Book Review: A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J Maas.

When it comes to reading, if I'm not in the mood then I just won't do it and unfortunately throughout the month of May, I found myself in a position when I just couldn't get into a single book. Which, quite frankly, was extremely annoying as I'd been waiting for this release since obsessing over the first book back in May 2015. However as we're now nearing the end of June I could feel the need to fall in love with a book coming back to me, and where better to start than one of my most anticipated reads of 2016: A Court of Mist and Fury by the wonderful Sarah J Maas. 

If you're new to my blog or just haven't read one of my book reviews before, as always I'll start with a non spoiler section, give you guys the blurb and a snapshot into my general thoughts and feelings. But before all of that I did just want to add that ACOMAF is the second book in a trilogy so if you haven't read the first: A Court of Thorns and Roses I would highly recommend doing so before pursuing this any further.  

The Blurb

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court - but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms - and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future - and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights. Older teens will love A Court of Mist and Fury.

Non Spoiler Section

As someone who has read pretty much everything Sarah J Maas has ever published I had high hopes - extremely high hopes - for this book. And let me tell you: she did not disappoint! I've already expressed just how much I adored ACOTAR (I've read it three times so far!) but I can honestly say that this book took it to a whole new level. The world building was beautiful, the descriptions of places and people: utterly sublime and the dialogue: at times funny, at times emotional - it really was everything I'd hoped for and more. 

Would I recommend this to someone who was only just starting to read fantasy? Probably, yes. Initially I wasn't sure as there is a lot to take in however I think the way the characters are written and the humorous tone of the dialogue would make this a great series to get going with. The only thing I would say regarding new readers is that... there are certain scenes of a er sexual nature in this book so maybe it's not a good one if you're below sixteen. But then again, don't let this put you off because they are (sort of) few and far between and the majority of the story isn't like that. 

Now onto my general rating: I would give this book 5 stars and a 98% - which is my joint highest book rating on the blog so far! 

Spoiler Section

As I said above if you haven't read this book and don't want to be spoiled, then I would suggest leaving now! But feel free to return once you've read it and we can discuss in the comments because I'm full of feels right now and need to vent!

Okay, so the book kicks of three months after the end of ACOTAR. Feyre is back to living in the Spring Court with Tamlin and Lucien where she is constantly plagued by horrific nightmares of Under the Mountain. I have to say that my general opinion of Tamlin started fairly low in this book (note: he didn't even bother making sure she was okay after she woke up screaming and throwing up...) and got progressively lower. In fact, by the end I was so severely pissed off at him I just wished the King of Hybern had accidentally killed him. The way he treated Feyre, locking her up, belittling her almost, was so uncalled for, and whilst I could see why he was doing it, it didn't make it right. 

Then of course we have Lucien. He was my favourite character back in ACOTAR and to be honest I still loved him in ACOMAF. Yes, he went along with what Tamlin said, but  at the end of the day he is his High Lord and technically Lucien has to do his bidding. But as always, there's this underlying sadness in him, which I'm pretty sure stems back from him losing his mate (I think she was his mate)  WHICH was why the ending with Elain made me so happy. I didn't realise it was possible to have more than one mate but the fact that Elain and Lucien may be a thing in the next book just fills me with such happiness. They both deserve loving, stable relationships and whilst the Prythian isn't exactly filled with peace. (Even though when Tamlin and Lucien walked out into the throne room in Hybern I just about lost my sh*t.) 

Now of course we have to talk about Rhysand. I was one of the few people who actually liked him in ACOTAR - serious Damon Salvatore vibes - so when he was revealed to be literally the most selfless, amazing person I was so happy. His relationship with Feyre was so healthy, he never forced her to do anything, never pushed her, never made decisions for her, and yet it all worked so much better than when Tamlin had tried to keep her from harm. Just the way he had kept Velaris a secret from Amarantha all those years, by lying and pretending to be something totally hideous just showed how much he loved and cared for his Court of Dreams. Seriously, I would live there. Like, can I move to Velaris and low key marry Rhysand?!

Lastly I wanted to talk a little bit about the horde of new characters we got to interact with in ACOMAF. Firstly there is the insatiably stunning Mor - who I just loved. It's so refreshing to find a female character in YA without an agenda *cough* Ianthe *cough* and she was just so brave and loving. Hearing her story of what happened when she was younger just mad me feel physically sick, and it's testament to her strength of character than she managed to be civil to her family and their Court.

And then we met Cassian and Azriel: holy hell, I adored these two. I probably preferred Azriel and seriously ship him and Mor together, but they were both such great, humorous additions to the story. I'm not sure if this is being set up to be a thing, but does anyone else think Cassian and Nesta would be a great fit for one another?!

I think the way Sarah J Maas writes characters is so beautiful. She absolutely fills them to the brim with history and personality and makes you genuinely care for their wellbeing. Personally I love this series more than Throne of Glass but they're both equally amazing and I cannot wait to see what future books have in store.

As always I would love to hear what you guys think, so please drop me a comment!