YOUth Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book by Sarah J. Maas in her 5-book ongoing fantasy romance series. In this series, the reader follows the journey of Feyre Archeron, the youngest daughter in a family on the brink of starvation. In a small shack nestled by the magical wall separating fae lands from humans, Feyre works tirelessly to support her household. She hunts to survive, selling the furs of her catch to earn pocket change. But the winter is harsh, and the pain of hunger is harsher. In desperation, she travels deeper into the woods of the forest, finding and killing a wolf far bigger than any other she had seen in her lifetime. After trekking home, she sells the wolf's fur, but is greeted by a much larger, more dangerous beast waiting for her at her door. The fae beast offers a bargain: Her life for the life of her family. With the promise of her sisters and fathers prosperity, their chance to be free from starvation, she goes with the beast across the fae borders into Prythian, finding herself housed in a manor in the land of perpetual spring.

Feyre’s journey is absolutely captivating. This is in part due to the fascinating magic of the courts as well as the political turmoil of the realm of Prythian. Faced with impossible odds of survival, Feyre is determined to find answers regarding the bargain she had agreed to, as well as the one that put the seven courts of Prythian under the vicious rule of High Fae Amarantha for half a century. She is forced to question the stories she was told in the human realm, find power in a realm where she is powerless, and discern what it is her heart truly wants.

By Taelynn B.