A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) by Sarah J. Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Release Date: May 3rd, 2016

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

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A Court of Mist and Fury picks up relatively close to the closing scene in A Court of Thorns and Roses. Going into this book, I was definitely biased when it came to certain characters since the plot of this series was spoiled to me by friends and some Goodreads reviews. One of my biggest concerns going into this book was the eventual breakup of Tamlin and Feyre. Once finishing A Court of Thorns and Roses, I couldn’t believe that Maas was going to break them up… after everything Feyre did for Tamlin in the name of their love. But I guess this is where Maas’ genius shines through because guilt and PTSD make a volatile and toxic mix that is very much present in Feyre for a majority of this book. She feels incredibly guilty for the lives she took to save Tamlin (understandably) but also fears sleep since, in her dreams, Feyre relives the torture she went through at Amarantha’s hands.

One of the most realistic depictions of trauma in A Court of Mist and Fury is how unwilling people are to confront it. Feyre is experiencing severe PTSD and even acknowledges that she’s not OK, but she doesn’t do anything about it, and–probably another symptom of her guilt–believes she doesn’t deserve to be OK. At the same time, Tamlin–a fierce protector–is also experiencing PTSD… having survived evil Amarantha but also having to witness the brutal murder of his love, Feyre, while he was helpless to stop it. Tamlin deals with his PTSD by obsessing over Feyre’s safety, but his mode of protection ends up suffocating her instead.

Many of the reviews I read previous to A Court of Mist and Fury go on and on about how Tamlin abuses Feyre or how Maas dramatically changes his character to demonize him and make fans root for Rhys instead. To be honest, I didn’t feel like either of these are true. I do not, in any way, condone how Tamlin treated Feyre. However, in terms of characterization, I can understand how the fear of a loved one dying (especially after already watching them die) would result in Tamlin doing everything in his power to keep Feyre safe… even confining her like he did. It was extreme, obviously, but I felt that it occurred organically for Tamlin… his protectiveness just shifted to selfishness: he couldn’t stand to see Feyre be hurt, so he limited her chances of being hurt. It was not a malicious act towards Feyre, but it still was the breaking point in their relationship. As Feyre eventually mentions in the series, she was no longer the girl he fell in love with… the one who sought safety and someone to take care of her. She had to look out for herself; her trauma changed her… and there’s also the fact that she’s no longer human.

While I really appreciated Feyre’s struggle, it eventually came to a point where, as a reader, you think “enough.” Feyre’s morose thoughts literally last for approximately 60% of the book. Reading this series, I cannot help make comparisons to Throne of Glass. I know I concluded my last review stating that Feyre and Celaena aren’t really comparable, but this book was eerily similar to Heir of Fire in terms of character development: a heroine who is completely broken, who slowly realizes her will to live and her own worth. In Heir of Fire, we had Celaena, who I admit went through an annoying period, but the story and people still revolved around her. Comparatively, in A Court of Mist and Fury, we have Feyre moving to the Night Court and slowly integrating herself into a group that has 500 years of history. To put it more bluntly, Heir of Fire, you’re with Celaena as she connects with different people and builds her own court, whereas Feyre feels like an outsider.

After Feyre finally learned to accept herself, the story got more interesting since I could focus on Rhys and his friends. Rhys was a fascinating character that had many facets. However, the dichotomy of his personality–the cruel and teasing face he shows the public versus his sweet and protective nature to his friends (the Court of Dreams)–got quite confusing to me… in the way that you could never really tell his feelings towards Feyre. This is later explained by Rhys, but the dichotomy made for an annoying experience as a reader as it made me desperately want Rhys’s perspective. The rest of the supporting cast was also fascinating but underlined how Feyre’s sisters left little to be desired.

I remember when the first book in the series was released, and fans were excited that it was based on Beauty and the Beast. The plot structure of the retelling quickly dissipated going into the second novel, but the theme was continued in her character developments: everyone has some beast and beauty inside them. Cheesy definitely, but an appealing thought since sometimes Maas’ characters do bad things simply because they are people who make mistakes. It’s what makes her characters so riveting… they are incredibly relatable despite them being immortal fae.

Other Books I’ve Reviewed by Sarah J Maas

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