Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses is weighed down by the plodding (roughly) first half of the book, which meanders about with no real purpose. If you read a summary of the first half and skip to the second half, you'll have approximately the same reading experience as someone who read through the entire book.

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marianarmmb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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hardbackednooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

This was better than I expected (I'd rather read this again than Fourth Wing), but it's still not super great.

One major complaint - maybe I missed it because I listened to the audio book, but (early book spoilers)

I was under the impression that Feyre killed the wolf because her family needed the meat and leather, not because he was a fae. She barely had an inkling of the possibility he was a fairy, and even regretted having to kill him at all for her family's sake, fairy or not.

(later book spoilers)

Later on, the entire arc with the curse and Amarantha revolves around her having killed a fairy with her heart full of hate and then falling in love with Tamlin anyway. But if she didn't know Andras was a fairy, then that whole thing is moot. I think there was a bad editing job done here. It would've been easy for SJM to solidify that in the beginning by establishing her hatred of fairies and making her realize Andras' size meant he was absolutely a fae.

That oversight really spoiled the book for me and made everything seem less realistic/reliable.

Other than that, this was a pretty stereotypical fantasy with romantic subplot. It's certainly better than others in the same vein I've read recently (the bar is low), and in my opinion it stands above those as "the book that started it all." I'll probably pick up the next in the series, there's an interesting world here with a ton of potential and I'm really hoping that gets explored more. Unfortunately, I have a sinking suspicion she'll set that aside and focus on the relatively bland insta-love romance instead.

All in all, this is a decent brain candy book if you're looking for something to put on in the background or to help you unwind on a drive home from work.

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