– There will be spoilers for all 5 books in this post –

Well, I never thought I would be writing this post. And I mean never. If you know me in person, then you know that I don’t have a fantastic experience with Sarah J Maas. I read the first book in both her main series – years ago – when they were first published. And then I saw not only a pattern in her characters but in what she does with these characters – and it was a pattern that I didn’t like. So I stopped reading it. But BookTok and Instagram hate me, and I need to know what the fuss was about in regards to ‘The Court of Thorns and Roses’ series. Normally I don’t give into books that are hyped, but this time it got me. 

It was the series that I enjoyed the best when I first read them. And if anything it is the one that I would have continued out of them both. So after many years and many books. I went back into the world of ‘The Court of Thorns and Roses’ series and read all the books – and I mean all.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve made my way through the series re-reading the first book and for the first time reading the rest of the series – and let me tell you it was an adventure. I didn’t know what to really expect going into the rest of the series. As I said I read A Court of Thorns and Roses back when it first came out and really did enjoy it. So my re-read of it was a nice refresher back into the world and the who is who. From then on it was a new experience for me – and an experience it was. 

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Feyre is an interesting protagonist and I don’t love her. I don’t hate her at all. But there is something that is holding me back from loving her. I like she is badass and would do anything for the people that she loves, and eventually her people. But there were times throughout the series that she seems flat. 

Rhysand is an interesting character.  He is enjoyable to read and get to know throughout the novel, but I feel like Maas hasn’t given him many faults. He does some pretty shitty things to Feyre under the mountain, but it’s kind of washed aside.  I like characters that are complicated and feel real. And Rhys doesn’t feel like that. 

Cassian is one of the characters that just made the story I feel. He is a person that connects all these characters, that is someone in their lives and that makes for some great connections. I think he is one of the characters that we also know the most about – maybe because he lives to talk about himself. But I think that has a lot of say about how Maas sees him and his part in this world that she has created. 

Azriel is a very interesting character and while I love him, I also have no idea where his story is going to go. What is going to happen to him? We got to see him a lot more in Silver Flames. And by that, we get to see a different side to him and I’m intrigued to see where it’s going to go. 

Mor and Amren are two of my favourite characters from this series. They are snarky and fun to be around. And the polar opposite of one another. That is why I think they work so well together. Mor is interesting and I hate that she hasn’t told Azriel everything yet – I think it’s a piss poor excess and I just want everything out in the open. Maybe it will happen in the next book, but who knows really. And while I loved Amren, she did get on my nerves a little. But I can get that go. 

Maas did crap on a lot of the characters in this series and I think that Elain and Nesta got a lot of it. I feel like we don’t know them at all. I just finished A Court of Silver Flames and I still feel like Nesta hasn’t really grown. Her character development literally happened in the last few chapters. There were a few things here and there that moved her characters along a little – but honestly, it wasn’t enough for me. I really enjoy unlikable characters –  but Nesta just had no personality.

Elain I know nothing about. I know that may change in the next book, maybe. But I feel like she has been in the series long enough that the reader needs to know more. I also despise what Maas has done with the sister’s relationship. Again I think it’s just been thrown apart and adds nothing to the story. I just wish there was more to these three. 

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Another character that is the main focus and I think treated horribly is Tamlin. Now don’t get me wrong, he did some horrible things – unforgivable things.  But his character arc is one of the main reasons why I stopped reading Sarah J Maas. She does this thing where she makes the ex of her main protagonist into a horrible person – who does some shitty things – and no matter what they do, they aren’t redeemed. I’m all for the protagonist being with someone else, that isn’t my concern at all. But it’s the way that the ex is treated after.

Tamlin get’s no redemption from either Maas or any readers. I don’t fully understand everyone’s hate for him. Sure I don’t like him, I don’t think he is a great match for Feyre. But I also feel like it’s taken too far. A great example of that is in A Court of Frost and Starlight. Everyone has left him, he has lost everything and yes it was his fault. But Rhys just keeps on knocking him down and down. I feel the reader gets it by this point. And it just becomes too much. 

Another thing that I think is done well in this series – are the side characters. They are entertaining creates great banter and friendships. However – there are so many characters that Maas has created that I got confused quite a bit. There is just so much going on, add to that so many characters and courts, that even though I read these books back to back, I had to google heaps.  

Okay let me be straight with you – there is not a lot of that happens in each book. For nearly all the books nothing is happening for 50% of the book. I can understand that happening with the first book, trying to build the world and the characters. But it’s like we are restarting it again in A Court of Mist and Fury and that got really frustrating. I just wanted more for each book. For how long they are, there wasn’t enough happening.

One of my favourite things about these types of fantasy is court intrigue – I love it. And that was a highlight in this series for me. I thought that was done really well. And I wanted more of that. There was so much more room for it, especially in the second and third book. I do think things are happening in the world and we will see it in the remaining books. 

I would love to know more about the other courts as well. We get to see a bit of them throughout the series, but I feel like there is so much more that we could know. That could help move the series along. One of my favourite scenes from this series is when all the High Lords and Ladies meet. I think it was a fantastic scene and was done really well. We get to see the interactions between the Courts and their people. The banter, the hatred and everything in between. 

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One of the main reasons why people made me want to go back into this world was the way that readers talked about the romance and the smut. And after finishing all the current books, I’m a little confused. I thought there would be more. I have a feeling that people were making a big deal about it all because a lot of the readers mostly read young adult before jumping into this. I’ve been romance for the last couple of years and I have read books that are full of smut. While I do say this, there were some pretty hot scenes. 

The romances are very intriguing and we see many different ones throughout the series. Mates are a really big thing in this series and Maas does not let us forget it. I think Feyre and Rhys are great together and I liked that we get to see them both fall for one another – but I also feel like it went from 20% to 100% very quickly. I needed more of them just being together before it was all Mates and High Lady. However, I do love that Feyre does become High Lady though. 

The newest romance to his series is between Cassian and Nesta and I still have a lot of thoughts on it. Again I feel like it was all or nothing with these two. Nesta isn’t a character that I love, but I do think that Cassian can bring out a different side to her and I liked seeing that. Plus they are hot together. I’m intrigued by what Maas is going to do with the other characters and their romances. I’m not sure how she is going to do it all. Who is going to end up with who? But please I just need Lucien to get a happy ending. 

One thing that I really did love was the relationship between Rhys, Feyre and their High Court. The banter is fantastic and some of my favourite scenes is just them talking with one another and having a good time. I love that we get to see how much they care for one another – what they would do for one another. Each of them would sacrifice their own lives, just so they would be safe. This shined through the whole series and as each book goes on we see how close they all are, even Feyre who has just joined them.

As I said before I hate Feyre’s relationship with her sisters. It made me angry, frustrated and I just wanted more. I love the idea of found family, but these three have been through a whole heap of shit and then Maas throws their relationship in the bin. I do hope that this is worked on throughout the next few books, but who knows. 

Maas’ writing in this series is okay. There is nothing that makes me want to talk about it all the time. And with all books being as long as they are, I thought that more would have happened in them. I don’t love what she does with her characters, I wish that she would give them better character arcs. And I felt that at times there were many things that fall flat. I do think that she has created an interesting world, that is for sure. It’s interesting, has fantastic court intrigue and some great characters. 

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Another thing that Maas has been criticised about is her lack of diversity. Especially in the Court series. There is so much that can be delved into here – and really all that I want to say is that I am disappointed. Disappointed in a well know, accomplished, NYT bestselling author doesn’t have diversity in a fantasy series where there is heaps of room for it. This makes me frustrated and angry. It’s the one thing that I always look for in a book and it’s just not here. 

After finishing A Court of Silver Flames there is still a lot going through my head. There is a lot of processes, especially with everyone’s theories. I enjoyed the first 3 books the most, but I still had a lot of problems with them all. They all followed the same arc and Maas never tried to do something different. A Court of Frost and Starlight is an okay filler – but honestly adds nothing much. And Silver Flames. I’m still not sure what actually happened in this one. There is so much more that I could talk about here in this post, but I think we will be here for a long time if that does happen. 

I will continue to read the series, but mostly out of curiosity more than anything. I want to see what happens. If more characters lives are going to be thrown to shit, or if they are going to get some peace.  It was an adventure, one I didn’t think I was going to take again, but I had a good time. Do I think that these are the best books out there? No. Do I think they deserve the love that they are getting? No? Would I recommend them? Probably not. Are they fun to read – hell yeah. 

Have you read ‘The Court of Thorns and Roses’ series? What did you think of them, are you planning to continue the series? Have you read anything else by Sarah J Maas? How do you feel about hyped books? Let’s Chat!