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

5 (MILLION) stars

I started this series strictly on the referral of friends. That's actually how I was introduced to Sarah J. Maas in the first place. After I grew to love the TOG series I was told about this series and was nervous because I didn't know how anything could live up to TOG. While ACOTAR didn't wow me the same way the TOG series did from the very start (but I still really enjoyed it!), this book...this book topped almost all of the TOG books.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, SJM is a master of character development. This book was a slow build yet so thrilling at the same time. Sorrowful, yet somehow joyous. This book even made me appreciate ACOTAR that much more. She added so much detail, made little things make sense. She built Rhys into an even bigger hero, somehow, by filling in all the details of his backstory.

But Feyre. Feyre is the soul of this book. I loved her in ACOTAR but I wept for her in ACOMAF. I cheered for her. I felt her joy, her sorrow, her emptiness. I care about her in the same way I care about Aelin (TOG), which I didn't think I would, after the first book. And her friendships! I loved all the supporting characters and ate up every little detail that SJM sprinkled out about their back stories.

One thing that I will say is that I've never been a romance book reader and while this is very much in the fantasy realm--there are some pretty intense "love" scenes. There were really only a couple of times where I felt it was a bit much--but I had gotten a taste of that in the TOG books. But SJM really took her "romance writing" to a different place in a couple of scenes in this novel. It all worked but it was definitely...intense.

Ok. I don't know if I can review this book fully until I have more time to recover. I just finished reading and I'm in a serious book withdrawal. I still have quite a wait for ACOWAR from my library and I don't know what to do with myself. I wish I could give a book more stars...but a solid 5 stars. I don't give 5 stars lightly and this book deserves it. Suspense, adventure, love, magic, friendship. It really did have it all.

xo Sara

Curious about how I rate books? Read about my scale here. Warning: it's super scientific.

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Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin

SJM is a master at bringing so many supporting characters to life with limited space. She shares their stories at the perfect time and then their reactions to events, their words--however few--mean so much more with how she sprinkles them in.

Review: The Opposite of Loneliness

One of my favorite things about Keegan and this book is her amazing talent to bring you immediately into a story (which is incredibly important for short stories and essays because you are working with such limited space).

Review: The Husband's Secret

I'm late to the Liane Moriarty fan club but I've enjoyed the three books I've read from her so far. Quick, suspenseful, and they usually leave you guessing until the end.

Review: Big Little Lies

Rape as a plot point is lazy. You can display the same emotions, get to the same end, without using this constantly. It's cheap, it's unoriginal, and I'm just done with it.

Review: The Art of Asking

This book read more like a series of autobiographical essays centered on the themes of asking for help (obviously), SEEING people (not just looking at people), vulnerability, trust, and love.

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury

SJM is a master of character development. This book was a slow build yet so thrilling at the same time. Sorrowful, yet somehow joyous. This book even made me appreciate ACOTAR that much more. She added so much detail, made little things make sense.

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Once I got about halfway through it really picked up. This is a book that if you stick with it--which honestly isn't hard even though it's slow, SJM writes amazing characters--it's worth it in the end.

Review: Brave is the New Beautiful

I want every woman I know to read this. We are all brave. We all have stories, we all have struggles. We are in this TOGETHER and should lift each other up instead of comparing.

Review: A Re-Read of Bird by Bird

And honestly, if you're a writer, this really is a great book. There are so many prompts and ideas for jumping off points that I ALWAYS finish feeling inspired.

Review: West of Sunset

It is based on the last few years of Fitzgerald's life, a time he spent in Hollywood dealing with his demons and desperately longing for and trying to once again achieve some success.

Review: Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The biggest recommendation I can give is to read it in book form (as opposed to e-readers)--there are so many pictures, graphs, notes, and other fun things to look at as you read.