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Jun 5, 20206 min read

A Court of Wings and Ruin By: Sarah J Maas Book Review

Rating: 7/10

So I'm almost done with the series and I'm going to say it: I still don't like Nesta. How can I be behind Nessian if I don't like half of the pair? I enjoyed this book, still didn't like Nesta, and I still had some other problems. Plus, can we talk about how everybody just treats Azriel like he's disposable? #justiceforazriel


Anyway, do I need to summarize the book? I assume if you've read the first two, you have an idea what this book is about. In short, this book is about the war with Hybern. The preparation, the lies, the action, etc. Feyre really went hard in the Spring Court. Has careful manipulation ever really been part of her character? You know, just because she can read now, does that mean she is really at the capacity to basically overthrow

a kingdom? I don't know, I'm dubious about it. I like the male characters in these books way more than the female characters. Even Lucien, I still like Lucien. He has just always kind of been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Amren and Elain are the only lady exceptions. I will not stand for Mor leading on Azriel for CENTURIES. Like I can't. I'll get more into that later and why her "reveal" just didn't cut it. I'll start with the things I liked about the book.




Maas always has a way of setting scenes. It's clear from the writing that she has put careful time and consideration into the imagery of the book. There has always been great effort put into setting the scenes. The descriptions of the different courts were are rich as ever. I loved that we got to know more about the different courts and high lords. The majority of the high lords had really only been mentioned in passing in the last books, and getting to learn more about them as well as the different courts in Prythian was exciting. Can we talk about how the Winter Court has little white foxes with embroidered vests that carry messages? It really brought me back to the otter messengers from Crescent City. But as I was saying, the vibes of the courts were all described in ways that made you feel as if you were there. The war scenes were the same way.


Say what you want about Maas, she can really set a scene. The fighting bits were nerve-wracking. I felt as if I were on the battlefield with them. There was so much happening, but I felt like I was still able to keep up with the characters that I cared about. The stakes were so high in these fights, I didn't know what was going to happen, but I felt like I really needed to find out. Maybe it's because I was so attached to the characters (you know, the ones who were actually fighting). We really got to see different sides of the Cassian and Azriel in this book and I loved it. We got to see a darker side of Cassian, the side that is the Commander of the Illyrian army. Even though he was still bold, stupidly bold on occasion, it was still interesting to see him in a war-centric mindset. It was kind of the opposite for Azriel. Though he was also fighting in the war, we got to see a lighter side of him. When he was training Feyre, he was able to relax a little, which is not something he does often. Man, Azriel is my favorite.


This book also got into some more lore from the kingdom. There were new characters, but also some background and elaboration on earlier characters. I loved reading about those god things that are all trapped in the realm. The Bone Carver? Loved his whole energy even more in this book. Hearing more about the Couldron, the Weaver, more on the first war (especially regarding Miryam and Drakon), and about Nephelle (which was very lovely). It just really gave me some more pieces to the puzzle.


This will come off as rant-y, but why didn't Feyre fight in the major battles? What has she really been training for this whole time? Like, she just had to come in and save things last minute, she should have been on the battlefield, putting that training to actual use. She's also still as selfish as ever. Who disappears into another part of Prythian while everybody is distracted in a WAR, to go do something dangerous? She could have said something to someone, she doesn't even have to physically speak to Rhys. I don't know man. This book definitely didn't do much for my opinion on Feyre, lowered it even more perhaps.


My thoughts on Tamlin are still largely the same as they were when I reviewed ACOMAF. I don't hate him, he's a weenie. Maybe if he weren't such a weenie, people could like him. But like, the stunt he pulled at the meeting was just cringe-y. By the way, the meeting didn't even follow its' own rules. There was absolutely no point in having it warded so that there could be no fights. Why? BECAUSE THERE WERE LIKE TWO FIGHTS. Feyre, of course, causing one. How is is that she's all of a sudden so smart and cool and manipulative, when she can't ever keep her feelings in check? Anyway, I've gotten off the topic of Tamlim. Feyre did set his court up to be ripe for the taking, Tamlin was right about that. Though, he could have said it in a less bratty way. Maas did a great job of making me feel uneasy about him. I wasn't really sure for the majority of the book if I could trust him or not.


I guess I've already been talking about some of my negatives with the book, so lets keep on that train. Mor's "confession/reveal" was just so meh. Does it ultimately matter to me if she's a lesbian or not? No, I have absolutely no issue with that. I would have applauded the inclusion. It just felt so incredibly pigeon-holed in, so that there would have to be a love-triangle between Lucien, Elain, and Azriel. God forbid Lucien or Azriel ever get to have anything nice. There was absolutely no real allusion to her sexuality anywhere else in these two books. We know that she knows how to allude to things, she did it (albeit more directly) with Elain's ability as a seer. Straight girls can also just go out to a bar a lot, that doesn't inherently point to a person's sexuality. There were so many ways that it could have been finessed in gradually, in a way that made it make sense. It was just so incredibly forced and jarring, that it felt like a convenient out. Like, it felt like she didn't have the idea until 3/4 through writing this book. It also didn't make me feel bad for Mor because I was too busy feeling bad for Azriel. Come on girl, how can you let him pine for centuries? At some point, it's just cruel.


I know that it seems like I had more to say about the book negatively than positively, but its hard when you consider that this is a series. All of the good things that I stated in my last review still hold up for the most part. I don't want to repeat myself too much. The emotionality, imagery, and dialogue were still very well done. Most of my problems are clearly plot related, and also there was a fair amount of trope-y behavior. I would recommend reading it though. It is a good continuation/wrap-up (though not quite) of the series. I haven't read ACOFAS yet, but I think that if you wanted to call this one the last book, you could. It ends in a way that could warrant it being the end of the series. Of course, there are some plot points, regarding the characters, that have not been wrapped up yet. There were definitely different plot lines started with Nesta and Elain. But overall, the main plot line with Rhys and Feyre was resolved here. It was a pretty good book, I don't regret reading it, and I will be reading the next book. Will I read the Nessian series when it comes out? I don't know. The novella would have to do a lot of work with Nesta to make me care. Honestly, I would almost have rather read about Elain.

 

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