REVIEW: A Court of Mist and Fury ~ Sarah J. Maas

Stunning, surprising, and spellbinding – Sarah J. Maas does it again.

The blurb:

Feyre is immortal.

After rescuing her lover Tamlin from a wicked Faerie Queen, she returns to the Spring Court possessing the powers of the High Fae. But Feyre cannot forgot the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people – nor the bargain she made with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court.

A Feyre is drawn ever deeper into Rhysand’s dark web of politics and passion, war is looming and an evil far greater than any queen threatens to destroy everything Feyre has fought for. She must confront her past, embrace her gifts and decide her fate.

She must surrender her heart to heal a world torn in two.

I can’t explain what I’m feeling as a result of this book. I’m writing this review with the biggest smile on my face, I loved every chapter, every page, every word of this novel. Sarah J. Maas has been my favourite author for a while, but A Court of Mist and Fury put her at another level.

The world building is kicked up a notch in this book, with Maas exploring new areas of Prythian only hinted at in the first novel. The Night Court is incredibly beautiful, and I only wish Velaris was real so that I might spend a day (or a lifetime) exploring its streets. Looking back at my review for A Court of Thorns and Roses I can tell how much I loved the settings there – but this time its better. The beauty of the Night Court makes the Spring Court seem as bland and brutal in comparison, as the mortal land did to Prythian in the first novel.

As for the characters…what a shock. I’ll try to be as least spoiler-y as possible here, I know I can’t stand it when books get ruined for me. Character developments have caused uproar in this sequel, and rightly so. They’re brilliantly written, and their changes are not only completely necessary, but they make sense. They’re not done for the sake of taking the novel in a new direction, they follow on nicely, and have layers of reasons for changing.
New characters have been introduced, and once again they all have flaws which make them all the more believable and equally as lovable.

Feyre is still shown with beautiful flaws that continue to make her realistic, despite now being immortal. Her new status as High Fae has given her perhaps more to learn and understand than she ever thought. We see her physically struggling with her new form throughout the novel, and emotionally struggling with the horrors she saw and committed Under the Mountain in the first novel. Feyre is a great character and her story is even more incredible. Her relationship with Rhysand is written so well that certain events will shock you, and you’ll be guessing until the last minute. Her relationship with Tamlin is just as shocking and I plead with anyone who has read this novel to talk to me, so that I can further discuss all the things that I daren’t mention in a spoiler-free review.

In the interest of keeping this as spoiler-free as possible, I’m going to wrap up soon. I guarantee that even if you only liked the first novel a little, you’ll like this one an awful lot more. This is the kind of book you’ll be thinking about for days after finishing it, and believe me the third one will not come soon enough. If you’re a new Sarah J. Maas reader, then you are in for a treat and I only hope A Court of Mist and Fury makes you love her as much as I do.

It’s worth mentioning that some scenes in the novel are not for a younger audience and therefore younger readers should probably avoid this book for a while. It pains me to say it, but I believe it’s necessary.

If you’re looking for a book that will make your heart race, with stunning worlds, and vivid characters then you’ve found it in A Court of Mist and Fury.