A Tale as Old as Time... times ten.
A Court of Thorns and Roses? How about A Court of Anxiety and Intensity.
rating: 4.5/5
genre: Fantasy, New Adult Fantasy
publication: Bloomsbury Publishing
length: 432 pages
genre: Fantasy, New Adult Fantasy
publication: Bloomsbury Publishing
length: 432 pages
Where to Buy
ACOTAR can be found at your local Barnes and Noble store and online, on iBooks, and Amazon!
Synopsis
"When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever." ~Goodreads
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever." ~Goodreads
Review
This is a non-spoiler review!
FAIRYTALE RETELLINGS! I LOVE THEM! To be more specific, I love Beauty and the Beast AND retellings of that. Or at least I hope it was.... It sure reminded me of it!
*adds one more book to the shelf where all of my Queens (aka fantastic authors) sit.
I will admit, I picked this book up because EVERYONE was talking about it, and I had no idea what those foreign words meant. Who was this Rhysand? Tamlin? Feyre? And is her name FAIR or FAIR-UH or FAE-RUH? I believe the narrator pronounced it as FAE-RUH. But they are all beautiful names. I also saw that it was a Fantasy book, so I gave it a shot. Was I disappointed? Definitely not.
Sarah J. Maas created a work of art. An artwork that was packed with action and intensity which kept me on the edge of my seat. The love-making scenes added to that intensity, and I am so glad it was not so descriptive that it was disturbing. But I respect Sarah for not being afraid to write those scenes in there.
This was purely beauty and the beast with a twist. I love how it appeared here and there, and it followed its own storyline. So there is this flawed family—because not every family is a Hallmark family—that consists of more than the two in the original Beauty and the Beast story: a single dad (his wife died years ago, which you learn early in the book, so that is not a spoiler) and three girls: Elain, the sweet child; Nesta, the one with a chip on her shoulder; and our lovely protagonist, Feyre, who is also the care-taker. Feyre is illiterate, which I found interesting because most protagonists are considered intelligent or capable of reading (except for Ruby from The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken and Mare from Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard), which is not a bad thing either; I enjoy a change. Her illiteracy makes you appreciate those boring years of preschool, kindergarten, and the rest of elementary where they taught you how to read. You will see why.
Anyway, the unique family lives in a cottage, which is similar to the cottage in Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast but a nice contrast from Belle's castle in Once Upon a Time.
In the original story, Belle had to be Beast's "prisoner" instead of her father, who trespassed. In ACOTAR, Feyre killed a wolf, who was a fae, not knowing he was a fae, and a friend of a high lord. The High Lord is soon to be known as Tamlin. And boy, Tamlin is nowhere near frightening on the outside. He is a beautiful hunk that will make you blush.
And a handsome blonde he is. Holy moly he will make you blush like no other. But you will also want to punch that man in the face. That is everyone's favorite male character right? For this book, yes.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Sarah knows how to write a book. She knows how to write a perfect book that will keep you hooked until the very end, and she writes her characters in a way that will force you to love them—and hate some (which is intentional).
FAIRYTALE RETELLINGS! I LOVE THEM! To be more specific, I love Beauty and the Beast AND retellings of that. Or at least I hope it was.... It sure reminded me of it!
*adds one more book to the shelf where all of my Queens (aka fantastic authors) sit.
I will admit, I picked this book up because EVERYONE was talking about it, and I had no idea what those foreign words meant. Who was this Rhysand? Tamlin? Feyre? And is her name FAIR or FAIR-UH or FAE-RUH? I believe the narrator pronounced it as FAE-RUH. But they are all beautiful names. I also saw that it was a Fantasy book, so I gave it a shot. Was I disappointed? Definitely not.
Sarah J. Maas created a work of art. An artwork that was packed with action and intensity which kept me on the edge of my seat. The love-making scenes added to that intensity, and I am so glad it was not so descriptive that it was disturbing. But I respect Sarah for not being afraid to write those scenes in there.
This was purely beauty and the beast with a twist. I love how it appeared here and there, and it followed its own storyline. So there is this flawed family—because not every family is a Hallmark family—that consists of more than the two in the original Beauty and the Beast story: a single dad (his wife died years ago, which you learn early in the book, so that is not a spoiler) and three girls: Elain, the sweet child; Nesta, the one with a chip on her shoulder; and our lovely protagonist, Feyre, who is also the care-taker. Feyre is illiterate, which I found interesting because most protagonists are considered intelligent or capable of reading (except for Ruby from The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken and Mare from Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard), which is not a bad thing either; I enjoy a change. Her illiteracy makes you appreciate those boring years of preschool, kindergarten, and the rest of elementary where they taught you how to read. You will see why.
Anyway, the unique family lives in a cottage, which is similar to the cottage in Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast but a nice contrast from Belle's castle in Once Upon a Time.
In the original story, Belle had to be Beast's "prisoner" instead of her father, who trespassed. In ACOTAR, Feyre killed a wolf, who was a fae, not knowing he was a fae, and a friend of a high lord. The High Lord is soon to be known as Tamlin. And boy, Tamlin is nowhere near frightening on the outside. He is a beautiful hunk that will make you blush.
And a handsome blonde he is. Holy moly he will make you blush like no other. But you will also want to punch that man in the face. That is everyone's favorite male character right? For this book, yes.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Sarah knows how to write a book. She knows how to write a perfect book that will keep you hooked until the very end, and she writes her characters in a way that will force you to love them—and hate some (which is intentional).