A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas

Warning: This is Book #2 in the series, so there are some *spoilers*. 
Title is abbreviated as "ACOMAF"

Synopsis

Picking up where A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) left off, Feyre has survived the ordeal Under The Mountain, defeating the dark High Fae Amarantha, and has returned to the Spring Court. But she can't forget the horrible things she had to do to save her love, Tamlin, and all of the Fae. She also has a bargain with Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, that she can't break. As she's walking down the aisle for her wedding to Tamlin, Rhy calls in their deal, and Feyre is forced to navigate dangerous politics, her burgeoning magic, and an even greater threat than the one she already faced.

Review

First off, WOW. I read the first book, ACOTAR, earlier this year, and I really enjoyed it. It started off as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and then took a very different and much darker turn. This book picks up right where it left off.

Usually, I find that middle books are the weakest ones in the series. They often end up serving as "bridges", books that only exist to get the plot from the initial events in the first book to the climax in the third. This book was so much more. It was a compelling story on its own, with its own contained plot. I will say some of the events at the end felt a little forced and a little unbelievable, but then again, the characters that brought it about had been acting pretty stupidly during the rest of the book too. But what really sold the story for me was the character development.

This is character development done right. Done absolutely right. The events of the first book profoundly broke and changed Feyre. The woman she was in the first book, what she wanted and needed and looked for, is no more. When we start ACOMAF, Feyre is broken. She is depressed, has nightmares every night, and feels useless and trapped in her relationship with Tamlin, though she isn't fully aware of this at the time.  

Then along comes Rhysand, who appears to be a total arrogant prick intent on messing with Feyre as much as possible, just for his own pleasure. Through his interactions and the events of the story, we see Feyre begin to heal, and begin to take charge of her own life, deciding for herself what she wants, instead of what everyone else wants for her. In the first book, I liked her as a character, but in this book, I loved her. She truly comes into her own and it just works. Rhysand's character grows and changes too; we discover more of his backstory, and we see what he has sacrificed to keep his people safe.

There are also new, secondary characters who are introduced, and they become fully-formed and well-beloved characters themselves.

The world building in this series is fantastic. Though it is loosely based on the geography of Great Britain, that's about where the similarities end. In ACOTAR, we only really see the Spring Court of the seven Fae Kingdoms, but in this one we get to see the Night Court, as well as a couple others. But the Night Court sounds like paradise. Maas's descriptions are beautiful and lush and made me feel like I was there, walking the streets of the city and breathing in the jasmine-scented air with the characters.

I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first, and gives me great hope and excitement for the forthcoming third book (out next year, waaah!)

Rating

I give this book 5 stars

Details

Genre: YA, Fantasy.

Language: There is some swearing, including the F-word.

Sex: There are a few graphic sex scenes.

Violence: Lots of violence and fighting.