A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) eBook PDF

User Reviews

emma

Rating: really liked it
202.

That’s the number of times that the word “mate,” in any of its hellish forms, is used in this book.

TWO.

HUNDRED.

AND.

TWO.

https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...

That statistic alone should be enough to justify this one star rating. If you feel satisfied enough to just remove yourself from this review, run with that feeling. Because I have, like. Seven pages of sh*t to complain about.

That’s if I’m efficient.

And I’ve never been an efficient reviewer. Once. In my life. I counted two hundred (and two) uses of a word over seven hundred pages. That shouldn’t scream “rational and in control of her passionate fury” to you.

So buckle up, buttercup. We’ve got some categories to run through.

DISCLAIMER : This review is teeming with spoilers. It is also X-rated, due to the strength of my anger and the copious sex scenes in the source material.

I HATE THESE CHARACTERS

Rhys makes me cringe harder than Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’ Diary. (At least that movie has both Colin Firth and Hugh Grant to distract me from Renee viciously critiquing her own body and, like, spilling coffee all over herself or whatever.) He is capable of two actions, like a mildly impressive Ken doll: 1) sex person and 2) valiant hero trying to kill himself in the name of his friends constantly. Either he is full on f*cking Feyre (sick alliteration, Emma) or he must be actively prevented from jumping in front of poisoned weapons with the half-hearted motivation of Heroism To Save My Family (even if it’s not at all clear why doing this would save them, because whatever none of the plans in this book make a lick of sense anyway).

Because, as if this book weren’t fun enough, it rivals the Fast and the Furious franchise for use of the my-real-family-is-the-one-I-made-not-the-one-I-was-born-with cliché.

Like Rhys, Feyre also manages to find time in her packed schedule of sex scenes and repetitive dialogue to be incredibly, incontrovertibly dumb. For example, when she traps Ianthe and ties her up or whatever, she spends an unbelievable amount of time indulging an evil-villain-revenge rant. Just enough time for her to be CAUGHT BY THE DAEMATI (a Cassandra Clare-esque douchey term that pretty much means “species of bad guy,” to the best of my recollection). So much of this book was me silently screaming.

Speaking of the aforementioned schedule, it’s no wonder that that thing Feyre used to do called “painting” is dropped like a hot potato. She never does it, but it’s mentioned a handful of times in the beginning of the book. And then forgotten. And then, suddenly, almost at the merciful end of this suffering: “The movement so perfect that I knew I’d one day paint it.” We’re still pretending that Feyre paints? Between the same diverse selection of identical sex scenes, identical training scenes, identical war discussion scenes, I don’t think she has time for something so banal as a singular interest or hobby. Idk if we’ll have time; I think she’ll have to get to third base with Rhys in a perfumed bath later.

At least Feyre is brave and strong, though. Which is why she’s “too tired” to do anything after a loooong day of watching other people fight in a battle, followed by Mor winnowing her home. So courageous. How does she do it.

Plus, she’s a brilliant friend. Which is why, when Morrigan confronts her for lying, leaving, making her and everyone else fear she has died and also making Mor responsible for it, Feyre’s response is “OH YA??? WELL YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON AZRIEL.”

Truly a depiction of a powerful woman for the ages.

And I don’t get Lucien’s appeal. Do we like him out of the same reason we like Draco? (I’m saying “we” as if I like either of those characters.) Is it an omg-he’s-just-trying-to-do-right-he-didn’t-know-any-better type situation? Because Draco is a child trying to impress a father who doesn’t love him and I still don’t totally buy that. I’m still not a Draco fan. And Tamlin is not Lucien’s daddy, although...maybe a more interesting book if he were.

Cassian and Azriel are both flat and boring. Amren is characterized so inconsistently that it’s impossible for me to know whether I like her or not. (I’m going to say “not” - seems like a safer bet.) Nesta is almost cool, but the whole I Am Mean And Hard And Damaged thing goes too far. And Elain just floats around and lets things happen to her.

Morrigan, never all that interesting, now just represents the worst bisexuality rep I’ve ever read.

It’s never a good sign when you’re praying for characters to die in battle just so you can catch a f*cking break.

But guess what. None of them do.

THE WRITING SUCKS, ON BOTH A COPYEDITING LEVEL AND A SUBSTANTIVE LEVEL

I truly believe that whatever team of sad sacks was assigned to copyedit this book was physically unable to attentively read it. And I cannot blame them. But it does allow for some hilarious mistakes to make it through these dull, dull pages.

Example: “She did not avert her eyes from the Morrigan.” That pesky “the” makes her seem like a pro wrestler, or someone with a fun nickname, rather than the personification of the worst bi rep ever to grace young adult pages. But we’ll get to that.

There are so many ellipses and dashes and italicizations and...other - ways: of breaking up the TEXT that it actually gave me motion sickness. On top of everything else this book has made me suffer through.

Maybe if a copyeditor had found the strength to make it through this book, they could have stopped the way SJM insists on using the term “Hybern.” IT MEANS SO MANY THINGS. “Hybern” is used as the nomer of the evil king, the word for his people, the name of his kingdom, and the title of the land it’s situated on. That is just...basic bad worldbuilding, no?

Also, a monster creature thing described as having no eyelids narrows its eyes. This inspired a fifteen minute long discussion with my roommates on whether eyes can narrow without eyelids. We came to a unanimous consensus: no, they cannot.

Also, as Val pointed out in her amazing review of this book, the words “vulgar gesture” are used over. And over. And over again. WHAT DO THESE USES MEAN. WHY DO THEY CONSTANTLY INSPIRE LAUGHTER IN WHATEVER ~~GLORIFIED PROP~~ CHARACTER WHO HAPPENS TO BE NEARBY. IS THIS TACTIC SUPPOSED TO REPLACE ACTUAL JOKES OR BANTER? Because it doesn’t. It just makes me angry, and also confused, which makes me even angrier.

And who thought that was even possible.

WHAT IS THIS ATTEMPT AT HIGH FANTASY LANGUAGE

Except then, y’know, Rhys and Feyre and the Gang are also so hip and cool and up to date that this book uses the word “fuckable,” a word so slang-y that my laptop recognizes it as a typo for “suckable” or “faceable,” whatever the hell those words are.

Otherwise, the only other remarkable attempt at making this any different from the way humans speak in 2017: the use of the word “male.”

Women are sometimes called “females” in this, but are also called women and girls and whatnot. Men, on the other hand, are absolutely only called males. There’s an amazing moment when SJM refers to Rhys as a man, and then instantly, like, corrects herself. So it reads on the page as “man - male -”

It makes no sense. I love it.

It’s truly the little things.

THE END OF THIS BOOK IS JUST A LISTING OF CLICHES

As the war we’ve waited for finally arrives, and so does the time for motivational speeches and tragic goodbyes and other things that fail to make me feel something, SJM loses it entirely.

Nearly every line of dialogue in this section is just a cliché, and so I will copy and paste them here, for your perusal and accompanying amusement.

“Leave this world…a better place than how you found it.”

“One life may change the world.”

“I believe everything happens for a reason.”

“It is the family you make, not the one you are born into, that matters.”

“Light can be found even in the darkest of hells.”

“The great joy and honor of my life has been to know you.”

“I wasn’t sure if in the entire history of Illyria, there had ever been such a discussion.”

So bad. And, therefore, so good.

LET’S LAUGH AT DUMB THINGS

The moments when this may or may not be attempting to instill some sort of entertainment or amusement in its reader do not work at all. Luckily, we have something much better: Really dumb stuff. It is much more fun (and nourishing to the very soul, like a bowl of chicken soup - so pretty much the series of books “Chicken Soup for the Soul”) to laugh at something unintentional and dumb than it is to laugh at a cheap joke. This is why the show America’s Funniest Home Videos has been on for twenty-eight seasons, and like a thousand interchangeable bad sitcoms are canceled every year.

For example, this passage. Feyre and Rhysand are apart, blah blah blah, it’s the tragedy of the century (or millennium, since these boring ass people live for infinity, because there is no justice in this world). Unsurprisingly, they use their mind control powers for a saintly motivation: sexting. Which is already so hilarious. But it gets even better, because:

“I sent back an image of me sticking out my tongue at him.

My clothes were back on when his answer arrived.

Like mine, it was wordless, a mere image. Like mine, Rhysand’s tongue was out.

But it was occupied with doing something else.”

I choose to interpret this statement the same way a middle schooler interprets the existence of performer Marilyn Manson based on a shady rumor he once heard about a surgery to remove three ribs. I believe that this is incontrovertible evidence that Rhysand can suck his own d*ck. WHAT ELSE COULD HE POSSIBLY BE DOING. WHAT COULD IT POSSIBLY BE OCCUPIED WITH. SJM I JUST WANNA TALK.

But just as often as I was making myself laugh by making Rhys my YA fantasy version of Marilyn Manson, I was being equally amused by seemingly innocuous lines. Like when Eris, scary villain/abuser extraordinaire, was bidding The Night Gang adieu and said, “See you at the meeting in twelve days.” I MEAN. WHAT. WHO SPEAKS LIKE THAT. Even dialogue is just an opportunity to force an info dump. You guys, seriously: this book is so poorly written.

LET’S SCREAM ABOUT DUMB THINGS

Sometimes, or most of the time depending on how you look at it, I do not want to laugh at the dumb things. Sometimes I am incapable of it, because this book is an ungodly length and so much of it is long-term stupidity.

Chapter 45, for example. Or, as I like to call it, “That Meeting in Twelve Days Finally Happens.” Yes, this book is so boring that we are expected to anticipate an actual, literal meeting. Sure, it’s a meeting between high lords to talk about war, but it’s still a sit-down political discussion. And also it’s just the same endless repetitive cycle of insult dialogue feat. fun moments of The Night Gang being the least convincing people on the entirety of the Earth.

There’s an especially great moment in that adrenaline-inducing conference. For the 800 pages leading up to it, Rhys is all, “Ok, Feyre. Listen up. Number one thing - just don’t show your powers, k? Long story short the Powerful Men are going to get pissy and then…well y’know these negotiations are the most important thing to happen in hundreds of years, which I should know because I’ve been alive for that long, even though you’re, what, fresh outta adolescence? Anyway just the only thing you should do is not show your powers.” To which Feyre’s response is, “Got it. *shows powers instantly*”

YES. Feyre shows her powers at the meeting!! So quickly!!! She doesn’t even try all that hard, and, as promised, it almost derails the nonstop excitement of this much-anticipated civilized forum! Almost. Except then everything works out, as it always does, by Feyre saying something totally normal, 6/10 at best, and everyone being like “wow omg...who is this girl...she is so smart and brave and honest and we respect her so much” so that Rhys can be like “that’s my mate lol.”

IRRELEVANT COMPLAINING

The only way to make the experience of reading a deeply unpleasant, extremely long book worse is to publish that book with goddamn tissue paper pages. This was like reading the Bible but without the action. And with a whole lot more smut.

I’m tucking this quote in this section too, because I don’t know if I’m being persnickety, but at one point, it’s said that “Only a madman would wield the might of his army just to get revenge on three women.” And my question is, why use the word “women”? Why not “people”? Is it more insane if it’s women? Why is that? TELL ME WHY. REALLY I JUST WANNA TALK.

PLOTLINE? WHAT PLOTLINE

This book is just...so boring.

There are countless info dumps, which, I mean. There’s no excuse for that in a third book. This was going to be the last book in the series, when there was still hope in the world and I prayed that somehow SJM actually was writing these books for some sort of artistic fulfillment rather than money. How, I ask you, would there still be so much sh*tty worldbuilding in the last book in a series?

OH YES, THIS BOOK IS DEFINITELY WOKE AND NOT THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF THAT ENTIRELY

SJM has been getting a lot of sh*t lately for her white/straight/cis narratives. So it’s no surprise that she would try to get those pesky activists off her back this time. Unfortunately, she does a remarkably bad job.

This book is all straight people except for LGBT+ relationships based on sex alone, or in an unequal relationship wherein one person has authority over another. (Examples: a high lord whose bisexuality extends purely to the fact that he’s into threesomes; a military captain dating his high lord/commander/boss.)

Plus, there’s bisexuality rep so terrible it took me hours to make it through a handful of pages. But that gets a category of its own.

I also shouldn’t be surprised at the redemption of abusers in this book. Because Tamlin, in ACOTAR, was just a Nice Guy. Fine. But the fangirls loved a certain bad boy guest star with purple eyes. So, instead of creating a love triangle or transitioning between love interests like a normal person, SJM made him into an actual abuser. A villain.

That’s also fine. But you can’t just redeem him like you could redeem the unloved side of a love triangle. Because you made him into a genuinely bad person.

Unfortunately, SJM must have missed that memo. She must have missed it three times, actually, because Eris also gets redemption (and a throne!). As does his enabler brother, Lucien. Wonderful. Abuse apologists for the win.

But this book is totally, definitely feminist, right??? I mean, female protagonist! War plotline! It must be, by default! So when Cassian says “I told you that the moment we started letting females into our group, they’d be nothing but trouble”, and woke king Rhys responds, “You actually said you needed a reprieve from staring at our ugly faces, and that some ladies would add some much needed prettiness for you to look at all day.” it’s totally fine!

So it’s an utter shock that this narrative also lives nearly entirely within the bounds of gender roles. Reading about men (Rhys, Cassian, Azriel, all the high lords) fighting in battle while the women (Feyre, Mor, Elain, Nesta, Cresseida) watch and tend to the wounded later is so refreshing. Doesn’t make me want to blow my brains out at all.

And no, Mor being assigned to babysit Feyre later on, only heading into battle because Feyre tricks her into fighting so she can sneak away does not make it better, thanks.

This is definitely, certainly the feminist YA fantasy you’ve been waiting for, folks.

THE WORST BI REP EVER TO HIT THE SHELVES, WHICH IS INSANE BECAUSE WHEN IS THERE E V E R GOOD BI REP

But I haven’t mentioned the most unforgivable thing yet. The thing that made this book my first SJM one-star, after giving every other book I’ve read by her two stars. The thing that actually made me feel real hatred and fury and, worst of all, sadness.

Truly, the worst bisexual representation I have ever read comes in the final chapters of this book. I’ve read a lot of bad bisexual rep. And it’s endlessly upsetting. But none of it felt quite like this.

Apparently, Sarah J. Maas decided in the third book that she wanted to stop getting sh*t for her heteronormativity. So she decided to take a character who had been established as straight, and make her bi.

So she took this character, Morrigan. She makes Morrigan cry. She writes Morrigan’s impassioned speech to Feyre. This is Morrigan’s coming out, for the first time. Morrigan says that she prefers women. To the point that she is only capable of feeling romantic love for a women.

But occasionally, she will force herself to sleep with a man. In order “to keep people from looking too closely.” Instead of telling the man who has been in love with her for centuries that she doesn’t love him back, won’t ever love him back, she forces herself to sleep with men when he’ll know that she’s done it, so that she still seems straight but he’ll know she doesn’t love him.

And the author dubs it bisexuality.

I hate that she felt entitled to use this underrepresented, misunderstood sexuality as a playing piece in her own quest to be well-liked. I hate that the hundreds of thousands of people who read this book have been given this depiction of bisexuality. And I hate that Sarah J. Maas will keep writing wildly successful books. Books in this very series, depicting this character in this way and calling it “bisexuality.”

It’s unfair. It’s awful. And I am never, never, never going to forget that it happened.

Bottom line: I didn’t expect to like this book. But I also didn’t expect it would become one of my least favorite books I’ve ever read.

----
pre-review

I did it.

Everyone told me I couldn't do it. Just DNF it, they said. You're being insane, they said. Why would you force yourself through 700 pages of misery? Actually, didn't you hate the second book? Why did you even pick up the third book, you f*cking fool?

And you know what? They were right, because that was stupid.

But also THEY WERE WRONG, because I FINISHED THIS GODDAMN NIGHTMARE OF A NOVEL.

It may have taken me eight months. But it's over.

Review (of a lifetime) to come

----
currently-reading updates

THIS MONTH IS THE MONTH WHEN I FINISH THIS BOOK.

----

150 pages in and already bored as hell.

Cauldron help me make it through

Simona B

Rating: really liked it
*Do I need to remind you to be civil? No, I don’t. Good kids.

“You High Lords really do love your melodrama, don’t you?”

(As if I hadn't got enough ammo already.)

For honesty's sake, the last two thirds of the book I could only bring myself to skim through (and I'm quite proud of myself for managing even that). The first third had accurately enlightened me as to what I was to expect, and my (abysmally low) expectations were met point by point.

We girls of the SmutClub weren't able to do a proper buddy read as we did last year with ACoMaF due to real life kicking our asses. However, I'm sure you don't want to miss Sarah's and Reyes's reviews, and Emer's call for honesty and good sense when it comes to the target market of this series (and of the Throne of Glass series too, at this point) perfectly highlights a problem I haven't been able to wrap my mind around since it first arose.

•First of all, I'd like to take a moment to answer a question that no one asked but that I think it fair to take into account nonetheless, said question being, "If you evidently don't like Maas's books, why do you keep reading them?"
Very good point indeed.
I used to consider her books a guilty pleasure until, well, yesterday. The word "pleasure" in that expression, though, baffled me very much even before. More correctly, reading her was an experience akin to getting your first period at school and noticing too late (mortally embarrassing), while ranting about it later was an honest if inclement exercise in snark, just as reading other people's reviews with previous knowledge of the book was pure amusement, be them positive or negative, and this latter reason is probably what always convinced me to suffer a little for the greater fun. Sometimes I also enjoyed some parts, so mine wasn't all sadism, after all. But A Court of Wings and Ruin? (I still have no clue about what this absurd title is supposed to mean.) This one was sheer torture. A bore. Like having a pitchfork repeatedly shoved in the eyeballs.
(I should refer you to my review of A Court of Mist and Fury, which already contains many, if not all, of the issues I had with this final installment too, because since I've read that book with way more attention than I did ACoWaR, you'd probably find that one more specific and generally accurate.)

•The writing gets worse. It's a miracle -or whatever its opposite would be called. Saying that it's melodramatic doesn't begin to describe it anymore; admitting that its basic rule is emotional manipulation would be such an understatement, my fingers itch. Everything is amplified, everything is exaggerated, everything makes twice the noise that it should make proportionally to its dimensions. Which is to say, everything becomes grotesque. Ridiculousness abounds, especially when matters of the heart (you have no idea how much I struggled not to use some other word that would have been more fit to the case at hand there) are concerned. I'll make just two quick examples both taken from chapter 14. The examples may contain mild spoilers.

“Where are my sisters?” The thought clanged through me, jarring as a pealing bell.
Rhys paused, hand slipping from my hair as his smile faded. “At the House of Wind.” He straightened, swallowing—as if it somehow checked him. “I can—take you to them.” Every word seemed to be an effort.
But he would, I realized. He’d shove down his need for me and take me to them, if that was what I wanted. My choice. It had always been my choice with him.”

To spell it out, what Feyre's voice is implying here is that one point in the never-ending list of reasons why Rhysand is worth worshipping is that he is able to keep it in his pants ten minutes longer so that she can go say hello to her sisters, whom she hasn't seen in more than a month and who, last she saw them, had just undergone a devastating trauma. It is evident that Maas is still shoving in our faces that we must absolutely love Rhysand... a pity she is still picking all the wrong reasons, because what I think when I read a scene like this is "Someone please lock him away" (and I'm being kind).

Example number two (trigger warning: this one's rather disgusting. I for sure gagged once or twice.), this one to show what I mean by "overwritten" and "grotesque" and "ew":

“You have a choice,” he murmured against my cheekbone. “Either I lick every inch of you clean …” His hand grazed the tip of my breast, circling lazily. As if we had days and days to do this. “Or you can get into the bath that should be ready by now.”
I pulled away, lifting a brow. “Are you suggesting that I smell?”
Rhys smirked, and I could have sworn my core pounded in answer. “Never. But …” His eyes darkened, the desire and amusement fading as he took in my clothes. “There is blood on you. Yours, and others’. I thought I’d be a good mate and offer you a bath before I ravish you wholly.”
I huffed a laugh and brushed back his hair, savoring the silken, sable strands between my fingers. “So considerate. Though I can’t believe you kicked everyone out of the house so you could take me to bed.”
“One of the many benefits to being High Lord.”
“What a terrible abuse of power.”
That half smile danced on his mouth. “Well?”
“As much as I’d like to see you attempt to lick off a week’s worth of dirt, sweat, and blood…” His eyes gleamed with the challenge, and I laughed again. “Normal bath, please.”

You see what I mean? Maas tries so hard to write steamy, sexy moments that she stopped noticing that the way she writes them became (a long time ago I dare say) utterly ridiculous. What sane person in their right mind would ever say "I’d like to see you attempt to lick off a week’s worth of dirt, sweat, and blood off me?"

Many, many, many, if not all, of the problems this book has are linked to the writing, silly, childish, bloated, cheesy. It sours everything.

•Not totally disconnected from this, there is also the insistence with which Feyre's bliss with her Court of Friends and Family is continually trotted out, especially if there's the opportunity to describe it through someone else's point of view, as it happens with Lucien's in the first part of the book. There is a reason if one of the axioms of storytelling is that talking about happiness is difficult: it's uninteresting, poor of nuances, syrupy: people don't want to hear about happiness. “Happy families are all alike,” after all.

•One of the main points of Feyre's character arc should be her discovery of independence and of her inner strength, of the fact that she doesn't necessarily need anyone, especially a man, to guide and direct her every step. A shame the impression we get from the whole series is the very opposite: Feyre's character growth (not automatically meant as an upward trajectory) seems to be irreversibly connected to the "male" who is (even virtually) at her side. In this book, she and Rhysand are pretty much a single entity. Can I feel a tinge of outrage at this, please? We women are very able to be complete on our own, thank you very much. The whole "mating system" (I can't even, it's too ridiculous) has me not exactly convinced in this regard too. Various characters throughout the book keep having this attitude, especially towards Feyre, that implies a vision of women as mere objects of sexual interest, pawns in a purely male game of lust and authority, and they are never challenged because their brain is full of crap, but simply because they insult Feyre–and not even Feyre as herself, but Feyre as Rhysand's mate, like during the meeting of the High Lords in chapter 46, when someone calls Feyre "human filth" and Rhysand's reply is physical violence plus a laconic

“Don’t ever,” Rhys said, hands sliding into his pockets, “speak to my mate like that again.”

Again, everything, even on the level of language, revolves around a man and the girl's relationship to said man. I fail to see the women's empowerment in this.

•I've never seen such a cheesy ending. It felt like I had just swallowed a monumental bucket of melted sugar and I couldn't even breathe because the very air got stuck to the sticky back of my throat. Basically it made me finally understand that Maas's main interest was to make sure none of her precious babies got so much as a scratch.

➽ I was trying to find a way to be tactful and diplomatic about this, but there is none. The first book was nice and very entertaining, the second was still entertaining but way less nice, the third is ignoble. Bottom line: this series is crap. Don't read it (and if you know me and my reviews, you know I never once recommended not to read a book, nor do I think I shall ever do it again, because the fact that I don't like something doesn't mean that nobody would or should. Besides, I don't really believe in second-hand opinions. So the fact that I think this book will actively damage your brains and that I'm warning you off it should really speak volumes in itself). There are far more worthy books out there waiting for you.

Natalie Monroe

Rating: really liked it
3.75 stars

"Rhys stepped off the stairs and took my hand.

Night Triumphant—and the Stars Eternal.

If he was the sweet, terrifying darkness, I was the glittering light that only his shadows could make clear."

It's the worst feeling in the world when finales don't match up to their predecessors. I liked A Court of Thorns and Roses, I loved A Court of Mist and Fury, I am frankly disappointed by A Court of Wings and Ruin.

First, the writing. It's in desperate need of another round of editing. It's unpolished, full of unnecessary repetition and lazy placeholder sentences.

Maas can write. She's proved it over and over again, which makes ACOWAR seem almost criminal. I think the strain of writing two novels a year finally caught up with her. ACOTAR AND ACOMAF don't really count because they were written long before Throne of Glass was published. All she had to do was clean up. But ACOWAR was written back-to-back with Empire of Storms, which was a beefy number on its own.

Fervent as I was for ACOWAR, I wouldn't have minded waiting another year if it meant getting quality content.

Second is the ending.

(view spoiler)

Another thing that bothered me is how unbelievably powerful Feyre is. There is feminism, which is an underlying theme for her character, and there is what-the-fuckery. Near the beginning of the book, she is able to take on two daemati (powerful fae) who have a thousand years of fighting experience over her. Later, after she accidentally ingests a drug that strips her of her powers, they still magically flare back to life to help her triumph over two seasoned High Fae fighters.

Right, I think I've bitched enough about the bad. Let's get to the good.

I love the characters. The Inner Circle, Lucien, Nesta, Elain... they are a huge part why I rated ACOWAR as high as it is. Feyre and Rhys—in this book and this book only—aren't as interesting. Their story in terms of conflict was finished in ACOMAF and although I enjoy how Maas explores how normal couples argue and make up, I'm not as invested in them as before. There are too many other stories begging to be told: Lucien's, Elain's, Nesta and Cassian's, Mor's, Tamlin's.

Yes, Tamlin. This fandom is too hard on him—and too forgiving of Rhys. I will never forget what he did in ACOTAR. Yet because the story is filtered through Feyre's perspective, Rhys becomes a hero who makes mistakes and Tamlin becomes a monster who commits unforgivable sins. He genuinely thought the woman he loved had been abducted and was likely being tortured. I'm not excusing his abusive behavior, but we have to remember he was suffering from PTSD too. He was trying to protect Feyre the best he could—just like Rhys by forcing Feyre to make that bargain with him way back in ACOTAR, fyi. Why does Rhys deserve dozens of free passes and not Tamlin? Hating the High Lord of Spring just because Feyre does is a disservice to the complexity of his character.

I also like that Maas seems to be pulling away from the whole "mates" concept. Multiple characters within have strong romantic relationships without the mating bond, and those that do may not necessarily be right for each other. (view spoiler)

The pacing is good, too. There aren't as many sex scenes as the previous book, which I was happy about, though not due to any misguided sense of propriety. I simply found myself bored reading about Rhys slamming his shaft up to the hilt or what not. (view spoiler) While I liked them in ACOMAF, there are more important things going on here, like the war or the other courts.

Final verdict? Bring on the spin-offs.

My review of A Court of Thorns & Roses
My review of A Court of Mist & Fury
My review of A Court of Frost and Starlight
My review of A Court of Silver Flames

Warda

Rating: really liked it
“And I wondered if the road ahead—the road to true peace—would perhaps be the hardest and longest one yet.”

There aren’t many books that revert me back to my teenage self, or have me fangirling like an absolute idiot, but this series does that to me. Sarah J. Maas just does that to me.

———————————

Reread x 2.
My heart is in pain and full of love for this series.

I don't know what else to say, other than I had the BEST time reading this with my partner in crime, Lena!
We're obsessed with this series and it doesn't get better than fangirling with someone about a book/author you both equally love as much. ❤️

And now I'm in this mess where my heart feels hollow, drained and I cannot stop replaying certain scenes of this book in my mind.

I'm so happy, so goddamn happy that we're getting more of this world and these characters.

Now, I need to mourn this book by reading another book.

------------------------------------------------

Anyone else still thinking about this book?! I sniff a reread coming up!

Post-Mourning review:
And it's the day after I finished this beautiful, exhilarating book. I don't think I'm going to bother writing a review, simply because I wouldn't do it justice. Neither would it showcase how much it means to me. Other than to say that I feel this sense of loss and wonder that I felt when I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This series has become that ingrained in me. And I couldn't be more appreciative and grateful for these books. So, thank you, Sarah J Maas, our High Lady. 😆

Thank you for creating such incredible characters that mean the absolute world to me and world I never wanted to leave. This is the exact reason why I read.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

And I thought it couldn't get better than ACOMAF...

Sarah J. Maas, my goddess of everything, you have obliterated me. Shattered my soul and healed it. Words will not do justice in me expressing how much I adore you, your books, and the extend of what this book means to me. The expectations I had for this book were met above and beyond and I think this book is part of your soul laid bare...
I cannot recall crying this much over a book, ever. Ever! And now heart feels heavy and sick with love whilst simultaneously grieving over these characters, a set of characters and world I’m never going to forget.

I cannot thank you enough for writing this story!

*forever in a book hangover*

•PRE-RELEASE RAMBLES•

• 01/5/17 — AMAZON HAS DISPATCHED MY COPY OF ACOWAR! I REPEAT, IT HAS BEEN DISPATCHED! *rocks back and forth*

• 30/4/17 — Okay, stupid question but... since I doubt I can wait for my preorder to arrive, I'm thinking of pre-ordering the ebook copy. So the question, am I right in assuming that if I do preorder it, the ebook will appear at 12am on 2nd May? Because if that is the case, I'm going to be staying up till after midnight to read a few chapters at least.

• 29/4/17 — Seriously, I'm head over heels IN LOVE with Sarah J Maas, flippin heck! This incredible, must-read interview where she talks about ACOWAR and on why she wrote her characters the way she did. Why she includes sex in her YA books and more. All hail, our queen! ❤ — http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertain...

• 26/4/17 — GUYS!!!! The Maas has revealed a short excerpt of ACOWAR AND I'M FLAILING LIKE MAD RIGHT NOW!!! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL! 😍😭
To read it: http://ew.com/books/2017/04/26/sarah-...

• 26/4/17 — I HAVE OFFICIALLY BOOKED 3 DAYS OF WORK SO I CAN BINGE-READ THIS BOOK AND BE IN MOURNING SIMULTANEOUSLY! Crazy, you say? DAMN FOOKIN RIGHT I SAY!

• 25/4/17 — PREPARE THY GRAVES! One week left! One week till we have this book in our hands. One week till we're united with our Inner Circle. One week left and our lives will never be the same again.

• So, I literally cannot stop thinking about this book! The characters, the incredible world Sarah J Maas has created. I need the gang back in my life! May, hurry!

• 25/1/17 — AND THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL COVER PERFECTION! My favourite, by far! FEYRE, MY BABES! SARAH J MAAS, MY GODDESS OF EVERYTHING, YOUR PEOPLE HAVE DELIVERED! I hope that particular pose means Feyre will be slaughtering a certain someone...

• 17/9/16 — WE HAVE A SYNOPSIS, HOLINESS! Though to reveal it right now is agony and a pretty sadistic move. HOW AM I MEANT TO WAIT TILL MAY 2017?!?!

• DYING FOR THIS BOOK! Will read anything and everything The Maas writes!

Emily May

Rating: really liked it
I wish so much that I could tell you I loved this book... but I just didn't.

After thinking A Court of Mist and Fury was such a huge improvement from A Court of Thorns and Roses, I was really excited for this third installment. I even preordered it. But I really struggled to get into the book from the very start. From pacing issues to awkward sex scenes that did nothing for me, it was one disappointment after another.

I've said this before but I really dislike Maas's sex scenes. At her best, she writes them strangely with words like "branding" and "claiming", but here they were just plain icky. With all the talk of "mates", "growling" and "purring", and the climaxing from stroking one another's wings, I felt like I'd walked in on two animals rutting in the mud. Ugh.

And another thing-- Feyre and Rhysand are already mated and loved up to their eyeballs so there was no sexual tension, no will they/won't they, which made the sex scenes so boring.

What's strange about these sex scenes is how they manage to somehow be both graphic and coy at the same time. Maas never actually uses explicit words. If a young kid picked up this book, they might assume Rhysand and Feyre were dancing or playing an instrument.

His touch turned different. Exploring. Broad strokes and feather-light ones, arches and swirls and direct, searing lines.

And her vagina is usually described as "there" or "where I want him". Then, at the same time, these scenes are weirdly overwritten, with her orgasm (obviously not called that) leaving her “skin glowing like a newborn star in its wake”. It's just really not my thing.

I was disappointed with the writing in general, to be honest. Maas seemed to write a lot more "tell" and a lot less "show" than usual. I was especially disappointed at the wasted opportunity for some underhanded manipulation in the first part. After how the last book ended, Feyre was kind of "undercover" at the start and in a position for lies and sneakiness. Except it was mostly her swanning around and quietly seething to herself about how much she hated Ianthe and how much of a douche Tamlin is. I thought this whole part was boring when it should have been extremely tense and exciting.

But I think the worst thing was the overall pacing. It's a long book, but I can normally sprint through Maas's works in a day, yet here it was such a slog. Especially the first half. It's taken up with a lot of character conversations and strategizing for the upcoming war with Hybern. It lacked a pull, a sense of urgency, some kind of tension to make me need to know what happens next.

I cannot believe they've announced another four books for this series. Why??? I can only hope they are some kind of spin-off series because, otherwise, either a) we will have to suffer through who the fuck knows how many more awkward, unsexy Feyre/Rhysand sex scenes, or b) Maas will destroy Rhys's character and hook Feyre up with yet another hot fae dude. I'm not sure which is more likely.

The later chapters of this book picked up in pacing, but I think it was too little, too late. This is a whopping 700-page monster and it obviously didn't need to be. I will say that I liked how things were left with Tamlin, but seeing as that part was only a few sentences long, it doesn't make up for everything else.

I'm thinking this is where I drop out of this series.

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

Miranda Reads

Rating: really liked it

Just published my latest BookTube Video - so excited to share it!

The Written Review

After that ending only one quote can adequately sum up my feelings:

Something thumped in front of me. A bottle of wine. “It’s fine if you drink directly from it,” was all Mor said.

This book ensared me - body and soul - and the last hundred pages? Whew. Talk about stress - like actual heart-pounding stress.

For those who don't know me, I stress-bake. I was 18 cupcakes and double-batch of cookies deep by the time I reached that end. Man-oh-man. My apartment is now a bakery.

“She is High Lady of the Night Court. She may do as she wishes.”

Feyre, now ruling the Night Court with Rhysand, is about to go to war.

King Hybern's army is set to march into the human world - ready to slaughter and enslave.

The only chance to save her people is to unite the seven courts and mount a resistance. Only, the odds could not be more against them.

Mile after mile. A kingdom of the rotting dead. And still I looked.

Every direction they turn, the King is two steps ahead - already butchering and torturing anyone who stands in his way. His army - limitless, his powers - fueled by the very Cauldron itself.

The more Feyre and the Night Court resists, the more likely it seems like they'll lose. Not only the war, but everyone they hold dear.
I repeated their names silently, over and over into the darkness. Rhysand. Mor. Cassian. Amren. Azriel. Elain. Nesta.
And yet, despite all the pain and the sorrow flowing around them, one thing remains steadfast. One thing remains absolutely certain.
I would have waited five hundred more years for you. A thousand years. And if this was all the time we were allowed to have … The wait was worth it.
Whew. This book was the most stunning of the series so far.

Sarah J. Maas juggles so many unique personalities - from the sweetest human to skin-crawling monsters - without them blending into caricatures (Every time, she astounds me with her creations).

Her world has such depth that I'm constantly amazed by the little, reoccurring details (I feel like I could walk the city of Velaris without being lost for a moment).

Her characters feel real - their personas, their movement, their banter - I felt like they were right in front of me, rather than words on a page (how is it possible to fall in love with so many characters in one book?).

I could not be more impressed right now.

The 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️

Rating: really liked it
4 Stars

Before I say anything, I must say this:

What the fuck is this "vulgar gesture" that has been mentioned over and over and a-FUCKING-over again throughout all this series, which all the characters seem to gift each other with?

No for real, I would love to know.

Are they all giving each other a different "vulgar gesture" every time, or is it ONE single gesture.
And if so, which one?

This one?

description

This one?

How about this one?

description

No?

How about the ever tried and true?

description

Or, perhaps, MY personal favorite:

description

No?

Well, whatever. I would love to know.

description

Anynotawave, if you follow my reviews, you know that I didn't particularly love book one and two of this series like most people did. And, conversely, most people who adored books one and two seemed to be less...enthused with this book.

So, of course, leave it to me to be the complete opposite of everyone else.

Because, even though I wasn't OMG in lurve with books one and two, I found myself really into this one.

Maybe it just took books one and two to really dig my heels into the series - who knows - but I was really digging the characters in this one.

Obviously, I loved the relationship between Feyre and Rhys...
The group love and loyalty of the Night Court inner circle...
And the connection between Feyre and her sisters...

But - and I know this is not the case with most people - I am REALLY loving Nesta's story.

I have been oddly drawn to her and her cold bitchiness since book one and I REALLY loved the growth she displayed in this book, the dynamic between her and Cassian, just everything.

And of course, RHYS. Who can not love Rhys?

In fact, this book actually made me really appreciate books one and two more.
I might go back and read them again.

But until then, I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

And I also just obtained the Throne series, so hopefully I will enjoy that one from the onset.

Mirou

Rating: really liked it
I’m wrecked. Because a Court of Wings and Ruin was the BEST CONCLUSION I could ever hope for.

I want to shout THANK YOU SJM for this incredible adventure. Thank you for letting us dream and travel across the stars if only for a short time.

I have been a massive fan of the ACOTAR series since the first book so I was highly anticipating ACOWAR. I was afraid I wouldn’t like the third book as much as I loved the second one but hell, I was so wrong. I swear, I don't know how many nerve cells this book cost me.

Not only is the book thrilling and well-written. But it added a lot more complexity than I'd expected. Both in the characters and the plot. The progression brings about so many new faces (Have five to Helion, my second favourite High Lord), each of them unique in their own way.

When Feyre was in the Spring Court, she was so over-powered like she is a goodness and no one can stop her - I was getting some unwanted Aelin’s vibe here – but the plot was pretty well-driven after that, allowing each character to have its share of glory in Hybern Battle. And thank god for incredible plot twists or else I would have died a thousand times.

The other thing that I really enjoyed is the fact that the book was unpredictable. I got all emotional because the story has a way of being built up and simply torn down piece by piece by a certain event and you are like “What the hell just happened?” and then being rebuilt once again.

I literally went mental in one of the last scene – YES, THIS SCENE – my parents were actually concerned because of my change of emotions. I cried during the emotional moments, I got stressed during the battle scenes, I laughed so hard in others, I blushed during the bold sexy scenes, but most of all, I had – and still have believe me - embarrassing fangirling moments over the characters.

I have a lot of favourite scenes. Like a lot especially those where a potential couple interact – You should have seen me during NESSIAN SCENES, I was a FANGIRL MONSTER – but one scene particular brought me to tear and that was RHYS’s SPEECH BEFORE the FINAL BATTLE.

Overall, it was an EPIC BOOK closing an AMAZING trilogy with immensely ENTERTAINING STORYLINE, characters TO LOVE and a DETAILED fantasy WORLD.
Very much worth your time.

What are you waiting for?

Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin

Rating: really liked it
Yay! Another one of my books won 2017 GR award ❤️

OMG!THIS BOOK!I LOVED IT SO MUCH! AND IT MADE ME CRY! THE FEELS!

I'm NOT even going to hint at any spoilers or go into too much in the book because there are a million people reading it right now.

I must say I loved A Court Of Mist And Fury as my favorite and now this one is my new favorite.

I love Rhys, Feyre, Cassian, Azriel, Lucien, Nesta, Elain, Mor, Amren and some random others.

They all have to fight in the war, trying to defeat King Hybern who is evil to the core. I won't tell you what happened there but it's amaze balls.

Tamlin also did one thing that made me happy. All is forgiven for now with something that he did.

Feyre's sisters, Nesta and Elain are trying to make their life with Feyre and what they are now. It was hard to read but things somewhat settled in.

I think there are some more love interests coming up. I really hope so.

The war and things were brutal and bloody and I thought we were going to lose some so many times. There were some loses and that's all I'm going to say.

Feyre and Rhysand's love is so powerful and strong and wonderful, it makes my heart ache. And when . . . I can't even.

There were revelations about certain things and certain people. There was love and loss and forgiveness and hatred. I think this book covered them all.

I love this book so very much! I'm so happy with what has happened so far but I'm terrified that there is going to be three more books. Who will die? Will anyone? I can't take it! And I'm also excited to have three more books. *Sob* I don't know.

If you love this series so far then you will love this book!

OMG! LOOK AT MY BEAUTIFUL BOOKMARK I BOUGHT MYSELF FOR MY BDAY FROM MY SPECIAL BOOKMARK PLACE!

MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List

Chelsea Humphrey

Rating: really liked it
Congratulations-winner of Best Young Adult Fantasy 2017!

Initially I was so wrapped up in needing closure to this part of the story that I was grabby grabby for anything I could get my hands on, but I can’t stop thinking about how many issues I had with this book. Was it enjoyable? Sure! I loved jumping back in with my old friends and seeing what was going on, but after a very lengthy intro I found it wasn’t quite what I had hoped for.

I won’t rehash everything in detail; there are enough reviews that have already done a much better job than I can, but I feel it’s worth noting them all the same. The tedious pacing, the lack of tension (and lets be honest action as well), along with the awkward, singular attempt at diversity, I just can’t give it more than 3 stars. I wholly respect what SJM was trying to do here, and it was enjoyable, but not mind blowing. I’m still over here anxiously awaiting more ACOTAR stories though, so it must not have been all that bad.

Lexie

Rating: really liked it
In these early days after the release, I'll say little and spoil nothing. This is wholly because I'm considerate and benevolent ~~and not at all because I'm incoherent~~.

Suffice it to say, however, that after all the sentiment holds true:

ACOTAR 3 cover

Welcome to A Court of Pain And Feels.

Review to come when I deem hints acceptable ~~and gather my wits and reason about me~~. In the meantime, you can (try to) find me in Velaris.

Andreea Pop

Rating: really liked it
Glorious, thrilling and completely enthralling -- ACOWAR was everything I hoped for and then some. This is how you end a series -- with love and hope and happiness painting the grand finale. Maas deserves thunderous applause yet again.

Review to come.

Hailey (Hailey in Bookland)

Rating: really liked it
BIBLIOBABBLE- https://youtu.be/y5UVdj8avvs (review & discussion)

4.5*

I DID THE THINGGGGG!!!

destini

Rating: really liked it
When the book you're highly anticipating has no cover, no title, and no synopsis:

And a May 2017 release date:

Khurram

Rating: really liked it
Words fail me. I have always been more of a fan of Sarah J Mass fan, but more towards her Thrown of Glass series. I think this is her best book so far. This book just has everything. Great characters, great story, secrets, betrayal, redemptions, ACTION!!!! You name it is here. 700 pages and not a line wasted. Hell I would have been happy with another 700 pages of this standard. The character are great but there is such great character development no one is one dimensional the character are conflicted, and complex with their own strengths and issues. Every time I learned something about one of the characters I want to know more. Every character had their moment to shine in this book, and every character in this book could very easily star in their own book. That is the depth of the character in this story. Espicallly Rhysand, and anyone in the Court of Dreams.

Since the last book Feyre has returned to the Spring Court to destroy it from with in. This is not Feyre crushed by her truma, suffocated by overprotection, or the powerless girl in a world of monsters/guardians this is the angry, powerful, deadly calculating woman. I like the fact Rhysand is every bit her match. I am actually interested to see which of them is the more powerful. So far with centuries of experience behind of battle, tactics and studies he seem to be a step ahead but time will tell. However even with all this going on War is coming to Prythian and with all the High Lords in agreement (with their history of grudges and betrayal this is next to impossible ), they are still way out numbered against the King of Hybern and the power of the Calderon. Once again is falls to the Court of Dreams to lead the charge not only against their enemies but the very thinking of many Prythians as well.

This is just an awesome book. I don't think you have to read the other book in the series to love this book, but I would definitely recommend reading the whole series, but definitely read this one. The more I read the more I wanted to read, it took me through every emotion, the anger of betrayal, the pride in overcoming adversity, to the election of victory. I honestly do not think SJM could fit anything more into this many pages, lets see if she can do a 1000 pages of this standard.

Detail

A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3)

Must be read