A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES Trilogy by Sarah J. Maas
A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES Trilogy by Sarah J. Maas
I’ll start this review with a disclaimer that I’m a new fan of the fantasy genre. It’s something I rarely, if ever, pick up. But when I found myself needing a little extra comfort from my books, I turned to the OG genre for escapism, and the queen of it herself: Sarah J. Maas. Here, I am reviewing the whole trilogy, in as short, but as informative, as possible.
The first book sets up this whole series. Compared to the rest of these books, it is a 4 star read for me. It felt like the pilot episode to your very favorite tv show. I loved it but I left the book feeling like something was missing (I needed more explanation for a few troubling moments). WELL THANK GOD FOR BOOK 2. ⠀
The second book in this series is probably my favorite book of all time. I’ve never read anything like it. I fell in love with the full cast of characters (we only meet HALF the characters in book 1). I fell in love with the world. And I fell in love with SJM and the way she was able to take on themes of toxic masculinity and dealing with trauma. The commentary surrounding these topics is phenomenal (but this is still escapism and fantasy, so keep that in mind). This book gets 5 billion stars from me. I’m forever changed. No book boyfriend can hold a candle to the one I have from this book.⠀
And then the third book hits you with an epic climax and resolution. The pacing of this one could seem slow for some, because there is a lot of *prepping for the war* but I personally loved it. I loved how quiet this book was at times. It let me sit with these characters a bit more, love on them a bit deeper, and experience the calm before the epic, final storm. I laughed, I cried, I raged. 5 stars. ⠀
Overall, I can’t give this series anything less than 5 stars. It probably gets more than that. Books are an incredibly personal experience, and sometimes they just hit you at the right time for the right reasons. If you are looking for escapism, I highly recommend picking up this series. If you’re searching for that “can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t stop thinking about” book series, this could be it. It was for me.⠀
Steam factor (this is not YA, guys!): 🔥🔥🔥🔥⠀
CW: abandonment, emotional abuse, confinement, sexual abuse, trauma/PTSD