Book Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #2
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Publication Date: May 3, 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Romance
Length: 626 pages
Format: ebook
Source: Gifted

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Synopsis: 
Feyre survived Amarantha's cluthes 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 great 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.

My Thoughts: 

WARNING. Possible spoilers ahead. 

After the 'Under the Mountain', Feyre and Tamlin have gone back to their lives at the Spring Court. Except things are not the same. Feyre cannot forget those horrid events or the lives she took and spends every night vomiting up the memories. Despite now being High Fae, her human heart is tormented and she's but a shell of what she used to be. Tamlin requests the help of priestess Ianthe to prepare everything for the wedding and Feyre stands in the shadows while Ianthe takes care of everything. But she feels trapped and when Tamlin repeatedly refuses to allow her to leave the house Feyre falls into a dark pit of despair. Rhysand, feeling that despair through their special bond swoops in and rescues her, setting off a chain events that may affect all of Prythian and beyond. 

I enjoyed this a lot more than A Court of Thorns and Roses but Feyre was even more annoying this time around. I understood and sympathized with the ptsd that she displays but it was excessive and the whining just seemed neverending. I felt like this book could have been amazing if the vomiting and woe-is-me had been toned down a bit. It was extremely repetitive and if it wasn't for Rhysand, I would have given up on Feyre early on.

Rhysand steps out of the dark in this sequel and we learn more about him, his friends, family, and his world overall. We learn that he is not as bad as he makes himself out to be and it just makes sense that he is the 'book boyfriend' of this series. He's dark and mysterious and dreamy.

We are introduced to lots of new characters, a few old, and we travel through more of Prythian and it's 'Courts' in ACOMAF. There's also a whole new set of possible couples to 'ship'.

 I'm not rooting for anyone in particular since Maas doesn't go into much detail on these other character's relationships with each other but I'm interested in seeing how they turn out in the next book. Especially with what happened at the end! 

Romance is a big factor in this series but there's still plenty more to keep my interest. Having been turned into a High Fae, Feyre has many new magical gifts (something from each High Lord that brought her back to life) and it was interesting to read about her trying to control these new powers and use them to her benefit. 

There's also the looming war on the horizon with Hybern. I always look forward to a good fantasy 'war'. Plus the Illyrian army with their wings is just fascinating and I hope there's a good scene or two with them fighting in the future (but we'll see...).

Overall, I'm still on the fence about this series. I'm not in love with it and I don't particularly like many of the characters, especially Feyre at times, but I'm curious about what will happen to these characters and this world. Maas has a way with stories, even if I don't love them all 100%. 

My Rating:  4 stars