This was a book that I literally could not put down. I had to force myself to close the book three times, and then I just gave up and finished it completely.
A Court of Thorns and Roses is the story of Feyre, a survivor with an icy heart and a will of steel. Her world changes when she kills a wolf in the forest. A wolf that was not a wolf at all, but a Faerie. As punishment, she is taken to live in the Faerie Realm, a place that she has been taught to dread. With a wall of hatred and blame between the faeries and humans, it is difficult for her to understand why the Faerie that punished her has not killed her. But time passes, and she begins to learn about the history that the faeries and humans have had.
Feyre learns that heroic deeds come with a price, and not all is what it seems in this strange world of glamours, rumours and danger.
Sarah J. Maas has written a book that combines Beauty and the Beast and East of the Sun, West of the Moon with the deadly politics of the Faerie Courts of Celtic lore.
Not only is the story layered by mystery, but the world has been thoroughly created, and the complex characters are well written.
Maas takes her time introducing each character, dropping clues here and there for the reader to pick up on.
The story itself is a thrilling ride with unexpected twists and turns. As Feyre decides what is true and what is false, she learns more about the mysterious Fae. Despite the stories she was told, and the cruelty tied to her knowledge, Feyre discovers that the Fae are not so different from humans.
As she learns more about the Faerie Tamlin, and his clever friend Lucien, Feyre finds a hope that she never knew she had, and maybe her heart wasn't as icy as she trained it to be.
This book has joined the ranks of my favorite Beauty and the Beast tales, along with Beasty by Alex Flinn and Beauty by Robin McKinley. The mysteries of the fae were intriguing, the history fascinating and Feyre's character was a powerful representation of what it means to be human.
I will both curse and praise the cliffhanger ending of every chapter, and I will honestly say that I can't wait for the next book.
I give this book five out of five venetian masks. A wonderful fairytale retelling and epic story rolled into one!
