, I can't imagine what drives them apart and what draws Rhys and Fayre together. I don't want to. Every other time Maas ripped couples apart before, I was happy because the second couple was better and felt blah on the first. At least from what I remember, I read TOG awhile ago and now I'm doubting EVERYTHING. I don't want to sucked into the drama and the pain.

I'm sure I will eventually, the world and story is too good not to continue but I'm going to need a long break healing this empty, bitter shriveled up heart where hope and brain cells went to die.

The Good, The Bad, & The Other:

Loved it all except Rhys the Douche, how easy it was to see she was there for something more yet she persisted in ignorance and how I couldn't get sucked it at first because I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. The obvious answer to the riddle is cheesily perfect for a fairy tale. I LOVE how Feyre's educational gap is included. That's some real shit right there.

4 stars. I think? 3 because fuck your romance shenanigans? I dunno anything anymore.

SAVE YOURSELVES AND TURN AWAY. Or just don't be a fucking idiot like me. Whatevs.

Anyways, here's my top quotes.

"Stolen hours in a decrepit barn with Isaac Hale didn't count; those times were hungry and empty and sometimes cruel, but never lovely."

"I'd never once seen their hands sticky with blood and fur. I'd only learned to prepare and harvest my kills thanks to the instructions of others."

"Perhaps it was a merciful thing that she died. If anything, it left more food for us.

"It's a good thing that while you superior hearing, I possess superior abilities to keep my mouth shut."

"I bore too much of the people we'd hated and loved for Nesta to stand it. For me to stand it, too."

"He jerked his chin at the knife. 'It's yours. Don't bury it in my back, please.' "

"You're exactly as I dreamed you'd be, too."

" 'I love you, ' he whispered, and kissed my brow. 'Thorns and all.' "

"She had looked at that cottage with hope; I had looked at it with nothing but hatred. And I knew which one of us had been stronger."

" 'Be glad for your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don't feel anything at all.' "

" And when I finished my story, Nesta merely stared at me for a long while before asked me to teach her to paint."

But there's one I fucking loathe:

"Bruises are harder to conceal than poverty."

I'm poor (was poorer before) and I've been abused. THIS is the biggest pile of fucking BS. And no, I don't accept that Feyre was just making a point. IT'S BULLSHIT. She could've made her point WITHOUT SPOUTING BULLSHIT.

If you have no experience covering up visible bruises, Google that shit. And you know damn well they had makeup all throughout history.

If they're so hard to hide, why doesn't everyone fucking know the woman is being abused including your sisters?

On the other, how do you hide poverty? You hide you home, your family, your life, yourself. Not fucking possible in small areas like Feyre's. And even then, your clothes, your memories, you social interacts, etc. will give you away unless you're a pro at faking it and lying.

After all the realism of how poverty played its part in her life she dares says this?  It's so disrespectful to abuse victims too because even if people see your bruises and scars they will ignore and play ignorant. Nobody around you wants to acknowledge it. And if they do? The abuser is sure to make them the first to go.

Ugh. I fucking hated her at this moment. Still resent her for it, TBH.

Come the fuck on. Fuck you.

[ross91]

It was surprisingly entertaining.
I'm very interested in starting the second book.

and #teamRhysand obvs.

[Artemis]

The Artemis Reader
I downloaded this for my week long vacation but only managed to read about 40 pages on the plane ride home before giving into the chaos of travel and fell asleep. But don’t let my travel weary mislead you! This book is packed with excellent writing, intriguing plot.

A Court of Thorns and Roses is a fantasy retelling of two classic and beloved tales – Beauty and the Beast and the Scottish ballad Tam Lin. Scholars suspect that Beauty and the Beast is actually a retelling of Tam Lin, due to its many parallels: forbidden forest, rose motif, threatening inhuman figure who the heroin falls in love, former identity as a young lord, and the fact that the heroine must go through dangers and horrors to rescue him.

Sarah J. Maas intricately weaves these themes and motifs into her incredible fantasy realm of Prythian, Hybern and the Mortal Lands. Since this is the first Maas book I’ve read, I was pleasantly surprised with the unique and yet traditional fantasy realm she created. I now understand why her Throne of Glass series is so popular (and yes, eventually I will pick it up and read it!). I’m also a huge fairy/mythology fan, and learning about the courts, the architecture, creatures and magic was exciting and probably why I managed to read this in a few short days. Although her pacing of information left something to be desired (monologues, man were they a bit of an overkill at times), the world was so vivid I could clearly see each and every detail of Prythian, the Spring Court and Under the Mountain.

I think the only thing I really, truly didn’t enjoy about this book was Tamlin, and therefore the Tamlin/Feyre relationship. Tamlin was predictable and he was very, very boring. Everything about him was just very bland – the whole “beast” and “forbidden love” and “honor” and “duty” just fell so flat. He also came across as possessive and couldn’t be bothered to actually care about anything outside of himself. You could argue that he had a lot on his plate with the “blight” hanging over the Spring Court and the deadline rapidly approaching. But I honestly believe Tamlin is someone who only appears on a surface level to care about others outside of his realm, and that his first priority is himself. At first I thought he might have the potential to be more, and possibly less cliche but every page I became more and more disenchanted with him.

Feyre was a good heroine for this story. With that said, I didn’t really begin to appreciate her until the second book. Feyre has lived a tough life. She is the only one who can provide for her family. As the youngest she makes a lot of decisions and does a lot of “growing up” that has hardened her. From the first page it is apparent that love is not something she’s experienced in abundance. When she starts to fall in “love” with Tamlin, its more of a “protective love” than true, deep love. All attempts my Maas to convince me that Tamlin and Feyre were meant for each other fell very, very flat.

I loved, loved, loved Lucien, Rhysand, and Amarantha. Really stand out characters and every moment spent with Tamlin was pure agony once I got more than halfway through. I wanted more Lucien and more Rhysand! Amarantha was everything I wanted and needed in a villain. I only wish we could have spent more time with her, I hope more of her backstory and personality are revealed in future installments. And for hopefully an even more exciting villain for books two and three.

The pace of this book is very slow, until about the last eighth. Maas takes the time to build her world, characters, and intricate backstory, but those unfamiliar with the fantasy genre might find all this reading and work exhausting. However, the last 100 pages are well worth all that “work”. The fantasy tropes became more present in the latter half of the book and the plot was ramped up with action. The stakes were suddenly almost too high. That is until the riddle.

The riddle is almost so easy to answer its ridiculous. Until you realize the one thing Feyre has never experienced, never witnessed, is the answer. The riddle is meant to be a revelation for Feyre about herself and her relationships. If anything looking back on the riddle I see what it was meant to do for Feyre as a character in future books. So Maas gets a point for that one.

Overall, I enjoyed this slow burning fantasy/fairy-tale/romance “new adult” novel and within hours of finishing the first book, I began the second installment, A Court of Mist and Fury. Look for that review in the next few days. And now I will “patiently” wait for the third book.

[neddieb]

Loved this book. It was so good. I could not put it down. Tamlin, Lucien, Feyre are an awesome three. There relationships with one another is great. What I love is there is not a love triangle either, and yet there is a love story which builds and develops between two of the above characters. The world is intriguing and the storyline is fabulous. I cannot wait to read book 2!

[Chelsea]

I was surprised that I actually enjoyed this book! Though I was a little disappointed because it was marketed asa retelling of Beauty of the Beast and there wasn't really much of that in here. I did really love the characters, though the plot was a little slow in the middle. I also found it predictable in some places which I wasn't really a fan of.

[readingwithwrin]

My Rating: 4.5 stars

See more reviews like this first on my blog

“My priority would be to protect my family -- and I would have picked whatever side could keep them safest. I hadn't thought of it as a weakness until now.”



Feyre has to provide for her family due to promising her mother she would before she died. At the time Feyre didn't realize how important that was nor how hard it would be, when their family would lose everything her father would become unable to provide for them. Her sisters Nesta and Elaine are relatively useless when it comes to everyday life things. Well Nesta could be useful, but instead she chooses to be spiteful and make everyone's life hell.
One day when Feyre is out hunting (not only to provide food, but also pelts to sell) she has to make a choice kill a wolf or let it eat what will provide her family with food for several weeks. She makes a choice that she will regret and then later be glad she made.
In killing the wolf she broke a treaty made between the fairies and humans a long time ago. When she is forced to go to Prythian to make good on that treaty and keep her family safe. Tamlin not only keeps her family well taken care of, but makes sure they won't come after her. Feyre doesn't know any of that though and tries to get back to them, and will do anything in order to do so.
Slowly she learns that not everything is how she thought it would be in the Fairy world, and that a darkness has surrounded it causing everyone to be afraid.
When Feyre is sent back to the human world, she realizes how much she had grown to care for Tamlin and his world, and how she must get back to him in order to help him save the fairy world.
Once back though, she realizes that it was much worse, then they had ever told her, and that in order for her to help save his world, she would most likely end up dying, or being a slave for the rest of her life.

This was my first book that involved fairy's, so I really didn't know what to expect. I just knew that it was based off of Beauty and the Beast retelling and that was enough for me to read it. I was a bit wary going into this book though, due to how hyped it was and how loved Sarah J. Maas is as an Author. The hyper for this book and author are well deserved. Not only was a hooked from the first chapter, but I also was able to fly through it and I never got bored. I loved Feyre's ability to provide for her family, yet still not want to have to kill, and regretting when she had to. Feyre was such a fighter (yes a little dumb at times), but still she did what she had to and was just trying to keep her promise. I also really liked Nesta surprisingly especially after Feyre came back and she told her what she had done.
I really hope Nesta is in the second book because she is just as much of a fighter as Feyre. Now I just have to wait for it to be released...


Warning: This book does contain some sex scenes so if you're not comfortable with that or don't like to read it then this book isn't for you.

“Because I wouldn't want to die alone, I said,and my voice wobbled as I looked at Tamlin again,forcing myself to meet his stare.Because I'd want someone to hold my hand until the end, and awhile after that.That's something everyone deserves, human or faerie.”

[Stephanie]

This was a take on Beauty and the Beast and no one can convince me otherwise. I'll fight you.

[Mercy]

Al final, mucho de lo que paso se veía venir. También me ha parecido una especie de reboot de Throne of glass pero no está tan mal. Eso sí, Feyre era bastante media burra casi siempre por ratos.

P.D. Sarah J. Maas, por favor, POR FAVOR, no hagas que más adelante medio mundo se enamore de Feyre tal como hiciste con Celaena. Mira que la historia no está mal pero echarás todo a perder.

P.D 2: No entendía porque todos adoran a Rhys pero ahora sí y ♥♥♥♥♥

P.D. 3: Lastimosamente, Tamlin no es tan bestia como podría ser tratándose de un retelling de La Bella y la Bestia. Buuu.