Friday, July 14, 2017

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Published: May 3, 2016
Publisher:
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Pages:
624 (Hardcover)
Series:
A Court of Thorns and Roses #2
Source:
Library
My Rating:
4.5 of 5 stars


Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world torn apart.


I went into this book scared. There's so much hype around this series and Rhysand that I was actually a little afraid that I wouldn't like this book because my expectations were too high or because the story/character didn't appeal to me (wouldn't be the first time I didn't like a hyped book). I really wanted to love this series as much as the next person, and I'm so glad I ended up enjoying it. 

ACOMAF is drastically different from the first book. The characters are incredibly different from the characters they were in the first book, particularly Feyre and Tamlin, as well as Lucien. Lucien was less of an offender in this book, but only because he didn't actually do anything, compared to Tamlin actively being a possessive asshole. His character changes dramatically in this book and it's pretty clear from the beginning the reader isn't supposed to root for Feyre and Tamlin anymore. Tamlin becomes possessive and controlling, not that he wasn't possessive to begin with to a certain extent, but those characteristics are pushed to an extreme that makes me cringe. 

Thankfully, for the majority of the book, Tamlin is nowhere to be seen, at least physically. One of my issues that kept this book from being a full 5 stars, was that Feyre constantly compared Rhysand to Tamlin. It felt like overkill constantly being reminded of how horrible Tamlin became and comparing them against each other probably isn't a good thing. I'm sure Rhys didn't appreciate it because he tries so hard to be so different from Tamlin where it counts. Yes they're both possessive, but I actually didn't mind Rhysand's possessiveness nearly as much as Tamlin's. Rhysand doesn't treat Feyre like an object and that's essentially the difference there.

I could go on and on about Rhysand and I'm sure I'm not the first one that could do that or wants to do that. There's a good reason why everyone loves him as a character. I loved the layers he has and how his character develops over the course of this book. The romance is so slow burn and flirtatious and I loved it so much. The affection and attraction develops over time and seems so much more real. It's a ship I will gladly root for. 

There's a whole new cast of characters in this book and they're so much more developed than the characters at the Spring Court. Aside from Tamlin, Lucien was the only other character with a backstory and yeah it was sad, but I never really felt for him. The Night Court characters so much more developed and way more likeable. Feyre also develops so much more and grows as a person. Feyre's development is so important, especially to the romance aspects of the book. It allows the romance to not be a love triangle, but to show it more as a people change and drift apart from each other.

There were a few other issues I had with the book, mainly with the fact that this book was long and probably didn't need to be 600+ pages. It was completely character driven, up until the last parts of the book and while I do love the characters, I would have liked a little more plot or possibly a faster pace. The motivations for the villains of this book are a little unclear to me, or don't quite make complete sense, but I don't want to spoil so that's all I'll say about that.

The world Sarah J. Maas created is breathtaking. The descriptions are vivid and the beautiful world she created was easy to picture. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will hopefully be getting to ACOWAR really soon.

6 comments:

  1. This is my favorite series ever. I wrote a review about ACOWAR today, but it contains spoilers. But yeah.. It was great! I totally agree on your opinion about the romance, loved the flirty, slowly getting there thingy Rhys and Feyre had!
    Hope you'll enjoy the third book :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll have to check out your review after I read ACOWAR! Ugh yes that was my favorite part. Thanks :)

      Delete
  2. Ack! I still have ACOMAF sitting on the shelves, waiting to be read. I'm so scared that I won't love it! Your review did set my mind at ease somewhat, though. I'm glad that there's not much of Tamlin by comparison to the first book! I dunno, I don't even know what I thought of the first book. It's been so long. I'm just scared that there's going to be TOO much romance. And I kind of really hate romance-centric plots. :S

    Cass @ Words on Paper

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's a lot of build up to Rhysand and Feyre's relationship for most of the book. There's definitely some plot going on, but I do think that most of the book is kind of like a set up for their relationship. You may still like it though because there isn't like outright romance (if that makes sense) until closer to the end of the book

      Delete
  3. Just saw this review in the sidebar of your blog and I loved this book the most of the entire series so I had to get over to read it! :)

    I adored this installment and Rhysand and Feyre together and all the secondary characters - #squadgoals for sure!

    I am yet to write my own review of the books in this series, but one day I'll get there! It's tough to pull together coherent thoughts sometimes. :D

    Great review and I'm glad this one was a hit for you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're definitely squad goals! I definitely feel that. I think sometimes it's hard to write reviews for books you love.

      Thank you! I'm hoping the next one in this series will be just as good

      Delete

Thanks so much for visiting and if you want, leave a comment. We love reading comments and we will try to respond especially if you have a question!
Happy reading :)