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Becka is Currently Reading

Becka is currently reading

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)

by Sarah J. Maas (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in June 2020

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Becka said: " Rating: 4 stars

This book is kind of a twisted adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, so I began the book with this knowledge and thus a tentative idea of what the plotline would consist of. However, the world of the novel is so much richer than I imagin Rating: 4 stars

This book is kind of a twisted adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, so I began the book with this knowledge and thus a tentative idea of what the plotline would consist of. However, the world of the novel is so much richer than I imagined. From the beginning the atmosphere was set up and the protagonist, a strong and determined girl called Fayre, was introduced as she slaughtered a wolf to capture its prey for her starving family. But, as a mortal, she fears the forces on the other side of the forest and taking the life of the wolf will come back to bite her (pun fully intended). She is whisked off into the magical court of her enemy, free to roam but forbidden from going home. The piercing eyes and glimmering mask of her captor draw her in, setting off a whirlwind of emotions and conflict in Fayre, whilst the wicked shadows lurking in the faerie realm creep ever closer.

This really intrigued me. I love fairy tale retellings, especially when they make the world of the story their own, and in this one Maas definitely did this. Initially, I found the book a bit difficult to get into as I thought Fayre came across a little generic, like the cookie cutter mould of a fantasy heroine, and this continued for a lot of the novel. She did, however, come into her own in the last section of the book and her little banter moments with other characters made her more rounded as the story went on. Similarly, with Tamlin, the love interest, I felt he too was quite a generic prince charming figure, and this did disappoint me as there was very little character development in him. It was made up for by two of the more interesting characters in the book, Lucien and Rhysand. Lucien had a rich backstory and a sharp wit, making him battle with good and bad in himself. Similarly with Rhysand, who I felt had a lot more potential as a character and I would love to see more of him in the next books in the series.

Did it live up to its hype? Maybe. For the first book in a series, I was surprised by how conventional it felt, reminding me of a lot of fantasy and love stories I have read before. I have seen that many say that the series gets better after the first book, which is really unusual as we generally say the sequels are not as good as the originals, but nonetheless I am excited to find out. I literally finished ACOTAR and immediately ordered the second one as I am not ready to leave this world yet. I have to say, I was a little disappointed just because of the sheer hype around this book but I think if I had read it without that prior expectation, I would have really enjoyed it just for what it is. Sometimes the whirlwind of noise and excitement around a book can skew my vision when I read it for myself as the hype makes it bigger than itself. I now also have the unwanted expectation that the second is going to be better than the first *face palm*. But I am going to try to continue the series with an open mind and neutral preconceptions to just read and enjoy it for what it is. I will let you know how I get on with that!

All in all, I thought this book was captivating. The world creation in this book is so vivid, never leaving me confused by all the unfamiliar words as the reader gets guided through the new terms and enveloped by the lands of Maas’s creation. Whilst some of the characterisation fell flat for me, other characters really shone as interesting and complex, and I cannot wait to read how it all plays out in the second one. ...more "

progress:

(page 21 of 419)
"Re-read time😎" — Aug 06, 2026 01:01PM

Sep 04, 2020 07:49AM · see review