Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series

Hey guys! Thought it was time to take a break from Sephora Sale content and post a book review! I know it’s been a while since my last blog post but it’s taken me about four months to finish this series oops. Today I will be sharing my review of Sarah J Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses (shorten to ACOTAR) series. For those of you who don’t know, ACOTAR is a very popular series online. I had heard a lot about the books before reading the series which affected my opinion. I will do a review on each book, which will contain minor spoilers – such is the nature of reviewing series since each book builds on each other. At the end of this post, I’ll do a spoiler-free overview of the series. So let’s get into it!

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns is the first book in the series. It follows Feyre, a human who accidentally kills a fae and must go live with a fae lord to make up for her actions. This is a new adult fantasy series.

I heard a lot about this book on book Tiktok before reading it, so I had a lot of preconceived notions. I knew a lot of people didn’t like the love interest, Tamlin, so because of that, I didn’t like him.

I spent a good part of the book waiting for the action that I hear everyone online talk about to happen. It wasn’t until the last 100 pages that the action picked up and I was into the book. I think it sets up nicely for the next book in the series.

I think Feyre is a pretty neutral main character. I don’t hate her but I don’t love her. There are a lot of big side characters in the series, so it helps that she’s tamer.

I gave this book 4/5 stars. It was good but had a real slow start.

A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Mist and Fury was much better compared to the first. There is more action and the characters introduced in this book as very interesting. The best part of the book is the romance. I love Feyre and Rhysand’s relationship and how it builds and grows through the book.

I like how Feyre’s mental health struggles are a big part of the book. I felt like the depiction is quite realistic and it was amazing to see it improve throughout the novel.

My only complaint is that the book is quite long. This is a reoccurring complaint I have for the series.

I gave this book 4.5/5 stars.

A Court of Wings and Ruin

I’m still not sure if my reading slump just coincided with reading A Court of Wings and Ruin or was because of the book. Whereas the first two took me about 10 pages to get through, the third book took me a month to read.

I found the beginning to be boring after the excitement of the second novel. This book also has a war in it. I’ve mentioned this before but I’m not a huge fan of war novels and this one was no exception. I found the middle section dragged on. As well, a lot of new characters were introduced and it found it confusing to remember everyone.

The last 150 pages were good and redeemed the novel from being a complete flop for me. For reference, I read the last 150 pages in two days.

I gave the book 3.5/5 stars. I was debating not continuing with the series, but I already owned the other books, so I decided to continue.

A Court of Frost and Starlight

A Court of Frost and Starlight is a novella that is supposed to be a bridge between the Feyre, who is the main character in the first three novels, and Nesta, who is the main character in the next novels.

I don’t think this book is necessary for the grand scheme of the series. There are only a few big plot points that could have easily been included at the end of the last novel or the beginning of the next novel.

The book just had a bunch of unnecessary fluff. It’s set in the world’s version of Christmas so I think it could be nice to read around the holiday to get in the spirit. But otherwise, I don’t think it added that much to the series.

I gave the book 3.5/5 stars. It was quick to read but not the most interested.

A Court of Silver Flames

Like I mentioned, this book switches to Nesta (Feyre’s sister) and Cassian’s point of view and focuses on their relationship. A Court of Silver Flames is probably tied with A Court of Mist and Fury as my favourite books in this series. I’ve always liked Nesta but this book made me fall in love with her. She’s just more complex than Feyre.

Similar to ACOMAF, this book is about Nesta processing her trauma and I felt it was quite realistic in the ups and downs and the long period of time it takes to process trauma.

I love Nesta and Cassian’s relationship. I also love the friendship that Feyre develops with Emerie and Gwen. They’re probably some of my favourite side characters in the whole series.

This book was really really long. It was 750 pages but I think this book could have easily been 500 pages. It was just a little long and repetitive in some parts.

This book was also quite character-driven. It focused mainly on Nesta’s growth, otherwise, not much happened plot-wise. I also found the ending to be a little rushed and the conflict resolved a little too quickly.

I gave this book 4.5/5 stars. It was great and I’m excited to see where the series goes.

Overall Thoughts

If you are not familiar with Sarah J Maas, she also wrote the Throne of Glass series, which I absolutely loved and gave 5/5 stars. I had high expectations going into this series. Overall I think it was good but not as great as Throne of Glass.

First, like I mentioned this series is a character-driven book. This means that the growth and development of the characters are what drive the book forward. Whereas Throne of Glass is a plot-driven book, where the plot and conflict are what drive the book forward. Both are acceptable, I just prefer plot-driven books which is why I didn’t like ACOTAR as much.

For this being a character-driven series as well, I found that I didn’t connect to the characters as much compared to Throne of Glass. I loved the characters in that series. I do realize that ACOTAR isn’t finished yet so this might change but it is something to note.

Finally, I find that ACOTAR is quite long and drawn out. I don’t think long books are inherently bad. But I think if your book is going to be long it better be action-filled or just interesting the whole book. I think the books could easily be 50-150 pages shorter and would still be good books. So if you struggle with long books beware.

I think this is a good fantasy and romance series but I don’t think it transcends the genre. Some books are so good that I think everyone should read them. I would recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy but if you’re not a fan of the genre I would pass. I give this series 4/5 stars. I will continue to read the future books that come out.

And those are my thoughts on the ACOTAR series! If you’ve read this series let me know your thoughts in the comments. And with all my book reviews let me know if you have any recommendations for me in the comments!

xoxo

Lea