Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #3
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/New Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Publication Date: May 2nd, 2017
Edition: Hardcover, 699 pages
Source: Purchase
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Synopsis:
Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series.
Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit – and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.
As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords – and hunt for allies in unexpected places.
Review:
Well, I tore through this book much faster than I did the last one. Read it in about a week, whereas the other took me a few months. I think part of it is, this book seemed shorter, because it's thinner. It has more pages by about 70 pages, but those pages are thinner. Mild spoilers, so if you haven't read the series and want to, maybe stop reading now?
I liked the romance in this book more than the last two, for a couple reasons. It's been a while since I read the first book, but I never really "got" the romance between Feyre and Tamlin. It felt artificial, and a little like she loved him because he "saved" her, and he loved her because he was somebody he could protect. A long-term relationship between them would have been toxic in the long run, even if she hadn't been changed. And while I am pretty much done with the whole "mate" thing in romance books to justify Insta-love. I did think that Rhysand and Feyre made a little more sense than Feyre and Tamlin. Maas tired real hard to make their romance develop more naturally, but it was still a "fated" love, based on not much more than a predestined-type romance. It kind of takes the prospect of choice being removed.
...I'm starting to babble.
Feyre remains my least favorite character in the series. I know she's the main character, but she is the least interesting. The only reason why I am remotely looking forward to the other two books (not counting the novella) is I am hoping to learn more about Nesta and Elain and their new powers as Fae. Rhysand is only slightly more interesting than Feyre. But that's because he has some depth to his character.
The rest of the main cast of characters are the ones I am most interested in. Mor (The Morrigan), Armen (Who I am still not 100% sure what she is), Cassian, and Azriel (especially Azriel) are the most interesting characters.
And the rest of the High Fae court characters I couldn't care less about. 90% of them were introduced in this book, I don't remember book one very well, and I wasn't attached to them in any way. I know that had to have been in the first book because of how Feyre was made into a High Fae at the end of the book, but I don't remember anything about the characters.
Which brings me to complaint number one. This series was rushed. Especially in this book. The first half or so was really interesting, the attempt at political espionage. It was a hearty attempt, but it was rushed in a way. So much happened in such a short amount of time that as a reader, I hardly had time to process some of it before the next big thing happened that required a reaction. And these "big" things were broken up not by developing newly introduced characters, but sex scenes. Most of them were really out of place and the page space could have been used to develop characters, or spend some time with Lucian on his quest. Anything else really than the oddly placed sex scenes.
I wish Feyre actually fought in the war, instead of standing on the sidelines. It made sense why Nesta and Elain were, they hadn't been trained to fight at all. Feyre is supposed to be a warrior-type Queen, yet she just stood there half the time. Unless she was being selfish and reckless running off doing her own thing without telling anybody or bringing back-up. Mor was right to be pissed at her when she did that.
I feel like the ending was too convenient, Feyre and her group didn't really suffer any losses, nothing huge anyway. It didn't feel like a "real" war with things, for the most part, turning out good for them. It might seem weird that I wish more people on the "good" side, died... but it's just that the majority of the people who died, were nameless and faceless soldiers. Nobody of prominence or in a high position, like one of the High Lords, died. I think it would have added something to the ending of the book if something like that had happened.
I would like to mention that I did not hate this book, just a lot of it felt misplaced, rushed, or both. The novella that's supposed to bridge the first half of series with the rest of it, is one I plan on borrowing from the library. Eventually.
