A Court of Mist and Fury

Photo credit: Anadi. via Interior Design / CC BY

When I read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas last year, I didn’t realize it was the first of a series. The ending certainly left an opening for a sequel, but I also felt satisfied with it as the end of Feyre’s journey. It wasn’t until Goodreads let me know this one was coming out that I realized Feyre has a whole lot more growing to do. Now, it’s impossible to discuss this book at all without giving away major SPOILERS for both books so consider yourselves warned.

When we last saw Feyre, she had just had her neck broken and then been healed with the power of the seven High Lords. She and Tamlin are now free to return to the Spring Court, but she has to spend one week of every month with Rhysand (Rhys), the High Lord of the Night Court (a.k.a. Court of Terrors) as part of a deal she made with him in order to get out from Under the Mountain alive.

Despite the fact Feyre literally gave her life so she and Tamlin could have their happy ending, they’re not very happy. They’re both suffering from PTSD from what they endured Under the Mountain, and as if that weren’t bad enough, it turns out Amarantha was just the beginning of a major threat to all of Prythian, including the human realm, where Feyre’s father and sisters still live. Feyre wants to help deal with these threats, but Tamlin refuses to put her in any danger, which means she’s not allowed to leave the grounds or even learn to use her new powers because training her would look suspicious and put them all in more danger. I never understood why Feyre didn’t counter with the fact that teaching her to defend herself would be the best way to keep her safe. Not only is Tamlin super controlling, but Feyre’s naive enough to go along with it.

Until the day Tamlin locks her inside the palace using a spell she could have broken if they had trained her to use her new powers. This imprisonment reminds her so much of being Under the Mountain that she has a panic attack. Fortunately, she’s mentally connected to Rhys as a result of the deal she struck with him Under the Mountain. He can’t get her himself because to do so would basically be declaring war with the Spring Court, but he can send his #2 to fetch her, which he does.

Feyre is deeply distrusting of Rhys at first and I was never entirely sure why. I understood why she thought that early on in the first book, but I thought Rhys had proven himself a good guy by helping everyone get out from under Amarantha’s thumb and also helping bring Feyre back to life. But Feyre doesn’t trust him and is surprised when he treats her like a guest in his beautiful court, rather than a prisoner (I was not surprised). He even teaches her to read and to use some of her powers. Once she starts to gain a little of her self confidence back he even hires her, letting her stay in his house and paying her an enormous salary for the work she does for him. He never locks her up or tells her she can’t go anywhere. It’s clear he doesn’t think she should go back to the Spring Court, but he offers to take her if she wants to go. Every decision is hers and hers alone and of course that only serves to highlight how badly Tamlin had been treating her.

I LOVED that this is a YA book, based on a fairy tale, that’s willing to throw out the “happily ever after.” Instead, it discusses the fact that the right relationship at one point in your life might not be what you need at a different point in your life. When Feyre and her family were poor and struggling to survive, she needed a protector and Tamlin was that for her. Now Feyre’s strong and powerful and she doesn’t need that anymore. Instead, she needs someone to help her learn to use her newfound power and grow into herself and Rhys does that perfectly.

Together they deal with the threat facing their home, only to learn that Tamlin made a deal with the king of Hybern to give him what he needs in exchange for Feyre. You’d think Feyre could just explain to him that he treated her like shit and she’s in love with Rhys now, but it’s not that simple.

Rhys literally has the power to get into people’s heads. To read their minds, communicate with them telepathically, and even make them say and do things they wouldn’t on their own. Tamlin is convinced Rhys is controlling Feyre’s mind and, when it becomes clear there’s no other way out, Feyre uses this to her advantage. She acts like she’s just waking up from Rhys’s spell and Rhys plays along because he is awesome and he and Feyre are the perfect couple.

The book ends with Rhys and his team going back to the Night Court and Feyre rejoining Tamlin in the Spring Court. Tamlin is more than willing to believe the lie she’s feeding him and Feyre intends to use that to learn everything she can about the Spring Court’s movements in the war to come.

But Lucien is not so easily convinced and I cannot wait to see him and Feyre go head to head in book three!

My only complaint about this book was that, at more than 600 pages, I felt like it was longer than it needed to be and the plot felt very meandering. I couldn’t discern a beginning, middle, and end and I had a hard time telling if the central dispute had to do with Tamlin or the king of Hybern.

What did you guys read this week? Any other sequels you weren’t expecting?