A Court of Wings and Ruin (Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

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 has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s manoeuvrings and the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit – and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords and hunt for allies in unexpected places. And her heart will face the ultimate test as she and her mate are forced to question whether they can truly trust each other.

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: 1408857901
• ISBN13: 9781408857908
• Publish Date: 2 May 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 3 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Imprint: Bloomsbury YA
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 720
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

A solid addition to the series, but did not impact me the way ACOMAF did. There were a lot of amazing moments, and tears, there were tears.

There is a reason why people say, "war is hell", and that portion of the book left me an emotional mess. Seriously, tears, lots of tears. And a lot of surprises. There were some deceptions, unexpected redemption, deaths, and interesting reveals.



The ending was very quiet, but definitely set us up for the next book. I am quite interested to see what happens next, and will eagerly await the next book.

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[Artemis]

I read the other two books (here and here) in this series in the span of two days, so it should be of no surprise that I also finished A Court of Wings and Ruin in two days. I find it extremely weird to have such different reactions to Maas’ Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses, but the latter is definitely the better series. This review is spoiler free (for the most part), so as always read with caution!

This book is about 600+ pages. There is a lot of ground to cover, and if she plans on expanding the series into another three books she has a fair amount of set up to do as well.

Maas has improved drastically from Empire of Storms to Wings and Ruin. And thank god. I don’t think I could have taken anymore of the disjointed monologues and melodrama that seemed to appear on every page of Empire. Maas has really got a knack for writing battle scenes, which is usually something I skim over (sorry, but sometimes its a pain to read about sword on sword/fighting action!) but I read every word of the Summer Court battle it was that well written and planned out. However there was a lot of “dead air” in between important plot developments and reveals. The first battle scene at Summer Court was by far the better of the two – it was better paced and the action was written better. Maybe because the build up to the final battle was so drawn out over this last book. The pacing takes some dips and turns, but Maas makes up for it with some powerful revelations and set ups for future books.

There is a lot going on with each and every one of the characters in this book. It would take hours to get into it all. Maas manages to close out some story lines and also create new ones (and introduce other courts!) so that the story can continue after Feyre and Rhysand battle Hybern. I enjoyed the diverse character developments and the contemporary issues (lots of gender/sexuality exploration) that appeared in this book.

The erotic content is easy to skip over, because it gets a bit redundant. And honestly – I could have done without it in the last book. Maas is definitely branching away from the “young adult” genre into the “new adult”. A Court of Wings and Ruin is a powerhouse of a finale from Maas. I’m interested in seeing where the next three books lead View Spoiler » and if her writing improvements for this series are any indication, I can’t wait for the next complex and diverse story.

Now wishing that Throne of Glass was as good as this series, but alas I know the Chaol-centered sixith book and final seventh will not match up.

[sarahjay]

Fae stuff has never been my thing, historically. But books 2 and 3 in this series and also I assume every forthcoming book? Incredibly my thing, somehow. I can't really explain why this ended up being so appealing to me, even with its various very problematic aspects. This story just ended up really getting to me. And I was not expecting to feel this many feelings about these characters. I was generally very pleased with this book, especially with how everything wrapped up (and all the loose ends I FULLY expect more books about).

[Chelsea]

This book needed some serious editing. It felt like the author was incapable of finishing a sentence properly with the overuse of ellipses and dashes. Plus why did everyone growl? It was probably the most overused word in the whole book. Someone needs to get the thesaurus out clearly.

If you can look past the bad writing/editing then you’ll be able to look through to this bland plot. Nothing that happened surprised me at all. Everything was extremely predictable and reminded me of every other fantasy ever. I was really hoping for something special because I think the best part of this series is the group of friends that Rhys and Feyre have. There’s something really special about all their relationships and I thought it could have been used a lot more than what it was. There was SO MUCH potential with them that it made the story fall flat for me.

I also found the ending didn’t wrap anything up very well. Some endings were tied a little too neatly and others not enough. I know there’s going to be companion books but this is still a trilogy and should have been written like one. I’m actually pretty disappointed with how everything ended and I didn’t even cry once! An ending should make me feel something, not the nothing that this one made me feel. It felt unfinished and not dramatic enough.

There were a lot of parts in the middle of the book that felt forced. Almost like the author has heard the cry for more diversity and then she just threw it in to make people happy. She clearly didn’t notice how awkward it made the story feel, like it wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. It was obvious (to me anyways) that it was thrown in the story last minute which made those parts feel rushed.

For all the faults this book had, I always really enjoy most of the characters. I love how they interact with each other and how they’re this big family. We don’t see enough friendships like that in books. It did bother me a little that everyone was pairing off a little too easily. I don’t think it was necessary to the story to have everyone given a mate or partner. Other than that, they were still wonderful to read about and the other thing giving this book a 3 star rating from me.

[goodnghtmoonx]

After harassing my poor, lovely best friend about my need for this book and how it was not going to get to me soon enough -- Also while harassing her to even read the series all together -- all I really have to say is... I'm kind of disappointed?

I had spent the majority of the time trying to read this book, saying that I didn't want it to end and that's why it was taking so long. I really, really wish that had been the case. I could have easily have finished this book faster than I originally had. There had been nothing stopping me but there were times that the pacing was so, so horribly slow, I felt like I could have skipped pages and not miss too much. I had been looking forward to this book for so long, that I might have over hyped it for myself. I hate to admit it, but this might be my least favorite book in this series.

The first section of the book also fell flat for me. There was so much potential for Feyre's character to be destroy the Spring Court. But the majority of it, Feyre's playing a "poor victim". Under minding Tamlin's whole court was fine, but there could have been so much more. (Also, spoiler: Lucien admits that his eye can see pasts spells and glamours. Shouldn't he have seen through the glamour of Feyres arm and not have been so surprised when it's revealed that she's High Lady? Or did I misread that scene? You know what, I don't care.) But I had wished that Feyre had stopped wasting her time trying to protect the minds of Tamlin and Lucien and actually tried to get into them. See what the plans were that they were thinking of and discussing instead of waiting for the princess and prince to just go out and tell her. Lets be honest, things would have gone a lot easier for her, and she might even have known that Tamlin would have been on her side. I understand that she has had a few issues using the daementi trait on people for moral reasons, but this is war. Your morality will only go so far.

There is a lot of talk in these books. A lot of war talk and plans and wasted potential. There were a few parts that seemed heavily influenced by fan theories and seemed forced, and awkward. If I had to hear the word mate, one more time, I was going to bash my head in. The majority of the sex scenes seemed to be there just to be there. Maas is definitely not my favorite sex scene writer. She is lightly better than others than I've read, but they could have been a lot better. A lot more gracefully written, as well.

The ending had been fine. Yes, I cried when a few characters had died. In some ways though, I wished that not all of them had to return. I almost felt like I had been watching one of Moffat's Doctor Who episodes where dead characters aren't actually dead. As much as I loved Amren, I felt like it would have been more rewarding for her character if Rhysand hadn't dragged her back. It also felt like a bit like Empire of Storms, in that there was a new unknown army joining them in their cause. (Granted, it wasn't Aelin's arrogant "lets tell no one about these plans' plans, which I guess I'll let it slide.)

The last ending seen, however, felt weak. Yes, they had ended on a happy note. But I felt like it could have ended with Feyre talkng with Elain. Or whichever chapter it was before the Rhysand chapter. (Can we also just discuss how pointless those Rhysand chapters were? I'm still trying to grasp where the prolouge fit into everything.) Also, I'm still not completely sure where the humans and Fae stand in agreement for the world. Did I miss something?

Overall, the book was... fine. Most of the bad ass Feyre was in MAF seemed to disappear somewhere in the midst of her playing victim. Her character had really started to fall flat, and I was really joining every other character more than her and Rhysand. I'm really hoping the next half the of series plays better with a newer narrator. There is still so much open still with the human queens, and I would generally love to know more from Tamlin's perspective. (I'm not gonna like, I really enjoy him as a villian-not-villian.) Though, lately, I'm starting to wonder if her publishing scheduling is starting to take to a toll on her overall writing. Between this and Empire of Storms, there have been really sloppy bits and apparent pacing and character issues. I really wished that she would take the time to sit and go over her manuscripts a bit better instead of rushing to publish two books a year. I really would not mind waiting the extra time if it produced a better quality novel in the end.

[bryannaleigh]

After harassing my poor, lovely best friend about my need for this book and how it was not going to get to me soon enough -- Also while harassing her to even read the series all together -- all I really have to say is... I'm kind of disappointed?

I had spent the majority of the time trying to read this book, saying that I didn't want it to end and that's why it was taking so long. I really, really wish that had been the case. I could have easily have finished this book faster than I originally had. There had been nothing stopping me but there were times that the pacing was so, so horribly slow, I felt like I could have skipped pages and not miss too much. I had been looking forward to this book for so long, that I might have over hyped it for myself. I hate to admit it, but this might be my least favorite book in this series.

The first section of the book also fell flat for me. There was so much potential for Feyre's character to be destroy the Spring Court. But the majority of it, Feyre's playing a "poor victim". Under minding Tamlin's whole court was fine, but there could have been so much more. (Also, spoiler: Lucien admits that his eye can see pasts spells and glamours. Shouldn't he have seen through the glamour of Feyres arm and not have been so surprised when it's revealed that she's High Lady? Or did I misread that scene? You know what, I don't care.) But I had wished that Feyre had stopped wasting her time trying to protect the minds of Tamlin and Lucien and actually tried to get into them. See what the plans were that they were thinking of and discussing instead of waiting for the princess and prince to just go out and tell her. Lets be honest, things would have gone a lot easier for her, and she might even have known that Tamlin would have been on her side. I understand that she has had a few issues using the daementi trait on people for moral reasons, but this is war. Your morality will only go so far.

There is a lot of talk in these books. A lot of war talk and plans and wasted potential. There were a few parts that seemed heavily influenced by fan theories and seemed forced, and awkward. If I had to hear the word mate, one more time, I was going to bash my head in. The majority of the sex scenes seemed to be there just to be there. Maas is definitely not my favorite sex scene writer. She is lightly better than others than I've read, but they could have been a lot better. A lot more gracefully written, as well.

The ending had been fine. Yes, I cried when a few characters had died. In some ways though, I wished that not all of them had to return. I almost felt like I had been watching one of Moffat's Doctor Who episodes where dead characters aren't actually dead. As much as I loved Amren, I felt like it would have been more rewarding for her character if Rhysand hadn't dragged her back. It also felt like a bit like Empire of Storms, in that there was a new unknown army joining them in their cause. (Granted, it wasn't Aelin's arrogant "lets tell no one about these plans' plans, which I guess I'll let it slide.)

The last ending seen, however, felt weak. Yes, they had ended on a happy note. But I felt like it could have ended with Feyre talkng with Elain. Or whichever chapter it was before the Rhysand chapter. (Can we also just discuss how pointless those Rhysand chapters were? I'm still trying to grasp where the prolouge fit into everything.) Also, I'm still not completely sure where the humans and Fae stand in agreement for the world. Did I miss something?

Overall, the book was... fine. Most of the bad ass Feyre was in MAF seemed to disappear somewhere in the midst of her playing victim. Her character had really started to fall flat, and I was really joining every other character more than her and Rhysand. I'm really hoping the next half the of series plays better with a newer narrator. There is still so much open still with the human queens, and I would generally love to know more from Tamlin's perspective. (I'm not gonna like, I really enjoy him as a villian-not-villian.) Though, lately, I'm starting to wonder if her publishing scheduling is starting to take to a toll on her overall writing. Between this and Empire of Storms, there have been really sloppy bits and apparent pacing and character issues. I really wished that she would take the time to sit and go over her manuscripts a bit better instead of rushing to publish two books a year. I really would not mind waiting the extra time if it produced a better quality novel in the end.