I enjoyed the first two books in the series, A Court of Rose and Thorns and A Court of Mist and Fury . I had some problems with the way certain ideas (like consent) were presented in the books. But I admit both were enjoyable reads because the pacing and the world building made up for the shortcomings. I was eager to see how the series would end and that is the only reason I read the third book till the end.
This review will be a short, bulleted one. When ACOWAR begins, Feyre is in the Spring Court and she has to find a way back home to her loved ones.
Review
A Court of Wings and Ruins has been creating a lot of hype on social media ever since the cover was revealed. The cover is a pretty one, but the novel is everything that is not pretty. Here are a few points that made me cringe:
- People are just ‘talking’. All the time! The novel begins on a serious note with the war but all the characters seem to be just talking all the time, mainly to give the readers a back story. They did not seem so worried about war or even care to fight it.
- Mor’s sexuality seemed so forced and awkward as if the author wanted to include something diverse after writing the book and thought this was her best option. And what’s more? This is supposed to be a ‘plot twist.’
- Feyre and Rhys are too horny. Why are these two people having sex when a war is going on?
- One more point about being too horny. Feyre meets Rhys after a long, arduous journey and it seems so odd that before drinking water or coffee or even asking one another about the perils on the way they jump into bed. Who has the energy for sex of the kind described in the book after a tiring day?
- The pace is extremely slow. I read the book on a Kindle. The only time the book seemed interesting was between 45% to 60% of the book. But as I said before, I really wanted to know how things end because I liked the first two books.
- This book is still marketed as a Young Adult (YA) book even though almost every blogger/reviewer has vouched for this series to be categorised as New Adult (NA) because of the explicit sex scenes.
The novel wasn’t all that bad but its effect was deeply diminished because of the above reasons. I think I should have stopped at the first two books. I don’t think I would read the companion novels coming out either. I would recommend the first two books, but definitely not this one. If you are confused about picking up the earlier novels this might be useful : ACOTAR and ACOWAR – To Read or not to Read.
Why ACOWAR by Sarah J Maas is not the fitting end that the Courts deserve Click To Tweet
Title : A Court of War and Ruin
Author : Sarah J Maas
Publisher : Bloomsbury
Expected Publication: 2017
Language : English
Pages : 699
Rating : 2/5
I read the first book and was very happy with the romance between Tamlin and Feyre, and really liked the fairy tale with a twist air around it. But I read online that the second book has the dreaded love triangle, and that’s it, I was done with the series.
I though the characters in the second book were so different from the first book. Tamlin suddenly becomes bad and Rhys becomes nice. Only Feyre remained the same character wise. They were like two stand alones for me.
Yeah. Sarah J.Maas likes to do these abrupt turnarounds. I saw that in that Throne of Glass series. I find it rather abrupt, and not skilfully done.
Ah! I heard that The Throne of Glass is a better series than the ACOTAR one. I guess I would not enjoy Throne of Glass in that case.
If you’ve read Game of Thrones series, the Throne of Glass seems a bit too wannabe-ish. Still, I liked it enough in spite of how she developed some of her male characters.
I have not read Games of Thrones. I think in that case I would keep Throne of Glass series in the someday-TBR.
Ugh, so sorry this one was a miss for you. After seeing the meh reactions of book 2 (and the ship change), I opted out of this series. I think the recurring complaint from most/all readers is that Feyre and Rhysand are just having too much dang sex! Like you said, too much horniness maybe? And it sucks that most of the book focused on dialogue. Sighh. Fans definitely deserved better than this finale.
Haha, yes! Everything feels forced – sex for the sake of it, sexuality as a plot twist for the sake of it. How can anyone have the mood to have sex when there is a war out there??? Haha.
It’s looking less & less likely I will even open this book to read off my shelves Resh, so disillusioned. I’ve read a few non-spoilery reviews & have a general picture of what went wrong. I’ve slowly been growing out of SJM books but I don’t dislike or even hate her books. I do feel she has become an easy target for many readers & that she tried for diversity after being dragged to hell and back but it wasn’t organic. I also feel there’s something to be said on authors feeling the pressure from YA readers to include diversity in their writing & have seen some authors tweet about fear of getting it wrong. I am big on diversity over on my blog but I don’t want it included in my reading just to check off an item from the list. I may still read ACOWAR, but at least I now know what to expect. I just don’t know how I feel about SJM the author…GREAT review & points, very informative 🙂
I agree. When diversity is just a check list item it feels so awkward to read it. I will look forward to your thoughts when you read ACOWAR. I wish Maas had maintained the same pace she had for ACOMAF. I hope you will like it more than me.
I kept nodding my head with each point you made. Sorry this was a miss for you also. I felt like this book had potential to be great, but again all these problematic themes were definitely a no from me. Sexuality shouldn’t be a plot twist, it should just be natural. That also makes Mor look like an a-hole. Feyre and Rhys….sigh they’re scenes were cringe worthy!
Yes, I agree. Nodding my head to both. I remember your review of the book. And I thought maybe Maas over did the Feyre-Rhys scenes to make it more New adult. Boy! Overdid is the wrong word to use. They do not seem to be thinking of anything else other than sex. And short breaks inbetween where they tell the backstory in the most boring way. I wish ACOWAR was written like the first two books. Those had a story and a good pacing.
I completely agree with you!!
I have seen so many people talking about this series and while I didn’t consider reading it, I did wonder if I was missing out on something fabulous. Now I’m convinced I’m not. I’m sorry the book was such a disappointment for you though
I wouldn’t say you are missing out on anything. Hope you have a lovely weekend filled with reading.
I agree with a lot of your points (esp those about Mor! UGH!). I definitely think the story peaked at ACOMAF. While I enjoyed ACOWAR, it felt very generic and forgettable.
I felt the same. I did not feel moved by the story or characters. I am glad you enjoyed the book though. Will you be reading the companion novels that are soon to be released?
I’m not sure… I think I’ll probably wait until other people read them and see their assessment. If everyone raves about them then I’ll join in XD What about you?
I don’t think I will be reading the companion novels. I was keen to know how the whole thing ends and ACOWAR has answered that.
I just posted my review for this book this morning and although I rated it a little higher than you did, I still had a lot of the same issues. I enjoyed the read overall but it did not live up to the very high expectations I had after finishing ACOMAF.
Ohh! I will be sure to check out your review. Glad you liked it better than me. But yeah, I think ACOMAF was better than this one.
Those are my thoughts, exactly. I kept nodding at each and every point you made. Plus I don’t understand why Sarah kept making revelations that are still too vague – like the one about Amren. At the end of the novel, I still didn’t understand what she is exactly. And when Feyre faced the Ourobouros, there was so much fuss about it but turns out, Feyre walked away from it pretty easily. A lot of things didn’t make sense in ACOWAR. And man, how I hated the High Lords’ meeting. It was supposed to be one of the most anticipated events in ACOWAR, and yet Sarah turned it into a stupid mess. Instead of arguing about the war, they argued over Feyre’s sex life. UGH. I suppose I won’t be reading the companion novels too, but I would’ve dearly like to know who Elain ends up with and if Tamlin ever gets a mate of his own. If anyone in the ACOTAR series deserves a mate, it would be him.
Ah! I so echo all your frustrations. I would have liked things to be a bit more serious about the war than about Feyre and her love life. I would like to know what happens to Tamlin too. Maybe I would just read some spoiler.
I was planning to do that too but on second thought, maybe if there was a whole book dedicated to Tamlin, I would read it without hesitation. It’s funny really because I hated him so much in the 2nd and 3rd book, yet I still wish to see him through his happy ending. SJ Maas abused him too much.
Hi, I’m so glad that you’re saying it like it is. Not many bloogers are willing to say that this book shouldn’t be marketed as YA. I received a lot comments in my own ACOMAF AND ACOWAR reviews that talk about 6 and 7th grader reading the book because it’s in the shelves of the teen section of libraries and bookstores. If you could please ask your local library and bookstore to move the books to the adult section it would help a lot.
I sent you a friend request in Goodreads and you’ll know it’s me because I talk a lot about this. Hope you accept me.
I am glad you agree with me. This book is definitely not YA. Thanks for stopping by and nice to see you on Goodreads too