Monday, May 23, 2016

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)
By Sarah J. Maas
Publisher:
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Feyre freed Prythian from Amarantha’s brutal rule, but she’s haunted by all that happened Under the Mountain. As Feyre struggles to move forward with her now immortal life, a new threat to both Prythian and the mortal world is building. Feyre also knows that any day, she will have to uphold her side of the bargain she made with the High Lord Rhysand, a deal that demands her presence at his dreaded Night Court.

Review: Another Sarah J. Maas book read, another lingering feeling that I’ve just been steamrolled. What. The hell. Just happened?!

I didn’t realize what a hulk of a book A Court of Mist and Fury was until I opened up the box. Maas gets down to business straightaway: although Feyre liberated Prythian from Amarantha’s reign of terror, she has constant nightmares about her time Under the Mountain. It’s not long before things unravel, and Feyre starts down a long, painful path to healing. At first I was a bit jarred by the shift in Feyre’s circumstances; I think because it brought back memories of a certain . . . something in Maas’s Queen of Shadows. I also just have trouble adapting to change in general, even outside of books, but A Court of Mist and Fury gave me over five hundred pages to adjust, and I’m OK now. In fact, I’m perfectly fine with the direction the story went in, and I admire Maas for going with it. Oh, and I know I’m being kind of cryptic, but I’m afraid of spoiling anything. This particular aspect of Feyre’s journey in this book absolutely needs to be experienced for yourself.

So what can I go into detail about? Ah—the world-building! Just as she’s done with Throne of Glass, Maas takes us beyond the world of the previous book, and it’s an amazing tour. Oh, some places are totally terrifying, but you’re thrilled to go there anyway! Feyre’s bargain with Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, in A Court of Thorns and Roses promised that we’d get to see said court in the sequel, and damn does Maas do a knockout job of bringing that court to life. The Night Court was NOT what I expected, but then maybe I should have expected being surprised because Maas is such a genius. All I can say is: I want to run away to the Night Court, okay?

The character depth in this book . . . defies adjectives. Rhys’s development is superb, and I’ll leave it at that because again, that’s something you’ll want to read for yourself. A Court of Mist and Fury also introduces Rhys’s Inner Circle: Mor, Cassian, Azriel, and Amren. Be prepared to love them all.

If Prythian thought it was going to get a little breather with Amarantha’s downfall, its powers of clairvoyance need some work. A new, horrible threat is on the horizon, and as much as it chills your mortal bones, it’s also thrilling to watch Feyre, with the help of some new allies, rise up to meet the approaching danger. There are also the usual court politics and betrayals, which add to an already tense atmosphere that explodes in the book’s final pages. Armor your heart now.

One final note: this book SERIOUSLY needs to come with a warning label strongly advising not to read it without the air conditioner or a fan cranked way, way up because of the heat factor. There WILL be smoldering! Five scorching, white-hot stars for the romance alone!

All in All: Yet another tour de force for SJM! Feyre’s growth is spectacular, the expansion of the world-building is spectacular, and Rhys is spectacular. If only I could will book three into existence this very second; the wait for it is going to be nothing but C-R-U-E-L.

10 comments:

  1. LOL! Reading this review took me on a feels trip all over again. WHY must we wait so long till the next book?! WHY?!?! The world-building here was the first thing that stole the show for me. I'm still dreaming about the Court of Dreams -and the hotness that went down in the Court of Nightmares (Hello!) But really... the mountains, the stars, the open spaces, the freedom...PERFECTION ♥ And the Rhys...GAH! I won't go into detail here (spoilers) but YOU KNOW how I feel about him LOL! You're right though: the character development here was beyond words! I can't even...

    Fantastic review Lee^^ I know want to reread more than ever XD

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    1. I can't even, either, with SO many things about this book! I want to go back to the Night Court so badly, and we're stuck waiting for probably another freaking year before that happens! :'( And it had better happen, LOL!

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  2. I've only just started reading this and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. But I'm only 10% in so I feel like I have time to adjust as well. I hope I love it as much as everyone else seems to!

    I agree with the world-building so far and making the Night Court come to life. I keep rereading over descriptions to make sure I have the right image in my head because it seems so vast and beautiful.

    Jordon @ Simply Adrift.com

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    1. I was just awestruck by the descriptions of the Night Court. SJM's world-building just gets more and more phenomenal with every book.

      I had a few mixed feelings about the beginning of the book, but then it just took off and I was completely mesmerized by it. I hope you love it by the end!

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  3. Since ACoTAR wasn't a fantastic read for me, I've decided I'm not going to be continuing with this particular series, but I'm glad that this was an enjoyable read for you, Lee! It's awesome when a sequel ends up being as good (or there abouts) as the first book, and whilst I think I would have struggled with various elements in this one, it's great it worked for you!

    It's interesting that Feyre goes through the same abrupt personality change as Celeana/Aelin. I wasn't actually too bothered by that in QoS, since I kind of felt where she was coming from, but I can see how it was still quite hard to adjust to- you've spent 3-4 books with one character, grown to love or hate them, and then they are almost completely different. It's not something you expect to happen without some character growth along the way. That isn't something I expected would happen with Feyre, although it's good to hear you weren't too troubled by it, what with having time to get used to how she was different.

    I hope the third book (and how I didn't know until recently that this was only a three book series I don't know *sighs at myself* I really shouldn't be surprised by my lack of bookish realisations by now!) ends up being just as great. x

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    1. I didn't know this was only going to be a trilogy either until you mentioned it, lol! I guess since Throne of Glass is going to be 6 books (I think), I expected ACoTaR to follow suit. XD

      Adapting to change, even when it happens to fictional characters, lol, isn't one of my strengths, so I really appreciated having all those pages for everything to sink in. Now I'm wondering what the page count will be for the final book- I'm thinking I may not be able to lift it!

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  4. Oh my gosh!! I need to read this book so bad!! Just reading your review had made me want to read it so much more and I am now even sadder that I don't own this book yet! I'm so excited to read this book!! I think what makes me this excited to read this book is because I have no doubt in my mind that it will be a fantastic book! Its Sarah J Maas, I have no doubts!!
    Now I need to read it just to see what the Night Court is like! So, its not a demonic place full of demons and hell-fire? I need to know what its like now! Is it actually pretty and nice , because is so I am totally on board! A gorgeous landscape and Rhys? yes please =D
    Such a great review Lee! I'm so excited to read this book!!!

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    1. The Night Court was quite a surprise- you definitely need to check it out for yourself soon. :D

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  5. I plan on starting this series when there is another one out even though I've already bought them. I get so sucked into her reading that I enjoy getting to read some in a row. I'm really glad to hear that she continues her excellent way of writing and surprising the reader fully while still making it work well. I can't wait to see where this story goes!! It also sounds like the characters are fantastic. Thanks for not giving too much away here - Lovely Review!!

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    1. The good news is that you only have to wait for one more book, lol! SJM's books are TOTALLY addictive; there's NEVER a good place to stop reading, even when you absolutely have to, like to go to work. I've made the mistake, more than once, too, of trying to read just a few more pages of her books before leaving the house and nearly being late! XD

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