A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

OMG!! This was so freaking good that I don't even know where to start. 

If you know the story Beauty and the Beast then you can probably guess how this novel begins. Feyre is in the woods hunting. She doesn't like it but she does it for survival, for herself, her two sisters, and her father. Her father, once a well off man, lost their fortune and his wife. Now the four of them are trying to survive in a decrepit cabin. Feyre does the hunting, the bargaining with the other village poor, as well as most of the cooking. One day in winter, Feyre is in the woods and is desperately trying to find anything before they all starve. Finding a deer, she takes aim but there is also a wolf present. However, this wolf appears strange and Feyre immediately suspects that it is Fae. The faeries had been driven away behind a wall after the Great War, but some still slip through. With hate in her heart (and some fear) Feyre uses an ash wood arrow to kill the wolf. She takes his fur and the deer, and exchanges the fur for more money to feed her family. Not soon after a terrible beast arrives, demanding retribution, a live for a live. Feyre agrees to go with him, and arrives at the Sprint Court. Tamlin, beast and High Lord of the Spring Court, allows her to live her life within the manor. But why's he wearing a mask? And what's wrong with their magic? As Feyre navigates through her new home and life, she begins to discover that nothing is as it seems. 

I immediately related to Feyre, and as the book continued so the connection got stronger. She wasn't fearless (a word I hate) but she was smart and brave. She didn't enjoy hunting but she knew that if she didn't then her family wouldn't survive. She made a promise and kept it to the best of her ability. I have the biggest pet peeve when people make promises and then break them. It makes me want to scream about loyalty and trust. Feyre knew those concepts but she also knew how cruel they were. I also liked how Feyre's dream didn't reach beyond the next point. She wanted her sisters happily married, paint for herself, and plenty of food for all. She didn't want her old life back or even to have someone else take care of her. She knew how impossible that was. My heart broke, healed, broke again, and bears the scars of Feyre's unending sacrifices. 

When I think of Tamlin, I think of Joseph Morgan. Maybe if he dyes his hair a little more golden. 
But it wasn't the described appearance that made me think of him. It was the described personality. I always loved the Niklaus character on Vampire Diaries and The Originals. I always thought that, even when he was a jerk to his siblings, everything he did was for them. None of them felt the same amount of cruelty from their father, nor did any of them have to endure the mother's cruelty. He was constantly alone because no one understood him. I'm not saying that excuses the way he behaved but it is a reason.

Then there is Rhysand. Hello, Ian Somerhalder.
Even in Vampire Diaries, he had the swagger that Rhysand displays. Whether he is meeting certain doom or just hanging out, there is no need for stress. Or at least neither Ian nor Rhys portray any.

I can't wait to see what happened in A Court of Mist and Fury. Hopefully, my analysis of the characters hold true. I rate A Court of Thorns and Roses 5 out of 5 stars, and encourage anyone who hasn't read it to do so. Get your **** together and read this book. I cannot stress this enough.



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