A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: May 7th 2015
Source: Bloomsbury Kids UK

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price.

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

A Court of Thorns and Roses has left me speechless. I'm struggling to finds the words to describe it because nothing seems to convey how truly enchanting and beautifully written this book is. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses follows our main character Feyre who mistakenly kills a faerie when she's out hunting for food. A beast appears one night and gives Feyre a choice: either die for her crime, or go with him and live in his lands forever. Feyre chooses to live and is taken through the wall into the land of the fae. Feyre soons realises that her masked captor - Tamlin - is hiding more than his face. As Feyre begins to learn his secrets, her feelings for him grow - despite the warnings she's been told about faeries. Feyre is the only one who can break the curse on Tamlin and his people and she must learn to fight the curse, or doom them all.

Feyre is a stubborn, sarcastic and strong character. She's resentful - her father and sisters don't appreciate her but take the money that she earns from hunting. She has a lot of pressure on her shoulders to kepp her family alive and she lets herself be ruled by her heart.

Tamlin is a powerful, charming and sexy character. He doesn't really know how to talk to women, but he does have his sweet moments.

Lucien is probably my favourite character in the book. He's hilarious and a very comfortable character. He helps Feyre adjust to her new home and he's just a fantastic character. 

Rhysand is very dark and mysterious. I had no idea whether to trust him or not. He's extremely alluring, but he definitely had ulterior motives.

The world building in A Court of Thorns and Roses was fantastic. There was a war 500 years ago when humans enslaved to fae. A truce was eventually formed between the worlds and a wall was built between them splitting it in to two sections: North for the Fae and South for the Humans. I adored learning more about the history of how the world came to be and I was extremely intrigued to find out more about the curse placed on the Fae.

The romance between Tamlin and Feyre was definitely fiery. Feyre hates Tamlin to begin with since he took her away from her family. She doesn't feel like she can trust him, in fact, she kind of resents him. But Tamlin begins to break down his walls and lets her in, and she begins to see a different side to him. Tamlin promises her family are cared for and shows his softer side. Their chemistry was sizzling hot. They had me fanning myself and swooning. I adored them. It's a lot steamier than the Throne of Glass series. Like, a lot. There's no fade to black moments, and Sarah did a fantastic job with those scenes.

The second half of the book is where things get extremely interesting. Feyre is put through some trials and tests which were heart-pounding and terrifying. The tests played to her strengths, and also her weaknesses. But Feyre had help from an unlikely source, which made things more interesting. It added more depth to said character and I'm still unsure of how to feel about them.

The ending was captivating. Even though it was painful, emotional. heartbreaking and gruesome, I just couldn't stop reading. Even though A Court of Thorns and Roses didn't end on an soul destroying cliffhanger - like most of Maas's books - there was still a moment on the second last page that has left me desperate for book 2. Something happened to a character, and I want to know what he saw, what made him blanch and stumble and suddenly disappear! That's all I'm giving, but it's the main thing making me desperate for the next book. I'm also curious to see how Feyre adjusts and whether there'll be any complications.

Overall, A Court of Thorns and Roses is an enchanting and captivating read that kept me up most of the night reading. Sarah J. Maas has worked her magic again with this spellbinding new series. The wait for the next book will unbearable.