ACOTAR - Review

But Prythian is not a peaceful land, apart from gruesome creatures that invade the lands, there is a blight, threatening all the courts, "but it's not a disease - not a plague or illness. It's focused solely on magic". Because of it everyone in the Spring Court is forced to wear a mask, all the High Lords have only a droplet of their magic left and the wall, separating the mortals and the faeries, starts to crumble, leaving holes for evil creatures to cross. Additionally there are talks of a mysterious "she" who terrifies even the High Lord.

The Suriel, a faerie "who will actually answer any question if you trap them"

General information The idea of the story The world and its history The characters and the story Review

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A Court of Thorns and Roses A Court of Mist and Fury A Court of Wings and Ruin A Court of Frost and Starlight

The writing The characters The magical world The story My recommendation

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In Prythian she meets Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court. At first Feyre despises everything there and only wants home, especially because now there is no one to take care of her family. But with time and the promise that her family is cared for, she warms for the faeries and especially the High Lord, realizing that they are a lot different than all those rumors from the mortal lands claim.

I have not mentioned Rhysand (Ree-sand) in the short introduction of the story, however I believe he has earned a place in the review section because he is vital for the story. Rhysand is simply the one with many faces. Most readers might think that he does not care about others and is at least as cruel as the villain but actually he is well aware of the game that is going on and helps Feyre in the twisted way of his. He can be sensitive but lets no one see - normally. Meanwhile he is sassy and sarcastic, managing to humor the serious situation in order to keep his wits.

"You can leave if you're just going to insult me."&#160;

One day in the cold of the winter when food is even rarer than usual, Feyre crosses a faerie's path while hunting. The faerie has the form of a giant wolf, so only the size gives away his species. Feyre knows that she has little chance to survive the encounter, but kills it with an ash arrow, a special wooden arrow to prevent the faeries to use their healing magic in the end. Afterwards she skins the wolf to sell its pelt.

Because of the killing, another beast tracks Feyre down to her cottage in the evening, a gigantic beast with golden fur. It demands a payment for the death of the faerie, claiming that the treaty from 500 years ago is violated. Usually the killer would pay with his own life, but the beast offered a loophole: Feyre could come with it into Prythian and live there for forever. Her family is present when she agreed to go with the beast and only her father started an attempt at begging for her.

Feyre (Fay-ruh) Archeron is the youngest of three sisters and barely 19 years old. Her family used to be wealthy, but they lost their fortune seven years ago, thus they now live in a small cottage near the woods and therefore the wall. Feyre provides her family with food as best as she can, starting to hunt five years ago, when their money truly ran out. Her father has a smashed knee and only carves wood and begs to feed his family. Feyre's sisters mostly spend the money she brings in and don't acknowledge Feyre's efforts to keep them alive. Feyre cares deeply for her family and values her promise to her mother that she swore when her mother was dying. Feyre promised to look after her family. Her mother died before they lost their fortune, so Feyre did not know the burden the promise would become.

Feyre develops immensely throughout the story. Her mindset at the start was utterly negative. She did not believe in a better world and did not dare to hope for anything, let alone let herself dream and follow her artist's mind.

When she lived in Prythian with Tamlin and Lucien, she changed because she had time to figure herself out. With her family, she always thought about them, forgetting herself all the time. In the Spring Court Feyre learned to stand up for herself and believe in a better world.

"We need hope, or else we cannot endure. [...] Let her imagine a better life. A better world."

"There is a better world out there, waiting for you to find it, Nesta. And if I ever get the chance , if things are ever better, safer...I will find you again."

The story starts in the south of Prythian. Only a two-days ride away from the wall which separates the mortal lands from the faerie realms, lives Feyre Archeron, the main character that narrates the story.

500 years ago, there was a long war between the mortals and the faeries. It ended when six mortal queens formed a treaty with the faeries. The humans who used to be slaves to the High Fae were to be released and an immortal, magical wall was erected to keep the mortals safe from the faeries with superior strength, speed and their magic.

Feyre is confident and "bad ass" which makes me wonder if she is not the Beauty but rather the Beast. She simply never listens to anybody and I admire her for her boldness. She is a human, utterly at a disadvantage, still she is not afraid, daring to be insulting and provoking while disobeying Tamlin and Lucien all the time. There is a part in her that tells her, it is stupid what she just did, nonetheless I think that she can't help it, makes her brave.

Tamlin is overprotective which is actually also typical of Maas' Fae characters (in Throne of Glass "territorial male nonsense" is a valid term). He is stubborn and easily provoked but on the other hand he deeply cares for the ones he is close to and actually does not want to rule the Spring Court at all. He never intended to but had to at some point and so he tries to make the best out of it, being better than his father and brothers.

Therefore he is kind of a sad person, which matches Feyre. He seems to be innerly broken, having a hard time getting over it but together with Feyre they can heal each other. However, he has the need to be in charge and have the upper hand of the situation. I like him because he is kind and wants to be a good person. At the same time he shows contradictory traits which make him an interesting character.

Lucien is kind of like an arrogant version of Feyre. He is bold, loyal, honest and follows his instincts. Additionally he seems to be the person that is closest to Tamlin. Lucien needs him - and he needs Lucien in the same way. But Tamlin also needs to show his position and Lucien is too often shut out or dismissed. I find his arrogance to be refreshing and fitting. He represents a typical High Fae, so you learn how Prythian's people act and the way they think .

Everyone has to judge for themselves if they like the book, however I love it because of the mixture of romance, adventure and fantasy. I like books that take me far away from reality which ACOTAR does for sure. Additionally I think the idea of the novel is intriguing and convincingly conveyed because Maas keeps track of little things that give the otherwise wholly magical story a lifelike touch.

I have long since finished the series as far as it is possible and I am eagerly waiting for the next part. Therefore I can promise you that the following books actually get better. They become deeper and even more gripping. Maybe it is due to the fact that you get to know the world better and with that the plot can be more complex as well. Whatever the reason, it is a series worth reading.

The novel "A Court of Thorns and Roses" is the first book of the still not finished series by Sarah J. Maas, published by Bloomsbury in 2015. So far there are three main parts and one additional novella on the market, "A Court of Thorns and Roses" the first main one. Maas is a New York Times bestselling author, born in 1986 and has also written the series "Throne of Glass".

"A Court of Thorns and Roses" (ACOTAR) is inspired by the Beauty and the Beast, but goes beyond the classical story and develops into an epic fantasy series.

The High Lord's emissary, Lucien, appears to be more of a typical faerie and is therefore rude and arrogant. Still he helps Feyre and becomes something like a friend to her.

Lucien: "Do you ever stop being so serious and dull?" Feyre: "Do you ever stop being such a prick?"

She never learned to read nor to write, because poverty struck them before she had a chance. Additionally, no one of her family ever bothered to teach her. Due to the challenge to stay alive and feed her family, Feyre dismisses her artist's mind that sometimes peaks through to her consciousness, letting her admire the shapes, colors and shades of the world around her.

The villain in the story is surely insane. And if your hate for her does not blind you, you'll find that she is pretty amusing because she is so far out in her own world and outright bold and cruel that it is wickedly funny. I did not feel like laughing while reading it the first time, though. But the second time, when I knew what was coming, it was hilarious.

"Though her screaming was delightful. I haven't heard such lovely music in ages."

"Don't feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy"

Magic drains and is not invincible, so the main parts of a good magical system are there. The cause of magic is the world itself and they refill their storage at a festivity unique for the court. Apart from that there is also the Cauldron and the spells. You do not get to know a lot about the Cauldron, it is treated like other cultures treat a god. It is the beginning of the world and therefore powerful and highly magical.

Elain, the second eldest sister of the Archerons, once bought Feyre three tin cans of paint, which Feyre used to paint some edges of the cottage, e.g. the dresser knobs: Elain's with roses, Nesta's, the eldest sister, with fire and hers with a night sky.

Elain has a gentle heart and does not mean to be cruel. She is the prettiest of all three sisters and the most innocent as well. Additionally she loves gardening and flowers. Nesta on the other side is described to be "born with a sneer on her face." She is three years older than Feyre and seemed to have taken the loss of her family's fortune the hardest. She hates her father for not fighting for them and because he had not fought to find a cure for the disease their mother had died of. She often mocks Feyre and is only friendly if she needs money from her. However, she would sacrifice herself and would leave nothing unattempted in order to save and protect Elain.

The story is gripping. It makes you smirk, laugh and cry while you cannot stop reading for hours.&nbsp; &nbsp;You find a lot of romance in it which comes naturally because its inspired by the Beauty and the Beast. For some it might get too sexy but that is something you have to decide for yourself. Although it is inspired by the Beauty and the Beast, there is still a lot of difference. The foundation, the basic idea, is quite the same but everything else is different, and ACOTAR is far more complex and does not end as expected. Feyre has to fight and endure by far more than Belle could ever imagine.

Meaning, there is a lot of adventure and action. At the start you get a hint of it but I promise you that is not all, there will be more later on. The main action is linked with insanity and cruelty, since the villain is simply that way. &nbsp;And of course you get loads of magic and fantasy.

Since then, Prythian is divided into seven courts that are ruled by seven High Lords. The mortals still despise the faeries and therefore have dismissed their gods and try to protect themselves with iron and ash wood, which they believe would save their lives in an encounter with a faerie.

Dark wood

After introducing the novel, I will comment on several aspects of A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR). We will take a look at Sarah J. Maas‘ writing, the characters, the world-building and the idea of the story. In the end I will give you a recommendation regarding the novel.

The world is unique, on the one hand because of the history that explains the current world and on the other hand because of Prythian and its unique courts, inspired by not only the seasons but also the daytimes. It is a lot different from the world we know and live in, yet it does not make it difficult to understand how it works. Maas has combined the human world which we can easily relate to, with a fantasy world that seems to be wholly different at first, therefore it is easy to get used to it.

Due to the immortal faeries the history his greatly intertwined with the present. Some faeries are hundreds of years older than others but they still treat them like they are the same age.

The novel is extraordinarily written. You float along the lines and at some point you do not feel the chapters rushing by. Chapters divide the story evenly and additionally the chapters are sometimes divided via a star between paragraphs. &nbsp;Many truths unfold themselves at the right passages in the novel. One of Maas‘ typical habits is keeping grand reveals until the last hundred pages. It is only then that you realize how badly you have been fooled. Everything starts making sense and you remember hints that you have not noticed while reading but after a big reveal you see, Maas has been foreshadowing the whole time and you did not get it. Apart from the neat foreshadowing, Maas creates characters the reader roots for.&nbsp;

If she wants you to love a character - you adore them. If she wants you to hate a character - you want them to be rotting in hell for eternity.

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