Sunday, June 5, 2016

#Monday Review - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (Young Adult, Fantasy)

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses # 2
Format: Hardcover, 640 pages
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Source: Library
Genre: Fantasy


“Tell me what you see.”“A world divided in two.”
Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.



A Court of Mist and Fury is the second installment in author Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses. As the story opens, it has been three months since 20-year old Feyre (Fay-Ruh) survived a brutal challenge thrown down by Amarantha in order to save those she cared about. In the process, several things happened to her. She was reborn, remade into a High Fey and given immortality by the seven lords of the realms (Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall, Day, Dawn, Night). 

She also has the markings on her left hand that indicate that she made a bargain with Rhysand, Lord of the Night Court, to spend one week a month with him. Feyre is also having issues in accepting what she had to do in order to survive. She believes that she is a murderer, and a deceiver for what she had to do. She believes that she is broken and can't be fixed by anyone. Yet, she has accepted a marriage proposal from Tamlin to be his Consort. Oh, yes. Not his wife, but his Consort because that's the way things have always been done in Tamlin's Court. 

I think that her actions up to and including her own wedding day, were signaling that a change will be coming soon. It was apparent that Maas had something else in store for Feyre. You have to admit that Feyre fell in love with Tamlin rather quickly after he showed her kindness, and helped her family. Now let's remember back to my review for the previous book and how I really didn't care for the romance between Tamlin and Feyre. That continues with this book. I was and have been a fan of Lucien's, but Lucien disappointed me this time around. Just one single act of kindness may have changed a whole lot of things. Even though Rhys was considered a tool to be used by Amarantha, he at least tried to help her through her ordeal under the mountain. 

One could say that this book is broken down into several acts. Act one is Feyre's inability to accept who she now is, and what she had to do in order to survive. She hates just sitting around and being pampered by Tamlin and especially Ianthe.  Feyre is a hunter. That is what got her into this situation in the first place. She promised to take care of her family and did as well as can be expected under the circumstances. Now, she finds herself with a man who I dare say does believe she can't take care of herself even though she has more strength, speed, and immortality.

The second act becomes Feyre's attempt at finding herself and her time spent with Rhys and his court at Velaris which includes Azriel, Morrigan, Amren, and Cassian. One could say that Feyre finally gets to understand her new abilities that she was given/borrowed from the Seven Lords of the Realm. Some of those powers are very, very useful and awesome. Feyre definitely belongs in the Night Court, and not any place else. Here she starts to feel like herself again, and believes that yes, she may have had issues before, but she can work through them now that she isn't being treated as a child. 

Act three to me was the best part of this book. I loved the danger. I loved that Feyre and Rhys court became a family who actually respected HER and didn't want to keep her in a bubble in order to keep her safe. I loved the search for a tool to be used against a rising enemy. I liked that she and her friends met King Hybern, and I liked that things became abundantly clear who I was rooting for and against. I am more than firm in my feelings for Tamlin after the third act, and am eager to see what happens with Lucien as well.

Some positives for me: Less sex scenes. Yep, I could care less about what is happening between the sheets or any place else. There were some pretty graphic scenes nonetheless, but that is easily taken care of by zipping past them quickly. Feyre's determination and choices in Act three. I really, really can't wait to see what happens now that she's become the fox looking for a way to save her friends. I really, really loved her new abilities and can't wait to see how she gets revenge on those that have become her new enemies.   



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