BOOK REVIEW: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

BOOK REVIEW: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

Bloomsbury
May 2016
Paperback, £7.99
Reviewed by Aly Locatelli
Fantasy

9/.5/10

I was not a pet, not a doll, not an animal.
I was a survivor, and I was strong.
I would not be weak, or helpless again
I would not, could not be broken. Tamed.

I’m not entirely sure how I am going to manage to write a review for this book without freaking the hell out. A Court of Mist and Fury was everything I’d dreamed and more — Sarah J Maas pulled out all the stops with this one and boy, is it brilliant.

After the events of A Court of Thorns and Roses, Feyre and Tamlin return to the Spring Court. Feyre now possesses the powers of the High Fae, and Tamlin is free to reign without Amarantha breathing down his neck.

But Feyre can’t forget the things she did for the Spring Court, the terrible deeds she committed, and she can’t forget the bargain she made with Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court — to spend one week a month in his court. Feyre is spiralling, stuck between wanting what’s best for herself and not being able to get it. Tamlin is overprotective, and would rather lock her in their home rather than let her free.

One week a month, Rhysand gives Feyre the power of knowledge, and shows her that not everything is as it seems — again. A war is brewing, with an enemy bigger and badder than anyone could’ve ever have thought of, and Feyre needs to make a choice. Will she stand by the Night Court, and use the powers gifted to her? Or will she turn tail and run back to the Spring Court, the pretty prison that has almost suffocated her?

“You can be a pawn, be someone’s reward, and spend the rest of your immortal life bowing and scraping and pretending you’re less than him, than Ianthe, than any of us. If you want to pick that road, then fine. A shame, but it’s your choice.” The shadow of wings rippled again. “But I know you—more than you realize, I think—and I don’t believe for one damn minute that you’re remotely fine with being a pretty trophy for someone who sat on his ass for nearly fifty years, then sat on his ass while you were shredded apart—”

“Stop it—”

“Or,” he plowed ahead, “you’ve got another choice. You can master whatever powers we gave to you, and make it count. You can play a role in this war. Because war is coming one way or another, and do not try to delude yourself that any of the Fae will give a shit about your family across the wall when our whole territory is likely to become a charnel house.”

As Feyre is drawn deeper into Rhysand’s Night Court, into politics and passion, she realises that maybe her happily ever after would’ve killed her, and she makes the choice she knows is right.

I was not prey any longer, I decided as I eased up to that door.
And I was not a mouse.
I was a wolf.

Sarah J Maas is a master storyteller, and her characters, although immortal fae that could snaps necks with a mere thought, are incredibly human. Human enough to make mistakes, to learn and grow from those mistakes, and become better, and badder and more powerful than before. If one were to read A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Misty and Fury back to back, one would be able to spot the problems in the first book long before they are addressed in the sequel, and this is what makes a great series — and a believable one, at that. People change, people grow, and people grow apart.

Feyre had sacrificed herself, body and soul, for Tamlin and his people, and it hadn’t been enough for him. When she started feeling like she was drowning, unable to control who/what she was, she turned to Rhysand, a High Lord willing to help and heal her, without locking her up for her efforts.

Not only that, but the novel is action-packed from start to finish, heartbreaking and also incredibly hot. The chemistry between characters in this novel is a hundred times hotter than in the first novel, and it had me ripping through the book at breakneck speed, dying to see what happened next.

It’s a sequel, dare I say, even better than its predecessor, and I cannot wait to see what Maas unleashes on the world next.

A Court of Thorns & Roses review: 9/10

Category: Book Reviews, Other Reviews