A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Book Review by Miranda Fraser (Moses) ISBN: 978-1-61963-518-0 Being that I love Beauty and the Beast, this may have eventually ended up on my bookshelf on my own accord. But my mother-in-law was very pushy and determined that I read this. So much so, that she got it for me as a Christmas gift. And I know she's reading this, so, "Hi Mom" *waves* But I'm glad she did. I really enjoyed it. Sarah J Mass has written a fascinating story and I'm very curious to see what the rest of the series will be like. Also while this book is written as a young adult fiction I would recommend this for older teens rather than younger teens. There are some sexually explicit scenes that some parents may find unsuitable for younger teens. But for now let's jump into the who, what and where. I want to start with saying that while this is Beauty and the Beast inspired there are only a handful of connections I could make to the 'usual' story. Otherwise it is very much it's own story with a serious plot! The story revolves around our Belle, in this case her name is Feyre, whom, similar to most retellings of Beauty and the Beast, is the youngest daughter to a merchant who has lost his riches. In this version however she is not her father's favorite and she actually is the daughter who does the majority of the work to keep her family alive, and that includes the hunting. In fact, her hunting is the ultimate catalyst for the story-line to play out. "When nineteen year old Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution." In this story there is no rose plucked from a garden but instead a life is taken. This beast like creature is a High Fae named Tamilin, with the ability to shift in and out of his beastly form. Though, don't worry, he and his home do have a curse upon them that only Feyre can break. Going back to the High Fae part of this story, this is a world where Human and Faeries exist though they hate each other thoroughly. In their history the humans were slaves to the faeries until a long war won them their freedom. Now they have barriers separating their worlds and a hatred so strong that it seems nothing can break it. So just imagine being taken away into faerie territory for this crime, trusting no one, and not knowing what torture awaited you. Tamlin is the High Fae of the Spring Court and he and his home are all under a curse by a terrible ruthless faerie. (Basically she's our enchantress but insanely evil and vindictive.) as Feyre's time within the Spring Court plays out she grows to love the people around her instead of fearing and hating them. She as a character starts to grow as does her relationship with the handsome Tamlin. But can Feyre figure out how to save them or will she doom them all forever? In conclusion, the ending was one I hadn't exactly expected. I did enjoy the unique twist and the nail biting suspense in the last few chapters of the story. It was almost as if we'd entered a whole other world to see it all played out. And there are at least three more books after this with more problems Feyre will surely have to tackle. I really am looking forward to seeing this play out as most Beauty and the Beast inspired stories are a one and done story line. So, you've certainly gotten my attention Sarah J Mass. As for my earlier caution about adult content, I stand by that. By 14 my parents wouldn't have been too worried about that kind of writing, but I have heard other parents state that they'd never let their 12 year old or even 14 year old read that. I think this is one of those situations where you as a parent have to decide what you're okay with. If you are a parent looking into this book I suggest a quick google search. I found things by searching "18+ Scenes in A Court of Thorns and Roses". I want you to know I don't say this to hurt the books sales, I really loved the book. But nothing hurts book sales like angry parents who wish they'd been aware of what their child was reading. Read on my fellow book worms, may we one day have Belle's library. And as always links to the author's pages can be found down below.
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