Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Huh. I really, really wanted to like this book. It’s not a terrible book by any means but it didn’t blow me away either. And I somewhat blame TikTok – there was a lot of hype around this book, and maybe, it was just a little too overhyped for me.  

Don’t get me wrong, the setting, and the plot has some great merits; there is a tension throughout the book that builds on more than just humans and Fae hating each other for centuries. There’s a curse, there’s a ‘blight’ and there are monsters that are damaging the Realm, with both humans and fae caught in the crossfire. Faeyre is a great character, she is a mix of Katniss Everdeen and Belle from Beauty and the Beast; she is tough and smart – but also highly aware of her own shortcomings. For example, she can’t read, and her family only give a damn about her because she is willing to do the dirty work and kill for them.

Now onto the Male leads, Lucien and Tamlin. They’re okay – they know about the curse and the blight but are determined to keep Fayre in the dark about the whole thing. If they didn’t it would’ve solved a whole lot of problems, but we also wouldn’t have a book. So, there must be a Catch-22 for Faeyre to have her transformative journey. I also won’t lie, the men are kinda of idiots. Hoist by their own petard. Shot themselves in the foot. Fell down the well of their own hubris- however, you want to put it. The High Lords of the realm aren’t the brightest stars in the galaxy.

 In a nutshell, I wouldn’t say that fantasy is my favourite genre. The plot was good, and I’m interested to know how our Leading Lady’s character develops. But what I think let me down slightly was that it was not as deeply romantic or “Spicy” as the BookTok influencers described. I do like the fairy tale influences; Tamlin’s Castle is so evocative of Beauty and the Beast that I wouldn’t mind being transported there myself. As someone who loves fairy tales, I would say these little nods to the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault and Hans Christian Anderson were my favourite part of the narrative.

 However, I won't be jumping to read the next instalments of this series, maybe at some point – I will need some convincing.

 Also is it me or does the map at the beginning of the book look suspiciously like the British Isles?