A Court of Thorns and Roses is a YA fantasy series that has taken bookstagram by storm. Not a day goes by that I do not see this book when I scroll my Insta feed. I had to check out it out for myself and see what all the buzz was about, so to the Barnes and Noble drive up I go! I want to say I loved this one, but I didn't. Liked, not loved. I thought I was missing something, but turns out everyone says to get through the first book of the series because the second one is where it is at. Will I read the second one? Probably. ACOTAR is the first of four in it's series and from what I have heard, the second is steamy and unputdownable (Yes, I am making this a word.) Sign me up!
ACOTAR is set in a mythical world where fairies exist in nearby lands, but are extremely powerful and deadly. Armed with her bow and arrows, Feyre hunts in the snow laden woods, hoping to find any assemblance of a meal for her father and sisters. They live in a humble shack, with barely enough food to keep them alive. While hunting, Feyre spots a doe, but is competing for it with a wolf that stalks into the scene. Feyre slays the wolf and brings the doe home for her family to finally have a substantial meal. What Feyre does not realize is the wolf was a shape shifted fairy and she just committed a deadly crime. To pay for killing a fairy, she is taken to the fairy realm where she must live. It is either that or death.
Feyre complies and lives with a High Fae named Tamlin. She does not hide her distaste for the arrangement, but eventually succumbs to her new surroundings. She also succumbs to Tamlin's good looks and fairy charm. Soon their love story is tested and Feyre must face a series of challenges if she ever wants to see the love of her life safe and in her arms.
This book is very YA fantasy and I mean that in the nicest way possible. This one brought me back to my "Twilight" days where it was such a joy to get lost in a series where a mortal falls in love with something non-mortal. (Cue the vampire lovers.) I will say, ACOTAR is much better than Twilight and the main protagonist is much more likable than Bella...though that doesn't take much, if you ask my opinion.... I enjoy an enemies turned lovers love story and this one is just that. Feyre is pretty BA and stands on her own, which made me like her even more. While this one wasn't the best book I have ever read, I liked it and the story was entertaining. It was also enjoyable to get lost in another world, which is something I do not usually do because fantasy is not a genre I read often.
I will dabble in this series some more, but this book did not leave me feeling like I had to stop everything and pick up the second novel. I will though, at some point, and who knows, maybe my thoughts will change. There are plenty of people who rave about this series, so there could be more to it that I am just not seeing.
Until then, make sure you do not kill any shape shifting fairies...or maybe, you want to if it means you get to wind up with a hunky High Fae fairy?!
Happy reading!
Mel
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