Book Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin

Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: New Adult | Fantasy | Romance
Publisher: Bloombury Childrens Books
Publication Date: May 2, 2017
Source: Purchased
Format: Physical

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. 
In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all (goodreads).


 

I am so sad to see this story end, but it least it ended with a bang. 
Plot: After the cliffhanger of A Court of Mist and Fury, I think we were all dying to see how Maas would end this for our beloved characters. I have to say that A Court of Wings and Ruin was non-stop action that I had to physically pull myself away from. 

It opened a few weeks after A Court of Mist and Fury and I want to say that this entire novel took place over the span of two or three months. While A Court of Mist and Fury was a fun game of getting to know these new characters and explore the world, A Court of Wings and Ruin was all war and bloodshed. Hybern's threat was in the forefront of everyone's mind and I came to really fear for how this novel would end. I think I read the last 100 pages without breathing. 

Sarah J. Maas has made it known that she expects to publish two novellas and one novel to count apart of this trilogy and I have such mixed feelings about this. Mostly because I just want more of the same, but I did appreciate the loose threads that she left dangling to pique curiosity. There is one storyline I would definitely love to see her explore if she deems to make it into a novella. But really, I just want more Rhys.

Characters: Feyre's transformation peaked in A Court of Wings and Ruin as she attempted to understand the girl she was before Under the Mountain and after. From the ending of A Court of Mist and Fury, it was clear that Feyre would return to the Spring Court and since this novel was told from Feyre's perspective once more, it was interesting to see how she had outgrown both Tamlin and the Spring Court. A disservice was that our Night Court friends didn't get as much 'screen time' as they did in A Court of Mist and Fury, but there were other courts and other High Lords to explore. I was especially excited to learn more about the Continent and I hope some of the characters from that land will make an appearance in future installments. Seriously, Maas, I need more Rhys.

One thing I will say is that I wish Maas would give her non-heteronormative romances the same love, sexual tension, and attention that she gives her heterosexual romances. There was a bevy of differing sexualities in this book, but they were all in the background and explained with simple facts such as "oh he likes males" or "she likes males and females" with no actual character development. They just existed to be background characters with one-word descriptors to explore their romances (or lack thereof). 

Worldbuilding: I love this world so much and I'm so happy that Maas couldn't stand to leave it either. There are so many possibilities to explore that I know I will love these stand-alone books as much I as I loved Rhys and Feyre's story as long as there is more Rhys. In A Court of Mist and Fury, we explored far more lands than discussed in A Court of Thorns and Roses. A Court of Wings and Ruin filled in the rest of the gaps by running over all of Prythian and introducing the people who inhabit those lands. 

Sarah J.  Maas is also the queen of Easter eggs, I had to go back to both A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury to reread some passages that were brought up again in A Court of Wings and Ruin. Now I need to reread the series again. 

Short N Sweet: I need more Rhys. 




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