Tag: A Court of Thorns and Roses

House of Flame & Shadow by Sarah J. Maas Review

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It’s time for one of my favorite posts to write: a ramble review/thoughts collection of the latest Sarah J. Maas book! I finished the third book in the Crescent City series, House of Flame and Shadow, last weekend, and I have spent some time taking in reviews – I recommend checking out The Bookish Life of Jess and Tori’s podcast episode and Jared and Lindsey’s POV reaction video. It took me about a week to finish House of Flame and Shadow, reading it from Saturday to Saturday – I thought I would take longer, as I had been reading anywhere from 50-100 pages a day, but I ended up devouring the last 200 pages in my final sitting. My post will contain spoilers for the Crescent City and A Court of Thorns and Roses series. 

Before spoilers, you should know that House of Flame and Shadow (HOFAS) is definitely a favorite book of the year. As of right now, it’s the best book I’ve read so far in 2024, even though SJM’s books are so different from what I normally read (with maybe the exception of Fourth Wing, but there’s still something so distinct about SJM’s work from other romantasy) and they’re just always five out of five stars for me because I just love the reading experience so much. My spoiler thoughts are beginning right below the picture of the Crescent City series. 

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A Court of Silver Flames Review & Rambles 

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My Rating: 5/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

Almost two weeks after finishing A Court of Silver Flames, the time has finally come for me to share my thoughts on Sarah J. Maas’s latest release. As I draft this review, I’m jumping from idea to idea to try to capture everything I want to say about the fourth installment in the ACOTAR series – I’m getting major flashbacks to my House of Earth & Blood review last March. It’s just a given now that my Sarah J. Maas book reviews are triple the size of my normal book reviews, which is fair being that I break my habit of reading 250-350 page contemporary & romance books to immerse myself in her 700+ page fantasy beasts. 

There will be no spoilers for ACOSF within this review, but there will be spoilers for the first three books in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. 

I don’t think people have necessarily complained about it, but a few of my bookish friends & reviewers that I follow have pointed out that ACOSF is likely the most character-driven book out of all SJM’s novels. For a fantasy read, the plot definitely takes a back seat to Nesta’s personal journey and her relationship with Cassian. I think that ACOSF acts a little bit of a ACOTAR world reset for the upcoming books in the series, in that the world building & plot sets the stage for the rest of the series. 

However, you likely know this about me if you’ve caught on to my reading tastes, but the combination of character growth and plot in ACOSF was the PEFECT blend of relationships meets plot for me. Honestly, I’ve read less and less fantasy over the past two years because I’ve realized that I care way more about character development and relationships in most of my fantasy reads than I do plot and trying to navigate between action and connecting the plot points.  My love for ACOSF and SJM’s books as a whole really results from the fact that while there are complicated magic systems & plots involved, she just makes it so digestible and easy to understand. 

You likely know this from my reading tastes too, but it’s no surprise that my favorite part of ACOSF was Nesta and Cassian’s relationship…and yes that includes all the romance. I was putting books on hold from the library a few nights ago and was curious to see how many people had put ACOSF on hold – side note that I bought my own copy of the Barnes & Noble edition and that all 10 county library copies were either checked out or being transferred to patrons – and I was shocked to see that ACOSF is listed still as YA. As a side note, ACOTAR and ACOSF are now being marketed as adult fantasy, which has been made helped the book’s cover changes. As per usual with some of SJM’s covers, I like ACOSF’s cover a lot more in person and it makes sense given the plot in the book, but it’s still not necessarily a favorite book cover of mine and leaves me wanting something more? I think in general even the first three ACOTAR books shouldn’t be considered YA (hellooooooo chapter 55 of ACOMAF), but ACOSF IS NOT YA because of the romance scenes. 

But again, let’s be clear: I loved the romance scenes and honestly any scene involving Cassian and Nesta! Their sarcasm and ease with one another was so fun to read, alongside their more serious moments involving some conflicts. I really think that SJM has really nailed the balance between romance and relationship development between ACOSF and House of Earth and Blood alone. This balance is definitely seen in the first 3 ACOTAR books and the Throne of Glass series as well, but SJM’s latest two releases have a more mature take. Read More »

A Court of Thorns and Roses Reread Review

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As I began to anticipate Sarah J.Maas’s A Court of Wings and Ruin more and more, I knew I had to reread A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury before ACOWAR comes out on May 2nd. I was even more motivated to reread the first two books in the trilogy when Kristin from SuperSpaceChick, Alexa from Alexa Loves Books, and Cristina from Girl in the Pages announced that they would be hosting a A Court of Thorns and Roses Reread. Below, you’ll find my own non-spoilery thoughts of my ACOTAR reread.

ACOTAR Summary: When nineteen year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf, the last thing she expects is a beast-like creature to come and knock down her family’s door. The beast demands a life for life, dragging Feyre to Prythian, the land of the faeries and magic. Feyre’s kind have come to fear and hate the faeries, and Feyre’s own hatred grows when she learns that her captor is not a beast, but Tamlin- one of the powerful, immortal High Fae. As she adjusts to living in Prythian with Tamlin, Feyre’s feelings transform from hatred to passion, and she must find a way to help Tamlin stop a magical being from taking over the faerie lands.

My Reread Feels (warning: there are some minor spoilers about plot details below) 

My favorite part of rereading this book was noticing more of the Beauty and the Beast elements. A Court of Thorns and Roses is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and the two stories hold many similarities and differences. One of the differences I noticed in this reread is between our two female protagonists. While Belle is obviously a huge bookworm, Feyre is unable to read. The coolest similarity I noticed was the physical element of the curse. In Beauty and the Beast, all of the Beast’s servants transform into objects. In A Court of Thorns and Roses, all of the people in Tamlin’s court, including himself, are stuck wearing masks. I thought it was so cool of Sarah J.Maas to incorporate this physical element in her book.

I really love the world-building throughout this series, and I’m so excited to refamiliarize myself with the rest of the courts in A Court of Mist and Fury. While I enjoy Feyre as our main protagonist, I enjoy interacting with the side characters so much more. Lucien, Alis, and Rhysand add such character and humor  into the story. Rhysand is a much bigger character in the second novel, so I enjoyed rereading his parts  and how he helps set up the plot for ACOMAF. This book also reminded how strong of a character Feyre is. She totally held her own while living in the human realm and living beside the faeries. However, in this reread, I went from loving Tamlin to holding a lot of animosity against him. Without being too spoilery, Tamlin feels that he has to have complete control over Feyre’s whereabouts and knowledge, which was completely unnecessary and too controlling at times.

Are you rereading A Court of Thorns and Roses & A Court of Mist and Fury in anticipation of ACOWAR?Share your non-spoilerly ACOTAR thoughts and feels below!