A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Genre:  New Adult Fantasy

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series, Book 1

Sarah J Maas' website

Expected publication date:  May 5, 2015

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Sarah J Maas' website):

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

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever.

When I first picked up this book, my immediate thoughts were why did I want to read this again?  I was not the biggest fan of Sarah J Maas' other book, so why would I want to read this one?  Quite honestly, it was the description that caught my eye.  We're in a world of faeries and magic.  What more could a girl ask for?  How about a Beauty and the Beast retelling?  Score!!

Feyre promised her dying mother that she would look after her older sisters and father.  So she's off hunting for food in the middle of winter in the woods where wolves have been known to prowl.  Due to her need for survival, actions occur that bring home food as well as a certain faerie's wrath.  In order to pay for her actions, Feyre ends up on the other side of the wall in the Spring court.  While she tries to figure out how to get home, she finds she needs to learn more about her captor, Tamlin.  And the more she learns, the more Feyre seems to blur the lines between fae and human.

I feel like this is one of those books that ripped the Y from YA (young adult) and replaced it for an NA (new adult).  But I can't really complain about that because I felt like the story had a little more depth.  In the beginning, I thought Feyre (and her older sisters) were setting me up for disappointment.  I mean, what mother in her right mind demands her youngest kid to take care of her elders?  But once I got out of the human world and into the fae world, the fantasy part of mind quickly over-ruled that doubtful one.  This story is a beautifully laid out Beauty and the Beast retelling that doesn't take a lot of thought to get through.  There were parts of the story where I was  absolutely swooning over the characters.

I think Sarah J Maas fans are going to enjoy this one.  And for those who despised Throne of Glass, you might enjoy this one.  Yes, I will say the characters can be a little one-dimensional, but the story pulled me in and forced the characters to grow on me.  I will be reading the second one...

Thanks goes to Around the World ARC Tours for providing me a review copy.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Genre:  YA Fantasy Romance

Throne of Glass Series, Book 1

Sarah J Maas' website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Goodreads):

Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

Celaena is spending a life sentence in the dingy salt mines of Endovier.  She was once the country's most well known assassin of all time.  After being caught and sent to die in the mines, she has been determined to survive.  And she'll go as far as proving she can escape if she has to.  Fortunately for her, the Prince of Adarlan has plans for her.

When given the opportunity to become the King's Champion by entering a tournament, she goes for it.  As she goes back to the city courts, she must get back in shape and resume the court intrigue that she left behind.  But she can't reveal who she really is and has to portray herself as someone of little consequence.  With magic in the air and random deaths of would-be champions, Celaena finds herself in a very complex plot.

I need to start with this:  I did not like this book at all.  I felt like the book was all: "I'm an assassin.  Now I'm all googly eyes over some guy.  You can not beat me because I'm an assassin.  But wait, I'm a girl now."  I guess the only thing I have to say to Celaena is prove it.  I felt like she was all talk and the pacing for the book was super slow.  And I don't know how to make my brain say this book was great and jump on this band wagon.  It just didn't work for me.  Agh, I tried so hard.  But after taking a week to finish the novel, I felt like scraping my nails on a chalkboard would be a more pleasant experience.

Something's obviously wrong with me for not liking this book.  I guess I couldn't find the character believable.  And now I feel left out because I see so many people reading this series and loving it.  But I can't continue it.  Boo...