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

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it… or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

[From Goodreads]

Book details

Genre: YA Fantasy (with a few New Adult elements)

Publisher: Bloomsbury

ISBN: 9781408857861

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Review

I’m struggling to find words that will accurately describe the sheer extent to which this novel destroyed me. I’m broken inside. But I loved it. I love Sarah J. Maas, and I love everything about her writing – her characters, her fantasy worlds, her enthralling stories. Honestly, although I’ve read a few negative reviews, I cannot find a single fault with A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Perhaps this is because I didn’t enter Maas’s world expecting to read the perfect retelling of Beauty and the Beast – in fact, I almost forgot that it was supposed to be a retelling until I was about a third of the way through. Maas loosely winds some elements of the classic tale into her own storyline, but she’s warped and altered it so much that it is now entirely her own. Strangely enough, that makes her novel even more appealing to me – I have more interest in reading a unique tale with subtle recognizable elements than a book relying on the exact framework of the classic story.

One thing I do have to shine the spotlight on is Maas’s characterization. Sometimes I wonder if the reason that her novels seem to surpass all other fantasy works is because her heroines are not only kickass, but entirely human in their flaws and emotions. It’s magical how characters like Celaena and Fayre will stay in my mind for ages after I’ve finished reading their stories. I want these women in real life, and I kinda want to be them, too. (Also, hello Tamlin. Please magically materialise into my life right now.)

A Court of Thorns and Roses is one of the best fantasy novels I’ve ever read. It ruined me. I fell in love with its smooth, lyrical words and the way it moved. Then it ripped a hole in my chest and tore out my heart, lighting it on fire and grinding it to dust before grinning sheepishly and running away.