It's funny having heard so much about a book and not actually knowing anything about it. I was about midway through when I realized, "I think this is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast." (Which means the book did its job!)
I liked the story fine, but it was hard to really get into because I so recently read & loved Holly Black's The Folk of the Air series and I couldn't help but compare the two despite their differences. I just didn't find this first entry as exciting as The Cruel Prince.
I like Feyre, but I also found her to be the least interesting character in her own story. I'm not really invested in her family. And despite my usually love for broody boys I found the love story cute, but not the most compelling. I'm mostly just here for all the High Fae.
However, I am interested to see where this story goes, especially now that I hear Rhysand gets much more involved. It's one of those series that I am reluctant to get into because there are just so many books, but I also might just have to let my curiosity get the better of me, at least for one more. I do feel like this is also a series that will get stronger with time and I did like what was set up for book 2 so all in all it did its job of getting me interested in another world.

Remember when I read this four years ago and wanted to be edgy by saying oh but it's not THAT good, and cheekily rated it *3.75 stars* as if there was any difference between that and 4 stars or that and 3.5 stars?

Lol me either.

I really enjoyed this, far more than I expected and/or wanted to. If I thought it was only okay last time, I really thought I was just going to straight up dislike it now. But I didn't, and I'm so happy about it. There just became a point where instead of looking for any little thing to critique and count as a point against this book, I just let myself enjoy it. But also because I'm just waiting to read A Court of Mist and Fury. I WILL read it this time. I will.

The first time I read ACOTAR I didn't even know Tamlin existed. All I had ever heard about was Rhysand Rhysand Rhysand, and even after reading it I was even more confused because all I could see was Feyre staying with Tamlin. This time round, I was able to see, if not where the love of Rhysand came from, but definitely the skepticism around Tamlin. I thought I liked him before, but this time he and his possessiveness and actions really rubbed me the wrong way. I don't even know if I would consider any of his love to Feyre to be actually genuine, since it was entirely fuelled by the idea of having to break the curse (is this a spoiler? It feels like everyone and their dog has read this book). I did find him a bit more interesting this time, but only because I forced myself to pay attention to his entire backstory and beef with Amarantha. Otherwise, I really just couldn't be bothered. I also paid more attention to Rhysand, knowing that I despised him last time...I still really, really do. I'm also still confused about all the love, which is why I'm anxious to start ACOMAF to actually see what's up. And chapter 55. I've heard that's quite a thing.

Feyre is cool, I'm a fan, but does the girl ever stop thinking about painting? As my friend and buddy read Alex said, "I get it. You like to paint. Please stop telling me." It felt fake every time it came up, and not an actual part of her personality. I would say show me not tell me, but there were plenty of scenes when she was painting and it still felt fake. So I don't really know what to say about that. I also really disliked how much purring, snarling, and growling there was, which I now understand is a distinct Sarah J. Maas trait I'm just going to have to get used to.

Lucien is by far my favourite, I just want eternally good things for that boy. He's been through so much. I also hope Alis is fine. I want Feyre to be fine too, but she can go through some things first. I've heard there's more about her sisters, which I'm not really interested in but kind of keen to see where that is taken. (I can just imagine everyone who reads this review who has also read the rest of the series going "oh, honey" in my head. I KNOW, OKAY. LET ME WISH GOOD THINGS.)

Anyway, I saw it, I wanted it, I got it, I liked it. Or something like that. Really excited for the next one but am a bit worried I'm just not going to be critiquing it enough (why am I like this). Also, am I ever going to stop picturing Henry Cavill as Tamlin in my head (but blonde)? The answer is no, for the record, even though he's too old. Now I just need a perfect Rhysand and I'm all set.

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorite Disney movies. A solid start to the series. I can't wait to read the next book.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre,  however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different. Characters were so well developed that I felt as though I knew them. I love when a book draws you into the story and it feels like you are living it with them.

Loved this one -- It really does live up to all of the hype. Sarah J. Mass has a new fangirl!! I absolutely loved it!

There’s a reason why Sarah J Maas comes highly recommended and this is clearly seen in this book. If you’re a lover of fairy tales, then you’ll definitely fall in love with this. It’s a beautifully written fantasy novel

Thank you Net Galley for copy of this ebook. Why did I wait so long to read this?!!! This book is sublime! I will most definitely be continuing this series and loving every minute of it. Thank you!!

Well 449,000 reviews do not lie! This story is a wonderful start to a series. After much insistence from many close reader friends, I was shocked to see a "read now" option on NetGalley in June 2020! Although it is far outside of my mystery/thriller/serial killer reads, this Beauty & the Beast sci-fi retelling did not disappoint.

There is really not much for me to add that the other 250,000 five star reviews do not cover. So instead I'm going to thank the publisher and NetGalley and move on to book two.

Here I am, the last person on Goodreads/Bookstagram/maybe the planet to read this book. I might not be ready to bake cookies for the next fanclub meeting (my attempts are not too enticing, anyway), but I can see the book has a lot to offer.

Actually, one of the things I liked early was Fayre's struggle to read. So many protagonists are avid bookworms, and it makes sense that writers wouldn't be able to hold back their own joy with the written word when putting a character together. It's infectious, after all. But I couldn't help but think how powerful it would be if reading is a intimidating and challenging to see a fierce, proud woman like Fayre battling for each word's meaning. It might make you feel more welcome, I think.

In general, I found Fayre's harsh edges and grim loyalty worthy of my support early on. Other highlights for me were a strong sisterhood story (a difficult journey but so worthwhile), a hot and heavy romance (but like, I did not expect it to be that intense-- isn't this ya? not mad, but damn.), and I loved the way The Beauty and the Beast tale spun out.

A Court of Thorns and Roses really is a book series that people either love or hate. This is the edition with the new redesigned cover. I enjoyed the reread as I still have yet to finish the series.
Basically this book follows the story of Feyre who after killing a faerie is dragged into the faerie world to pay her debt to Tamlin, the high lord of the spring Court for the rest of her life. This is a YA Fantasy book so you really have to love this genre as her books are on the longer side. This book gets good for me towards the end and I really love the second book. Thanks to Netgalley.com and Bloomsbury USA for this eARC copy.

I enjoyed reading this novel even though I am not typically a fantasy fan. I loved that as a Beauty and the Beast retelling I was able to pick out the parallels between the two stories but still be glued in by Maas’s writing. I loved Tamlin, Lucien, and each of the faerie characters. Maas does a wonderful job developing the world of Prythian with rich details that make you feel as if you are right in the book. I feel as though I’d love to be a faerie myself! Feyre is also such a strong character and I enjoy that she sticks up for herself as she faces the many challenges she experiences throughout this novel. I would recommend this to anyone, even if you are not currently a reader of fantasy. I think you will fall in love with these characters and world just as I have.

A Court of Thorns and Roses // by Sarah J. Maas

“We need hope, or else we cannot endure.”

Prythian is the name of the land occupied by the Fae across the wall near the home of Feyre, a 19-year-old huntress that is stalking the woods in hopes of finding her family's next meal. When she feels threatened by the presence of an oversized wolf, she does what she feels is necessary - whether out of survival instinct or hatred for his kind - and kills him. Soon after though, another beast appears and demands justice: a life for a life. In an unexpected stroke of mercy though, she is allowed to live - with him in Prythian. As she gets used to her new life in the Fae land, she learns that maybe things are not always as they appear - in a good sense and a bad sense. As she learns more about her captor, her once strongly negative feelings start to change. His land though and all its inhabitants are threatened by a shadow over them all and if she does not think quickly, it might overtake them all.

What is there to say about A Court of Thorns and Roses that has not been said before? Sarah J. Maas is a master of her art. She can spin a whole new world full of danger and make anyone want to be a part of it, As always, she drew me into her book and did not let me go until I was completely finished with it. I love the way she describes her scenes and builds her characters as well as the fact that there are some details about them that seem so unlikely at first, but then end up making them feel even more like real people. It's the quirks that you do not expect that make a character whole. She even has a way of making you doubt yourself about characters that you just know are evil right away. I've always liked authors that make me root for the bad guys with their own weird logic of how things should be run. I honestly cannot wait to read the next book in this series.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a gripping read! Absolutely amazing. I really loved the characters, and the story. I can't wait to read the others in this series!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

So I honestly am not sure how I feel about this book. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I did almost DNF on a few occasions because I was really not comfortable with what was going on.

So I've often seen this termed as a Beauty and the Beast retelling. And I get that. There is a curse. There is a beast. There is a charismatic male villain. But I don't know. For me though this book has a much darker tinge.

For me this is about a girl, Feyre, who is mistreated for most of her life. She's treated poorly by her own family and then is imprisoned multiple times and again treated poorly. There is a time in there when she is with Tamlin, the hero of the book, where her fortunes change for a bit but I feel like this was overshadowed by the bad times.

I don't know. I suspect the real answer is that I probably shouldn't read high fantasy.

So enough of my aimless ramblings. I recommend this book to high fantasy lovers that don't mind a bit of romance thrown in. The world building is very good and it has a trial that the heroine must go through to persevere. If you are romance lover drawn to the book because of all the rave reviews, I say give it a try. You may love it. In the end I enjoyed it, but it was a somewhat painful process to get there.

Some trigger warnings for the book: non-consensual drugs, physical abuse, and imprisonment

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I definitely requested an arc of this book because of the hype, I don't read or enjoy a lot of fantasy, especially YA fantasy, so I was sceptical about reading this book and kept putting it off, but here we are, I've finally gotten around to it.

A Court of Thorns and Roses has some characters that are likeable and others that really aren't, and I think it gives this story a really good balance between love and hate for the reader and 'Rhysand' is quite a morally grey character, which gives him a lot of depth in this story.

I'm definitely going to have to pick up the next book in the series to see what happens next, I never realised I could get so hooked on a YA fantasy series, but i'm dying to find out what happens with my favourite character.

(I'm not telling you who my favourite character is in case something horrible happens to them and you're all reading this and pitying me)

But overall, I'm incredibly glad that I got the push I needed to read this book, I've never read any Sarah J. Maas prior to this, and hadn't intended to - but now i'm hooked!

I can't believe I hadn't read this book until now! I really loved the world Sarah J Maas has created and Feyre is such a great character. I'll definitely be picking up the sequel ASAP.

this was honestly such a weird book, i literally have no clue what happened. but, I might re-pick up this book in the future, when I am in more of a fantasy mood. and it was probably hard to get into cause i never read any of the her other books.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book and the entire series. Sarah J Maas is a powerhouse writer and I absolutely adore her work. Highly recommend to fantasy lovers.

Ok, I see what the fuss is all about now. I feel like I'm the last person on this planet to read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, but I'm so glad that I finally did!

This book has it all - magic, mystery, romance, and adventure. The perfect escape from our own woes, into an exciting and enthralling land of danger, deceit...and love.

The beginning felt a little slow, but then it sucked me in, and now' I'm invested and need to read the rest of the series! Feyre's refusal to listen to good counsel is a little irritating, but every character has their flaw. I'm interested to see where her story leads!

OMG where has this book been all my damn life?!?! I absolutely DEVOURED this story!! Definite top 10 read of 2020 and top 5 book boyfriend of all time. Going straight into next chapter. Thank you thank you so much for the opportunity!