A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!
And so begins the insidious task of reviewing a the most incredible book ever! What can I say that hasn't already been said by Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses? I deliberately avoided reviews all these months because I wanted to go in unhindered, I wanted no opinion whatsoever to have an effect on me. And now...now I am left struggling to put to words how truly amazing and awing this book was!
As some of you might know, I couldn't get into Throne of Glass, try as I might. The writing was good, but the story never grabbed me. But that was so not the case here. I was grabbed from the first chapter, from the description alone. A retelling of sorts of one of my most favorite fairy tales? And add in actual faeries to boot this definitely made the read all the more intriguing.
Now note, when we say Beauty and the Beast, we're talking the actual fairy tale and not the incredible awesome Disney version! LOL. But in small ways, Disney did get the story right and in a way, we see those same traits in Feyre, but they are not as clear as Belle or Beauty. (Seriously though, how vain is it to be called Beauty? And yet Beauty was anything buy vain. Weird.)
I wrote down all sorts of notes for this review, and yet I am hardly referring to them. I wanted to try to review this book a bit differently than my norm. But it's still hard. When a book with so much hype about it is finally yours and you've read it, it can be hard to put into words your thoughts and feelings. I truly loved this book. This book was one of the most perfect retellings of Beauty and the Beast I've ever read. And it's moreso that it's not a straight up retelling, it's a twist of sorts but it's still so amazing.
I liked that Feyre isn't the most loveable heroine to start with. There's a lot of hate between faeries and humans. And when Feyre kills one she is taken to live with Tamlin, a High Fae Lord and basically be his guest at the castle for the rest of her life. And right away we're seeing the makings of the beloved Disney tale. We know without knowing, that something is up but we don't know the details at all, because who's to say how much Sarah went with that! That's the always the most thrilling part about a retelling. You never know how much of the original tale will remain true to the new one. And I must say, I was still surprised with the turn of events.
Another surprising aspect, to me, was the romance and how deep it was. I was expecting a more ear grinning YA romance, but this was more of a toe curling New Adult one. I say New Adult because Feyre is 19, so she's sort of past the YA age, in my opinion at least. But it's not a graphic romance either, but definitely spine tingling all the same and I was eating it up! And yes, there was still a grin at my face, amidst fanning myself! LOL!
So basically what I have to say about this fantastical, mesmerizing, and stunning read was that it was purely magical and totally worth the wait! (Though I wouldn't have said no to reading it early either! Heehee!) Sarah has finally found a fan in me with this amazing read and I will be waiting with bated breath for word of the second book and then for the book itself too, naturally! If fairy tales are your kind of read that I wouldn't hesitate a second in recommending this one to you or hurriedly placing it in your hands and urging you to read it now!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
