So here I sit, having gone through the OMG ACOTAR SERIES IS AMAZING phase, and out the other end, I can sit back and think "What the actual hell?"
I'm a HUGE Maas fan, so when I found out she was writing another series, I had to have it. For the first time in a long time, my library actually got the book within a month of its release, so I checked out ACOTAR and read it in a single day. I loved it.
Books two came out, and while I was super disappointed in the pointless sex thrown in every so often and whole chapters dedicated to this nonsense, I continued reading because the story was compelling enough. And then ACOWAR emerged, and everything changed.
This was a series I read numerous times before ACOWAR came out, and I saw things that genuinely bothered me, but I ignored them (I don't even know why) until I just couldn't stand it anymore.
ACOTAR is nothing more than erotica. I feel like the series as a whole started out with plans of being some sort of "story" porn that has a kick-ass plot with "hot" scenes thrown in for whatever reason, and then it got to ACOWAR and decided it wanted to be The Bachelor or a soap opera instead.
The relationship between Tamlin and Feyre GREATLY disturbs me. She's taking care of her family and he swoops in after she accidentally kills a fae (who was disguised as a wolf int he woods where hunters hunt...) and takes her away, claiming she's going to be in trouble and damned and blah blah. No, she's pampered and given servants and pretty clothes and good food. Tamlin dresses her up like a doll and makes snide remarks when she falls short of his goals (fae goals, mind you).
Feyre is a HUMAN. Tamlin is fae. He acts like her humanity is a curse or something to hold against her, and he constantly makes remarks about how she's too fragile, too uneducated, too plain, etc. Instead of "fixing" these issues, Tamlin does nothing other than tell her what to do and not do.
He sexually assaults her after Calanmai, and in the book Feyre shows how much she does not want his advances, and he shoves her against the wall and BITES her, then tells her not to ever go against him again. How is this OK? If my husband ever did this to me, I'd kick him in the crotch and leave. This is not OK. This is not a relationship. This is abuse, which is why it disgusts me that people go on and on about Tamlin.
The fact that Feyre and Tamlin have sex at a later time after he did this makes it worse. why, Feyre, are you going to throw yourself at a man who A) Doesn't care about you based off his degrading comments and B) threatens you. Not only that, he basically blames her for a near-rape experience when he literally did nothing to look out for her and/or stop the guys who were going to attack her?
That being said, I have a lot of issues with Feyre. She gets off too easy on everything, and it's like her brain is only wired to care if the dude is hot. You take care of your family, but then you walk into Tamlin's embrace after the things he has said and done. I understand she has been abused by this, but at the same time, she could have said no. Death is a lot better than basically being a sex slave or punching bag to an immortal person determined to imprison you until you die.
She's never punished for killing a fae. Lucien and Tamlin tell her about magical creatures that could give her what she wants, and the next day she walks out and finds them...the elusive creatures...that are hard for fae to find?
Lucien is about the only well developed character, and he's too sexualized sometimes for me to take me seriously. If you keep pointing out the abs, tanned skin, or whatever on the dude, you're turning them into a slab of meat. All of the males, and truthfully the females as well, in ACOTAR are "perfect" in the idea of what today's society thinks is beauty, sexy, and amazing at everything. This is sexist on every account. Your characters become nothing more than fantasies--which is why I say this is nothing more than porn/erotica.
Sure, you can get some great messages out of this series, but is it worth all of the dung in the way? Specifically with the later books, there's too much sex at some points for it to even be OK. Please, go try to have sex that many times or for days on end and tell me how that is. if you can do that, I'm sorry, but you're either a whore or you're just kinda crazy, because that's too much.
Why I ever read this book and like it, I truthfully don't know, but I'm done with this series. I'm done with this fandom, and I'm fed up with seeing people "swoon" or make comments or even draw/like at that nude art about LITERARY CHARACTERS. Guys, seriously? This is not a book for young girls, but when I went to the first (and last) Maas event, most of the audience there were between the ages of 14-20 (predominately 15-17 years of age) and SCREAMED when Maas was mentioning SEX SCENES. I'm not going to continue to support a series that is encouraging young teens and young women to have unrealistic ideas of men as well as sexual fantasies, especially the married women who I've seen act this same way. if I were your husband, I wouldn't be able to deal with that. I wouldn't want those books in my house.
About the only good thing I have to say for ACOTAR was that there actually was a plot in this book, and it was good, if insanely slow to get rolling, and the amount of sex was fairly minimal.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Audible Audiobook
– Unabridged
| Price | New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial | |
Read & Listen
Switch between reading the Kindle book & listening to the Audible narration with Whispersync for Voice.
Get the Audible audiobook for the reduced price of $7.49 after you buy the Kindle book.
Get the Audible audiobook for the reduced price of $7.49 after you buy the Kindle book.
Your audiobook is waiting! - Click above for unlimited listening to select audiobooks, Audible Originals, and podcasts.
- One credit a month to pick any title from our entire premium selection — yours to keep (you'll use your first credit now).
- You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
- $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel online anytime.
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible’s
Conditions Of Use
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
People who viewed this also viewed
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
People who bought this also bought
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
Related to this topic
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
Customer reviews
A strong female lead, fae magic, romance, murder, possible love triangle, and more...what else do you need?!I started reading ACOTAR solely because I was seeing the series EVERYWHERE. Booktok, Bookstagram, FB advertising, and recommended books on several sites.I appreciate that there isn't much filler on the pages before the intriguing part starts. Right away you're introduced to Feyre as she is out hunting. You learn a bit about her past, enough to understand her but not too much to be boring. You learn about her current home life and family and then...it starts!I would have read through the book in 24 hours had it not been Father's Day weekend. When I didn't have the book in my hand I was longing for it, to see what will happen next.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Letícia
Edição fantástica!
Reviewed in Brazil on June 8, 2020
Edição fantástica!
Reviewed in Brazil on June 8, 2020
Com certeza o livro mais bonito da minha estante! O primeiro livro da trilogia não é o melhor nem de longe, mas quem é fã da Sarah e da trilogia precisa dele! Lindo demais, estou apaixonada!
Reviewed in Brazil on June 8, 2020
Images in this review
Miss K. Southern
It took me a lot longer to get through this one than I would have liked, mostly because despite the fact that I did ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2018
Tackfiction
This one is good, the sequel is even better...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2017
This one is good, the sequel is even better...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2017
So, where do I begin?Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2017
This book has such a following its hard to really say anything that hasn’t already been said but I shall do my best.
The story starts off with a ‘Beauty and The Beast’ vibe that mingles with a Hunger Games-y, Cinderella-esque type main character and a super mysterious plot. However, it quickly develops into much more than that as we gradually discover more and more about the Faerie world and the creatures who inhabit it.
Something I liked about the plot (and something that seems to be a trend among YA fiction at the moment – see Caraval) was the way Mass played with the idea of truth. A Court of Thorns and Roses invites the reader to question a great deal of what we read on the page, making it both more unpredictable and more magical. In terms of ‘overall outcome’ the plot was fairly typical but this didn’t really take away from the story. The only part I found a little disappointing was the way the key romantic relationship shifts after about half-way through. I think I’ve guessed events in the sequel purely because later descriptions of the couple seem to indicate that Maas is no longer invested in it – it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. (I hope it plays out in a particular way) I totally ship Rhys – I’m not even ashamed. He’s so much more interesting than Tamlin.
I really enjoyed the way Maas made faeries so acutely unlike traditional ‘fairy’ images. The raw, animal nature of the Fae characters was fun to read and I liked the little canine and feline behavioural traits she used. Feyre’s character is still kind of growing on me though – I was disappointed that she was given quite so much help by male characters in later chapters, it really took away from the gender tropes the opening chapters challenged. The weak father and strong daughter juxtaposition paired with the female Mercenary was a good opener and I’d definitely like to read more about the briefly introduced mercenary.
Nesta, I think, actually proved to be one of the most intriguing characters and I’d really like to read more about her too. Don’t get me wrong, the faeries are cool and all, I just feel like her character was compelling and utterly human – and, really, there’s some magic in that too. She pulls a full 360 and goes from evil step-sister to loyal protector, a character arc I just really felt was worth mentioning. She’s so magically human that she defies magic, I hope Maas does something cool with her character.
“I’d never heard of a glamour not working. But Nesta’s mind was so entirely her own; she had put up such strong walls—of steel and iron and ash wood—that even a High Lord’s magic couldn’t pierce them.”
Another thing that disappointed me about this read, and perhaps the reason it doesn’t quite make it to four stars, was that I felt quite disconnected from the characters I was reading about. There are real gruesome and emotional events going on in this novel but few made my heart race and I didn’t cry – not even once. I’m not saying crying makes a book good but sad things did happen, it would’ve been a better book had I felt that in the writing. I really want to love this series and I’m hoping the second book lets me do that by just harnessing a little more emotion and tension.
In summary, this was an interesting story and kept me reading till the last page. Despite all the little niggles, I really did enjoy it and I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel with high hopes.
Images in this review
