A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES is a completely original retelling of Beauty and the Beast by New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas with, of course, a strong female lead, faeries, and an amazingly inventive world.
"Overall Assessment:
Wow. I could.not.stop. listening to this book. I found myself devising ways in which I could listen to this book as much as possible and finished it in only 2 days (it was a 16 hour book!). I would not classify it as YA, but NA because there are a few steamy scenes. More steamy than other YA novels, but tastefully done and not overly graphic. Just be prepared for a little more romance than usual.
What I liked:
– The narration by Jennifer Ikeda took me a couple chapters to get used to. Her voice wasn’t annoying and there was nothing in particular that bothered me, it just took a little while to get used to the cadence of her voice. Once I did though – she blew me away. Emotion surged out at just the right places, and she gave each character an easily distinguishable voice.
– Feyre is a strong and likeable character. She has her flaws (hot tempered, impulsive), but she is also loyal and feirce. I really appreciate that Maas didn’t make Feyre the typical heroine, nor the damsel in distress. You know the heroines I am talking about – good at everything they try, super humble, prettier than everyone else and has no idea, everyone wants to get in their pants, etc. Feyre is a skilled hunter, but she taught herself at the age of 14 through trial and error. She didn’t pick up a bow and become a prodigy – she is skilled, but had to work for it. She is described as beautiful, but not mind-blowingly breathtaking. She is on the brink of starvation, so when we first meet her she has sharp features and sallow skin. Feyre also can’t read. I love flawed heroines, it makes their victories mean so much more.
– The building relationship between Feyre and Tamlin. I love that it wasn’t all “OMG I’ve never connected with anyone before but with one touch from you I can’t control myself”. It took time for Feyre to learn to love him. I know some may consider this a spoiler, but come on. You knew it was coming, right? TBH I’m not really shipping them together though. We’ll see what comes next, but I feel like Maas is building toward something else.
– The pacing of the story was perfect. There were lulls in the action, but the lulls led to interesting character developments and insights into Feyre’s mind.
– Steamy scenes. As I mentioned above, there were some pretty hot and heavy scenes.
– Supporting characters were strong as well. I love Lucien; I can’t wait to discover more of his backstory.
– The ending. THAT ENDING.
TLDR; Strong heroine, a good amount of romance, likable characters, unique story.
If you like this review please check out my blog at ChandaReads dot Com for more like it!
I was given a digital copy of the audiobook from eStories in exchange for a review."
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ChandaReads (5 out of 5 stars)