A Court of Thorns and Roses

This wasn't anything to write home about. I get why it might have broad appeal but I've definitely read better romantacy books--and worse. I have some general criticisms on why I didn't enjoy this more. First, the protagonist started off very interesting and then got very un-interesting. I liked learning about her and her world and how she saw things, but as the story wore on, she became flatter and more of a trope than a unique person.

Secondly, the writing is just overly dramatic at several points. To the point where it grated (though sometimes it looped back around and just flat out became funny.) Some of the things Feyre says are so overwrought, which only further contributes to my previous point.

She also seems to suffer from holding the Idiot Ball several times. I couldn't tell if we were supposed to think she was clever or not. Sometimes she was, and sometimes she wasn't, and it always whatever was most convenient to the plot at the time.

Finally, I really didn't care for the set up of a love triangle. Having an anti-hero in the mix is fine--I tend to like those characters--but holding up a neon sign that says "Secondary Love Interest" just diminished what would have otherwise been an interesting character.

Lord this book was misogynistic and dumb. The only use for this book is to read it in order to make fun of it or to use it as example of how to write terribly and then vow to never ever write anything like this book. In the acknowledgements the author said she worked on this book for YEARS! Holy hell. It felt like it was written in a few months while under the influence of lots of stimulants. I hate this book so much. I hate the author for having written it. Edit: I have to put at least a half a star in order for it to be considered that I "rated" this book something. No stars is not an option and just means "unrated" but I want you to know I really mean No fucking stars. It does not even deserve half a star.

I had been promising myself that I would read this series but I always kept putting it off. Mostly, this was due to the fact I had read A Throne of Glass a long time ago and found the female lead not readily to my liking. I had always promised myself that I would eventually give it another try but first, I wanted to read A Court of Thorn and Roses. I had been hearing a lot of mixed reviews but my friends have mostly been the ones telling me that the series was much better once you started reading it.

I won't lie when I have been told that the series is a mixture of Hades and Persephone with Beauty and the Beast. I have always been a sucker for these and I had placed this series on my TBR. Now that I had time, I decided this would be the series for December. The final books that would end my 2023 reading year.

But now having read the series, I am a bit torn about where to rank it. While the story felt slow - too slow for that matter, it did have its moments. But again, the female lead is what drove me insane. I don't what it is about Maas's female leads but they end up being extremely annoying. I don't feel she improves much. I don't want to give too much away, but I found her decisions and actions frustrating at times. However, there were also moments where she showed strength and resilience, which I appreciated.

On the other hand, the world-building in this series was phenomenal. Maas has created a rich and vivid world, filled with different courts and creatures. I was completely immersed in this fantastical world and loved learning about the various realms and their politics.

The romance in this series felt slow. For one thing, I am glad that this was not some insta-love with both declaring how much they were made for each other, blah blah blah but it was taken slowly allowing the characters to see each other's flaws and strengths but at the same time I also felt that it was at a crawl. It could be frustrating at times and at other times it felt right.

Final Thought:

Despite its flaws, I did enjoy reading the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. The rich world-building and captivating romance kept me engaged despite some of the frustrations with the main character. I would still recommend giving it a try, especially if you enjoy fantasy and romantic elements.

4.35/5

I genuinely don't understand why wholly misogynist and terribly written fantasy, is so popular.

I get that people have sexual fantasies for this sort of thing, but it's not even well written. There's so much structure missing, and the love triangle between a huge controlling blonde masquerading as someone who cares, a tiny prickly but completely naive human, and a dark haired antisocial nasty man, is so utterly predictable and dull. There is nothing feminist about this.

Oh and the main protagonist spends a lot of her time puking her guts out throughout the series - to the point where you wonder if the author has some weird vomit fetish.

It feels like the author only wrote a book to service a few "steamy" scenes and did that badly so, cause they draw you completely out of the mood of the wider narrative.

Hard to read in some parts and there is a whole section that is very 'plot dump' vibes but honestly, it's such a fun read.

4.35/5

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