"Our character finds herself drawn towards the Court of Dreams, where the whole story unfolds and love blooms amidst darkness and starlight."
Genre: Fantasy, YA, touch of Fairytales
Recommend it highly if you like: “Throne of Glass” by Sarah J. Maas, Fairytales, Epic reads, Adventure, Love stories, Fantasy, (literally everyone in my opinion can find something in this book)
“To the stars who listen – and the dreams that are answered.”
Hello lovelies,
May has come to an end, bringing a lot of long awaited sequels to our lives. It is safe to say that we had some great books to read. And to me the most notable release of May is “A Court of Wings and Ruin”- the epic sequel to the 2nd series written by the queen of fantasy herself – Sarah J. Maas!
And I must warn you here that this review will be highly subjective (well aren’t all my reviews, hehe), praising, fangirlish, and everything positive there is to say.. because that is what you get with me when it comes to Maas.
Our love story (of me and Maas, though it is 100% one-sided :/) started a loooong while ago, at 2012 with the release of “Throne of Glass”. Yes, I am one of those dinosaurs, waiting for each book to come out. Torturous, painful waiting.. Even then she was absolutely amazing and I believed in here since the 1st pages. You can literally say that I am a hardcore “Throne of Glass” fan. I decided to be smart this time and skip the painful waiting, pondering for weeks over cliffhangers and falling in a reading slump for a month after each book (because Aelin..Rowan..Manon..ugh..). So I did my automatic buy of the 1st and 2nd Court books, stayed faaar faaaaar away from spoilers and the media on the release dates and decided to wait at least until the 3rd book is released to start the series. I am proud to say that I endured! And I started reading “A Court of Thorns and Roses” on the day ACOWAR was released. Yeeey, for meee.. The books were really hyped, I heard a lot of praise for them, tried not to put my hopes up too much because (and I quote myself) “How can she manage to write series better than the Throne? I really don’t think it is possible”. And then I proved myself wrong. Sooo sooo wrong..
“A Court of Thorns and Roses”
What bad thing is there to say about this book? It has it all.. all that I always looked for in a book. An epic plot, fantasy components, fairytale writing style, magical folk, realistic love story, lands and kingdoms, good and evil and finally - a strong female character (here I must insert that I am really hard to please when it comes to that, I am sick and tired of reading about silly girls who find themselves in a man, ugh.. I am not a feminist, not at all, don’t get me wrong. But females can and should be more than that, especially in YA, being read by growing girls.)
Our main character is Feyre (I love the names Sarah comes up with) – a human girl who hunts. No Katniss praise here, she just kills to survive and provide for her family. She is being introduced with all her dreams and flaws, hopes and shortcomings. She enters the fey world forcefully, in a rush, with fear and resentment and slowly warms towards it. Love grows steadily in her heart:
“I was as unburdened as a piece of dandelion fluff, and he was the wind that stirred me about the world.”
Knowing Sarah I expected some epic quest to fight evil and she didn’t disappoint – Feyre ends up Under the Mountain where nightmares surely are born. And then fights her way through.
I always found it incredible how Maas takes her time for everything. Her first book is always the slowest, taking her sweet time to polish each detail of the surroundings, as well as the primary and secondary characters, giving the reader the opportunity to fully submerge him/herself in the fictional world at hand. I literally have dreams about Courts and fey when I read her books, not kidding (I look cute with pointy ears, haha joking).
I give “A Court of Thorns and Roses” 5 crosses – fully and well deserved 5 crosses! :)
“A Court of Mist and Fury”
Here I want to start at the end – I give this book 6 out of 5 crosses. Yes, 6. Yes indeed, 6. This book is the best literature piece I have read in a really long while. And I do read a lot (especially when I don’t have to write my Master thesis, ugh..)
The book picks up after Feyre has returned back from hell, gaining a lot, but also losing a piece of her soul. She is trying to live with the burden of what she has done, learning to survive as immortality settles in. Feyre needs to rebuild herself, fight for herself and find the way to continue. Our character finds herself drawn towards the Court of Dreams, where the whole story unfolds and love blooms amidst darkness and starlight.
“I believe you. And I believe in peace. I believe in a better world.”
And I will just stop here, because there is no chance for me to represent more without spoiling you.
Overall, the second book is everything I believe in. Love - blooming at the best and the same time – worst possible moment. Strength – to face the consequences of a choice, be it for the greater good or not. Endurance – to continue fighting, even when afraid. Freedom – to choose yourself over and over again, even when tempted to take an easier path. To learn to adapt, when everything has changed and you need to start over. And friendship and family – pure, deep and honest. I believe there is not one, but many lessons to be learned here.
To those of you who continue to fight – for yourself, those you love, for dreams and for a better world!
“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 am diving back deep in the beloved magical world, excited and a bit afraid of what awaits me in the 3rd book – “A court of Wings and Ruin”:
“Remember that you are a wolf. And you cannot be caged.”
Keep going!
Irina :)
P.S. We don't have a 6 cross image :/ I will need to work on that soon !
 |
| Random photo as ending - "How to enjoy life" volume 1 |
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten