...

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

Genre: Romantasy

Alternate Title: Good soup

I read the first book of the series a while back and did not enjoy it that much. The ending/conflict of the book was half baked and a shoddy attempt at a Beauty and the Beast retelling. So, it took me a while to decide to continue on and see what all the hubbub was about. Now after having read the second book in the series, I’m coming in full defense of the romantasy girlies who get made fun of for reading these books. Even with all the issues I have with the romantasy genre and the overreliance of tropes that comes with it, I 100% get how these books have become as popular as they have. I absolutely loved reading this book. It transported me to a sparkly fantasyland complete with a kooky cast of lovable characters.

Overview
Although the plot of this book often sounds ridiculous and in fact IS ridiculous (which is part of its charm), it doesn’t hold back from tackling heavy topics such as recovering from controlling and abusive relationships, PTSD, and learning to believe in yourself by taking back control of your life. In the first book, Feyre literally died and came back to life after being tortured and killed by Amarantha. She was forced to kill two innocent people against her will. She’ll have to live with that for the rest of her life. Tamlin’s response to all this was to ignore and hope that it just went away on its own. He also took to locking her up like Rapunzel. Nice guy, huh? Luckily our girl Feyre breaks out with the help of Rhysand and goes to live in the Night Court with him and his lovable group of friends. While living with them, she learns more about her newly gained High Fae powers as they all gear up for the impending war.

Freedom and Power in Choice
The main theme that is brought up over and over again is Feyre’s ability to choose. With Tamiln, that was taken away from her. Even before she met Tamlin, she was a girl struggling to feed and house her family. Not much choice there. It’s either hunt or die. Once she leaves the Spring Court for good, Rhysand reminds her over and over that she’s free to choose and live as she pleases.

This message hit home for me as someone who grew up in a high demand religion (or cult depending on who you’re talking to). In my religion they brought up the importance of the “gift of agency”, but really there was no agency. No real choice. Every step of my life had a predetermined way I was supposed to live it. There were only “the right opinions”, not opinions.

The word obedience went hand in hand with every discussion about agency. It was always obedience over everything else. The leaders and God know better. I had to do as they said no matter what. So I was free to choose but not really. I was expected to be a nice, polite girl, marry young, and have half a dozen kids. Similarly, Feyre was expected to be the nice, polite arm candy to Tamlin. A beautiful (and might I add extremely powerful) raven locked in a gilded cage. That is, until Rhysand helped her leave. He reminded her that she was “no one’s subject”. She was free. “Not safe. Not protected. Free.”

After several months free from Tamlin, Feyre learns that “The power did not belong to the High Lords. Not any longer. It belonged to me - as I belonged only only to me, as my future was mine to decide, to forge.” She gains control over her life, not just her newly gained High Fae powers. It’s a really beautiful moment in the story seeing her take back her life.

I also really love this moment between Feyre and Mor: “I once lived in a place where the opinion of others mattered. It suffocated me, nearly broke me. So you’ll understand me, Feyre, when I say that I know what you feel, and I know what they tried to do to you, and that with enough courage, you can say to hell with a reputation.” Mor knows where Feyre is coming from and is able to empathize with her on a deep level. She’s a beacon of hope to Feyre, letting her know that it’s possible to push past all the hurt and conditioning, and darkness.

Breaking Free from Controlling and Abusive Relationships
Not only was Tamlin’s decision to lock Feyre inside the castle a horrible thing to do on the most basic level, but it reminded her of being Amarantha’s prisoner Under the Mountain. This was the result of Feyre realizing that she’d been locked up: “Breathing became difficult. I was trapped. I was trapped inside this house. I might as well have been Under the Mountain; I might as well have been inside that cell again.” Tamlin caused her to relive the worst experience and terror of her life. He had absolutely no regard for what she went through and how it would affect her. He just wanted to go “back to normal” and keep her for himself. His pretty little songbird.

Once Feyre escapes, her brain doesn’t let her off that easily. Her thoughts scream at her over and over: “Traitor. Even if I’d left Tamlin, I was a traitor. I’d been gone for two months—just two. In faerie terms, it was probably considered less than a day. Tamlin had given me so much, done so many kind things for me and my family. And here I was, wanting another male, even as I hated Tamlin for what he’d done, how he’d failed me. Traitor.” She feels guilty for leaving him even though logically she knows that he didn’t treat her right at all. This shows just how deep the claws of a controlling and abusive relationship go. It’s hard to break free from the rose colored glasses of the good things that the person did.

At the same time that Feyre is feeling guilty for leaving, she’s also mad at herself for being in that position in the first place. She says, “rage rose up in me in such a mighty wave that I had no thought in my head but wrath: at myself, what I’d been forced to do, what had been done to me, to him.”

Once she feels that anger and grows in confidence, she’s able to have a little more grace for herself. She recognizes that while it was not a good relationship for her to have gotten into, at the time she had been given food and safety after so many years of poverty and starvation. “[She] was a lonely, hopeless person, and…might have fallen in love with the first thing that showed [her] a hint of kindness and safety…maybe he knew that—maybe not actively, but maybe he wanted to be that person for someone. And maybe that worked for who [she] was before. Maybe it doesn’t work for who—what [she is] now.” She was able to heal and forgive her past self. Tamlin took advantage of her vulnerability, but she’s a stronger person now.

All through Feyre’s self confidence journey Rhysand reassures her that she’s free to choose her life and make her own decisions. He tells her, “you remain your own person. You decide your fate—your choices. Not me. You chose yesterday. You choose every day. Forever.” It’s like night and day (perhaps literally, hello Night Court) seeing the difference between Tamlin and Rhysand. Tamlin wanted to decide her whole life for her, and kept her locked up. Rhysand not only gives her the freedom that is her god given right, but reminds her of it over and over. He never wants her to forget that she has the freedom and power of choice. “[She] realized—[she] realized how badly [she’d] been treated before, if [her] standards had become so low. If the freedom [she’d] been granted felt like a privilege and not an inherent right.”

Doing What’s Right in the Face of Evil
Feyre, Rhysand, Mor, Cassian, and Azriel all went through their own tremendous hardships in life. Despite it all, they stayed true to their values to protect their people, no matter what. “[They] let Amarantha and the entire world think [they] rule and delight in a Court of Nightmares. It’s all a front—to keep what matters most safe.” They know who they are and what they stand for, so “as long as the people who matter most know the truth, [they] don’t care about the rest.”

Even when memories haunt them or bad things happen, they all do their best to remain true to who they are. There’s a “special strength in enduring such dark trials and hardships … And still remaining warm, and kind. Still willing to trust—and reach out.” Mor gives Feyre a great piece of advice amidst her struggles with PTSD. She tells her, “There are good days and hard days for me—even now. Don’t let the hard days win.” Even when dark days come, it’s important to remember to enjoy the little things in life. The little things in life that bring you joy will keep you going through the worst of times and give you hope. Just think of how much your day brightens after seeing a cute dog or listening to your favorite song.

Setting and Vibe
I absolutely loved the magical world Sarah J. Maas created. I felt like I was transported to this beautiful glittering world in the sky. “Music played, strings and gentle drums, and on either side of the Sidra, golden lights bobbed over riverside walkways dotted with cafés and shops, all open for the night, already packed.” The world was complete with a magical bathtub like the one we see in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. “Its far edge seemed to disappear into nothing, the water flowing silently off the side and into the night beyond. A narrow ledge on the adjacent wall was lined with fat, guttering candles whose glow gilded the dark, glassy surface and wafting tendrils of steam. Open, airy, plush, and … calm.” I so wish I could take a bath there, and I prefer showers.

The descriptions of the outfits enhanced the world of Prythian. Feyre was dressed stunningly by the Night Court. “[Her] high-waisted peach pants were loose and billowing, gathered at the ankles with velvet cuffs of bright gold. The long sleeves of the matching top were made of gossamer, also gathered at the wrists, and the top itself hung just to [her] navel, revealing a sliver of skin as [she] walked.” Feyre’s wardrobe was no doubt thanks to Mor. What a style icon.

Detractors
1. Repeated Phrases
It’s a well-known fact that Sarah J. Maas has some particular favorite phrases of hers. I read “vulgar gesture” more times than I could count. She needs to work on diversifying her vocabulary and phrasing.

2. Out of Place Outfits
Some of the outfits feel very bland compared to the rest and compared to the magical world Feyre’s in. Her outfits in the Night Court were so breezy and beautiful. They reminded me of something Jasmine from Aladdin might wear. Or the outfit/pjs Anastasia wore at her grandmother’s house in Paris. But at one point Feyre literally wears leggings and a sweater: “the clothes I’d found in a drawer of the bedroom: dark leggings, a large, cream-colored sweater that hung to mid-thigh, and thick socks.” It completely took me out of this fantastical world. She became the leggings-and-a-messy-bun wattpad y/n character.

3. Clunky Lore Dumping and Unnecessary Explanations
Personally, I don’t appreciate fantasy books explaining how magic works. I could care less how it happens. It’s magic. It’s supposed to be magical, not scientific. All I need to know is what it does, not how it works. This book had a few face-palming lore dump moments, such as: “Winnowing? Think of it as … two different points on a piece of cloth. One point is your current place in the world. The other one across the cloth is where you want to go. Winnowing … it’s like folding that cloth so the two spots align. The magic does the folding—and all we do is take a step to get from one place to another. Sometimes it’s a long step, and you can feel the dark fabric of the world as you pass through it. A shorter step, let’s say from one end of the room to the other, would barely register. It’s a rare gift, and a helpful one. Though only the stronger Fae can do it. The more powerful you are, the farther you can jump between places in one go.” I knew the explanation was as much for my benefit as it was to distract himself.” No, I don’t think Rhysand needed to hear himself explain teleportation. I think it was the author being lazy about explaining something.

In addition to the lore dumping, she decided to name these places in the Night Court the most obvious things and then explain what they did there. The “Palace of Thread and Jewels, sold clothes, shoes, supplies for making both, and jewelry” and “the Palace of Hoof and Leaf—across it, both crammed with vendors selling meat, produce, prepared foods, livestock, confections, spices." Oh really, who would’ve guessed? It seems that she runs out of creativity sometimes.

4. Lucien’s Poor Timing
I was too stunned to speak and literally laughed out loud when I read this moment: “Nesta was still weeping, still raging, still inspecting Elain— Lucien’s hands slackened at his sides. His voice broke as he whispered to Elain, “You’re my mate.”” Like, I really REALLY don’t think now’s the time for this, Lucien. It reminded me of when Bella Swan learned about her daughter's little nickname and Jacob imprinting right after she came back to life as a vampire.

Recommendation
I found this book to be page-turning fun. I could even be compelled to give it a reread in the future, which doesn’t happen often to me. The characters were distinct and played well off of each other. The setting was beautiful and magical. And the life lessons sprinkled throughout will have you in your feelings and relating to the characters of the book. I wish I could be transported to the glittering streets of Velaris or the breezy and beachy Summer court. Anyone who enjoyed the Twilight series would have an absolute blast reading this book.

Star Rating: 4/5