Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (@jessicadhaluska, @SJMaas, @bloomsburykids)

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #2
Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Published on: May 3 2016
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
Pages: 626
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

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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.

Last year, when I read ACOTAR, for the first time, I didn’t love something written by SJM.

It wasn’t awful. It was just meh. Feyre made bad decision after bad decision, and the poor, poor girl’s various hangups and life experiences felt so . . . bloody . . . melodramatic. And something about Tamlin didn’t sit well . . . I think I overlooked that part, b/c it seemed small compared to the tragedy that was Feyre.

Then ACOMAF was released and there was an outcry of dismay by the bookish equivalent of the general public, which, of course, made me think . . . Hmm . . .?

B/c in a handful of ways, I’m not unlike Feyre myself—DIFFICULT. And if everyone hates something, especially, when they previously loved it (and I did not), there’s a distinct possibility that I will love it. #thestruggleisreal

At first, I’ll admit, I wasn’t impressed.

The prologue and the first few chapters were all blah, blah, self-loathing, blah, do-as-I’m-told, something, something, stifle-my-feelings-b/c-Tamlin-has-his-own-issues, blah, blah, Stepford Wife, something, throwing-a-shoe-at-Rhysand’s-head . . . Aha . . . There she is . . .

And suddenly my assumption that Maas had done, once again, what a lot of people think she did in ToG, b/c fickle-broad-who-couldn’t-make-her-mind-up-about-Celaena’s HEA, seemed a bit hasty.

WARNING: if you’re a new-to-SJM reader and have no idea what I’ve been talking about thus far, STOP. My vaguery is about to get less vague. I’ll spoiler tag any blatant spoilers, but a lot of this review is my answer to all the other reviews saying Maas arbitrarily made a significant change in the direction the series was heading. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, and don’t want to be potentially spoiled about that change, DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT.

You have been duly warned.

Right. So after the first section (114 of 624 pages), Feyre finally became a character I could admire, and she did it in such a way that her actions in the early part of the book were realistic.

And the further I got into the book, the more obvious it was that, NO, this was not a last minute decision on SJM’s part. There is sign after sign after still more signs that Maas was heading in this direction from the beginning.

If you want a comprehensive spoiler-filled list of things said and done in ACOTAR that point to the fact that someone did NOT arbitrarily become the Bad Guy—he was never the Good Guy in the first place—then check out my girl Anna’s review. Smarter than 99% of the rest of us, she never fell for the act in the first place.

And let’s be honest: View Spoiler »Feyre was never a Spring Court kind of girl. She’s a hunter. She’s surly. She’s rude. She’s violent. She’s stubborn. And after what happened Under the Mountain, she’s darrrrrk. « Hide Spoiler

Also, no matter how much someone else superficially appeared to be the Bad Guy, what did we really know about him? Not much that wasn’t based on someone else’s opinion. And what we did know firsthand, was that View Spoiler »he cared enough about his people to become Amarantha’s plaything. That he literally whored himself out to protect his people. And he refused to kill the High Lord of Summer’s cousin on her whim, AND he kept Feyre ALIVE. « Hide Spoiler

So there. Take that, naysayers. *winks*

I can’t say much about the plot without giving things away, but after Feyre turns her corner, what follows is probably my favorite story from Maas yet. Actually, I probably wouldn’t tell you anything about the plot even if it wouldn’t be spoilery. The world Maas shows us in this book is friggin’ riddikulus. You want to experience it with a blank slate, trust me.

It doesn’t get a full five stars b/c those first hundred pages were rough, and there were also a couple of stretching-the-bounds-of-credulity moments near the end, but, man alive, I almost didn’t care. The twists of Feyre’s remaking, the new characters, the Illryians—winged Fae warrior men!—the sexual tension . . .

Speaking of, that’s what the ‘beware!’ button is for. This is meant to be a YA book, but there is SEX, and if you thought it was hot in ACOTAR, then the scenes, YES, plural, in ACOMAF will make you combust. So if that’s not your thing, and you thought you’d be safe b/c YA, now you know otherwise.

Personally, I don’t have a problem with that, and I say A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by Sarah J. Maas makes suffering through the first installment well worth it. It’s rare that a second in series is better than the first, but this is definitely one of those times. Truly guys, so. Much. Better.

My Review

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