★★★★

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: 5th May 2015

Pages: 412

Genre: YA, fantasy, romance.

Buy: Amazon

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever. -GR

Everyone and their mother has heard about this book, and because of this hype, I was so ready to hate it. I’m disappointed in myself to say I really liked it. I’m joking, I’m not disappointed at all!

I tried to read Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas but I couldn’t get past the first 50 pages for some reason. This wasn’t the case for ACOTAR because I read 200 pages in one sitting, which wasn’t great for the exam revision I was supposed to be doing, or my bank account as I bought the rest of the books in the series, along with the audiobooks.

Sarah J Maas’s writing is gorgeous. It can be a little cheesy in places (like the riddle, for example) but the rest is unique and so vivid. I love the world of Prythian and the Spring Court. It was just so easy to see and be immersed in.

I also loved the idea of the world as well as the descriptions of it. I mean, look at this map –

The idea of having courts designated to seasons and times of day is so simple but interesting, and I’ve heard we get to see more of the courts and their politics in the next book, which I am totally down for.

Feyre herself is more likeable than I thought she would be. I had this idea that she would be insufferably Mary-Sueish but I actually enjoyed reading from her perspective. She’s brave but weak in different ways, and those weaknesses do hinder her from doing things, so she isn’t this omnipotent, untouchable character having angst for the sake of it. I’m a little worried after the events at the end of the book that this might change but I’ll just have to wait.

Tamlin was also a surprise! Anyone who has heard of this series but hasn’t read it knows about Rhysand so I expected him to be the main love interest but he didn’t come into the book until near the end, which was a little bit of a shock. It seems to be an unpopular opinion but I really liked Tamlin too – if he does something in the next book to make everyone hate him, I don’t want to hear it. Let me hold on to him for a little longer!

My favourite character has to be Lucien, though. My favourite relationship in books is friendship, and I love all the friendships he has, especially with Tamlin and Feyre. He’s reliable and kind and snarky as hell, which I, of course, appreciate.

My only criticism is the same as everyone else’s of this series, and it’s the lack of representation but apparently that improves in later books, unless that’s just headcanon. But I would love to see a LGBTQIA+ character in this huge world Sarah J Maas has created.

I’m moving onto the next book as soon as I finish this review. I know a lot of people say it’s better than this one so hopefully a 5 star is a-coming!

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Any thoughts on ACOTAR or the future books (no spoilers)? I’d love to talk about it in the comments or as a DM on Instagram (puppa.pages)!