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

Release Date: May 3rd, 2016
Read: May 23rd-25th, 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2
Format: Signed Hardcover. 630 pages
Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads:

   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.

Review:

Contains Minor Spoilers:

   To the stars who listen- and the dreams that are answered.
   I knew from the minute the cover was released, that my heart wouldn't be able to hand A Court of Mist and Fury, I was not wrong. With reading A Court of Thorns and Roses well over a year ago, I did not really understand how much ACOMAF was going to effect me, not even a reread of the first book could prepare me. Although I did expect tears, I didn't let myself down.
   After a Court of Thorns and Roses, and the different tasks Feyre was forced to endure you'd expect Feyre to be a utter mess. Emotionally and physically. Normally in YA books, I've found that no matter what the hero/heroine endures, they always bounce right back. Without suffering any sort of effect of their actions. With Feyre, she didn't take the typical YA path, her character actually felt the responsibilities of her actions. She felt grief, depression and especially guilt. They effected her throughout the novel, until roughly the end when she was finally able to overcome it all. (To a certain extent.) Where I don't suffer from depression I do know the effects that it has on a person, and from what I've seen, Maas really hit the marker with Feyre, and even Tamlin and Rhysand. No one experiences depression the same, so being able to see it differently from more than one character really emphasized it. The same goes with how people are pulled out of their depressed state, each person is different as well, and in some cases, people can't leave the state.
   To bring Feyre out of her state, Rhysand was our hero. In A Court of Thorns and Roses I was never really in love with either Tamlin or Lucien, neither really tugged at my heart, but Rhysand's deviousness did. Although in ACOTAR he couldn't really be a love interest from the short appearances that we saw him, I couldn't help but be intrigued by his character. In ACOMAF we got to experience the true Rhysand, and now that I've met him, I never want to let him go. Throughout the novel my love for Rhys grew until Chapter 54, until the exact moment when my heart broke at his words. He became the one that pulled Feyre out of her state, he became the one that gave Feyre the family that she deserved, he was the one that gave her everything. Their relationship built up throughout the whole novel to a point where you were confused to why she ever loved Tamlin in the first place. A Court of Mist and Fury left me believing in Rhys and Feyre are the perfect couple, and my heart still melts at the thought of them.
   Tamiln was another character that took a major jump as a character. Even though we only saw him for roughly a third of the novel, a lot about him has changed since A Court of Thorns and Roses. Like said above, I believe that Tamlin also was facing the consequences of his actions from under the mountain. But the way he handled them just made things worse for him, as well as Feyre, but especially Feyre. I probably would have been able to get over his actions in the beginning of the novel, but with what he did at the very end, I hope he gets what is coming to him.
   A Court of Mist and Fury was an emotional rollercoaster that left me in a worse off state than A Court of Thorns and Roses ever did. Being just as great as ACOTAR, and even better, ACOMAF reached all my expectations and more. Once again reminding me why the series is one of my all time favourites, I will be a utter mess until the final novel releases next year.



   Before reading A Court of Mist and Fury, I had heard a great deal of things from others who had already read the book that it should not be considered a YA novel. After reading it, I've come to the decision that the novel should be considered more NA rather than YA. If you were to ignore the explicit sex scenes, and how constant they were, then I would still see the novel as YA. But because those scenes were so frequent and so graphic, I would not recommend A Court of Mist and Fury to a younger audience.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"The villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. 

He was the one who let me out."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

New Adult, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fey, Fairies, Kingdoms, Magic

   I do NOT recommend this book to younger readers, unless you are comfortable with them experiencing extremely mature content.