A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

(Format used for this read: Audiobook)

I found this book because of an amazing little slice of the Internet I partake in that is full of Disney fans. 

In case you didn’t know, I am not only a huge lover of books….but I am also a huge lover of Disney.

The parks, the movies, the merch….ALLLL OF THE MAGIC, yall.

You can bet all your money that as soon as our butts move to Florida and they start selling annual passes again, I will be FIRST IN LINE to get one!

Anywho, LOTS of  various things are discussed on the threads in that group from coffee to kids to books…it’s not JUST Disney related fandom, but that is the driving force that binds us all together.

I have heard SO MANY posters and commenters absolutely RAVE about this book series….people friggin’ LOOOVE IT.

Plus, my friend Jessica thoroughly enjoyed it too.  I trust her because she is a tremendous human being…AND she has EXCELLENT taste in books.

I *had* to see what all the fuss was about.

All I heard it described as was a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Which perked my ears immediately.

Because that was my FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE OF ALL TIME.

A younger me could see myself in Belle and her love of books and reading SO SO MUCH.

Plus, she was a brown eyed brunette of a Disney Princess which ALSO made my younger self  feel seen.

I adored that Belle fell in love with the Beast for who he was on the INSIDE, instead of judging him solely on his outward appearance. 

But…now as an adult I’m kinda like….why didn’t it freak me out a bit that she totally fell in love with an ANIMAL???  I mean, I know he was REALLY a human with a magical curse placed upon him, but STILL….

He was legit an animal.  With fur all over.  And claws. And fangs. 

I can’t lie…that DOES sit a little strange for me now.  Like….that is kinda weird shit, right?!?

I don’t know why my brain does these things, yall….it just DOES.🤷‍♀️

Yall know what ELSE I started thinking about and remembering when my brain went to his weird place?

The TV show “Beauty And The Beast” that was around in the late 80s starring Linda Hamilton.

Do yall remember that one?

If not, you MUST MUST MUST go Google this weirdness.  Listen to this official description of the show: “The adventures and romance of a sensitive and cultured lion-man and a crusading assistant district attorney in Manhattan”

Yes…FOR REAL.

Yall….why in the WORLD did it not freak people out that this lady was in a romantic relationship with a creature that lived in the NYC sewer system??  Why was this enjoyable to watch?? 

My mom LOVED that show.  And it was a hit series for like SEVERAL YEARS.

WTF.  The 80’s were a weird time, man.🤣

Okay…back on track now…so I was already kinda excited for this book because of the hype. When I did finally read the summary, I was like “Okayyyyy…this sounds totally and completely up my alley! Let’s do this thing” 

Here it is:

“When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin―and his world―forever.”

Okay..so first and foremost…I wouldn’t really call this a Beauty and the Beast “retelling”.   There are some vague similarities in basic plot outline, but not enough to call it a retelling or even a reimagining.  I would say it just has a vague essence of the original tale, not a strong aroma.

 Magic?  Yes.  Curses?  Yes.  Romance?  Yes. But that is about it.

And listen…it DEFINITELY ain’t no Disney version of ANYTHING. 

 No singing in the streets of a friendly village.  No joyful dancing teapots.

The human people are in dire life circumstances just trying to survive.

The fairies are NOT welcoming, sparkly, wish granting, delicate creatures.

And the beast isn’t really a beast per se…he’s a cursed fairy who can transform into a beast type creature…so he’s kinda more human like than the original tale.

This book is very dark…and VERY racy.

Like VERY racy.

Which confused me because I totally thought this was a YA book.

I have looked it up in many different places, and some places categorize it as one, and some do not.

Let me say this….. if it IS a book for Young Adults, I DEFINITELY think it is for the oldest young adult age bracket that exists.

This story does have that super intense romantic/sexual tension develop between characters that more mature YA books are SO darn good at  (in my opinion, they develop a little TOO quickly between Feyre and Tamlin…kind of a quick progression I didn’t really jive with)

But…..

There are also plenty of sexy scenes and nudity….which I can’t say is a bad thing really–there are GOOD scenes😄….but they are MOST DEFINITELY for older ears.  I personally don’t think teens need the nitty gritty, deep in the sheets details this book provides.

I told yall before I generally don’t like tons of descriptive and graphic sexual scenes….I prefer BBC romance scenes to HBOMax ones….but honestly, these I didn’t hate too much.😉

There are a couple scenes that have a hint of violence that I did not care for…but as a whole, I was okay with them.

Who knows…maybe my tastes are beginning to change in my old age 🤣

If you are a parent and have a teen who wants to read this, I will recommend you check it out first. You be the judge on this one. 

This book was totally NOT what I expected…but I ain’t mad about it. 

Feyre is kind of a bad ass as she navigates thru the fairy realm and even more so as the story progresses.  She has to fight against multiple curses and evil magic with trials of all kinds… and her endurance and tenacity keeps you on edge.

The ending was a jolt to the emotions and senses…and COMPLETELY drew me in to want to continue reading the next book.

(apparently the stories get even racier as the series progresses….so we will see if my enjoyment stays the same or if it just gets to be TOO MUCH for me😬)

This book is being made into a TV series for Hulu and I’m so interested to see it come to life on the screen.  I think the potential for TREMENDOUS visuals and DAZZLING costumes is over the top…hopefully, whoever is in charge  will come thru BIG.

Final thoughts on this book: 

If you like adult fantasy (and I for real mean *ADULT FANTASY*), then you will be enamored with this book and probably this whole series. 

If it ain’t your thing AT ALL, just stay far far away from it.

And if you’re like me and you go back and forth about it, then I say it’s worth a chance.

Just leave those rated G Disney movie expectations behind. 🤣