A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR, #1)

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

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.


This book is best enjoyed at night, when you're curled up in bed, preferably with a cup of tea or lukewarm water. 

I love how Sarah J Maas mashes up Beauty and The Beast, a classic fairy tale, with the (probably) lesser-known faerie folklore. I have the live-action film to thank for further fuelling all the feels raging in my heart. Now, I have not yet read her other Throne of Glass series, but after my first experience with her books, I will be sure to check out more of her works. 

ACOTAR is, truly, one of the more original retellings of Beauty and the Beast, yet we can glimpse elements of the tale weaved within the pages. The originality comes from the way Sarah tells the story and inserting another ingredient: Faeries. Specifically, the story Tam Lin. 

We all know the basic plot of Beauty and the Beast: Belle's father gets imprisoned by said Beast, she sacrifices herself for her father, Beast and Belle tolerate each other's presence, and eventually fall in love.

But what happens when you add in the magic ingredients: grand fantastical lands and a whole new world to explore?

A story you can eat up in no time at all. The rave reviews on Goodreads and Bookstagram match what I felt after I finished the last page of the story. 


Characters

This time round, the Belle in the tale is different. We all know her because she loves to read and is probably the only reader in her town. However, this Belle--a.k.a Feyre--does not know how to read. That's because she's poor and is the only breadwinner in the family, having to hunt to make sure they don't starve. She does all this at the age of nineteen, having shouldered the burden since young. Dedication and compassion at its finest.

While she's hunting for food one day, she encounters a wolf.... but no ordinary wolf. It turns out she has killed a Fae from across the border that seperates Feyre's homeland from a fearsome land where the dark creatures dwell. The Fae's companion, Tamlin, shows up at Feyre's front door and demand she serves a life sentence for killing his friend. (It is known that the faeries once enslaved humans and tortured them for fun, so I could understand why a small part of her was scared.)

Feyre gets a good development as a character over time, transforming from just a hunter for the family, to the girl that breaks the curse cast by an evil faerie queen. She's one of those heroines who takes control of their life and destiny, and in the process, saves her lover and the entire land. 

Speaking of lovers...

The love interest, Tamlin, fills in the role of the Beast. In this version, he isn't the hairy buffalo from the original story and the Disney movie. Instead, he is HOT. Even with his mask on, Feyre can tell he is handsome like how most High Fae (another class in the Faerie world) look like. Sarah twists the underlying theme of Beauty (which is to never judge a person by his looks) by making him wear a mask, such that Feyre only gets a glimpse of his emerald eyes, and can't see his whole self completely. Even so, the chemistry and romance between them is palpable and sizzling. I had to close the book at a few points to take a deep breath because... well, you know why. (That neck bite scene though. *Burns*) 
I was anxious and sad when Feyre and Tam were seperated, and shedding tears of happiness by the end of the book when our two lovers reunited, happy and alive. Sarah, again, alters the trope where the Beast is saved and transformed into a human... by making Feyre change into one of the Fae, with the powers and the full package. (I did not see that coming.)

The book doesn't just have one hot guy... there's an honourable mention that needs to go to the (antihero) Rhysand. He first appears during Fire Night (Calanmai) right before three faeries get ideas and can have their way with Feyre, essentially saving her ass on time. ("There you are. I've been looking for you," said a deep, sensual male voice I'd never heard. When I read that, my first thought was: Howl!!!) 
When Tam is captured by the faerie queen, Feyre gets more time with Rhys, so she gets to see more of and talk to him. (He is, according to her: horrific, stunning--the face of a thousand dreams and nightmares.) Problem is, some of his actions (except the saving) were questionable. But it seems that Rhys will become a bigger character in the sequel, especially after the later chapters in which he keeps Feyre alive while she is trapped by the Faerie Queen, so I can't wait to see what kind of role he plays as his character continues to get intriguing the more I read about him in the book. The last few pages of the story hint at a love triangle... I am not going to theorise anymore, because knowing Sarah, she'll throw something entirely out of my expectations at me.

Also, plot wise, I could glimpse another Beauty and the Beast-ish story woven in: a scene with Feyre and Rhys in which he offers a bargain: he keeps her alive, in exchange with her coming to live with him for several weeks. (Now that I think about it, it sounds a little like Hades and Persephone, too.) So basically, I want to see more of Rhys in the sequel, period. 

As for the villains, Amarantha the Faerie Queen did seem like a total bitch at first glance, but after seeing her backstory... I could kind of see why she felt so emotionally troubled enough to enslave an entire court. She is one of my favourite villains: the ones who are broken and damaged enough to lose their minds. 


World

The world that Sarah has created is so imaginative and vivid, so much that it makes you want to read those pages over and over. (Which I did; gotta soak in the atmosphere, right?) It almost makes you believe that this sort of world exists, along with its inhabitants. In Book 1, we mainly explored the land Feyre lives in, the Spring Court, and a little bit of Under the Mountain on the north of the map. I really want to see how the other courts in Prythian look like: Summer, Autumn, Winter, Dawn, Day, and finally, Night. (There's probably Hybern to explore, too.) Definitely not as bright and cheery as a Disney fairytale; in fact, leaning more towards the mood and atmosphere of the Grimm Brothers'.


Writing

Beautiful and gorgeous, and never failed to draw me in like how the Tamlin the wolf took Feyre to his court. Also, did I not mention that the way the romance was written was achingly, soul-crushingly stunning?! It's like Fifty Shades, but not really, and at least better than Fifty Shades itself. (I needed a cold shower after that scene *cough*) 
May I add that it's in first person POV, which I abso-friggin-lutely love! I got lots of insight to Feyre's thoughts and it's easy to see things from her viewpoint. The only gripe I have is with the first few chapters starting out a little too slowly.



So yeah, if you like Grimm's Fairy tales, or just seeing your favourite stories getting a Tim Burton-y treatment, put this book on your TBR right. now.
Meanwhile, I'm gonna go read ACOMAF: the sequel to ACOTAR.

Rating: 4/5 ★