I wanted to love this book. I had high expectations because of my love for Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series but A Court of Thorns and Roses is very different. It is a more insulated story with a much simpler plot and less action. I wasn’t as invested in the characters who seemed like premade pieces in a predictable puzzle. It seems tailored for a female audience and centers around a romance that is more superficial than the romances in Throne of Glass.

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A Court of Thorns and Roses is about a young woman named Feyre whose once wealthy family is now living hand to mouth in a shack on the outskirts of their village. Feyre is their only source of survival as she is the only one able to hunt for the food they need. Her two sisters are mostly useless and their handicapped father spends his days whittling small figures that only garner a pittance of value. Sickness took Feyre’s mother but before she died Feyre vowed to take care of her family.

One day Feyre is out hunting when she spies a deer but when a massive wolf comes to take her prey she kills the wolf. The wolf turns out to be a disguised faerie whose master comes to Feyre’s house that night and gives her a choice. Either die now or come live in Prythian, the land of faeries, forever. This is all very convenient for Tamlin, the master of the wolf that died and the High Lord of the Spring Court area of Prythian. Feyre goes with Tamlin and lives in his palatial estate. Feyre learns more about the blight that is ravaging the inhabitants of Prythian and learns that Tamlin is a really good ruler of his kingdom and a good guy in general. He essentially seduces her and she falls for him.

Later, we find out that he’s been cursed and only love can break the spell but Feyre is too late and Tamlin and his court are taken as slaves by the evil and powerful Amarantha. Amarantha is the evil that has taken over Prythian and plans to kill all the humans once she is ready. I’m not sure what is stopping her because she is super powerful and has brought all of the lords of Pyrthian to their knees and faeries are ridiculously powerful and have magic.

When Feyre returns to Tamlin to declare her love and hopefully break the spell she finds that he has been taken by Amarantha. Feyre goes to save him but immediately gets caught. Instead of killing Feyre Amarantha stupidly gives her a chance to save him by completing three tasks or by answering a riddle. Why she gives Feyre this option that would likely see her killed by Tamlin, the only one strong enough to kill her if she relinquishes her hold on him, is unknown.

The whole plot is just an adaptation of the Beauty and the Beast plot with some added world-building and slightly more violence. Every step of the way I found the circumstances to be predictable and contrived. It is all just an excuse to get Feyre, a normal woman, to end up with the perfect man, Tamlin, even though Tamlin lied to Feyre about a bunch of important things and was using her to break the spell so he could save his people. The author builds in so many justifications for the good guys doing bad things and even for the bad guys doing bad things that I didn’t feel a lot of sympathy or relate to anyone in particular. It is also annoying that Tamlin is so perfect with his immense power and good looks and just happens to be super nice too.

Sarah J. Maas writes in a way that makes reading very enjoyable and easy to comprehend and I highly recommend the Throne of Glass series in its entirety but I am just not getting the same feeling from A Court of Thorns and Roses. It just didn’t capture my attention in the way I expected and while I might continue reading the series to give it another chance I don’t recommend this book. Maybe it appeals to females in a way that is unique to them or maybe I am comparing it too much to the other series but I don’t get the hype.

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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