A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

 

*This review will contain spoilers for the first two books in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.*

So, I don't know if I should be proud to admit this, but I'm seriously loving the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. After reading the first few books in the series earlier this month, I was excited to get into book three, A Court of Wings and Ruin and see how Feyre and Rhys' adventure would continue. On a silly side note, the size of this book initially confused me. Sitting on my shelf, it looked significantly shorter than the second one, but I didn't realize that the publisher switched to a lighter-weight paper for this installment. Looking at the page numbers revealed that it was actually the longest one so far at 705 pages. Looking at the spines, you would never think it. Here's what I mean: 

That paper really made a difference in how thick the book looked, right? This is all pointless to bring up now of course, because since I purchased these, the publisher has completely redesigned and released much more attractive editions of all these books (which I will grudgingly eventually buy to replace these with). Okay, anyway, back to the review.

The plot of the novel picks up where A Court of Mist and Fury left off, with Feyre returning to the Spring Court as part of a ruse to gain information about Tamlin's plans for the upcoming war and King Hybern's movements into other kingdoms in Prythia. She plays spy very well, and manages to uncover valuable information as well as sow seeds of discord amongst Tamlin's subjects before returning to Rhys and the rest of her family. Once back she's back in the Night Court, she begins to plan for Hybern's defeat, but she must tread very carefully. This war can only be won through careful political maneuvering, unlikely alliances, and clever military tactics--and even all those might not be enough. To make matters more difficult, Hybern is still in possession of the Cauldron, an ancient and deadly magical artifact that will have to be neutralized for Feyre and Rhys to have any chance at all. In order to save the court that she now holds dear, as well as preserve the relationships she now cherishes, Feyre must use all her strength, bravery, and intelligence to forge a path to victory. 

Much like the others in this series, I really enjoyed this volume. There was a little bit less of the romantic element here, because Feyre starts this book off in an established relationship with Rhys, but there was still enough going on between the two of them to keep me interested. They deepen their connection across the course of the novel and become truly, deeply bonded to each other. The scenes between them are sometimes emotional and sometimes steamy, and they are always entertaining. Most of the plot revolved around court politics and battle, and there was a surprising amount of depth to that here. I thought that the story was well crafted, with lots of little twists and reveals along the way to keep me turning the pages. I wrote in my last review about this series that Prythia felt like a fully developed world to me, and that feeling continued throughout the course of this story. Everything I have liked about the novels so far continued on here, and I liked this book just as much as I have liked the rest of them.

One element of the story that I particularly liked was the inclusion of Nesta and Elain, Feyre's sisters. At the end of A Court of Mist and Fury, they were turned Fae against their will, and in this book we learn that they have inherited some powers from the experience. They play important roles in the story, and Feyre must learn to work with both of them in order to make her plans work. I didn't expect them to become so deeply involved in the plot, and I liked that they became more than just the "evil sisters" trope that they were in the first book. Maas brings complexity to them and gives them interesting stories and motivations of their own, which I liked exploring.

So, A Court of Wings and Ruin was another great read for me. It was over 700 pages, and I never felt bored or dissatisfied with it. I'm still very invested in the story and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next. 

Challenge Tally

Finally in 2022 - Series Edition: 6/28

Total Books Read in 2022: 15