A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR)

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Format: Digital purchase via Kindle

Publish Date: May 2015

Read: June 2023

Favorite Quote: You don’t hold on to power by being everyone’s friend.

Story Synopsis: Feyre finds herself in the wintry woods, hunting for deer to feed her sisters and father. She soon realizes her quarry is also being stalked by a wolf. When the wolf kills the deer, Feyre kills the wolf and takes the wolf’s pelt and the whole deer home to help her poor, starving family. Once home, a beast crashes through Feyre’s door claiming the wolf was from the Fae land, north of the wall, and he shape-shifted into a wolf to avoid detection. As punishment, Feyre is given a choice: forfeit her life on the spot or follow the beast to his home in Prythian, where she will live the rest of her life.

Feyre chooses to go to the Fae Land. The High Lord, Tamlin, is the beast who brought her to the Spring Court. Feyre begins to figure out how to live comfortably as she experiences a vastly different experience in the Fae world than her human childhood stories told her. When Tamlin sends her home because the lands have become too dangerous, Feyre crosses the border wall back into the Fae lands and tries to help. She quickly realizes she’s in over her head and becomes trapped with a mad queen under a mountain and must face three tasks to survive and save what she’s come to love.

Why does this book beguile? Fairies! Action! Romance! Spicy scenes! Magic! What more could you want in a book?

In all seriousness, ACOTAR has quickly become a massively popular book - and for good reason. Not only does the book give the fans what they want (smutty fairy scenes, lavish courts and manors, and escapism), but the world-building is fantastic. The magic system is believable, and the characters are complex, interesting, and loveable. This is the first of at least five books in the series and an excellent fantasy book.

Rating: 5/5

Link*: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - Amazon | A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - Bookshop.org

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Full Series by Sarah J. Maas

If you like this, read*: House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City Book 1) by Sarah J Maas