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

by Sarah J. Maas

[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.