A Court of Mist and Fury

 A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

    This book was absolutely huge, and it took me so long to read it, but I finally finished it!  Those last chapters man...they made the book for me.  I loved it even more than the first one!  As for all book reviews, this will contain spoilers about this book and the previous book, so if you haven't read either, please do so before you continue on!  In my book review of A Court of Thorns and Roses, I include a short synopsis at the top, so if you want to know more before you commit to reading, check it out here.

    

    SPOILER ALERT

    The first thing we definitely need to talk about is the downfall of Tamlin and Feyre's relationship...boy, was I not expecting that!  I was a hard core shipper of Tamlin and Feyre, but that immediately fell apart during the first few chapters of the book.  As I'm looking at my notes, it seems during the whole book I was trying to piece together how it happened--how two people who loved each other so much could somehow just fall apart.  I think Amarantha and what they went through Under the Mountain played a huge part.  Everyone reacts differently to trauma and what they needed in order to heal was not what the other one was able to offer.  Tamlin kind of shut down and tried to hide it during the day and then suffer during the night.  He became scared and overprotective and he was projecting his fear onto Feyre which was suffocating for her.  Feyre needed someone to talk to, she needed to be free and not feel trapped like how she was Under the Mountain.  She needed to discover who she was now that she turned immortal and she needed to be able to make her own decisions about her own life.  In the first book, we were introduced to two possible love interests--Tamlin and Rhysand--and I thought it was unique that Feyre wasn't going to be in a situation where she had to chose one or the other like in other YA novels.  Tamlin and Feyre grew apart and "broke up" and then Feyre found someone else--someone better--who could give her what she needed.  I thought it represented what relationships are like in the real world since very few people have two love interests.

    On a completely different note, I absolutely loved how Feyre and Rhys' relationship came together!  Oh, it was so cute.  I absolutely adore the enemies to lovers trope (I know, I'm sorry) and this was so satisfying.  There were so many clues that they would end up becoming mates, and while I had an inkling that that was the direction their relationship was heading, I was still surprised.  I loved their bickering and how they seemed to be so annoyed with each other, but then Rhys would say something and my knees would be quaking.  As someone who has also suffered through depression, I wish I had someone like Rhys during that time!  He was what Feyre needed to heal--he gave her space to discover who she was and to take control of her life, but he was still her support system and helped guide her along to a better life.  It was especially amazing that Rhys helped her learn to use her POWERS!  I was so excited every time we learned she could do something new, and I loved seeing Feyre embrace everything that she could do for the first time.  Tamlin treated Feyre like a damsel in distress, but Rhys taught the damsel how to save herself.  Now that's what I'm talking about!  

    Rhys is just such an amazing character.  I loved learning more about him and his personality and his relationship with Cassian, Azriel, Amren, and Mor.  I loved seeing what was behind his mask that he showed us during the first book.  It's a pretty convincing mask, I must say, if you read my first book review.  I hated him!  But now I love and respect him, and I can't wait to see how their relationship progresses in the next book!  I actually started to tear up when it seemed like their mating bond was broken, but thank god it isn't.  Now that Feyre is back in the Spring Court, though, hopefully they don't pull apart.  I have faith in them and their bond, but I had faith in Tamlin and Feyre and look how that turned out!  I guess I'll just have to wait to find out...

    Let's talk about Tamlin for a second...I was absolutely FURIOUS when he and Lucien teamed up with Hybern, like what the actual FUCK.  I was especially disappointed in Lucien because he just blindly follows Tamlin, even when he isn't going down the right path.  Lucien wanted to help Feyre, but he was too loyal to Tamlin, and now look at the situation he got himself into.  I really hope we see more from Lucien, though, now that Elain is his mate (!!!!!!).  I'm praying for some strong character development on his front.  Maybe he and Feyre can make an alliance in the Spring Court to help destroy Hybern, since Tamlin obviously trusts Lucien more.  

    I also want to know what made the Mortal Queens join leagues with Hybern.  We know Tamlin joined forces in order to get Feyre back--my feminist side was so mad about that; she's not an object to be bargained with--but we never learned what the Queen's mentality was.  Obviously it wasn't a unanimous decision since the Golden Queen ended up giving them the book.  I wonder what happened to the sixth queen, too.  The Golden Queen said not to trust the others and that the sixth queen wasn't really sick, so did she meet a similar fate that the Golden Queen did during the battle?  There's so much I want to know!

    On a similar note, what corrupted the High Maidens (?) like Ianthe?  Were they just tired of having to be second to the High Lords or is there something else there?  Maybe they will get involved in this war, too, and maybe through that we can learn a little more about them.  Feyre is back in the Spring Court so it's a possibility she'll learn a little more about the High Maidens from Lucien or Ianthe.  I forget if Ianthe fled or not.  It was a big book, don't judge me.  

    Some other questions I have before concluding is what exactly is Amren?  We know she's not exactly of their world, but what is she??  She's a fucking amazing character and I love her relationship with Rhys, but I really want to know her backstory.  Especially about her time in that prison.  Speaking of that prison, why did Feyre see a little boy when they went to consult the Bone Carver?  He appears as he wants to appear, but if Rhys saw Jurian, who was the boy Feyre saw?  Her child?  Oh my gosh, what if she's pregnant!!!!  That would be amazing, but also terrible considering they are about to go to war.  Anyway, I also want to learn a little bit more about Mor's relationship with Cassian and Azriel.  We know its complicated, but does Cassian care about Mor?  Does Mor know Azriel pines after her?  What exactly is Azriel and what can a shadow-singer do?  I know the next book is told in alternating perspectives, so we'll see more of Rhysand and the gang, so maybe more of my questions about them will be answered then.

    That's the thing about long books like this; they just bring up so many questions!  And I often forget a lot of the little details that happen in the beginning and it just bites me in the ass when they are brought up again.  But that's also why I like big books because they are so intricate and so well-constructed and so thought out.  Looking back at my notes, most of my questions from the beginning were answered later on in the story.  I still don't entirely get why Hybern wants to bring Jurian back, who Miryam and Drakon were and why their island paradise is so important, and all the relationships between the characters get a little confusing at times, but I love the story none-the-less.  And isn't that the point of reading?  To enjoy the story?  That's why I try and make my reviews as casual as possible--I just want it to seem like a conversation between two book lovers discussing something they just read.  I hope you enjoy reading my blog posts, and if you have any recommendations for improvement, I'm open to ideas.

    Well, my friends, that pretty much concludes my review!  Let me know what you thought of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas in the comments!