Opening Doorz

By Ananya Sachdev | Opening Doorz Editorial | June 26, 2021

Book review: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author: Sarah J Maas
Rating: 5/5

The essence: Sarah is a one of a kind storyteller. She makes the reader devour every detail while making us fall in love with the world of faerie and magic. The flip of the last page gives one a happy ending, though leaving the reader wanting more. It is one of the books that every fantasy and romance enthusiast should undoubtedly read.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Book review

A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in the fantasy series beginning with A Court of… Feyre Archeron is a 19-year-old mortal huntress who is taken to the faerie land of Prythian by a beast that demands a life for life after she kills a faerie wolf in the woods. Feyre discovers that her kidnapper is a powerful shapeshifter named Tamlin and one of the seven High Lords of Prythian. As she starts life in the Spring Court with the Lord of the court, Tamlin by her side, she quickly learns that everything she knew about the faerie is a lie.

It is quite evident why the book is a global bestseller, once I picked it up it was difficult to put it down until I had finished it and then immediately went on to purchase the next book in the series. 

Enchanting and captivating, it is everything one looks for in a fantasy novel. The world-building is so stellar that it is difficult to come to terms with the fact that such a place doesn’t exist outside the imagination of the author. The vivid and rich imagery is bewitching, taking the reader into this magical world of faerie and experiencing it alongside Feyre. The characters are multifaceted and very intriguing adding to the charm of the book. 

Into the fantasy world

The story is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast though not in a way that has been done before. Sarah J Maas has retained the original plot to support the story she weaves around it beautifully.

Feyre is a compelling central character, a valiant huntress full of verve. Her life is tethered by a vow she is resolved to keep. Feyre’s once great, now impoverished family depends on her, or more accurately the aim of her arrow for survival. It is here, in the deep forest which is alarmingly close to the wall between the human and faerie world, that the story starts. 

While Feyre is hunting in the woods she finds a doe, but she must kill a wolf to take the doe home. Not long after, a savage beast crashes into her home and demands a life for life, retribution for killing his friend. Feyre is taken across the much-feared wall, to Prythian where she must live forever with the beast.

From darkness to light

She soon discovers that this beast is Tamlin, a High Lord who presides over the Spring Court, which she is now a member of. The book takes you from a dark place with no escape in sight to one full of sunlight within the span of a few pages. 

Their relationship is extremely antagonistic at first and Feyre despises the High Lord for stealing her from the human world. Tamlin is mysterious, brooding and gruff. However, the more she spends time with the High Lord, the more she grows to understand and care for him. 

Then there’s a twist in the tale and Feyre must now risk her life to save the one she loves. 

Amarantha is an excellent antagonist, one that elicits true fear in the minds of the reader for the protagonist. 

Sarah is a one of a kind storyteller. She makes the reader devour every detail while making us fall in love with the world of faerie and magic. The flip of the last page gives one a happy ending, though leaving the reader wanting more. It is one of the books that every fantasy and romance enthusiast should undoubtedly read.

Also Read: The Poet X Book Review