A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) by Sarah J. Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Release Date: May 5th, 2015

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

This was my third attempt at reading A Court of Thorns and Roses, but luckily this time, I actually made it to a part that captivated me (where Tamlin comes for Feyre) and made me want to know the rest of the story. Being a Throne of Glass fan, I went into this series skeptical that anything could actually compare. Interestingly though, I’ve had many friends rave about this book, a lot even saying they prefer this series to Throne of Glass. However, in my opinion, it was not, but at the same time, it wasn’t that far off.

I have to state that going into the story, I already knew the basics of the plot and relationship dynamics from friends and reviews. So right from the start, I didn’t put much of my faith in Tamlin… but reading it, Tamlin and Feyre’s relationship was cute. However, it wasn’t as much of a “swoon.” I think one of the main reasons I found this book hard to even start was that I didn’t really click with Feyre. She’s realistic–which I appreciate in character–but her character tended to edge towards “doom and gloom,” which in the end just makes her more morose rather than realistic.

What drew me to Throne of Glass was that Celaena was a kick-ass girl at the end of her rope, having lost everyone she ever loved but knew how to fight (and not just physically). Celaena lives in a world of powerful monsters and fearsome things, but the strength of her mind–not only her skills as an assassin–is what drives her. Admittedly, Celaena in Throne of Glass also started off as emotionally broken, but compared to Feyre, Celaena at least had the physical ability to survive and mental fortitude to play the game well.

In A Court of Thorns and Roses, Feyre is not physically strong and thinks like a human who never had to be conniving, which sucks when you’re dealing with immortal fae who like playing mind games for fun. Feyre is definitely resilient in the beginning, and throughout the story eventually becomes emotionally stronger but again… pales in comparison to Throne of Glass. Also, in Throne of Glass, Celaena is firmly the heroine of the tale… the foundation of the story and how all the other characters meet/know each other. The series is also wholly driven by Celaena ’s choices.

In contrast, A Court of Thorns and Roses feels like everything is happening to Feyre and mostly because of her ignorance (the treaty and Calanmai). She’s also quick to judge, which is really annoying and naive. The two other times I tried to start this book, I couldn’t get past the fact that she murdered a fae (and skinned it, albeit in wolf form) and didn’t even feel remorse; she had hate in her heart, to quote Feyre.

Now all of this doesn’t mean I didn’t like the story; it was exciting and captivated me enough to read the second book. In the end–basically due to the ending–I ended up respecting Feyre and liking her a little. Although she’s not Celaena, I think it’s important to note that they aren’t really comparable; they were born of different circumstances, and so they approach things differently.

I have to say, though, that I absolutely love Maas’ unflinching ability to create and write a character that is so far from perfect but still makes the heroine’s story worth reading.

Other Books I’ve Reviewed by Sarah J. Maas

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