A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
MAIN THEMES:
Found Family
Unlikely Alliances
2-Level Spice
Powerful FMC
Political Intrigue
Devoted Power Couple
Where, oh, where do I begin with this one?
I'm not going to lie, I almost DNF'd it. Fortunately for myself and ACOWAR, I have a strict "No-DNF" policy that has very limited exceptions. The book had 3 very obvious sections in it to me, and they weren't necessarily separated the way the author did it.
The first third of the book I thoroughly enjoyed. We will call this section "Chaos Queen." While not exactly action-packed, I found myself smiling and Feyre's deviousness and relishing in her becoming the conniving and empowered queen I was praying she would grow into. Her wittiness, resilience, and intelligence were on display and I enjoyed the HELL out of it!
Second third of the book we will call "Nap Time." This is where I almost DNF'd. There are some battle scenes that are very well-written, but it was a lot of planning and me yelling at them to hurry up and get to the point already - DO SOMETHING! It was during this section of the book I had to force myself to sit down and at least knock out 3 chapters each night. This section is why it took me 2 weeks to finish.
The third-third we will call "World War Fae." THIS was what I had been waiting for: Action-packed, up to your knees in warfare, collecting plot twists like Maas's life depended on it... I'm crying, my heart's pounding, I don't know what to expect... THIS is the writing we all fell in love with Maas over.
Other things I love without spoiling it too much: Nesta’s character arc is starting to take shape - I’ve heard rumors of what/who is to become and I can’t wait to see it through! I relate quite a bit with Nesta’s harsh exterior and marshmallow-y insides and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters (she better not disappoint me like Tampon did!); Amren in all her glory; The wicked trio coming in clutch; Ianthe going from “main character energy” to “main course.”
Maybe Maas had some Easter eggs planted during Nap Time that will make sense in the future... I hope I can recognize them because it's nearly a blank space in my mind. I can't really explain WHY it was so dull to me other than it must have been just too much war planning, and not enough actual war. Maybe it it had been trimmed down a bit, I would bump my rating up to a 4.5-5... Many people I've talked to said Book 3 is why they didn't finish the series. I'm here to tell you to push through to the end! If you still hate it, I get it... but the ending made up for about 90% of the boredom I experienced in the middle.
Due to the near DNF but the last bit rescuing the book, I give Book 3 of the ACOTAR series 4/5 Stars - Book 2 is my favorite so far of the series.
Trigger Warnings:
War & Graphic Violence
Death & Grief
Torture & Abuse
Sexual Assault References (not graphic, mentions to past incidents)
Captivity/Kidnapping
PTSD/Trauma
Misogyny
Sexual Content
