A Court of Thorns and Roses
by Sarah J. Maas
My first immersive experience into the worlds-building by
Maas is equal parts thrilling and intriguing. A Court of Thorns and Roses was
the June 2015 pick for a book club I’m in, and I was one of the very few who
had never delved into this type of fantasy before.
And fantasy, indeed, it is—to fully enjoy Maas’s worlds, you have to suspend any conceptions about reality. Feyre is her family’s hope and salvation; as they trudge through life in the Mortal Lands, they are under constant threat of savage faeries who attack, maim, and kill. When Feyre kills a wolf “the size of a pony” in the snowy forest one day, she realizes the wolf may actually be a faerie—and the repercussions of killing him dire.
Feyre is not entirely surprised when a monstrous beast barges into their cottage one night to collect his prize—Feyre: a life for a life. Feyre wakes up in one of the faerie lands, the Spring Court, over which Tamlin, a High Fae, presides. Undeniably rich and sophisticated, Tamlin and his friend Lucien defy any expectations Feyre had about the fae. She is kept, essentially, a prisoner in these lush lands, albeit a well-fed, well-clothed, and well-entertained prisoner.
As the days tick by, Feyre becomes close to both Tamlin and Lucien—although she feels a pull towards Tamlin, confusing and enthralling her. Around the Spring Court the fae battle various forms of unfriendly faeries as the entire realm of Prythian begins to degrade towards a civil war. The queen of Prythian, Amarantha, is evil and malicious; she captures Tamlin as her prisoner until he agrees to be her lover.
When Feyre goes on a mission to rescue him, she is imprisoned herself “Under the Mountain,” a dank system of caves replete with vicious faeries and other nightmarish beasts. To gain her freedom, and that of Tamlin, Feyre must complete either a riddle or three tasks. These tasks are nowhere close to easy; the first involves a large maze sunken into the ground complete with a “giant worm…with ring after ring of razor-sharp teeth.”
Without spoiling the ending, suffice it to say Maas has successfully set up the beginning of a series, especially after Feyre begins to notice another High Fae named Rhysand. Highly recommended and not to be missed!
And fantasy, indeed, it is—to fully enjoy Maas’s worlds, you have to suspend any conceptions about reality. Feyre is her family’s hope and salvation; as they trudge through life in the Mortal Lands, they are under constant threat of savage faeries who attack, maim, and kill. When Feyre kills a wolf “the size of a pony” in the snowy forest one day, she realizes the wolf may actually be a faerie—and the repercussions of killing him dire.
Feyre is not entirely surprised when a monstrous beast barges into their cottage one night to collect his prize—Feyre: a life for a life. Feyre wakes up in one of the faerie lands, the Spring Court, over which Tamlin, a High Fae, presides. Undeniably rich and sophisticated, Tamlin and his friend Lucien defy any expectations Feyre had about the fae. She is kept, essentially, a prisoner in these lush lands, albeit a well-fed, well-clothed, and well-entertained prisoner.
As the days tick by, Feyre becomes close to both Tamlin and Lucien—although she feels a pull towards Tamlin, confusing and enthralling her. Around the Spring Court the fae battle various forms of unfriendly faeries as the entire realm of Prythian begins to degrade towards a civil war. The queen of Prythian, Amarantha, is evil and malicious; she captures Tamlin as her prisoner until he agrees to be her lover.
When Feyre goes on a mission to rescue him, she is imprisoned herself “Under the Mountain,” a dank system of caves replete with vicious faeries and other nightmarish beasts. To gain her freedom, and that of Tamlin, Feyre must complete either a riddle or three tasks. These tasks are nowhere close to easy; the first involves a large maze sunken into the ground complete with a “giant worm…with ring after ring of razor-sharp teeth.”
Without spoiling the ending, suffice it to say Maas has successfully set up the beginning of a series, especially after Feyre begins to notice another High Fae named Rhysand. Highly recommended and not to be missed!
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