Release Date: May 3rd 2016
Published By: Bloomsbury
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Purchase: Click here to purchase

Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis: Feyre is immortal.

After rescuing her lover Tamlin from a wicked Faerie Queen, she returns to the Spring Court possessing the powers of the High Fae. But Feyre cannot forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people - nor the bargain she made with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court.

As Feyre is drawn ever deeper into Rhysand’s dark web of politics and passion, war is looming and an evil far greater than any queen threatens to destroy everything Feyre has fought for. She must confront her past, embrace her gifts and decide her fate.

She must surrender her heart to heal a world torn in two.

 

Review: This review contains small spoilers for A Court of Thorns and Roses. Review for A Court of Thorns and Roses can be found here.

Excitement! A Court of Mist and Fury has arrived! OMG, another awesome Sarah J Maas book to devour! What could go wrong??

Well, a few things actually.

Now before you disown me, hear me out. I adore Sarah J. Maas, I truly do. And I DID enjoy A Court of Mist and Fury. But, I did have a few issues with it. And crazily enough, I am actually grateful for that.

Sarah J. Maas entered our lives and hearts with Throne of Glass, and then wrapped a chain and lock around our hearts with A Court of Thorns and Roses, and since then it seems that she can do no wrong - but do you know what, she can (well, her characters can) and for me this is a good thing! It makes it interesting, it keeps me on my toes… and just because I might not like a certain aspect of a story, doesn’t mean I don’t like it overall (if the writing is good, and we all know this is where Sarah J. Maas shines).

So, what went wrong for me? Well, basically Feyre. And Tamlin. And a bit more Feyre.

In A Court of Mist and Fury, we are brought back to Feyre and Tamlin after the terrible events under the mountain. And although they are now free of Amarantha, it seems that her claws have dug in way too deep.

Both Tamlin and Feyre have scars from the events in A Court of Thorns and Roses, and I don’t just mean Feyre’s tattoos. They have both been through traumatic experiences, and neither of them are coping well in the aftermath.

And they both make mistakes. Big ones. But for me, Feyre makes the most. In her what I can only describe as PTSD state, Tamlin makes some bad decisions, and Feyre reacts badly to these. But instead of this amazingly strong couple working through their issues, Feyre runs away.

And I mean that metaphorically. She runs away from everything. From Tamlin, from talking about her issues or feelings, from acknowledging that others are going through a terrible time, from dealing with her issues - and this leads to the physical running away as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I know the argument of support for Feyre in her decision to run away, and the arguments against Tamlin - I know them because I have had them with myself. But at the end of the day, for me, it boils down to the fact that Feyre is quick to villainise Tamlin for doing what he did, without trying to understand his actions. She is quick to cry that Tamlin didn’t understand her feelings, but she never once tried to talk to him about them, she just withdrew. So did he, but two wrongs don’t make a right here.

Although I found Feyre to be sulky, hypocritical and basically just frustrating for most of the story, I am not saying Feyre didn’t do what was best for her - I am just saying that there were better ways to handle it. And I am not saying Tamlin was an innocent bystander here either, but once again, there were better ways to handle things.

But in saying all of this about Feyre and her issues with Tamlin, I want to add, that she also did show these traits towards others, in particular Rhysand at one point. So this isn’t so much my whinging because Tamlin got a rough deal, it is more about Feyre and her growth. And yes, I recognise that maybe she has to go through this to get to the other side and become everything she is supposed to be - but that doesn’t mean I have to like it along the way ;) I would have dumped her ass a long a time ago and left her to figure her s*&# out by herself.

I liked that Sarah J. Maas can get me to dislike certain things about her main protagonist. It shows me that she isn’t scared to show us the true character, warts and all. To me this shows a strength in Sarah’s writing, as well as her trust in her characters.

So, that’s the negative stuff out of the way. I could go on all day justifying these comments, as I know that a lot of people won’t like them… but why do that when there are so many positives to talk about?

The one good result of the events I have already spoken about, is that we got to see a lot more of the High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand. And although Rhysand was somewhat of the villain in A Court of Thorns and Roses, I just didn’t totally buy it. Or maybe I didn’t want to - I like dark, mysterious male characters. I love the mystery and intrigue, and the hopeful promise that they can thrill and excite should they choose to do so. And wow, doesn’t Rhysand thrill and excite?! I LOVED getting to know more about this mysterious High Lord. I had a feeling the moment we met him that I would fall for this dark winged fae, so I have to admit, I am pretty happy with getting to see more of him.

I don’t want to give anything away about what we learn about Rhysand, but I will say that we get to see a different side to him - although he does still manage to keep his sarcasm and snarky side - which is great! With getting to know more about him, we also get to meet some new characters - and interesting mix of characters that make up his inner circle. It is clear from the get go that some of these characters will have a bigger role to play, that there are some very interesting dynamics going on, and one hell of a mystery of a creature.

New places, new people and a whole new world to explore comes into play in A Court of Mist and Fury. Old and new characters take some surprising turns. There are good choices, bad choices and things that you didn’t even know were choices! The story continues to strengthen with every surprise, intrigue, betrayal, alliance, lie, hope and revelation.

A Court of Mist and Fury is filled with heartbreak and hope, deceit and alliances, action and drama, politics and passion. And although I did have certain issues with some of the events in this book, overall I really enjoyed it. Sarah J. Maas has once again sucked me in with her stunning world building, glorious prose and complex and intriguing storyline.

Besides the issues I had with Feyre, this series continues to be as fantastic as I could have hoped! I (mostly) love the characters, and I love the threads of mystery and danger that is always lurking, the possibility of surprise with deceit and bonds, and the strength that each character has in one way or another. And the twists - I love the possibilities these open up! With the twists at the end of this book, and the situation that certain characters now find themselves in, I cannot wait to see what happens in the next instalment!

 

Oh, and I have to say, that the thing that left me hanging in A Court of Thorns and Roses was finally (a year is a long time people!) resolved - it wasn’t what I expected it to be, actually I don’t know what I expected it to be, but I am so happy with what it was!