A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J Maas

Stunning! Epic, vivid, gripping, magnificent, surprising and many other things!

My rating: 5 stars
Publication Date: May 3rd 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children
Point of View: Alternate
Recommended Age: 16+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: New or Young Adult, Paranormal, Feys Action, Romance,

How does Sarah J Maas do it? She makes us love one male character, find him perfect for the female lead character in one book and  make him so … inadequate in the second book that you have no other option but root for the “villain” from the first part? She did it with Chaol in the Throne of Glass series and here… I was so, so in love with Tamlin. I cheered when Feyre was reunited with him by the end of A Court Of Thorns and Roses. I expected they would enjoy their hard won happiness but in this sequel, he was so wrong for Feyre! He suffocated her, let her wither away and I resented him so, so deeply for his selfishness, his blindness.

Prepare to be shocked and shaken as you won’t recognize Feyre in the beginning of the story, neither will you recognize Tamlin. The vibrant and defiant girl is now only a shell of herself, even if her rebirth granted her unexpected powers. She does not find her footing. She wants to be a part of Tamlin’s life, help with the village restoration, go on patrols but he does not want to risk her life, denying her any freedom. She also is eaten alive by guilt and daily nightmares. She took lives in her battle Under The Mountain and does not forget nor forgive herself. It’s  slowly poisoning her soul. 

”I Killed them.” I hadn’t said the words aloud since it had happened.  “It should have been me”.

Fortunately, the author is not known for writing weak female characters and Feyre will rise stronger than ever, an “improved” version of herself but she really had me worried!

Her salvation unexpectedly came from Rhysand. The dark High Fey Lord, Amarantha’s wh@re , the “enemy” in the first book stepped into this tragedy and asked  Feyre to hold her side of the bargain. And I was grateful, yes grateful for Rhys to “kidnap” Feyre one week each month because she stopped fading away. With his taunts, he brought her back from the pit of despair she was slowly slipping in.  He pushed her to fight, to hone her new skills. Relentless, he didn’t coddle her up, didn’t try to put her aside didn’t use her like a glorified pet. Not once did Rhys deny Feyre her freedom to choose her fate: fight or stay behind. Even if it killed him sometimes to see her exposed to danger.

And so my world turned upside down as I was now team Rhys, no longer not team Tamlin and Feyre was a shadow of herself in the beginning of the story.

A Court of Mist and Fury is once more an epic tale, full with battles, twists and turns and incredibly vibrant characters. I loved Cassian, Amren, Mor and Azriel. They were perfectly portrayed, all adding layers to the story, giving interesting side stories to follow within the main story. I loved the building of this fantasy world, between snow caped landscapes, Summer kingdoms and dark mountains. Above all else, I loved the characters development. The author truly made me fear the worst before righting my world again, giving me a fantastic surprise with Rhysand. I’m in heaven when writers trick me in such a way, completely reshaping  my perception and understanding of the main characters.

I felt so many emotions reading this sequel: despair and pity when Feyre was lost, anger when Tamlin locked her up, hope and joy when Feyre mastered her skills or found a new family, glee when Rhysand baited and taunted her, fear so many times as Feyre barely escaped death (another of Sarah specialty) and HUGE FRUSTRATION for this Hell of a CLIFFHANGER!!!! I guess I now have to wait a year to know the end of this breathtaking story and that’s NOT FAIR AT ALL!