I’m pretty sure that at this point most of you have already read A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) by Sarah J. Maas, but for those of you who haven’t…
Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.
With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.
I have to say that the Maas’ writing has really come a long way. I just finished reading Throne of Glass (her first novel) and compared to ACOMAF – wow, just wow. She’s really grown as a writer and themes that you find in this series are much more mature and a darker. Granted, I’ve only read the first book in ToG so I’m sure the growth is evident in the later books, as well. Her descriptions have the ability to completely paint a vivid picture in your head without taking multiple pages to do so..*cough* Tolkien *cough*.. And that cliffhanger?! HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL, SARAH?!
Our characters have all gone through quite a few changes since we left them at the end of ACOTAR. Feyre is suffering pretty badly from PTSD, leaving her practically in pieces and barely alive. While I understand why she acted the way she did, I was a little annoyed at all of the self-pity and sulking she did for the first half of the book. Luckily, it finally grew manageable and then disappeared completely. I was going to smack her (figuratively) if it didn’t. But then again, we have to lay some of that blame on Tamlin. No longer just the boring and secretive love interest, oh no, now Tamlin is the crazed overbearing jailer! Instead of trying to help Feyre cope with her issues, he ignores them and decides the best way to help her is keep locked up in the Court. To him, the best way to prove his love is to never let anything happen to her again, or let anything happen period. Love’s a bitch, right? Instead, Rhysand is now the savior. We finally get to hear all of his tragic backstory and finally get to meet the real him. TOTAL BABE.
Here’s my issue – while I’ve been Team Rhysand since the moment he showed up in ACOTAR and have pretty much been indifferent towards Tamlin the entire time, this extreme personality change was a bit much to me. Why can’t Tamlin have at least some redeeming qualities left to make this love triangle at least a little interesting? Obviously he will never beat Rhysand, but still, I want to see some more struggle! I just didn’t buy this sudden intense personality that Tamlin has in this book, it didn’t make any sense to me. And also, what the hell happened to Lucien? I loved him in the first book, but in this one? He was just so weak and had lost the snarky personality that we all loved. I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourself, Maas, in the next book so don’t let me down!
Luckily, we get a whole host of minor characters that are all just insanely interesting and fun! They each have their own distinctive personalities and personal stories, that at times I found myself more interested in than them rather than in Feyre. I’m sure you’re all in love with Cassian but I’ve got my heart set on the tortured Azriel. Seriously, I need a spin-off series on what our 4 new friends were doing the past 50 years!
Basically, this book was amazing from start to finish. Unlike the first story, it was immediately riveting without the long slow buildup. I did think the that middle could’ve used a little something extra to spice things up a bit, and not in the sexual sense because we definitely got that in spades, but just in the plot itself. However, I couldn’t tear myself away from this book. I stronglyyyyy recommend this series if you haven’t read it yet. If you’re new to Maas, I would recommend it first over her Throne of Glass series. Start strong, right? But seriously, read it, love it, obsess. Then join me and Team Rhysand as we crush that awful Team Tamlin! Hahahahah, just kidding… Sort of.
Finally Verdict: 5/5 Stars
What did you think of ACOMAF? Team Rhysand or Team Tamlin? Cassian or Azriel?
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