Jessie Avery

This story is the very essence of a fairytale. Never have I ever fallen so hard into a world then when I stumbled upon A Court of Thorns and Roses. This dark and sensual high fantasy book is one that figuratively opens a portal to the faery realm, inviting you in and very nearly holding you captive yourself. As a clever reconstruction of the Beauty and the Beast tale, ACOTAR focuses on exploring a romantic connection with an aesthetically accurate portrayal of the beast. 🥀 The story starts in a Winter-scape where we meet the fmc alone in the forest. Winter quickly turns to Spring when she is kidnapped by the beast and taken to an estate that borders on the edge of a magical land. Separated from her family by an enormous invisible wall, Feyre remains in this enchanted land, living out her life in an eternal Spring until a powerful blight begins to pull at the seams of a perfect paradise, slowly but surely clawing off a mask revealing something cruel and cursed beneath. For lovers of magic, faery folk, and dark romantic fantasies. 4.5 🌟

This is a story that just kept giving… and giving, and giving. From a mmc that I entirely adored, to an impressive fmc with multiple personalities, to a love story possessing one of my all time favourite tropes, to shocking secrets, elemental magic, dragons, journal entries, and royal family heirlooms.. this story has so much depth and volume to it that I was surprised that the author could get it all down on paper and still steer it to a conclusion… Boasting its own map, deities, and creational story, the world building is certainly thorough and mesmerising, with the author going as far as inventing her own intricate system of time for her story. The pictures that this author paints with her poetic prose does require more effort on the readers part and is therefore aimed to a more intellectual audience but to the right reader the imagery that the author invokes makes the story all the more richer. When the Moon Hatched hooked me from the start. It jumps headfirst into thick plot and quickly unveils the fmc as a gorgeous, confident assassin who can lure any man to their death. The author quickly showcases her bravado by diving into some pretty gruesome and explicit torture scenes, capturing her ability to tell a very dark and twisted tale. While action reigns for the first half of this book, the last half focuses on a soulmate romance, sporting a one-sided enemies to lovers arc that blurred my vision repeatedly, while being intertwined with some comedic relief chapters that had me giggling so hard. The mmc that floods that last half of this book is perfection on the page. He’s patient, kind, trustworthy, thoughtful, nurturing, strong, capable… he’s everything thats good in this world and he’s in so much pain yet he still tries.. still fights. Unfortunately in my books the story does fall short half a star primarily for its use of locations that never quite did entice my imagination.. and because I felt as if fae weren’t the right species for this land at all, due to it not having forest fairytale vibes, though the latter was easy enough to overlook. All in all, a compelling read, and a great addition to the dark romantasy genre that doesn’t read like a young adult book.

This is a high fantasy series driven by a brewing war, in a world with separate territories although its political climate is left relatively untouched in the first book (total bonus). The kinds of creatures included range from monstrous beasts to wraiths to air sprites, with mentions of gods and goddesses, and including the all important prophecy/ies. The story finishes at the start of another, leaving lots to be told in the next instalment. This book is a real page turner, I was glued to its story from start to finish, making it lean heavily into comfort book territory for me. As it’s only the beginning of Orlaith’s story it focuses less on action and more on her training (swords mostly), her desires for the man who raises her, the trauma that keeps her metaphorically locked in her tower, her artistic pursuits (which are gorgeous and actively aid and blend with the plot perfectly) and her fostering friendships. There’s plenty more to keep the plot going like balls and breakfast and themes of jealousy and lies which all escalate to a rather riveting finale that richly reveals a treasure-trove of secrets. The mmc is a dark, brooding, intense, dominant, over-protective (think touch her and you die vibe) High Master who rules an entire territory. Despite keeping his distance from the fmc he still manages to give her everything she wants and fulfils her every need. Theres LOTS of sexual tension in this book, lots of angst and a budding relationship thats extremely taboo due to its age gap (which allows for a very slow burn). I tend to struggle to love fmc’s but Orlaith is a rare exception - she’s a badass without it being flimsy, she has great banter, is very intelligent, has a healthy amount of creative pursuits, and whats more is that girl can ACT which is one of my favourite characteristics in fmc’s. You get to see a lot of the fmc in her room, atop the tower so you really do get an immersive rapunzel-esque experience which is what I signed up for. I simply can’t write a review without commenting on the writing style of this author. Personally I’d describe Sarah’s prose as timeless, like aged wine. Unique. Beautiful. Decadent. Lively, almost as if her words contain their own heartbeat. I think it’s truly striking to see an author put so much effort into her sentences - it really elevates her writing, making it art itself. Her storytelling skills are also second to none and I thoroughly enjoyed the way her story unfolds feeling as if the author leaves no rock unturned. After its conclusion I realised that I loved the kinds of secrets she was building up to spill, and the ones she saved yet to be revealed has me itching to start the second book. Personally, I loved this book, and feel so much satisfaction being able to have this on my bookshelf within arms reach at all times. Thank you so much Sarah! I will be here ready to greedily devour all of your life’s work, always. Xo