A Court of Thorns & Roses

A Court of Thorns & Roses #1

By: Sarah J. Maas

“Everything I love has always had a tendency to be taken from me. I tell very few about the wings. Or the flying.”
Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns & Roses

*This post contains spoilers for A Court of Thorns & Roses

Overview:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
A Court of Thorns & Roses

Family Dynamics

The best things that ever happened to Feyre was facing banishment to the faerie world. Her family was awful. They took and took and took from her and would have continued to do so until she had nothing left. Her sisters constanty made her feel as if they were better than her. It was a privilege for her to provide for them. Never did her sisters think that they should have to contribute to the family they just wanted to be given everything because it was what they deserved.

All of them grew up with the same luxury but for some reason her sisters didn’t understand that their reality had changed. Feyre understood that they had to adapt but her sisters didn’t want to change their lifestyle. Even when it meant starving and watching their sister put herself through so much to keep them all alive.

When Feyre kills the deer and wolf the sisters only want to know how much money she will give them. They then spend the money immediately on non-necessity items. They are literally starving but chose to waste money.

Feyre chooses to never to use this against her family. Even when they are reunited she is not bitter and thrilled that her family was taken care of. Either she is the most kindhearted person or she is someone who can be used easily.

Beauty and the Beast

The tropes relating to Beauty and the Beast hit the reader square in the face.

Thorns and roses is a reference to the roses that the Beast grows in his garden. Tamlin also has a lavish garden surrounding his estate. Roses are also a reoccurring symbol used in many retellings of the Beauty and the Beast.
The main character sacrifices herself to save her family. Much like Belle, Feyre agrees to be a prisoner so her family would be spared.
The manor staff. In the most familiar Beauty and the Beast Story, the Beast has inanimate objects working and serving in the castle. The staff and the Beast had been cursed by an evil sorceress to stay in this form until the curse is broken. While, Tamlin does not have dancing clocks and candelabras, all of his staff and subjects have masks affixed to their faces which they cannot remove. Only with an act of true love can the curse be broken and the cursed can revert to their true form.
The Library. Every reader has been envious of the Beauty and the Beast Library. My Kindle’s cover is a picture of that library so I understand the obsession.
Feyre being able to fill her day with her passions. While she is a prisoner, Feyre is free to do whatever she wants within the grounds. While Belle chooses to read, Feyre wishes to persue her lifelong passion of painting. She is even given anything she asks for in order to do so.

There are so many other little examples that if I went through them all we would just be going over the entire story. If you want an in-depth look at Beauty and the Beast. You can read the Fairy Tale Friday post I wrote.

Pacing of the Story

The beginning is abrupt. Very quickly Feyre goes from her life into living with the Fae. The transition felt rushed. I wanted more of of her living her regular life before being sent away. Because it was so abrupt I can’t connect her to her old home when reading the story.

I don’t know if there was a better solution and the ultimate goal in progressing the story is to get her into the Fae world. The author succeeded in moving the story forward but it just feels as if it is missing something.

The three trials and Feyre’s time in Amarantha’s court feel like an entirely different book. The story never felt as if it was leading up to something this big. I thought the resolution would be short or maybe one big battle.

Ferye having to stay for months completing tasks didn’t fit. It’s jarring when you expect the pace to be one thing but then the author turns the dial down to half speed. For me as a reader, it was a bit disorienting.

To summarize, the beginning should have been drawn out and the ending should have either been shorter or an entirely different book.

Overall,

It is a solid retelling/re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast. I was not a fan of the pacing of the story but enjoyed the plot elements and the characters. It would have been easy for this author to fall into the insufferable main character troupe but she navigated it well.

I hear that the rest of the series takes notes from other popular stories so look for those in the future.

Rating: 3/5 stars