A Court of Mist and Fury

@#(! terrible. While the first book in this series was something I described as “if Twilight were better written,” the same cannot be said of this book. It's garbage.Among my complaints:- The overly dramatic antiquated sentence structures used at times.- The constant references to “males” and “females” instead of “men” and “women”- The incessant drama created from the simple fact that the characters don't sit down and have adult conversations with one another.- The disgusting sex scenes. As mentioned in my update, they're too vulgar to be considered romantic and too basic to be considered erotic. They're just gross.- Oh, the lead is from a society without religion, but she understands concepts of heaven and hell?- Why is it that every single time these people encounter a situation where someone else has something they want, the solution is to steal it? No one ever attempts to negotiate for it or simply ask for it. They're like, “Oh, they have this blah blah thing. I guess we have to steal it now.”- I absolutely hate the lead character. She is an idiot – emotional, unreasoning, rude – and exactly the sort of *female I hope my daughter never is.

I'm going to listen to the audiobook of the third book in this series because I made the mistake of buying it in advance, but I am already angry about it.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No 4.5 ni cinco (5). Reseña más tarde.
Voy a tratar de ser objetiva, pero manteniendo mi subjetividad a la vez. Cosa rara.

Reseña en el blog (les recomiendo ir al link para más contenido)


Ha pasado más de un año desde que leí Una Corte de Rosas y Espinas, y sobra decir que en su pequeño momento intenté releer ese tomo con la intención de leer su continuación, Una Corte de Niebla y Furia. No obstante, durante varias ocasiones estuve queriendo iniciar el libro (el segundo) sin meterme de lleno a su lectura. Por una u otra razón que escapaba de mi saber; falta de entusiasmo, bloqueo lector, cohibición a su gran tamaño (en páginas), etc. ¡Y finalmente, por fin este año inicié con esa lectura!
Vale, he estado con esa lectura desde finales de diciembre del año pasado hasta acabarlo hoy, al séptimo día de enero.

Por el límite de carácteres, pondré ciertos pedazos, pero en el blog estará la reseña completa.
Puede haber spoilers, puede que no haya spoilers.Leer bajo su riesgo.

PRIMERA PARTE:LA CASA DE LAS BESTIAS.

Poco es lo que recuerdo del primer libro, ya que mi relectura no fue completa. Sin embargo, no me costó adentrarme en esta continuación. Luego de la muerte de Amarantha, Feyre vuelve a la Corte Primavera con Tamlin. Sin embargo, lejos de regresar a una vida pacifica, la pobre muchacha vive atormentada con los sucesos que vivió en Bajo la Montaña, con las muertes y las torturas que sufrió, adaptándose a su nueva vida como fae. Y, más allá de ayudarla a pasar esta transición, mi querido Tamlin se vuelve indiferente, prestando poca atención a lo que siente Feyre y más a lo que ocurre en su corte, a mantener a Feyre a salvo, lo que significa para él encerrarla a cal y canto en su mansión/castillo/prisión.

Entonces, cuando llega el dichoso día del a boda entre Feyre y Tamlin –porque sí, están por casarse, aparece Rhysand para hacer cobrar el viejo trato que hizo con la chica en el libro anterior: una semana con él cada mes, la autora haciendo ilusión al mito de Persefone donde la joven diosa debía pasar 6 meses con Hades en el Inframundo y el resto de meses con su madre en la Tierra.

AHORA...
Esta primera parte me resultó divertida y un poco confusa a la vez.Como dije, hay ciertos detalles de ACOTAR (primer libro) que me resultan borrosos en mi memoria. Cristo, leí ese libro hace dos, casi tres años, en lo que esperaba tener en mi poder al menos los dos libros restantes para poder leerlos todos de un tiro.Esta primera parte me pareció un poco pesada, en ciertos momentos hasta frustrante en especial respecto a Feyre. La joven había caído en un círculo vicioso de autocompadecimiento que llegó a un punto en que me hartó, era como una treta de la autora para que el lector llegara a sentir lástima del personaje, y resultó totalmente hostigante.Con el paso de estos casi tres años, he comenzado a darme cuenta de lo terrible narradora que es Feyre (alias la autora), pero como esto es solo para distraerme, y debo admitir que lo logró hasta el punto de encantarme, tampoco es que voy a exigir tanto.Haré una anotación en esta primera parte, una muy fuerte anotación, con respecto a Tamlin. Aun a pesar de haber acabado el libro, sigo analizando mucho a este personaje y del por qué la autora tomó la decisión de hacer lo que hizo con él, o si ya estaba premeditado, lo cual pienso que es más esto último. Este personaje tuvo un cambio tan drástico que me sorprendió, y no fue hasta lo último de la segunda parte que dejé de sentirme molesta con la autora. La autora manipuló sus propios personajes para que tomasen acciones que en un libro anterior no estaban predispuestos a hacer. Una treta muy sucia, cabe destacar.SEGUNDA PARTE:LA CASA DEL VIENTO.Aquí empezamos a conocer más a los nuevos personajes: Azriel, Cassian, Morrigan y Amren, así como volvemos a estar en contacto con Nesta y Elain, las hermanas humanas de Feyre.Con la amenaza que empieza a representar el Rey Hybern y su relación con un místico Caldero Mágico que cuenta con el increíble poder de revivir a los muertos, nuestros héroes deben buscar la manera de destruir el caldero y detener al rey Hybern antes de que comience una nueva guerra, muchísimo mayor a la que inició Amarantha y que incluso pudiera destruir el muro que separa humanos de Prythian, que incluso podría acabar con los mortales. Además, aquí empezamos a ver cómo se va profundizando la relación de Feyre y Rhysand, o de cuánto es ese lazo que hay entre ambos.Creo que de todas las partes del libro, este es mi favorito. Hay mucha más acción, más retos que Feyre debe superar y vamos conociendo más sobre sus nuevos poderes como fae.Voy a hacer un paro y enfocarme en ella: Feyre. Feyre Archeron. Feyre Rompemaldiciones. Feyre Mary-sue. Como deseen llamarla. Tengo un amor-odio con este personaje. Me parece tan falso y a la vez no. Y no son defectos lo que tiene, es que son defectos ya de fábrica. No saben cuánto odié cada vez que ella relataba lo magníficos que son sus poderes, y no por cuestión de envidia o cualquier estupidez, es solo que el personaje en sí deslumbra tanta arrogancia que me parecía insoportable. Hubo pequeños momentos en los que me gustó cómo era –durante sus entrenamientos, por nombrar uno–. Me parece que la autora intentó que la narración sonase poética y hermosa, pero solo logró demostrar algo engreído y seco; sin mencionar lo mucho... ¡lo mucho que me costó imaginarme ciertos pasajes, ciertos vestidos! Es aquí donde agradezco enormemente los fan-arts, o el libro para colorear de la trilogía.Rhysand, por otro lado, representó como un soplo de aire. ¿Les digo algo? Hubiera deseado muchísimo que el libro estuviera narrado también bajo su perspectiva, que me parecía mucho más ameno que el de Feyre. A los últimos capítulos de esta parte, cuando se empieza a revelar el secreto tras el lazo que tiene con Feyre, me empezó a llenar las ansias por volver a leer el primer libro justo desde el comienzo en que él aparece, pues lo que él revelaba fue lo que causó que la situación con Tamlin tomase otra perspectiva diferente.No solo había un trato entre ellos, sino que Feyre, aun siendo humana, era la pareja de Rhys, algo como su alma gemela, su otra mitad, su pareja predestinada, chalalá-chalalá. Había un lazo de apareamiento, que se afianzó más luego de que ella fuera convertida en fae. Sobra decir que toda la explicación al respecto causó que todavía más me enamorase la situación (soy una fan obsesionada con este tema, ya me ven, una romántica empedernida). Pero entonces, también me puse a pensar, ¿y si todo lo ocurrido con Tamlin en el primer libro fue una simple distracción, un desvío para sorprendernos con esto después? ¿Un espejismo? ¿Y si Tamlin era desde un principio el villano pero nos hicieron creer que no, después de todo vimos la situación a los ojos de una inexperta y enamoradiza humana tonta? Todo sería un complot.De los otros personajes, puedo hablar sobre Mor y Cassian, que fueron como los que más hablaron y más me gustaron.¿Se acuerdan de los merodeadores de Harry Potter? James Potter (Cornamenta), Sirius Black (Canuto) y Remus Lupin (Lunático)? —Peter Pettegrew, Colagusano, no—, pues imaginen a esos pero versión ACOMAF.James Potter: Rhysand.Sirius Black: Cassian.Remus Lupin: Azriel.Bien, puede que Rhysand no era tan descarado y coño'e madre como James, pero Cassian es igual de sarcástico y arrecho que Sirius, mientras que Azriel tan callado y reservado como Remus. Entonces, imaginen a Cassian con Nesta, ¡todo hace explosión a su alrededor!Aparte de eso, vemos también unas pocas cortes aparte de la Corte Primavera. Como la Corte de la Noche, la Corte de Verano, un sitio lleno de mar, playa, sol y arena. Esto abre paso a cómo funciona, cómo intervino cada corte en los poderes de Feyre, cosa que vamos descubriendo poco a poco.(Creo que el poder de los 7 Altos lores han causado que Feyre sea muy poderosa, pero es como darle un iPhone X a una niña de 5 años: corres el riesgo de que lo estropee.)TERCERA PARTE:LA CASA DE LA NIEBLA.Y hablando de estropear, fue justamente lo que hizo Feyre en esta parte cuando fueron en busca del caldero.¡MARICO, ESTA PARTE FUE DEMASIADO MALDITA! ¡NO SABEN LO QUE SENTÍ EN ESTA VAINA CUANDO IBA LEYENDO!Ok, ya me calmo. Perdonen las palabras, pero me superó la emoción que todavía siento al recordarlo...Haciendo caso omiso a ese despliegue de emoción, y a la búsqueda del caldero, haciendo caso omiso a lo que pudo ser peor (como, por ejemplo, la aparición de Tamlin luego de aliarse de forma descarada y coño'e madre al rey Hybern solo porque quería que Feyre volviera con él, solo porque creía, CREÍA, que ella estaba bajo un hechizo de Rhys), lo que más me destruyó (momentáneamente) fue el momento en que, tratando de proteger a todos, Feyre decide romper el lazo que tiene con Rhysand.Nunca-sufrí-tanto-como-en-ese-puto-momento.Antes de eso, retrocedamos al instante en que el rey Hybern usa el caldero para convertir en fae a Nesta y Elain, un suceso que yo pensaba sucedería en el siguiente libro. Antes de eso, regresemos al momento en que descubrimos que Elain es la pareja predestinada de Lucien... Sí, LUCIEN. Antes de eso, volvamos al jodido momento en que a Cassian se le es dañado de forma terrible sus alas (y yo temo que las pierda en el siguiente libro, rezo para que no suceda).Esta tercera –y última parte– es la más... ¡wuo! Aquí la acción llega a su epítome más alto... y baja de forma fulminante. Uno esperaba una gran batalla, y sin embargo todo resultó en un plan mal ejecutado, un plan echado a perder de forma deliberada por la autora; pudo haber hecho una lucha más épica, que acabase en una pérdida y, de esa forma, avanzar a los sucesos ocurridos después, pero inició de una con Feyre dejándose hipnotizar por la magia del caldero y del Libro de los Alientos (un libro que supuestamente posee hechizos para controlar y/o destruir el caldero).Volviendo a esa parte impactante –para mí– como lo fue que se rompiera el lazo entre Feyre y Rhys (algo que en su momento pensaba se trataba del lazo de apareamiento, cuando en realidad fue el trato que habían hecho en un principio). Me destrozó el corazón leer cómo esa conexión se destrozaba, siendo engañada poco antes de leer la verdad oculta, una verdad que incluso desconocen el rey de Hybern y Tamlin...El lazo sigue ahí, más fuerte y brillante que nunca.Feyre es la Alta Lady de la Corte Noche.; es una espía, además, infiltrada en la Corte Primavera, al finalizar esos terribles sucesos.¡EN FIN!Antes de terminar, vamos a un aspecto pequeñito pero muy importante.LA JODIDA TRADUCCIÓN Y NARRACIÓN.Lo leí en digital.Lo leí en español.La traductora puede explicarme ¿por qué coño usó la palabra macho para referirse a los especímenes varones en este libro? ¿Acaso la autora usa la palabra macho en inglés? ¿No es posible un sinónimo más elegante, menos vulgar? Tantas bonitas palabras que tiene el idioma español y tiene que usar la jodida palabra MACHO.Puede que esté siendo irracional, pero en verdad me daba algo cada vez que se aparecía esa palabra.《«Os escribo no como alto lord sino como un macho enamorado de una mujer que una vez fue humana»》《De todos modos, eran un espectáculo, dos machos ilyrios que luchaban en medio del barro y las piedras, jadeando y escupiendo sangre. 》《"Vi a machos educados y racionales romper toda una habitación porque otro macho miró demasiado tiempo en dirección a sus compañeras cuando hacía muy poco que eran pareja." 》《Me miró de arriba abajo, desnuda, cubierta de pintura, la cara y el cuerpo manchados y me dedicó una sonrisa lenta, satisfecha de macho. 》《Si Rhysand era el macho más hermoso que yo hubiera visto jamás, ella era su equivalente entre las hembras. 》En verdad que no me entra en la cabeza tamaña palabra.También quiero acotar que muchas veces, desconociendo si era cosa de la traducción o la autora en sí, la narración a veces salía tan terrible y confusa que resultó un problema a la hora de imaginar varias situaciones. Cosas tan discordantes, como un momento que nunca olvidaré en donde Feyre está sentada, menciona que se pone de pie, y al siguiente momento vuelve a decirlo como si nunca lo hubiera hecho. O sea, ¿no que ya estabas de pie, hija?

De resto, fue una lectura interesante, entretenida, ¡y obviamente que leeré el tercero! Lo ocurrido al final me dejó totalmente estática, ansiosa por saber que más sucederá, por saber de qué forma Feyre y los demás acabaran con Hybern, por cómo volverán a estar juntos Rhys y Feyre, por saber de qué forma Lucien se acercará a Elain, todo.
Un libro muy largo, que a su vez se lee de forma rápida, que no necesita que le eches mucha cabeza a la historia y que cumple su función: entretener.

EN RESUMEN:Lo que me Gustó.
•Rhysand. No lo voy a negar, como personaje perfecto, me gustó mucho. Sin embargo, es justo su perfección una daga de doble filo. Me gustan mucho los personajes oscuros, como él, y esas frases poéticas bloquean mi buen juicio.
•El Lazo de Apareamiento. Ya lo he dicho: me encanta ese tema romántica empedernida mode on
•El sarcasmo. Las burlas. El “vete a la mierda”-“yo también te quiero”.
•La adicción. Me gusta cuando el libro es tan arrecho que no puedo dejar de leerlo o pensar en él.
•Los fanarts. Eso cuenta también, ¿no?
•Los poderes. Oh, disfruté mucho el cómo cada Corte maneja un poder diferente –en correlación a Feyre– y elemento.

Lo que No me Gustó.
•Las escenas de sexo. ¿Fueron escenas de sexo? ¡Qué demonios, eso fue solo mete-saca con palabras bonitas!
•Feyre-alias-marysue/tenme-compasión/Drama-Queen/Insoportable-metiche Archeron Rompemaldiciones.
•La narración. Pésima, pésima. Maas, toma clases de escritura.
•Los Deux. Cosas sacadas de la manga, tan conveniente. Una vez es aceptable, todo el tiempo no.
•¿Tamlin es bueno o es malo? ¿Qué le hiciste? ¿Acaso no podrías destruirlo de otra forma?
•Insta-love. Uno no le dice a otro que lo ama en tan solo dos putos meses.

¿Lo recomiendo?
Mmh. Es probable.

This book was absolutely amazing. It had me feeling so many emotions I couldn't put the book down. It did take me a little longer to read because there was so much goodness and detail I had to make sure to take it all in. I love what Sarah J Mass does with the character developments. It was by far my favorite read of the year. Loved it.

I gave this 5 stars because I was wildly entertained a good portion of the time, and excited for the third book when I finished. This isn't to say that Sarah J. Maas doesn't do messy things as an author, and the Feyre isn't a total Mary Sue, and beyond insufferable. Also, come on on Rhys being that effing perfect, with every act always having been for the greater good.

That said, I found myself buying that he was the better choice for her, and acknowledging Tamsin was always a control freak, and the events in the first book only made that worse. Feyre could have genuinely loved him in the first book and have processed it all in a way that makes them a bad fit in ACoMaF. I believe she has a healthier relationship with Rhysand because he allows her to chose.

I loved Tamlin in the first book, but I also loved Rhys. This series really makes me rethink my need for sleep. I have to be at work by 6 a.m. tomorrow, I don't need to sleep for a 14 hour shift, nope, not at all. On to book 3. Then I will switch to the audio book and run the sound through my blutooth headset so no one knows I am listening to anything, just waiting on a phone call. It'll work!

I can't believe I thought this series was for young adults.

“The Court of Dreams. The people who knew that there was a price, and one worth paying, for that dream. The bastard-born warriors, the Illyrian half-breed, the monster trapped in a beautiful body, the dreamer born into a court of nightmares ... And the huntress with an artist's soul.”

After I started writing book reviews a few months ago, it has never happened that I couldn't find enough words to write about a book. But this book left me dumbfounded with all sorts of feelings swirling in my head and heart.

ACOTAR was a fine book but it felt nothing like the hype that surrounded it. I only started enjoying it through the last 100 pages which intrigued me enough to continue the series. I didn't expect anything different from this sequel too, but this book blew me away. The standard of ACOMAF is way way above ACOTAR that sometimes, I can't believe it's written by the same author, especially because I haven't read any other books by Sarah J. Mass. This book is now going to be my standard against which I will compare any romance novel in the future and I don't see many coming close to it.

The book deals very well the character of Feyre, her pain, guilt, nightmares, claustrophobia and PTSD. She endured unbearable torment and had to do unspeakable things Under the Mountain to save her love and his lands. She actually died before being resurrected. Now months after the ordeal, she is trying to deal with her pain but has no one to support her. Tamlin has his own fair share of nightmares and doesn't want to think about any of them, Lucien wants to help but can't go against Tam's orders, Ianthe just wants Feyre to be a model wife and Lady of the Spring Court to provide hope and stability to the people. No one bothers to see what Feyre really needs. She is disintegrating in front of their eyes but they are blind to it. Tam's all consuming need to control everything about Feyre leads him to do stupid things that finally push Rhys to save her and whisk her away to the Night Court.

Rhys is nothing like the mask that he presents to the world. He does everything possible to let Feyre know that she can get through her trauma and pain. He shares his own past and his nightmares, shows her a side of himself that no one knows, so that she can believe that she too can learn to live again. He introduces her to his Court of Dreams, his amazing friends that become her strength and support at a time when she needs them the most. Mor's cheerfulness, Cassian's steel, Azriel's silence and Amren's otherworldliness – all mask a past full of pain but they have gotten through it and made themselves into a close knit loving family – and that's what Feyre starts to love. Each of them provide her the friendship, stability and confidence to move through her guilt and start feeling again.

Feyre and Rhys's relationship is probably the best romantic pairing I have read in recent times. It's just so beautiful and I don't have enough words to describe it. It's built on trust, honesty, equality, partnership and most importantly a deep friendship. Their relationship evolves from hateful words to cheerful flirtation to being great friends, that their love never feels forced. They treat each other as equals and trust each other's choices and decisions so implicitly that it feels like a relationship worth emulating. I never stopped pitying Tam but he was just too broken himself to help Feyre with what she needed to heal herself.

There is so much more I want to write but then, it won't be a review anymore. I have so many feelings that when I started writing down all of them, it came to around 9 pages which I don't think I should reproduce here. I can just say that this book is beautiful, the characters are so amazing that I want to go live in the city of Velaris among all of them because I feel they are all my friends now. And Rhysand... Rhysand... Rhysand... there are no words to express my feelings about him... Just nothing... I just wish there are many many many books featuring him because I don't want him to go away so soon from my life.

“He thinks he'll be remembered as the villain in the story.” She snorted. “But I forgot to tell him,” I said quietly, opening the door, “that the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key.” “Oh?” I shrugged. “He was the one who let me out.”

This was perfection.

WTF was this book? ._. I still don't love Rhys (don't get me wrong, he is way better than Tamlin but still not what I would love to see for Feyre). If it would have been only a not so slightly beliefable romance it would have been a 4 to 4.5 star rating. BUT... the ending and the sex scenes ruined it for me. I am here for fantasy (worldbuilding, magic, and so on) and not for smutty romance for I don't know how many pages that was too over the top (even Empire of Storms felt light compared to this one (or it could be because I squeezed my reading time into 4 reading sessions). I guessed, as it is for most Sarah J. Maas books the case in the last year, the plot twist/happenings in the last quarter of the book. I wanted to dive right into the last book but now I'm not so sure about this.

Updated rating in 2019: 4 stars.


First rating in 2017: 5 stars.

I made no secret of the fact I loved Book 1 in this series, A Court of Thorns & Roses and so I knew I wouldn't be able to hold off on reading this, the sequel, for too long. I had heard so many amazing things about this particular book in the series that I knew that where the first had blown me away this one would offer an extra something special that would take the story and characters to the next level.

Following on a few months after the end of A Court of Thorns & Roses, we return to the Spring Court where newly created High Fae, Feyre is preparing to marry her true love Tamlin but is struggling to cope with the events of book 1 that occurred Under The Mountain and she is also feeling suffocated by Tamlin's overprotectiveness and is chaffing against the increasing control he is exerting over her. She also is waiting to find out if the High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand, will ever call upon her to honour the bargain they made where she would spend one week per month with him in the night court.

Firstly, let's talk about Tamlin. I think we all loved him in the first book, he was kind and considerate and seemed the perfect gentleman to Feyre yet in this book he seems to have undergone a character transplant and is now controlling and secretive and content to have Feyre play the role of his wife but not to do anything else. This took me a bit of getting used to as it was such a different perspective to the Tamlin we'd loved. He went from being the hero to the villain in only a few chapters and kind of left my head spinning. Of course, this character transition allows us to move him aside for the arrival of the real hero of the hour, Rhysand, the enigmatic and slightly dangerous Lord of the Night Court.

Rhysand was great even in the first book, a little darker than in this book but there was always something about him that shone off the page. Let's not forget he was the one person to back Feyre to be able to succeed in her first trial and did have her back, even if it was in a slightly dark fashion. In this book, he comes front and centre and boy does his arrival totally take away any lingering feelings we may have for poor Tamlin. When he whisks Feyre off to his home it is with kindness and consideration that he does so and from there, his little actions towards her get more and more endearing.

This book introduced a whole raft of new characters that also help to expand the world from Book 1 and take us to a totally different area of the Faire realm as we meet Mor, Azriel, Cassian and all of Rhysands closest confidantes. The relationships between them all are wonderful to read about and each character brings something to the story that makes you feel they are worthwhile characters to invest in. I also love that we return to the mortal realm and Feyre's family and I am really keen to see how they will feature in the third and final chapter of this book.

The plot is great, this book clearly is setting up for a final showdown in the last book in the series and we are left with a suitably intriguing cliffhanger which is heartbreaking and yet exciting. We have now so many people we care about in these stories that we need to bring all of their individual strands to a conclusion and I cannot wait to see how Sarah J. Maas does this in A Court of Wings & Ruin.

What I love most about Sarah J. Maas's writing is that she is wonderful at creating the Faere world, she adds so many beautiful and whimsical aspects to it that you really do feel transported as a reader. She uses such great descriptive language when writing and it pulls you in and means you lose yourself completely whilst reading. It's a very special series and I literally cannot wait to delve into the third and final novel in the trilogy.

OMG MY FEELINGS!!

I read this last year, but I wanted to refresh my memory before starting a Court of Wings and Ruin, so I read it again. I remembered loving this book but I think I loved it even more the second time. I also remembered hating Tamlin so much the last time I read it...and this time I hated him even more. My only regret with this book is that it makes me annoyed with myself for thinking Tamlin was so great on the first book, when he's really such an assclown.

4.5
Loved it

Re-read: Still love love love this instalment in the series, I could just read it over again straight away.

It's safe to say I get the hype. I LOVED this book! I sped through it but felt like I absorbed so much. I adore all of the new characters and cannot wait to follow them further in this world.

5 stars Well, that was...emotional! This book has been my life for the past few days. I was breathing, thinking, living ACOMAF, and now that it's over I'm not too sure what I'm supposed to do with myself. The last 40 pages had me on the edge of my seat, adrenaline legit pumping through my blood. At one point I wanted to just through the book across the room and scream, yet a part of me wanted to keep it close to my heart and gently pet it... May 2nd can't be here soon enough.

4.5/5 — 5 stars for the fascinating story, for the wonderful, well-built world and the characters I love. 4 stars for the writing and action

2024 reread: look I'm as surprised as you but my rating on this one is going UP, to a full on 5. Obsessed.

Looks like my original read in 2016 took 6 months so clearly it was a me not you NRN problem.

Honestly, this book is much better than its predecessor. There is an actual sorta-plot here.

The world is more imaginative than in the first book, mostly because of the appearance of new locales. The characters travel around the world quite a bit so it feels a little bit more fleshed out. Nothing extraordinary but even a small amount is better than nothing.

Feyre is more pro-active in this book. She goes from being broken to wanting to change, to matter, to take part in the world's events. She's no longer just a doll on the sidelines.

The romance was much better. Rhysand is more developed than Tamlin as a character and thus more interesting. The love story was slower. You actually get to see Rhys and Feyre working together which is a nice change from the average YA novel.

The cast has more players and they are somewhat interesting despite being clichés.

Still, the book isn't without flaws.

- There is a particularly painful section of the book that involves our lead characters sitting at a table in a restaurant talking about their childhood. It is a succession of massive infodumps. Each character takes a turn explaining their entire back-story, the customs of their upbringing..blah blah blah. It's so painful, unnecessary, and amateurish that I skipped the whole thing.
I mean, when was the last time you sat with your friends and each had hour long monologues about growing up, why your family had pizza every Saturday morning, why you never saw your great aunt Jasmine after her split with Roger, why you always wanted a cat but never could get one? What's that? Never? That's right, real people don't do this. They share snippets of info over time, in appropriate context.

- There is nothing subtle in this writing. Everything is slammed into your face with a big meaty sledgehammer. Every twist is played straight. Again, not much thinking outside of the box in terms of events or plot.

- There is one chapter written in Rhysand's POV. I am not sure why it exists. The switch is so jarring. Everything revealed in that section could have been told to the audience by Feyre in her following chapter.

- The matebond/true love aspect. For me, this trope has always been a total romance kill. I thought the Rhysand/Feyre romance was good until this trope reared its ugly head. I know why it's so popular. Why wouldn't everyone love the idea that you are meant to be together forever, that your partner is never ever going to stop loving you or leave you or cheat on you. But it's so cheap precisely because it removes all the dangers of love, all the choices. After all, if you are fated to be with this person, then you have nothing to lose emotionally by loving them. One hundred percent risk free.

Real true love is beautiful, not because it's ordained by the fates/scrolls/rainbows/wise tiny unicorns, but because it's two people deciding each and every day that their partner is worth their love and that they themselves are worth love in return despite the fear of rejection, of heartbreak. Every day they decide to make that same commitment over again regardless of what life throws at them. The risks are what make love /being loved so amazing.

Also, this trope is a complete copout in terms of developing moral dilemmas. Cauldron forbid our Feyre has to actually struggle to make a decision, to be morally gray (should she dump Tamlin that has been so good to her family and herself when she needed it, he loves her, can she really break his heart even though she loves someone else?) Well, never fear. Her real true mate is Rhysand so it's totally ok. No more guilt! Let's casually sweep that Tamlin under the rug.

So very lazy and cheap.

- Author, please don't confuse sexual tension with romance. It's not the same. And the sex scenes? So awkward even the mountains trembled.

- As for the switching love interest, aside for the Wayfarer Redemption/Enchanter flashbacks I kept having shudders, it didn't bother me much. Tamlin was such a bland bore in book 1 that writing a new love interest was a gift from the author.

- And what's with pairing everyone up? Rhys/Feyre, Lucien/Elain, Cassian/Nesta, Azriel/Mor...not everyone needs a truemate bond.

Overall, better than book 1. Will probably pick up book 3 as long as it's not back to fake angst and stuck in Tamlin's mansion for the whole book.

Fantastic. Would rate this book 100 out of 5 stars if I could.

Oh, and remember how I previously said that I don't ship Rhysand with Feyre? Yeah, I take it back. I take it all back. They're THE real thing. Tamlin can go flush himself down the toilet to be honest.

I absolutely love how Rhysand treats Feyre as his equal, how he always allows her to make her own decisions, and what he made her by the end of the book."'Not consort, not wife. Feyre is High Lady of the Night Court.' My equal in every way; she would wear my crown, sit on a throne beside mine. Never sidelined, never designated to breeding and parties and child-rearing. My queen."It was beautiful.And I have to agree with the reviews saying the issue is not that Tamlin changed. It's that he did not change. Feyre herself has changed, and how Tamlin treats her, while it might have worked for how she was before, is just not right for what she's become.Looking back, the thing with Rhysand also explains why he suddenly fed Feyre with a lot of information in the first book. It didn't make the info-dump any less jarring, of course, but at least now we know WHY.

Now can someone please tell me how to survive until the next book comes out?

I stayed up all night reading this book, I never wanted it to end.
I love Rhysand, I liked him alot in the last book, I was so happy we got way more of him. Love him and Feyre <3
My favorite parts where when they talked about his points of view, <3
I cant wait for the next one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love how its a semi cliffhanger.

What...in...the...heck? Is this really a continuation of A court of Thorns and Roses? It feels like a alternate story written by someone on a fanfiction site. I guess as a stand alone it's not bad, but really it's so opposite of the first book it's a little off putting. I like the story, but is very dark and twisted and I don't know if I'd have read it knowing how it would stand everything on it's head. I really had a hard time with the mix of fantasy and Fairy and the parts that made it sound like modern day characters going out for a night on the town.

Real review forthcoming. Right now I can't articulate. I'm trying. But I love this book so much and I'm pretty SURE I'M GOING TO DIE WHILE WAITING FOR #3.

Wow....This was so incredibly amazing and I cried and laughed and cried some more. I cannot wait for the last book. This book went above and beyond the first book, and I always disliked Tamlin. I just hope Feyre won't have to endure him much longer :<

I have come to the conclusion that Sarah J. Maas could write a book about a rock and a tree, and I would ship it.

A YEAR?! UGGHHHHHH I knew I should have waited to read these books until they were done!!

This book is so friggin good.

The romance is perfect. Okay, we finally get more into the 'mate' thing and she leaves Tamlin. OMG YES! Personally, I didn't really like them together... nothing there. And to see an author do this... it is a realistic thing where people don't always end up with their 1st or 2nd love. LOVE!!

There are a lot of themes brought up in this book which I thought were done very well. For instance, Feyre's PTSD. I mean, WOW. Also, domestic abuse which I can't really go into unless I give more away.

But, WOW.

I love all the characters (although I missed Lucien... I needed more of him).

The story was more involving than the last book. An unknown curse vs. destruction of the world? Oh yeah, very different. Thought it was much deeper.

So, definitely a recommended read and one I need to buy.
Too hyped??? Nah, let the hype continue!!

Now, excuse me as I go try to drown my need to read the last book under the next mass of books I read. This book is definitely making it hard for me to pick up my next netgalley read...