Thursday 5 July 2018

Book Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas


A Court Of Wings and Ruin – Sarah J. Maas

*Warning – may contain spoilers*

Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
First published: 2017
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 699

Blurb:    Feyre will bring vengeance.
She has left the Night Court – and her High Lord – and is playing a deadly game of deceit. In the Spring Court, Tamlin is making deals with the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees and Feyre is determined to uncover his plans. But to do so she must weave a web of lies, and one slop may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.
As mighty armies grapple for power, Feyre must decide who to trust among the dazzling and lethal High Lords – and hunt for allies in unexpected places.
But while war rages, it is her heart that will face the greatest battle.

History of my copy: I picked up ACOWAR whilst shopping in Waterstones as I had enjoyed the first two books, A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury.

I was quite impressed by how quickly I read this book; 2 months isn’t bad during university term time!

Plot: The third instalment in the Court of Thorns and Roses series follows Feyre as she plays a treacherous game of spying in the Spring Court whilst she pretends to return to her initial captor turn love interest, Tamlin. As Hybern finally brings the wall down with the cauldron, a battle ensues (which is actually quite cool to be honest.) However, my main gripe with the plot is that it was too cliché and the ending too happy. It felt like something bad should have happened just to get some form of emotion out of the story.

Setting: I will, however, praise the setting of A Court of Wings and Ruin. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews of this series, Maas is a master at setting the scene, and describes every location so vividly that you truly believe that you are there. I cannot wait to explore more of this world in future books!

Characters: The character development in A Court of Wings and Ruin was probably the most frustrating part of this book. Over the first two books in the series, the characters have really interested me and, as you can see from my past two reviews, my opinions of certain ones have changed. However, ACOWAR felt like a step back. Feyre’s great twist of becoming immortal has now just turned her really two-dimensional, and her whole relationship with Rhys has become nothing but sex and ‘vulgar hand-gestures’. Even Lucien, who I adore, started to get a bit boring once he left the Spring Court, although he did pick up again towards the end of the book. And, the more bored I got of Rhys, Feyre and the rest of the Night Court, the angrier I got about the injustice Maas has given Tamlin – she has completely twisted his character to make the reader favour Rhys. Sure, Rhys is the better partner for Feyre, but Tamlin is once again becoming my favourite character.
                The only enjoyable character development belonged to Nesta, who has become a brilliant character. But even she has her flaw – why are all the characters getting paired up? Yawn.

To read or not to read: Read, but only to continue the series. I was fairly disappointed with the third instalment of this series, and I really hope that the next book is much more interesting.


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