Review: ‘A Court of Wings and Ruin’ by Sarah J. Maas

Okay kids, strap in, we’re doing this! I haven’t written a review in a while, but I figured it was about time. If you know my writing style, you can be fairly certain that there won’t be any spoilers for A Court of Wings and Ruin in this review. So don’t fear if you haven’t finished (or even started) this book.

Synopsis: Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

“We’re all a broken, in our own ways – In places no one might see.”

― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin

I was really hoping for this book to be as good or better than A Court of Mist and Fury, but I was disappointed. That’s not to say that it isn’t a good book… it just isn’t as good as ACOMAF. I often had the feeling that I was being smacked in the face with very heavy-handed retellings of fairytales and myths. The very obvious ones that made me cringe were adaptations of Snow White, The Swan Princess, the parting of the red sea, and the Passover ritual of blood above the door. Sure, the first book was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but you knew what you were getting into with that book. The second book was basically a retelling of the Persephone myth, but it was done in a subtler way. I just had such high hopes after being so blown away by ACOMAF.

This isn’t to say that the entire book was disappointing. There are many great relationships and characterizations that made me really happy. Nesta’s character development was huge and genuinely made me like her a lot more than I previously did. I understood her motivations in the first two books even if I didn’t like her, but Maas really seems to be making an effort to give her “villain” characters more depth. As in reality, there are very few people who are truly good or evil. Maas makes a case for many of the characters who are classified as the bad guys, showing that their actions make perfect sense when viewed in the context of their personal experience.

While I’m sure that most of you know why people are freaking out over Mor, I won’t say anything other than how impressed I am that Maas was able to articulate the feelings of so many people within one speech. Being able to see myself represented in works of fiction is a privilege I didn’t realize I had until recently, but I am grateful to the authors who write diverse characters. It’s not only important for the people these characters represent, but also for people like me so I can learn more and become a better human.

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Have you read this book? What did you think? Will you continue reading the series, or did you feel like this was a good ending?