ACOTAR Week: "A Court of Wings and Ruin" by Sarah J. Maas
"A Court of Wings and Ruin" by Sarah J. Maas
Welp, this is definitely a case of something I would have never done without being an active follower of other Bookstagram accounts, but here we are. ACOTAR week! The reviews of each of the individual books will be spoiler-free (I got to read them without spoilers, so you should, too!), but I do plan on doing a wrap-up of my thoughts of the series as a whole that will include spoilers.
Synopsis: Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's actions and learn what she can about the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit. One slip could bring doom not only for Feyre, but for everything-and everyone-she holds dear.
As war bears down upon them all, Feyre endeavors to take her place amongst the High Fae of the land, balancing her struggle to master her powers-both magical and political-and her love for her court and family. Amidst these struggles, Feyre and Rhysand must decide whom to trust amongst the cunning and lethal High Lords, and hunt for allies in unexpected places.
Rating: 3.75
Review: When I posted on Instagram that I had stayed up way too late reading this one, someone messaged me that her friend called this book in particular “fairy porn,” and honestly she’s not that far off. The two main themes in this book were: creative sex between Feyre and Rhys (not mad about it in the least) and battle/preparing for battle. Oh, there was also some good treachery and pure evil. All in all, a fitting in to Feyre’s installation as the Lady of the Night Court.
Book 3 picks up immediately after the end of Book 2, as Feyre returns to the Spring Court as a spy for Rhys. Hot off Tamlin’s absolute betrayal and toxic masculinity, she’s gone back to her former home to see what is the deal with the evil priestesses, as well as just how far Tamlin has betrayed both the High Fae and the humans. The best part about Feyre’s brief moment as a spy was seeing her relationship with Lucien grow — especially after he accidentally mated with her younger sister/one of the newest Fae. Listen, a lot happened at the end of Book 2, and the repercussions are only kind of dealt with throughout this book. There’s a lot of residual trauma for all the former humans to come - but wait for my Book 5 review to deal with that.
Obviously, Feyre finds her way back to the Night Court, and that’s when the story really picks up. Feyre and Rhys have…quite a bit of creative sex* — let’s just say Sarah J. Maas has an overactive imagination. In all honestly, I love Feyre and Rhysand’s relationship, even if he sometimes seems just too good to be true: loyal, rich, hot af, and a feminist. Beyond that, I love Rhys’ “family” that he’s built in the Night Court, and those characters are my favorites to spend time with in the series.
This book spends most of its time working towards an epic battle over the origin of magic (that’s as close as I can get without spoiling it totally), and as predicted, it’s engrossing and surprising. Without spoilers, I would liken it to the final battle in Avengers: Endgame — we got to see lots of old and unexpected friends, there’s lots of fire and magic, and there was A LOT happening ALL OVER THE PLACE. It ends very cleanly, just like the end of the movie, too.
I can’t decide if Sarah J. Maas intended to end the series here because it all wraps up fairly neatly in a bow — no complaints, it was a wonderful conclusion to Feyre’s growth into High Fae. That said, I’m not sad that she continued to tell stories within this world, and I love that we get to continue along with these characters.
*Are the wings always out? I need to know.
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