A Court of Feels and Angst

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Epic.  I know I have used the term before, but at this moment I cannot fathom using it in a future blog after reading this book.  With an opening statement like that I bet you are assuming that this blog will also be epic.  Well I hate to disappoint you, but I have not written a blog in almost two years and I feel a little out of practice.  But I will do what I can to make this blog worthy of my new friend Sarah and her beautiful writing.

If you have not read A Court of Thorns and Roses there will be spoilers from book one.  I just can’t seem to write a blog without mentioning some key things that happen under the mountain in the first book. 

As just stated, this is the second book in the Court of Thorns and Roses series.  Feyre survived Amarantha and her evil court under the mountain, only to come back to the Spring Court a shadow of her old self.  Her new life lived in perpetual spring would be assumed to be perfect, but her surroundings are killing her.  She is different and so is Tamlin, the love of her life.  After Feyre broke the curse, he left Amarantha’s clutches a broken High Lord, even more protective and changed.  Feyre feels trapped but can also feel something else happening within her.  She feels a power moving under her skin, but lives in constant turmoil because she knows that he will be coming soon.  Who? The dreaded High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand.  To save her own life, she made a bargain with Rhysand that requires her to live in the Night Court one week per month for the rest of her existence.  That’s about all I can say about this book without spoilers. 

This book had so many twists and turns, and for being over 600 pages one would assume that there would be unnecessary chapters, paragraphs or words, but not where Sarah J. Maas is concerned.  She wastes no detail and the smallest word could change the whole world that these characters live in. 
The story is woven together like a large tapestry and she shows us just a tiny section at a time.  We may see a green thread at the very beginning of the first book that reappears in the second book that we didn’t see coming.  Or she will change this black thread that we know has to be the worst thread to be used, then it changes right before our eyes into the deepest of violets and changes the entire plot of the book. She gives the audience tiny hints, a look in Rhys’ eyes, a nod between Mor and Azriel, and other non-verbal nuggets that Sarah drops, make me, as the reader feel special.  I know that every reader sees these cues, but when I’m wrapped up in a quilt on my couch, I can’t help but think she is writing these little hints just for me. 

All items below are a little spoilerish, so if you want to be pleasantly surprised, then stop here go read the book and then come back!  All ideas were discussed with my book junkie friend Lily so I can’t keep up with which ideas were mine or hers, so know that not all of these ideas are my own… thanks for reading with me Lily!

What I loved:

Rhys, everything about his character, everything about his personality, he was a fantastic character to read and to fall in love with, right along with Feyre.  The audience slowly learns how he is absolutely different than he and Sarah have led us to believe and the surprises just keep on coming. 

Feyre has this inherent strength about her that cannot be overlooked.  She is brave, and kind, and a little naïve at times about what’s happening in her own life.  She is the epitome of going into love blindly.  Even if it did take a little time for her to fall in love with Tamlin, she was blinded to how he treated her until it was so much that she felt trapped and had to leave or die.  And then, she was blinded to the fact that Rhys was ridiculously in love with her from day one. 

Rhys and Feyre (freaking face with heart-shaped eyes)
- She called for Rhys on her wedding day, he was waiting for her to want to come to him before enforcing the bargain. 
- Note passing, he taught her to read and write and then they pass notes, probably the cutest communication between characters ever.
-The look on his face (or at least how it’s described) as he sees her transform for the first time during her interaction with Lucien from the Spring Court, “Wings look good on you.”
-This was a beautiful moment, when the audience realizes that Feyre was the reason that Rhys did not go insane under the mountain during his time with Amarantha.  The dreams or flashes of vision were the only reason he made it and therefore sent a vision of the night sky to whomever as a thank you.  “What did you paint for yourself?” “The night sky.”
-I knew that her meeting the most hansom male she had ever seen was going to be important.  It was, dare I say, an epic meeting.  I didn’t realize how epic, but I was so thankful that when Feyre reminds us what Rhys’ first words were to her, “There you are, I’ve been looking for you.”                              

What I did not love:
In a land of beauty, Tamlin and Feyre’s wedding is doomed because of the dress.

Tamlin loved Feyre more than anything in the world.  He watched her die and I believe that broke a piece of his heart and maybe even his soul.  He is incredibly strong, yet he had no idea how to save her or fight for her.  He knew what it felt like to be without her even if it was a very short time.  When they were back to his home at the Spring Court he didn’t know how to protect her but he knew that was all he needed to do.  Of course that is the very reason that she leaves him is because she felt as trapped in Tamlin’s house as she did under the mountain.  But with lots of thought, I don’t believe that Tamlin is a bad guy, he’s definitely not the bad guy of the story and with a little help from my book junkie friend Lily, we realized that he’s not bad, he’s weak.  Weak in the sense that he sees that she is changing and understands that he is losing her but cannot figure out how to help her.  He was powerless to help her through the nightmares, her loss of her creativity, and the terror of what has happened to her and what she knows is yet to come.

Ianthe, the Priestess.  I had a really bad feeling about her from the first moment she appeared, the way she told Feyre what to do but never was there for her when she needed a friend.  I am pretty upset that Tamlin is just like “I’ll have a talk with her about how we do things in the Spring Court.” No, Tamlin, that selfish female needs to be arrested and put on trial for her sins!  She went to the King!!!  Ugh, I am so over her.    

This blog has turned out a lot longer than expected which means I have lost a lot of readers, but for those who have stuck with me, thank you!  It’s been so long since I’ve flexed this writing muscle and I will be back to share my thoughts and opinions on just a fraction of the books that I read. 
The next book comes out in May and I cannot wait.  My mind cannot fathom another series being as fantastic as this one in this year, but maybe I will be surprised and delighted.   

Oh, I almost forgot, sorry underage friends… even though I picked this book up in the YA section, this is not a Young Adult book.  My recommendation is probably 17 or 18 or older.  Or maybe after you are married, ok, I know I’m a prude, but you love me!

So, have you read ACOMAF or anything else by Sarah J. Maas?  Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought about these books!  And no matter what, Keep Reading my Friends!