Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children
Publication: May 2nd 2017
Cover Rating: 5/5
Plot:
Please keep in mind that I did skip the sex scenes. Reading them plainly written makes me squirm but reading them the way SJM writes them just makes me feel dirty and wrong. I loved the relationship between Rhys and Feyre at the beginning, but there are places and times to fuck like rabbits and in a tent on a fucking battlefield is NOT ONE OF THEM. Their relationship is purely physical and I really don't see them surviving in any other environment where they have to act normal and not run off to mountain cabins to fuck fuck fuck. Mind you, they were not the only couple to fuck on the battlefield. It was like everyone was thinking HEY, One last HOOHAH for the road since we might die and never get to give in to carnal urges ever again. UGH.
Aside from the sex, the main plot of this book is... well... WAR. But we don't get to see the actual war for a while. This book, just like the previous one, had way too much filler. I enjoyed the things that had to do with the plot such as preparing for the war and trying to figure out what they can do to retrieve THE Cauldron. But other than that? It was a book about trying to get Elain, Feyre;s youngest sister, to stop being a zombie, trying to get Nesta to stop being such a raging bitch and almost losing members of the inner circle multiple times.
No one dies. Not really anyway. But the one person/creature that does die really hit me. I didn't expect to be that emotional over it. Oh, wait, okay so someone else died that was kind of a big deal. Not bookwise, but for Feyre. It sucks that he died but I was so shocked about what he did at the end and I feel like his life was a noble sacrifice. He had to of known he was going to die but he did it anyway. And the one person he mainly did it for, still turned her head and treated him like crap until he died. So after 3 books of hating her, she is still my most hated character and my feelings about her never swayed. But... This probably belongs in the Characters area but it was more plot than anything.
Characters:
While I have disliked Tamlin for a while, I realized that the Spring Court is all about appearance and that makes the court appear very weak and vapid. Meanwhile, the Night Court is all action and logic. Tamlin never thought anything through before he acted upon it. Rhys on the other hand made plans and talked with his Inner Circle and did what was right for his people. I hardly heard anything about the constituents of the Spring Court. In Thorns and Roses, Tamlin was made to appear kind and good to his people but I never really saw any examples. Everything Tamlin did was either for himself, Feyre or to show off his power. It's very eye opening now that I have seen this. When I was reading Thorns and Roses I told my friend I hate Lucien and Rhys and I hope Rhys dies. Now my opinions are vastly swayed just as they were with Warner and Adam in the Shatter Me series.
One thing I found myself doing while reading this book is trying to make some of the faces that are so often referred to. The sneers and baring of teeth. I tried and felt inherently stupid. So much so that after a while I starting picturing everyone in this book sort of looking like this....
There was a lot of character development. I think EVERY character changed in some way throughout the book. Elain being the most changed. There were also a lot of new characters thrown into the mix. Lords and Ladies from the other courts. People who already had a past with our main characters so I would love to read some backstory on all of them. It is always kind of weird when you meet new characters but they already have a history with the main character that you don't get to see. So maybe the next few books will really give us some back story for everyone. A girl can hope, right?
World Building:
There wasn't much world building in this book because it was already set up in the two previous books. We did, however, get to travel through some courts and meet new people. The courts we traveled through weren't really explored much but if I had to pick, I would love to explore the courts for Nightmares, Dawn and Day. Those three seem the most exciting to me.
In the end, the book was good. If I ignored all the things that irritated me, I was fine. I would have really loved more action and less plot filling but you get what you get and nothing will change that. I can't wait for the next three books to see what and who they are about. I am really hoping for a prequel about the first war.
Overall, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.
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