Book Review - A Court Of Mist and Fury

This edit isn't mine, credit goes to the creator! :)

Synopsis:

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

Review (beware, spoilers!) :

Now, I loved A Court Of Thorns and Roses, the first book in this series written by Sarah J. Maas, but ACOMAF absolutely blew me away with how wonderful it was.

In the first book, Feyre is obviously with the High Lord of the Spring Court, Tamlin. I recognised pretty early on that their relationship was definitely unhealthy due to his control issues, but I still found him tolerable. I didn't like how he over-protective and controlling he was over Feyre, nor did I like that she was blind to it, but I could still tolerate him.

“No, I don’t want you to live somewhere else. I want you here, where I can look after you – where I can come home and know you’re here, painting and safe.”

SOLID PROOF OF TAMLIN BEING AN OVER-PROTECTIVE CONTROL FREAK IN ACOTAR. Yuck.

That is until Tamlin was an idiot and did several things that made me go from finding his character annoying but tolerable to completely hating everything about him. HE LOCKED FEYRE UP! Despite knowing what she went through to save him and his people Under the Mountain, he still locked her up, and went as far betray her by teaming up with the King of Hybern to get her back at the end of the book. Even though she sent the letter telling him she was happy where she was, he still selfishly went against her wishes, believing that he knew better.

Tamlin, in my opinion, just didn't want Feyre becoming powerful. He wanted her sheltered, the perfect little bride. Something that Feyre Archerson definitely is not, which is why her and Tamlin would've never worked, and why her and Rhysand are perfect together. Rhys understands her, respects her and just wants her to be happy. Evidence of this is throughout the whole book. He was going to stand back and watch her, his mate, marry another male because he thought it would make her happy. He only stepped in when he felt her distress and fear. Now, what do you think Tamlin would've done had the roles been reversed? I just love them together, and the way that Sarah J. Maas has written Rhysand is brilliant. She's also written Tamlin very well, despite me hating him, I can see that he is written in a way that is meant to make the reader hate him, so I think she's great at writing her characters.

Feyre's character growth is so nice to read. She's gone from the girl who needed to be sheltered and protected at the beginning of ACOTAR to a strong women in ACOMAF. It's like when she died at the end of ACOTAR, she was re-born as a new person, someone more independent and willing to fight for what she believes in. When she died, her acceptance of Tamlin's over-protectiveness and her need to be protected and loved died too, and I love it.

“I’m thinking that I was a lonely, hopeless person, and I might have fallen in love with the first thing that showed me a hint of kindness and safety. And I’m thinking maybe he knew that—maybe not actively, but maybe he wanted to be that person for someone. And maybe that worked for who I was before. Maybe it doesn’t work for who—what I am now.”

It's because of her character development that she is much better suited to Rhysand. Like I said, he understands her. He understands that she needs to be independent and free. He understands that she is powerful, and with the right training, she could easily protect herself. AND HE ISN'T A SELFISH CONTROL FREAK, like someone we know. 

How amazing are the new characters that come with Rhysand, though?! Feyre finally has a circle of people that are genuninely supportive of her and have her back. She lived pretty much all of her life with a family that left her to provide for them and didn't really understand her, so the fact that she finds a group of people that are good to her really makes me happy.  I loved Lucien in the Spring Court, but I think that he was just so blindly loyal to Tamlin, when he shouldn't have been. Because Tamlin sucks. Duh.

I also liked how Sarah J. Maas didn't dive Feyre straight into another relationship with Rhysand like she did with Tamlin. The slow-burn made it much more realistic, because as much as I hate it, Feyre did love Tamlin, so she would've needed time to move on from him, and time to overcome what happened Under the Mountain. Which she gets.

"I was a survivor, and I was strong. I would not be weak or helpless again. I would not, could not be broken."

I preferred this book to ACOTAR because the plot is so much better. In ACOTAR, the plot almost takes backseat to Tamlin and Feyre's relationship. We're so clueless about absolutely everything, and I don't like it. I do get that it's supposed to show that Feyre is in the dark, too, but.. no. I just don't like it. In ACOMAF we actually get to explore their world, rather than sit in Tamlin's castle, or Under the Mountain. It just once again shows that Feyre is so much better off with Rhys.

Another quote that I love. It shows Feyre FINALLY seeing Tamlin for what he truly is, and realising that she deserves so much more than him. God, Tamlin's an arse.

If anyone wants to have a chat about the ACOTAR series, feel free to contact me on Instragram (@books.and.belle) or Twitter (@BooksNBelle).

Books&Belle xx