A Court of Thorns and Roses

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin – and his world – forever.

Trigger Warning: Drugging, Emotional Abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical Abuse, Sex Scenes, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Torture, Violence

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My Thoughts

I traveled to a new world, made new friends and enemies, and experienced trauma, hope, and love. Captivating and enthralling, this book is exactly why I love reading.

I was a bit worried after finishing An Ember in the Ashes series that anything I read immediately following would be a letdown. A Court of Thorns and Roses was not only NOT a letdown but has given An Ember in the Ashes real competition for a top spot on my list of favorites (An Ember in the Ashes is still slightly ahead at this point).

“There are those who seek me a lifetime but never we meet,
  And those I kiss but who trample me beneath ungrateful feet.

  At times I seem to favor the clever and the fair,
  But I bless all those who are brave enough to dare.

  By large, my ministrations are soft-handed and sweet,
  But scorned, I become a difficult beast to defeat.

  For though each of my strikes lands a powerful blow,
  When I kill, I do it slow… ”

The Mortal Land is where we meet Feyre (love me some Feyre) who lives in a village that is only separated from Prythian by a forest and wall. Through Feyre’s perspective, we learn that the Faerie world is to be feared due to their brutality and desire to, once again, kill and enslave humanity. But we soon learn Feyre is one tough cookie. She is a fighter, a huntress, a provider (basically a courageous badass).

Some shit goes down and Feyre ends up having to go live in Prythian for eternity (blah blah Peace Treaty blah blah A life for a life blah blah) with Tamlin who is High Lord of the Spring Court. Tamlin is extremely powerful and very mysterious. We’ve also got Lucien, originally from the Autumn Court, who is a friend to Tamlin and may (or may not) be a friend to Feyre (#frenemies).As time goes on, Feyre (and I) both start to fall for Tamlin (why must I always find a book boyfriend?). Their romance is a slow-burn with Tamlin there to protect her, provide for her, and love her (so why do I feel like their relationship is a bit toxic?).

“I love you,’ he whispered, and kissed my brow. ‘Thorns and all.”

Of course, everything isn’t smooth sailing. We are taken into a very dark place (both metaphorically and literally to a place called Under the Mountain) as Feyre is forced to fight for her life and Tamlin’s.

Under the Mountain, there’s Amarantha, a self-proclaimed High Queen and one evil bitch who takes away Faerie powers, kills and tortures on the regular, and creates some serious issues for Feyre. Rhysand (aka Rhys) is Amarantha’s “whore” and the High Lord of the Night Court. He is intriguing to put it mildly. I’m interested in how his storyline will progress as I’m certain it will (there’s definitely something with him and Feyre).

“It took me a long while to realize that Rhysand, whether he knew it or not, had effectively kept me from shattering completely.”

The first half of the book started a bit slow for me (maybe because I just finished a fighting a war in An Ember in the Ashes) but by the midway point I was obsessed with the characters, the hope, the love, the evil, the magic.

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Favorite Book Quotes

“We need hope, or else we cannot endure.”

“I threw myself into that fire, threw myself into it, into him, and let myself burn.”

“I love you,” I said, and stabbed him.”

“Do you ever stop being so serious and dull?”
“Do you ever stop being such a prick?” I snapped back.
 Dead—really, truly, I should have been dead for that.
 But Lucien grinned at me. “Much better.”

“Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.”

“Everything I love has always had a tendency to be taken from me. I tell very few about the wings. Or the flying.”

“I found him carefully studying me, his lips in a thin line. “Has anyone ever taken care of you?” he asked quietly.
“No.” I’d long since stopped feeling sorry for myself about it.”

“Feyre!” someone roared. No, not someone – Rhysand.”

“Because I wouldn’t want to die alone,” I said, and my voice wobbled as I looked at Tamlin again, forcing myself to meet his stare. “Because I’d want someone to hold my hand until the end, and awhile after that.
That’s something everyone deserves, human or faerie.”

“Rhysand yelled my name again – yelled it as though he cared. I blacked out, but she brought me back, ensuring that I felt everything ensuring that I screamed every time a bone broke.”

“Regardless of his motives or his methods, Rhysand was keeping me alive. And had done so even before I set foot Under the Mountain.”

“I came to claim the one I love.”

“My priority would be to protect my family — and I would have picked whatever side could keep them safest. I hadn’t thought of it as a weakness until now.”

“Well,” Lucien said, his remaining russet eye fixed on me, “you don’t look half as bad now. A relief, I suppose, since you’re to live with us. Though the tunic isn’t as pretty as a dress.”
Wolves ready to pounce – that’s what they were, just like their friend. I was all to aware of my diction, of the very breath I took as I said, “I’d prefer not to wear that dress”
“And why not?” Lucien crooned.
 It was Tamlin who answered for me. “Because killing us is easier in pants.”

“It’s a rare day indeed when someone thanks you for bringing them to their death.”

“As I lifted the ash dagger, something inside me fractured so completely that there would be no hope of ever repairing it.”

“Do you lie awake at night to come up with all your witty replies for the following day?”

“In saving Tamlin, I was to damn myself.”

“Thus I became Rhysand’s plaything, the harlot of Amarantha’s whore.”

“Well, good-bye for now,” he said, rolling his neck as if we hadn’t been talking about anything important at all. He bowed at the waist, those wings vanishing entirely, and had begun to fade into the nearest shadow when he went rigid.
His eyes locked on mine, wide and wild, and his nostrils flared. Shock – pure shock flashed across his features at whatever he saw on my face, and he stumbled back a step. Actually stumbled.
“What is -” I began.
He disappeared – simply disappeared, not a shadow in sight – into the crisp air.”

“Better to die with my chin held high than groveling like a cowering worm.”

“If it grieves you,” he said, the words caressing my bones, “then I don’t think it’s absurd at all.”

“Thank you for finding her for me,” my saviour said to them, smooth and polished. “Enjoy the Rite.” There was enough of a bite beneath his last words that the faeries stiffened. Without further comment, they scuttled back to the bonfires.
I stepped out of the shelter of my saviour’s arm and turned to thank him.
Standing before me was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.”

“So is this what you do with your lives? Spare humans from the Treaty and have fine meals?” I gave a pointed glance toward Tamlin’s baldric, the warrior’s clothes, Lucien’s sword.
Lucien smirked. “We also dance with the spirits under the full moon and snatch human babes from their cradles to replace them with changelings–”

“It told a story…the story of Prythian. It began with a cauldron. A mighty black cauldron held by glowing, slender female hands in a starry, endless night. Those hands tipped it over, and, from it, golden sparkling liquid poured out over the lip. No — not sparkling, but…effervescent with small symbols, perhaps some ancient faerie language.”

“Each of us has a beast roaming beneath our skin, roaring to get out.”

“Because,” he went on, his eyes locked with mine, “I didn’t want you to fight alone. Or die alone.”
And for a moment, I remembered that faerie who had died in our foyer, and how I’d told Tamlin the same thing. “Thank you,” I said, my throat tight.”

“Against slavery, against tyranny, I would gladly go to my death, no matter whose freedom I was defending.”

“But I lived in that moment – my life became beautiful again for those few seconds when our hands grazed.”

“Cauldron save you.
Mother hold you.
Pass through the gates, and smell that immortal land of milk and honey.
Fear no evil.
Feel no pain.
Go, and enter eternity.”

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When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin – and his world – forever.