"Because your human joy fascinates me - the way you experience things, in your life span, so wildly and deeply and all at once, is...entrancing. I'm drawn to it, even when I know I shouldn't be, even when I try not to be."
TW: emotional abuse, kidnapping, drugging, murder, physical abuse, torture, violence
Release Date: May 2015
Genre: High fantasy, romance, fiction
Rating:
Summary:
When ninteen-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.
Review:
I finally caved.
I gave in to temptation, and I thank my lucky stars that I did.
I finished the first book: A Court of Thorns and Roses.
One of the first things I noticed when joining bookstagram was that the ACOTAR series was a beloved staple in the bookish community. I was actually shocked to find out the first book came out in 2015! It has been around for a considerable amount of time but has such a cult following.
Admittedly, I can be quite a hipster. I'm not proud of it in the slightest. I can find myself very standoffish to anything that is popular or trending. The subconscious thought behind it is that I don't want to have such high expectations only find myself utterly disappointed. That leaves me in a position where I miss out, a lot. But there has to be a reason this book is so well-loved and such a classic, right?
I completely understand it now and I curse myself for not giving in to this temptation much sooner.
From the first page, I was absolutely entranced by Sarah J. Maas with her intricate, and imaginative writing style as well as her magical storytelling, and this is only book one! The world building in this first book is one of the best I have ever read. I find that when you are creating an entire world for the reader, it can be a bit dry or slow but Sarah did this in such a masterful way. I was fully immersed in this magnificent world. It was so hard to put the book down once I was fully sucked in. Then having to return to reality? Such a disappointment! Give me a land of handsome fae men and magical powers, thank you! As for the handsome fae men, I absolutely loved Tamlin, Lucien, and Rhysand. They were all such wholly different, unique characters that I thoroughly enjoyed their interaction with each other as well as our main character, Feyre.
Feyre is, by far, one of the best female leads in a book that I have read thus far. I connected with her so deeply. I really loved getting to know her in the human world and also in Prythian. I cannot wait to go on more adventures with Feyre. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Amarantha is a wretched, foul creature but she truly is a bad bitch. Suffice to say, no matter the alignment of the character, I absolutely loved them because they were so multi-dimensional and well-thought out.
This beautiful world, the multi-faceted characters and thrilling adventure had me utterly consumed. Thorns and roses wrapped themselves around my heart and I never want to go back. We must only progress forward! I will be picking up the next book in this series, A Court of Mist and Fury, and I absolutely cannot wait!
If you were like me and were hesitating to pick up this book and to start this series, DO NOT BE A FOOL LIKE ME. This is your sign to get started! You will not be disappointed!
Quotes:
"Because your human joy fascinates me - the way you experience things, in your life span, so wildly and deeply and all at once, is...entrancing. I'm drawn to it, even when I know I shouldn't be, even when I try not to be."
"Don't feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy."
"Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don't feel anything at all."
"We need hope, or else we cannot endure."
"He brought his lips to my ear. "I would have been gentle with you, though." I shuddered as I closed my eyes. Every inch of my body went taught as his words echoed through me. "I would have had you moaning my name throughout it all. And I would have taken a very, very long time, Feyre."
"Because when the legends get written, I didn't want to be remembered for standing on the sidelines. I want my future offspring to know that I was there, and that I fought against her at the end, even if I couldn't do anything useful."
"Because," he went on, his eyes locked with mine, "I didn't want you to fight alone. Or die alone."
"Because I'd want someone to hold my hand until the end, and awhile after that. That's something everyone deserves, human or faerie."
"I love you," he whispered, and kissed my brow. "Thorns and all."
