Review: ACOWAR by Sarah J Maas

Hey all, Dani here.

Yes, this review will be SPOILER FREE. Don’t worry fellow bookworms, I wouldn’t ruin a highly anticipated release like this one. I just didn’t want to wait too long before posting my thoughts and feelings on the book.

Summary

A nightmare, I’d told Tamlin. I was the nightmare.

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.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars…maybe a 4.5 but I’m going to leave it at 5 for now. I’ll decide fully after a reread.

Okay, yes, I was looking forward to seeing how Feyre handled being back in the Spring Court, especially after how ACOMAF ended with us learning her new status as High Lady of the Night Court. But can I say that I was disappointed by how brief that segment of the book actually was? I wanted more in depth intrigue and psychological warfare basically.

I can also admit that I wanted the Spring Court segment to be over with so Feyre could be with Rhysand and all the others again. See, I can be torn in what I wanted to happen.

Again, I think side character development is one of Sarah J Maas’s strongest elements in storytelling. While I do appreciate Feyre and Rhysand, I found myself wanting to know more and more about Amren, Morrigan, Cassian, Nesta, Lucian, Azriel, and Elain.

In some parts I felt like this 700 page novel was taking its time with developing character relationships and growing the plot and such, but other times it felt like a somewhat hasty rush to get to something else. Nowhere did I feel this rush more than when getting to a nice steamy scene with Feyre and Rhysand. After the glory of ACOMAF I couldn’t help but feel a little underwhelmed by ACOWAR.

As we neared the end and the impending war loomed overhead, there were so many twists and turns and shifted allegiances or hidden motives that it was actually pretty impressive and propelled the story to its conclusion, which while it may wrap up the main story for Feyre and Rhys, we still have much more in the world to look forward to. I know I’m very much looking forward to the focus shifting to some of my favorite side characters. I truly hope it doesn’t disappoint.

Where to Buy

You can pick up your own copy of A Court of Wings and Ruin basically anywhere you can buy books. Seriously, I think grocery stores have it in their little book section. Of course you can always get a copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.