I first came into contact with ACOTAR about five years ago, and it was okay but I wasn’t obsessed. I, infact, only got through the first two books before moving on. With that said, I could not understand all the hype- the crazed fans, merch and (adorable) skits online. I mean, it was amazing to see, but I wasn’t feeling it. When I saw that there were Graphic audio editions of these books, I figured that was going to be better for me. I am an absolute sucker for the Graphic Audio editions- who doesn’t love a full cast and music? This is how I found myself spending roughly a hundred dollars for audiobooks I already owned editions of- and it was worth it.
I am going to start the review with my regular info, the cliffnotes version of a series blurb, and then my thoughts. Enjoy!
Titles: A Court of Thornes and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Silver flames.
Author: Sarah J Maas. Narrated by: Bradley Foster Smith, Christopher Graybill, Eric Messner, Henry W Kramer, Natalie Van Sistine, Debbie Tinsley, Julie Hoverson, Gabriel Michael, Karen Foley, Karen Novak, Melody Muse, Alejandro Ruiz
Length: 66 hours and 55 minutes (all books)
Genre: YA/NA fantasy, romance, adventure
Is this part of a series? Yes, this is the bulk of the Acotar series. I forgot to listen to the novella that goes between books three and four, and I have not read The Assassin’s Blade which I am told could be seen as a prequel.
Summary:
An epic saga with nods toward Beauty and the Beast and Hunger Games. Feyra has spent most of her life trying to keep her family alive. One day while hunting she comes across a large wolf while stalking a deer. Killing both (a girl’s gotta eat, right?), she brings home food and pelts for sale. But all was not what it seemed- the wolf was a faerie and someone had to pay the life debt. Dragged away from her crippled father and two sisters, Feyra finds herself in Prythian, “guest” of a golden high lord and his sarcastic bestie. The more time she spends, the more she realizes not all is as it seems, and she is pulled into intrigue that had been going on for hundreds of years. Moving forward, she must save her high lord, and live with the consequences of the choices that brought her there while also finding herself again and discovering what she needs. Who do you trust? What would you give up for your chosen family?
A war is brewing and Feyra has been given a unique chance. Savior, curse-breaker, warrior, dreamer…. she is all these and made new due to having been given life altering powers in exchange for her help Under the Mountain. As a mad king teams up with their enemies to wage war, Feyra must decide where her loyalties lie. When her old family is dragged into the war, all bets are off. Feyra and her chosen court, her mate, will stop at nothing to end this war and protect what’s theirs. There are allies to gather, intrigue to pull through, items of power to gather, all the while her sisters learn about their own powers and how to heal and move forward. Action, adventure, trauma and healing, this series has it all.
My thoughts:
On my first foray into Prythian I listened to the audio books. I read the first two books (but bought them all) before moving on. Book one didn’t wow me. The action scenes were good and I liked some of the side characters, but I could not stand either the male or female lead. For such a strong hunter, one that was supposed to have the maturity to care for a family, Feyra was a brat. Tamlin wasn’t any better. He was basically five red flags in a fur coat. The two together didn’t make sense. I didn’t see any chemistry- I get why, but still. I mostly loved the Surreal and Alice. On the plus side, the Graphic Audio version added music and a full cast of voice actors. Hearing it like this did add to the magic.
On to book two- we’re meeting more side characters and I have to say I already love the Night Court- for the world building there and the characters. Feyra is growing- marginally. Tamlin is just gathering more red flags. Choosing her wedding dress, listening to the priestess against Feyra, limiting her movements, basically caging her in and going beast mode when she pushes back. Nope. Not for me. Even if I hadn’t seen Rhyse actually caring for Feyra and wanting to help her I would have been on team Rhyse. I liked this book more than the last because there was actual character growth, healing. The story was more interesting for me as well.
Book three opens with Feyra trying to come to terms with Tamlin’s ultimate betrayal and what it means for her family- her sisters who are now Cauldron Made. Elaine can’t go back to the world she knows, the life she built, and some fool keeps trying to claim her because they are mated. No. She needs healing, and she was getting it; slowly, but it was there.
War is upon Prythian and the Night Court is brokering alliances both in the faerie lands and human. They are searching for the pieces of a book that will change the tides of the war. To get them, they will have to lie, to cheat friends and rely on enemies. On a personal level, Feyra, finally healed enough mentally and physically to fight, has a score to settle and the Spring Court will never be the same. I still didn’t like Lucien, especially for his interactions with Elaine, but I might be biased. Personally, I am shipping her and Azriel, but that ‘s not cannon. Elaine and Nesta are coming into their own, slowly; figuring out how they fit in to the fight. This one had a lot of action, but more court intrigue and world building. I liked this one more than the last two combined (maybe I am just biased towards the Night Court).
This is where I should have read A Court of Frost and Starlight, but I forgot about the Novella. I am going to eventually go back to it, but not right now- June has three new releases that I cannot wait to read. I am kind of hoping this one will talk about Elaine and give us some insight into her healing. I wouldn’t mind some time with Azriel either.
Book four is centered around Nesta and Cassian. I have to admit the beginning annoyed me, but I understand what was going on. We had to see that Nesta was still broken, wretched and acting out; as well as how it affected the rest of the court. Even at her worst part of me still liked Nesta, vitriol and broken pieces included. The house was another pleasant surprise. The side characters here were actually some of my favorites. Emmery and Gwynn were amazing and I feel like they did as much to help Nesta past her trauma as Cassian did. I felt bad for Cassian, already in love with Nesta when she hated everyone because she hated herself. It must have been awful to see her trying to hard to harm herself and everyone else. As the story progressed the two got closer- physically more than emotionally a lot of the time. I could see their chemistry, though, and I loved them. Now, book three was a bit spicy; but this one trippled the spice while still holding a plot together and showing growth for all the characters. I think this one was my favorite, made even brighter because of the music and narrators.
As a whole, I consider the series a three star read. It was good- great in parts- but it wasn’t one I will be obsessing over. If I were to rate them individually, book one would be two stars, two and three three stars and book four would be five stars. As a whole, though, it was pretty cohesive. I ended up binging them in pretty quick succession and it was easy to see where everything was even when we switched focus. The only part that was jarring was going from book three to four (maybe the novella would have helped).
As far as adult content there was fairly graphic violence, discussion of abuse both sexual and physical, sexual content, alchohol abuse, language and we delve fairly deeply into the characters’ trauma. Some of these could be triggers for readers, and the reason why I am leaning more New Adult and Adult than Young Adult here.
In closing, the books were solid- good even. The characters definitely outshone the lore/ world building, but that was pretty good too. It’s just not one I will be gushing over to my book buds. I will say that having experienced it in as a Graphic Audio production. I feel like it brought it alive in ways I might not have thought of and added a bit of magic. That’s the version I would recommend.
Happy Reading!
-Gwen
