A Court of Thorns and Roses (1) by Sarah J. Maas
And to part 1 of the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy by Sarah J Maas: A Court of Thorns and Roses (in German Das Reich der sieben Höfe – Dornen und Rosen). Originally published 2015, I read it in English where it contained 412 pages. Girls 18+
Feyre is anything but an ordinary girl – high born, uneducated, and bound to her family by a deathbed promise she’d do anything to keep them alive: Even spend her life with a ruthless, cruel, sadistic enemy to face the consequences of killing a Fae. But her captor isn’t what Feyre expected. Tamlin’s lonely, just like her. Just as desperate, just as driven by responsibility. But he’s also… kind. And tries to fulfill her every dream, no payback required. But trusting a Fae is never a good idea, spending time with the High Lords of them even worse – and letting her heart soften will lead to death.
Well well well. This was rather different.
Okay, let’s start with the style. Except for the fact that there’s much “said,” “breathed,” “asked” and so on, it’s entrancing. Tense as hell, with interesting descriptions that go directly to the heart. I love the way Feyre perceives colors, how she sees the world: So artistic, which fits her (because, well, she’s an artist). I particularly adore how her desperation and later on her hope (and bitterness again) color the descriptions, how she sees the world in snippets without ever losing the big picture. Really, really well done. I also like how step by step, her desperation is replaced by love, fear, pride, hope and guilty pleasure. How she’d do literally anything to achieve rather selfless goals, but feels absolutely terrible about it. Because she knows that her ruthlessness makes her to a monster.
To understand Feyre Archeron, you have to understand her family. Feyre’s the youngest of three girls, with parents who never particularly cared about either of them. Her mother forgot her birthday parties frequently and never cared for anything but parties, her father lost his fortune due to unnecessary risks and living a life he couldn’t afford. She died, he mentally shattered. And suddenly, three girls had to grow up really fast, while thrown into a poverty they couldn’t have imagined before. The oldest sister is Nesta – seemingly cold-hearted, competitive and fixed, jealous and blasé. But she sees and feels a lot more injustice than most, and it affects her in a way she learned to hide away. Nesta’s simply exceptionally proud and can’t bear the fact that Feyre is so useful while she’s so useless. And I think she hates herself for the fact that she can’t shake her upbringing and lower herself to do what’s necessary to keep her family alive while her father mentally wastes away. But once Nesta sees the need to do something, once she’s committed, and shows her iron and fire. She’s amazingly courageous and does literally everything to achieve her goals – even go into a forest full of the Fae she fears and hates – for the first time – to follow a monster that has her sister. And, of course, she’d die for Elain without ever missing a beat.
Elain. She seems to be the exact opposite of Nesta and Feyre, instead of coldly calculating and fiercely protective, she’s the girl that loves flowers. The gentle heart everybody loves – and the good soul that never ever lets herself be broken by hardships and sadness. In a way, this makes her even stronger than her sisters.
Well. Feyre grew up in a world of monsters, first sheltered and neglected – pretty much supposed to take care of her upbringing – and learned to deal with isolation pretty quickly. But she also learned to value promises like nothing else. Feeling out of place for most of her life, she learned to take responsibility and fend for her own. She never really knew how it was to be taken care of, she only knew that if you truly want something, you have to bleed – you. Because no one’s ever going to give you anything.
After her mother’s death, Feyre had her sisters to care for as well, and after her father’s downfall, she was the only provider the family ever had. She learned to dream small and do whatever she could to keep her promise, even if it meant living a life she hated. Being used and shunned even more than before. All Feyre ever wanted was to give her responsibility away and have enough time to… well. To paint. To once do something that had nothing to do with survival or others.
And then came Tamlin. He was the first person to ever say to her “it’s okay. You can let go now. I’m going to take care of you”. He took her responsibility away in the only way possible, while still making sure her family was fended for. And then he gave her a home, time and materials to make her dream come true… and get to know herself, get to find out what she really wanted. He protected her.
Of course, she fell for him. And of course, she’d die, kill and whore herself out for him. Because as ruthless and consequent as Feyre is, how much steel that girl has – she has a kind heart, loves true and deep, is loyal to a fault and her altruism knows little limits. She’d do anything to protect the people she loves, and her moral compass is good enough that she knows it when she does wrong – that she wants to do right and suffers when she doesn’t. That she can challenge herself and her own beliefs. She’s honest enough to admit to herself (and others) how much she hurts and how much she hates the people she loves for using her like this – and how guilty she feels for being so hateful.
All in all: Feyre’s amazingly inspiring.
However. There’s stuff in her background that doesn’t make sense.
Age of 8: Her mother died and was so delirious she didn’t know whom she was asking the promise of. So far, so good. But two years later, her father loses his fortune, is beaten up and looted by the people he owes money, which makes him break. But the money he has left is enough for the four to survive for three years – even if Elain and Nesta did have some kind of self-discipline with money, this is just… insane.
Age 14-19: While her older sisters do nothing (even though they are at least old enough to get themselves married and get the family additional providers) Feyre goes into the woods to hunt and save her family’s life. Only when she’s 19, and her older sisters somewhere in their mid-twenties, does one of them get a marriage offer.
Let’s take aside that a) this should have been happening in… let’s say roundabout six years instead of eleven to make this realistic, b) that the sisters’ should be younger in general and c) Feyre at least the middle child – with maybe only Elain as the oldest, which would explain why Feyre has to do all the work.
There’s still Nesta.
Spoiler:
The iron woman, who refuses to lets herself be glamored, hates viciously, fights to death and then some and turns into a demon to defend Elain, who has enough discipline to buy a merchant and go through the woods of her nightmares to a people she hates and fears, to find out what really happened to Feyre. The same girl let her little sister go out to kill every single day of her life since she’s 14 – even though Feyre is the youngest, should be protected. And, to top that off, Nesta barely raises a finger to help and instead spends all the money Feyre earns.
This does not fit. Seriously, it just doesn’t fit. She should have at least tried to arrange a suitable or at least financially smart marriage for herself. Especially when they still had some sort of decent dowry.
Well. That’s not the only thing in the background that doesn’t make sense. Let’s talk about Prythian.
Spoiler:
Hey, one of the most sadistic, bloodthirsty women in the war, ally of the other genocide-award nominated politician is back in town. Let’s insult her, drink what was offered without checking for poisons and walk into her trap. But oops, now she has cursed me: I have to send all my loyal warrior friends in danger and hope that they will be slaughtered by a hateful, human girl out of no reason. Then I have to make that girl fall in love with me and admit it. I can’t tell her anything about the curse, can’t take my mask off and have a time limit. Sure, let’s try that – instead of finding another way, any other way out of this shit. But I make this up again: 3 days before the time runs out, when she’s finally ready to say the words – or at least doesn’t need too long – I send her back where she came from and doom not only myself, but also the entire Fae and human world. Cool, right? – Tamlin.
Seriously, where was Darwin? Where the heck was Darwin?! And why would his people want to help him with that? Who sends his own friends to death at all, not to mention when their deaths are with a 99,9 % for nothing? Amarantha is so damn powerful, she had to be fuelled by a talisman or book or something like that. There had to be some way to counter her. And Rhys managed to keep her in check quite well, for the circumstances. Why didn’t Tamlin look for him as ally – or ancient magic, a Deal with a Devil for goodness sake? Anything is better than spending lives on this – and, to think on a political level, spend people on this whose absolute loyalty you have, and who are strong enough to make a difference in a way? And then, after so many people died for that, why didn’t he wait a day or two? Why didn’t he ask her if she loved him?
Seriously, Tamlin’s an idiot. Especially at the trials.
I mean, come on, Feyre basically went and put herself on the altar for slaughtering. She knew she wouldn’t get out of this alive, but she did it to give him and his people a chance. He didn’t believe in her, because she was human – Rhys did. He didn’t help her in any way – Lucien did. And after she managed to win the first round through sheer awe-inspiring cunning, did he help her? Did he send a trusted servant to tend to her wounds, help her with her chores? Rhys came, and Lucien’s mother.
What kind of a guy does that? How self-centred, arrogant, stupid, cowardly and uncreative do you have to be to act like this? Granted, he couldn’t help her in and immediately after the second trial. But he had the opportunity to get her away before the third trial. Instead, he used the time to bring her in a compromising situation that nearly got both of them killed.
I don’t think that Tamlin is a de-facto bad person. He tried everything in his power to give her whatever she needed, tried to fulfil her every dream, he understands her loneliness. They have very, very similar lives and personalities, a sense of duty. But as soon as he has to face someone’s disapproval – and potential revenge – he bails out. He doesn’t fight his captor, not even for Feyre and his people. He’s… weak.
Take a look at when he bows to Rhys: Tam knows that this won’t do a thing to help. But does he try to find another way? No! He has enough reason to keep close tabs on Rhysand in case that he needs leverage to bargain with him. But in more than half a century, he never bothered. Plus, he wove one net of lies after another instead of finding a way around the “don’t tell her” part of the bargain. He could have made her learn to read and “accidentally” let a diary lie around open. Or let her read history books. Anything.
Rhys is his exact opposite. Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court, doesn’t only have a bad-ass cool name but is also a fascinating character. He’s trapped in a nightmare, in a freaking, waking nightmare.
Spoiler:
He seems like a villain at first, but who gives the Queen Feyre’s false name? (Poor Clare, by the way) Who bets on her to win the first round? Who makes sure she survives this round and the chores, that the chores end? Who makes sure she wins the second round who fights for her survival, knowing he’ll loose? Who makes sure that Feyre stayed sane? Even if this meant everyone – she included – thinks he’s using her? Who makes sure she doesn’t remember her humiliation, who keeps her from shattering apart? Who cleans up after Tamlin? Heck, who saves this one Fae’s people? And who lets himself being imprisoned and abused by the person he hates most, just to make sure his people are safe? Who risks being executed by both the Queen and Tamlin through his reckless cause of action with Feyre, just because this might be an end to this bloody reign?
Take an educated guess.
Rhys is incredibly deep. I hope that Feyre realizes and tells him that, one day. He’s… he has certainly his mistakes, and he is a born politician. But he isn’t a bad person. Not entirely. Like Feyre, he’d go over corpses. But he’d sacrifice himself in all ways possible before hurting someone else, and he has amazingly noble goals. Well.
My second-favorite Fae is Lucien. He’s… interesting. To say the least. He’s so loyal, you could say he can’t think without permission, if it wasn’t for the Suriel incident. And he’s straightforward, as honest as he can be. He’s a good guy, one I hope we’ll read a lot more of.
In brief:
Full stars for the interesting ideas, characters, the world and Rhys’ politics. The colorful, artist’s descriptions interwoven with Feyre’s feelings are so lifelike that they more than counter the overuse of “say”, so I’ll still give a star for style. But I have to delete one for the background.
Sequel: