A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I either love or hate retelling of old tales; sometimes I get a rare mix of liking certain elements but disliking other elements. Luckily, I kind of loved this retelling of Tamlin.

There are definitely scenes of violence and sex throughout this story, so it you don't like reading about those, I would consider not picking up this book.

An amazon summary, "Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R.R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

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

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin--and his world--forever." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

So Feyre, her two sisters, and father live in a very small cabin on the outskirts of town. They used to live in a manor, but after their father lost an investment, they move out to the small cabin. On their mother's death bed, Feyre promised to look after her family, so she has learned to hunt. She frequently goes out hunting to provide food for the family, and always carries an ash arrow on her...just in case she runs into a Fae. The Fae are supposed to be trapped on the other side of a giant, magical wall but there have been more rumors lately about Fae escaping into the human realms. While Feyre is out hunting, she spots a doe, but she's not the only one in the forest to have spotted it. A large wolf is also stalking the doe, and Feyre takes it down. She suspected it was a Fae wolf based on the size, so she used her ash arrow just in case.

Turns out the wolf was a Fae wolf and their best friend, another Fae, has come to claim the debt; a life for a life. Feyre can either die now, or she can go live in the Fae realm. Feyre decides to go with the Fae across the wall.

Feyre arrives to the Spring court which is Tamlin's estate and begins to learn the customs and just how lethal the Fae can truly be. There is also an oddity; each of the members of court seem to always wear masks. 

...that's enough summary.

I really like Maas' writing style. It's very vivid, and a lot of information is woven intricately through the story. It never feels like suddenly massive amounts of character development, world building, or just solid chunks of information are dropped in. It's just a very sneaky methodical story with how information is revealed and how everything progresses.

I also love the character of Feyre; she's one of those people who I root for and also yell at. She feels like a very authentic character. But, every other character throughout the story is well done too. I would be hard pressed to find a flaw in characters in terms of writing styles (but oh boy do lots of them have fun issues in the personal problem sense, like whoa).

As far as the story playing into the Tamlin mythology, I would say there are definitely a lot of parallels, but this is it's own fully realized story. It also starts taking on it's own sense of adventure as events unfold towards the end (dun dun dunnnn). I definitely hope there's a second book, but I would be happy if this was a stand alone book.

Happy reading!