A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Published: May 2nd 2017 by Bloomsbury

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.

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.

Before I start this review, I want to mention that the main review will be completely spoiler free – but there will be a section at the bottom with spoilers (I will put up a warning before oyu have the chance to scroll down) because there are a few things I need to get off my chest … which can only be done with spoilers! 

This book. Just… This. Book. I am one of those who has been waiting (im)patiently since last year May for this instalment.  This book gave me all the feels and then some. I laughed, I cried, exasperated and I loved every second of it! I am equal parts upset that we are leaving Rhys. Feyre and the Night Court for the next three books, but I am also extremely excited to see who Maas introduces to us next!

This book basically starts where the previous leaves off. Feyre is back at the Spring Court, despite everything that happened etc. It was interesting to see the contrast of the Feyre we met when she first entered the Spring Court in ACOTAR to the Feyre who now resides in the Spring Court after everything she went through and learnt along the way. She is a much stronger character, both mentally and physically after her time in the Night Court and it shows whilst she is undercover in Tamlins court! I was expecting Feyre to do something, but I loved the way she subtly brought and wrought change in the Spring Court under Tamlins nose! I was so excited for her to get her own back after everything he did to her and she did that and more!

We finally met Jurian properly!! After everything we heard about him, everything he endured with Amarantha – we finally met him! Surprisingly, I liked him! He has a certain kind of swagger that drew me toward him and then we got to know the person underneath the swagger and the posturing and it was a refreshing surprise! I was expecting him to be one way and he turned out to be something completely different!

I never realised I could hate characters as much as I did when I started reading this book! Hybern, Ianthe, Tamlin… I absolutely detested all three of these characters, which I think Goodreads found out during my status updates. I was so angry and upset… I was practically violent. I wanted to punch something that had their faces on it! The things some of these characters did and said… I feel like they all got the ending that they deserved by the end of the book!

I bawled like a complete baby when Feyre finally made her way back to the Night Court and Rhysand. Literally, bawled. I was so happy that Feyre had finally made her way back home, despite everything that still needed to be done and what was to come later in the book! I loved the fact that the family was still together and nothing much had really altered in the time that she was away.

I think my favourite part of this book was the fact that we got to know the other High Lords and the courts that went along with them! I was so excited to get more info on some of these other high lords because we had never been introduced! My favourite was easily Helion, High Lord of the Day Court – he had an easy swagger, both around the other High Lords and when he was alone with the Night Court. He was easy going and I can imagine him being relatively loyal, despite his history with Beron’s (High Lord of the Autumn Court) wife. There were some amazing revelations about him, which had me completely shocked! The other High Lords were also fun to get to know, despite the fact that they were not as easy going as Helion. I would have definitely wanted to get to know them more and I hope that we get that opportunity in the next three books!

I also really loved the plot of this book. I feel like it flowed well with the characterisation and character development. The plot kept me completely on my toes and I was extremely excited to see what was going to happen next! The last 200 pages was absolutely and completely gritty, and left me with my heart in my mouth because I just had to find out what was going to happen – I basically didn’t go to bed until I had finished this book! I’m kind of lucky that my husband wasn’t around because there was a lot of crying going on. It was the completely ugly, snotty crying and I know he would’ve gawped at me if he had been there! That ending gave me all the feels and then some!

I really really enjoyed this book! I loved the way Maas left the ending of this book completely open to interpretation of where the characters end up after this story ends! There are so many possibilities! I was completely sad when I closed this book because I am going to miss these characters so much when the next book comes out! I don’t know if I am ready to let these characters go yet! I gave this book 5/5 stars.

**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!**

Ok, there are some things that I need to get off my chest – which I can only do with spoilers!

Firstly, Tamlin. I completely detested him throughout this entire book – especially after what he said to Rhys during the meeting of the High Lords. I wanted to kill him myself! I was so angry – Which I think goodreads knew about! However, having said that, despite the fact that I absolutely hate him, by the end of the book I had a grudging respect for him. He definitely did wrong by a lot of people and has caused a lot of pain, but at the same time he saved Feyre and her family and saved her mate, when he didn’t have to. He could have caused her an eternity of pain by refusing to give a little of his life over to save Rhys, but he didn’t. He told her to be happy, saved Rhys and then left shortly afterward. So, whilst I still hate him, I respect him for finally being a better person, learning from his past mistakes and letting Feyre go. I do feel like his ending – ending up alone – was well deserved, though.

Next, Rhys. My heart completely broke when he died. I had to actually stop reading because I was crying so much! I came THIS close to throwing the book at the wall. The feels this scene gave me – of Rhys dying and Feyres heartbreak – completely indescribable. Even now, my feelings when I think about that moment are completely shot and I don’t know what to do!

Elain bugged me so much throughout this entire book! Understand she was going through a lot and everything, but her complete shut down because her human fiance didn’t want her anymore really bugged me! It took so much looking after her – which was attention the characters could have focused elsewhere… I’m happy that she finally snapped out of it by the end, but I definitely feel like it took her way too long! I do think the fact that she is a seer is pretty cool, though.

Nesta also really bugged me, although I can understand her more than Elain. She was a piece of barbed wire throughout most of the book and I hate the fact that it took war, watching Cassian fight and Feyre saving Elain from Hybern for her to actually be nice to people! I felt completely sorry for Cassian and the fact that he is her mate (even though the bond is not yet in place), because she was extra mean to him!