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Series : A Court Of Thorns And Roses
Volume : 1
Year Published : 2015
Genre : YA, New Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Edition : Kindle
# of Pages : 419 pages
Time Spent Reading : 11 hours
Summary
Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …
Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.
Review
I read Throne of Glass (a first volume of another series by this author) so I’ll be comparing them a bit. For the first 50% of ACOTAR I thought the goings-on weren’t as lively as Throne of Glass and I wondered if I wouldn’t like it much.
The Beauty And The Beast type scenario isn’t usually my style, the world-building seemed lackluster and the world itself strangely limited. I was frustrated by Feyre’s family and her devotion to them.
Things really picked up at that 50% mark. More- and much appreciated- character development for the side characters, more nuance and surprising depth to one of Feyre’s family members (who I hope we’ll see more of), and the romance starts coming into full swing. Though my interest was lukewarm at best when it comes to the love interest, Tamlin.
I know we’re supposed to hate the villainess Amarantha but she’s very convincing at depicting the evil trickster reputation of fairies. And honestly, her actions are instrumental in the pace picking up. Things got interesting once Feyre was in her clutches and facing some seemingly insurmountable challenges. Some of the best and most clever moments in the whole book are contained within those higher tension chapters.
By the 75% mark to the end I’d finally decided this is better than Throne of Glass, as I’d heard it would be. Quite eager to check out the sequel at this point. Hoping to see more of the ambiguous and darkly appealing Rhysand. I feel “meh” about Tamlin though and he is a massive presence throughout this book. For that reason, and my ambivalence toward that first half, I’m giving it a 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10
Why You Should Try It – This series, called ACOTAR by its pretty sizable fanbase, has an ever-growing community surrounding it. That was my original motivation to read this title, knowing that people are quite passionate about the characters and there would be all this fandom to explore if I was similarly captivated by them. Feyre, while not spectacular, isn’t obnoxious as some YA heroines can be.
Critique – The early half is slow-moving, especially the Beauty And The Beast-style entrapment of the main character. Feyre’s devotion to her unthankful family is mind-boggling. Tamlin wasn’t my type as far as love interests go but this is addressed in the second book.
A Court of Thorns and Roses (Amazon Link)
Kitty Marie's Reading Corner 
I loved ACOTAR. It was one of those books that hooked me right from the start, but even being a huge fan of the series, I have to agree with you. The first 50% of the book is kind of slow. I wish it had picked up speed earlier.
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Thanks so much for your comment! Yeah I have really warmed up to the series after book 2, looking forward to getting to book 3 before long.
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I LOVED the second and third ones! They were definitely better than the first one.
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