🌹 A Court of Thorns and Roses: Where It All Began

Sarah J. Maas | A Court of Thorns and Roses

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: This review contains major spoilers for the entire first book. If you haven’t read A Court of Thorns and Roses yet, save this one for later!

Welcome to Prythian

Sometimes you pick up a book because you want a story.

Sometimes you pick up a book and accidentally find an entire world.

That is A Court of Thorns and Roses for me.

I’m taking a little detour from my current Harry Potter reread and stepping into Prythian for a while—and with new ACOTAR books on the horizon, it felt like the perfect time to go all the way back to the beginning.

Before the Night Court.

Before Velaris.

Before the Inner Circle.

Before all the characters and relationships that make this series what it eventually becomes.

There was just Feyre Archeron, a bow, a wolf in the woods, and a wall separating two worlds.

And honestly?

What a way to start a series.

Sarah J. Maas first introduced readers to ACOTAR in 2015, and the book blends faerie lore, romance, adventure, curses, and a very Beauty-and-the-Beast-inspired setup. The official publisher describes Feyre’s journey as beginning when she kills a wolf that is actually a Fae, setting off the chain of events that takes her into Prythian.

So let’s go back to where it all began.

🏹 The Girl in the Woods

Before Feyre ever sees Prythian, we meet her in the human world.

And her life is not exactly magical.

Feyre is nineteen years old and living in poverty with her father and her two older sisters, Nesta and Elain.

Her family wasn’t always poor, but after her father’s financial downfall, everything changes.

They have very little.

And Feyre has become the person responsible for making sure they survive.

Her sisters aren’t hunters.

Her father can’t provide.

So Feyre goes into the woods.

She hunts.

She skins animals.

She sells what she can.

She does whatever she has to do to put food on the table.

And this is incredibly important when we start looking at Feyre’s personality.

Because Feyre doesn’t begin this story as someone who believes the world will save her.

She believes she has to save herself.

That’s why she’s so suspicious when she arrives in Prythian.

That’s why she struggles to accept kindness.

That’s why she doesn’t know what to do with luxury.

And that’s why her relationship with Tamlin becomes so complicated.

She’s spent years surviving.

She doesn’t know how to simply live.

🐺 The Wolf

Then comes the moment that changes everything.

Feyre is hunting when she sees a deer being chased by a massive wolf.

She knows something isn’t quite right about the animal.

And she suspects it could be Fae.

But Feyre needs the food.

So she kills the wolf.

And this is where the story really begins.

The Fae are not just bedtime stories to Feyre.

They’re dangerous.

They’re immortal.

And humans have a complicated history with them.

There was once a time when the Fae ruled over humans, and even though humans eventually won their freedom, the fear and resentment between the two races remain.

So when Feyre realizes she may have killed a Fae, she knows there could be consequences.

And there are.

A creature arrives at her family’s home.

He demands retribution for the death of the wolf.

And Feyre is given a choice:

Death…

or leaving her family forever.

She chooses the latter.

And just like that, Feyre crosses the wall.

🌿 Enter Prythian

This is one of my favorite parts of the book because Feyre knows basically nothing about the world she’s entering.

She’s heard stories.

She knows the Fae are dangerous.

But that’s about it.

Suddenly she’s surrounded by creatures she thought were myths.

And the world is beautiful.

It’s also terrifying.

Feyre has been taken to the Spring Court, one of seven courts that make up Prythian.

The Spring Court is lush and beautiful, full of flowers, gardens, forests, and warmth.

But there’s something strange happening here.

The Fae are wearing masks.

There’s an unsettling atmosphere surrounding the court.

And everyone seems to know something Feyre doesn’t.

Which, let’s be honest, is going to be a recurring problem for this poor girl.

🐺 Meet Tamlin

And then Feyre meets the person who brought her here:

Tamlin.

The High Lord of the Spring Court.

And yes, he is the terrifying beast who came for her.

But he’s not always a beast.

Tamlin is actually a High Fae who has been cursed.

And the mask he wears is part of that curse.

At first, Feyre absolutely hates him.

Which is understandable.

He kidnapped her.

But Tamlin doesn’t treat Feyre like a prisoner in the way she expects.

She has food.

She has a room.

She has clothing.

She has access to the grounds.

She is allowed to explore.

And slowly, Feyre begins to realize that her assumptions about the Fae might be wrong.

That doesn’t mean they’re harmless.

It means they’re more complicated than she thought.

And that’s one of the biggest themes of this entire book.

🦊 Lucien: The Friend Feyre Didn’t Ask For

Then we get Lucien.

And I absolutely adore Lucien in this book.

He’s Tamlin’s emissary and one of the first Fae who actually interacts with Feyre regularly.

And their relationship starts out…

Let’s say not great.

Lucien doesn’t particularly trust Feyre.

Feyre doesn’t particularly like Lucien.

And Lucien has absolutely no problem reminding Feyre that she’s a human who doesn’t understand their world.

But eventually, the two develop this sarcastic, argumentative friendship.

Lucien becomes one of Feyre’s biggest connections to the Spring Court.

He’s also the person who starts explaining pieces of Prythian to her.

And honestly?

His sarcasm makes some of the heavier parts of the story easier to handle.

One of their exchanges perfectly captures their dynamic:

“Do you ever stop being such a prick?”

“Much better.”

It’s such a small moment, but it’s exactly the kind of banter that makes Lucien so entertaining.

🌸 The Spring Court

I think the Spring Court deserves its own section because it almost feels like a character itself.

Everything is beautiful.

The gardens.

The flowers.

The forests.

The manor.

The food.

The music.

The celebrations.

It’s the complete opposite of Feyre’s life back home.

And that’s important.

For the first time in years, Feyre doesn’t have to worry about whether there will be food tomorrow.

She doesn’t have to hunt.

She doesn’t have to worry about keeping her family alive.

She has space to breathe.

And at first, that actually makes her uncomfortable.

Because she’s so accustomed to survival that she doesn’t know what to do when she isn’t struggling.

That transition is one of the quieter but more important parts of Feyre’s story.

🌑 But Something Is Wrong

While Feyre is adjusting to the Spring Court, we start realizing that this isn’t just a fairytale romance.

There is a blight affecting the Fae lands.

The creatures of Prythian are afraid.

Tamlin isn’t telling Feyre everything.

Lucien isn’t telling Feyre everything.

And there’s a much larger problem lurking beneath the surface.

Eventually, Feyre learns about Amarantha.

And this is where the story becomes much bigger than Tamlin and Feyre.

👑 Who Is Amarantha?

Amarantha is one of the most powerful and terrifying figures in Prythian.

She has taken control of the Fae courts and rules from Under the Mountain.

And the reason Tamlin and his court are cursed goes back to her.

Tamlin and his court have been trapped under this curse for decades.

The curse has a specific set of conditions that must be met to break it.

And here’s where Feyre becomes important.

Because the person who can potentially break the curse is a human girl.

Specifically, a human girl who hates the Fae.

And Feyre certainly qualifies.

❤️ Feyre and Tamlin

Now we need to talk about the romance.

Because yes…

I actually liked Feyre and Tamlin in this book.

I know.

I know.

Before anyone comes for me...

I’m talking specifically about Book One Tamlin.

I think it’s easy to look at their relationship through everything we eventually learn and forget that, at this point in the story, Feyre genuinely falls in love with him.

And I believe it.

Their relationship isn’t instant.

Feyre starts out hating him.

Then she’s curious about him.

Then she starts seeing his softer side.

Then she begins understanding the weight he carries as High Lord.

And eventually, she falls in love.

There are quiet moments between them.

There are moments where Feyre begins to feel safe.

There are moments where Tamlin allows himself to be vulnerable.

And there’s something almost comforting about watching Feyre discover that she doesn’t always have to be the one holding everything together.

For someone who has spent years surviving, that’s huge.

🌹 The Beauty and the Beast Connection

The inspiration behind ACOTAR isn’t exactly subtle.

Feyre is the human girl.

Tamlin is the beast.

There’s an enchanted castle.

There’s a curse.

There’s a magical world separated from the human one.

There’s a romance that develops between the girl and the creature who initially takes her away.

But Maas takes those familiar pieces and expands them.

The story isn’t simply:

Girl meets beast → girl falls in love → curse is broken.

Instead, we get a much larger story about identity, power, sacrifice, and what makes someone a monster.

And that question becomes increasingly important as the book continues.

👭 The Archeron Sisters

Let’s talk about Feyre’s sisters.

Because their relationship with Feyre is complicated.

Nesta is…

A lot.

She’s harsh.

She’s proud.

She’s judgmental.

And she doesn’t seem to appreciate what Feyre has sacrificed to keep their family alive.

At the beginning of the book, it’s really easy to dislike her.

But even in this first book, there are little moments that suggest there’s more going on underneath the surface.

Nesta isn’t simply cruel.

She’s angry.

She’s frightened.

And she’s dealing with her own complicated feelings about their family’s situation.

That doesn’t excuse the way she treats Feyre.

But it does make her more interesting.

Elain is much softer.

She loves pretty things.

She likes flowers.

She’s kind.

She’s also somewhat sheltered from the harsh realities Feyre has been living with.

And that creates an interesting contrast between the sisters.

Feyre has been forced into survival mode.

Nesta responds to their circumstances with anger.

Elain responds by holding onto beauty.

Three sisters.

Three completely different ways of coping.

🌙 The Night Court Enters the Story

And then…

Rhysand.

Oh, Rhys.

The first time we meet Rhysand, we’re not supposed to trust him.

He’s the High Lord of the Night Court.

He’s powerful.

He’s arrogant.

He’s provocative.

And he is very clearly playing a game that Feyre doesn’t understand.

At first, I think the easiest way to describe Rhysand is:

He’s a question mark.

We don’t know what he wants.

We don’t know why he helps Feyre.

We don’t know whether he’s actually interested in helping her or whether he has his own agenda.

And honestly?

That’s exactly what makes him interesting.

🖤 Rhysand Under the Mountain

Rhysand becomes particularly important once Feyre is taken Under the Mountain.

This is where we see a completely different side of him.

He’s still manipulative.

He’s still arrogant.

He’s still incredibly frustrating.

But he’s also clearly trying to survive Amarantha’s court in his own way.

He makes a bargain with Feyre when she is badly injured.

He agrees to heal her in exchange for one week with him every month.

But here’s the part that I think is easy to overlook:

He could have demanded far more.

Feyre even realizes that.

“You didn’t need to bargain with me.”

Rhysand’s response is essentially that he knows.

That moment tells us more about him than his flirting and arrogance do.

He has power over Feyre.

But he doesn’t take everything he could.

And even though we don’t fully understand why yet, there’s clearly more to him than the villainous persona he presents.

⛰️ Under the Mountain

This is where the book completely changes.

Feyre is taken from the Spring Court and brought to Amarantha’s domain Under the Mountain.

And suddenly, the beautiful fantasy world we’ve been exploring becomes terrifying.

Feyre is surrounded by powerful Fae.

She’s separated from Tamlin.

She’s surrounded by people who have been forced to serve Amarantha.

And she is given a choice:

Participate in a series of trials…

or watch Tamlin remain cursed.

Feyre chooses the trials.

Of course she does.

Because at this point, she has fallen completely in love with him.

🩸 The Trials

The trials are brutal.

They’re designed to test Feyre physically and mentally.

But they’re also designed to break her.

And that’s important.

Amarantha doesn’t simply want Feyre dead.

She wants her to fail.

She wants to prove that humans are weak.

She wants Feyre to realize that she has no place in their world.

But Feyre keeps going.

She is terrified.

She doesn’t know what she’s doing.

She doesn’t have magic.

She doesn’t have centuries of experience.

She just has determination.

And that’s enough.

🕷️ The First Trial

Feyre is forced to face a creature that is essentially a nightmare brought to life.

She has to figure out how to survive it.

And she does.

Not because she’s stronger.

Because she’s clever.

Because she pays attention.

Because she refuses to give up.

This becomes a recurring pattern throughout the trials.

Feyre isn’t the strongest person in the room.

She’s not the most powerful.

She’s not the most experienced.

But she’s willing to keep fighting.

🪦 The Second Trial

The second trial forces Feyre into an even more difficult situation.

This time, it’s not simply about fighting something.

It’s about solving a puzzle under pressure.

And Feyre has to make a terrible choice.

She has to use her intelligence and instincts to survive.

Again, she succeeds.

And with every trial, Feyre gets closer to breaking the curse.

But she’s also becoming more damaged.

Physically.

Emotionally.

Mentally.

💔 The Final Trial

And then comes the one that absolutely destroys me.

The final task requires Feyre to make an impossible choice.

She is faced with two Fae who are innocent.

And she has to kill them.

This is where the book forces Feyre to confront something she has been avoiding throughout the entire story:

What is she willing to become to save the person she loves?

Feyre has killed before.

But killing animals to feed her family is different from deliberately taking an innocent person’s life.

And that’s the point.

Amarantha wants to break Feyre’s humanity.

She wants Feyre to become as cold and ruthless as the people who have ruled Prythian.

And Feyre can’t do it.

She hesitates.

She struggles.

She suffers.

And that matters.

Because her humanity is ultimately what saves her.

🥀 The Riddle

Then we discover that the curse has one final piece.

Feyre has to solve Amarantha’s riddle.

And the answer is:

Love.

Of course it is.

And honestly, I love the simplicity of it.

The entire book is about Feyre learning what love actually means.

At the beginning, love is responsibility.

She loves her family, so she feeds them.

She loves them, so she sacrifices her childhood.

But in Prythian, love becomes something different.

She chooses to love Tamlin.

She chooses to sacrifice herself for him.

And ultimately, love is what allows her to break the curse.

💀 Feyre Dies

And then…

Sarah J. Maas decides that surviving the trials wasn’t enough.

Feyre is killed.

She dies in Tamlin’s arms.

And it is heartbreaking.

Because she won.

She broke the curse.

She saved Tamlin.

And it still wasn’t enough to save herself.

But then the High Lords intervene.

One by one, they give Feyre pieces of their power.

And Feyre is resurrected.

Except she isn’t human anymore.

She’s High Fae.

✨ Feyre’s Transformation

This ending is HUGE.

Because Feyre entered Prythian as a human who believed the Fae were monsters.

She ends the book as one of them.

Think about the irony.

The girl who hated the Fae becomes Fae herself.

The girl who believed immortality was terrifying becomes immortal.

The girl who thought she knew exactly what a monster looked like becomes something that humans would probably fear.

And then there’s the emotional aftermath.

Feyre has survived.

But she isn’t okay.

She has killed.

She’s been tortured.

She’s died.

She’s been resurrected.

And she’s been changed forever.

So even though the curse is broken and the immediate threat is gone…

the story is absolutely not over.

🌹 The Meaning of “Thorns and All”

One of the quotes that has always stood out to me from this book is Tamlin’s:

“I love you… Thorns and all.” 

And I think it’s such a fitting line for Feyre.

Because Feyre is not easy.

She’s stubborn.

She’s angry.

She’s guarded.

She’s damaged.

She’s fiercely independent.

She has a lot of edges.

But Tamlin doesn’t love her despite those things.

He loves her with them.

And I think that’s part of what makes their relationship meaningful in this particular book.

🖤 “Be Glad of Your Human Heart”

But there’s another quote that hits even harder after everything Feyre has endured.

Rhysand tells her:

“Be glad of your human heart, Feyre.” 

And then:

“Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.” 

This is one of those moments where Rhysand accidentally gives us one of the biggest thematic statements in the entire book.

Feyre spends so much of the story thinking her humanity makes her weak.

She’s surrounded by immortal beings who are stronger, faster, richer, and more powerful than she is.

But her humanity gives her something they have begun to lose:

the ability to feel deeply.

Feyre feels grief.

She feels fear.

She feels love.

She feels guilt.

She feels compassion.

And that is ultimately what makes her different.

🥀 The Masks

There are masks everywhere in ACOTAR.

Literally and figuratively.

Tamlin wears one.

Lucien wears one.

The people Under the Mountain wear them.

Rhysand wears one.

And Feyre eventually realizes that almost everyone is hiding something.

The physical masks are part of the curse.

But the metaphorical masks are even more interesting.

Tamlin hides his fear behind authority.

Rhysand hides his true intentions behind cruelty.

Feyre hides vulnerability behind anger.

Amarantha hides her insecurity behind absolute power.

And maybe that’s why the title feels so fitting.

There is beauty.

There are thorns.

And you don’t always know which one you’re touching until you’ve already been hurt.

🌹 What I Think the Book Is Really About

At first glance, ACOTAR is a fantasy romance.

And it absolutely is.

But underneath that, I think it’s about learning to live instead of simply surviving.

Feyre begins the book with one goal:

Keep everyone alive.

That’s it.

She doesn’t have dreams.

She doesn’t have much hope.

She doesn’t have time to think about what she wants.

She just survives.

Then Prythian gives her something she hasn’t had in years:

a reason to want something for herself.

She begins painting again.

She begins exploring.

She begins loving.

She begins imagining a life beyond survival.

And then she’s forced to fight for that life.

That’s a huge part of Feyre’s transformation.

🔥 The Moments That Had Me SCREAMING

Because obviously we need this section.

🐺 Feyre killing the wolf

Girl.

You have absolutely NO IDEA what you just started.

🌿 Feyre arriving at the Spring Court

The immediate:

“Where the hell am I?” energy.

Completely justified.

🦊 Feyre and Lucien becoming friends

The sarcasm.

The arguing.

The insults.

I need more.

🌹 Feyre and Tamlin finally admitting their feelings

FINALLY.

We waited long enough.

🖤 Rhysand appearing Under the Mountain

Oh.

Oh.

Who is this man?

Why is he acting like this?

What does he want?

🩸 The trials

Every single one had me stressed.

💔 Feyre realizing she has to kill the innocent Fae

Absolutely not.

I would simply quit.

🥀 Feyre solving the riddle

LOVE.

Of course.

And somehow it still works.

💀 Feyre dying

Sarah.

I just want to talk.

✨ Feyre being resurrected

Okay…

So we’re doing this.

💭 My Honest Thoughts

I really enjoyed this reread.

And I think that’s partly because ACOTAR is one of those books that becomes more interesting when you already know where the story is headed.

The first time you read it, you’re trying to understand Prythian.

You’re trying to figure out Tamlin.

You’re trying to figure out Lucien.

You’re trying to figure out Amarantha.

And you’re VERY much trying to figure out Rhysand.

But when you come back to it knowing what happens later, you start noticing different things.

You notice the little hints.

You notice the relationships.

You notice the things characters don’t say.

You notice the way Feyre is already changing.

And you start looking at Rhysand very differently.

That’s one of my favorite things about rereading a fantasy series.

You’re not just rereading the story.

You’re reading it with knowledge the characters don’t have yet.

🤔 What Didn’t Work for Me

As much as I enjoyed this book, it isn’t perfect.

The first half is slower than the second.

There is a lot of world-building and setup, and sometimes I wanted Feyre to stop asking questions and for someone to PLEASE just explain what was happening.

The romance also moves pretty quickly toward the end.

I believed Feyre’s feelings for Tamlin, but I wouldn’t have minded more time watching them actually fall in love.

And I think some of the supporting characters deserved more development.

Lucien is interesting.

Nesta is interesting.

Elain is interesting.

Rhysand is obviously interesting.

But this book is very much Feyre’s story, and everyone else is still standing at the edge of the larger story we’re about to enter.

And honestly?

That’s okay.

Because this is book one.

It’s laying the foundation.

🏆 My Character Rankings

🥇 Feyre

Our girl went from starving human huntress to High Fae in one book.

She’s stubborn.

She’s brave.

She’s flawed.

She’s emotional.

She’s frustrating.

She’s wonderful.

I love her.

🥈 Lucien

The sarcasm alone earns him this spot.

🥉 Rhysand

I don’t trust him.

I am fascinated by him.

I need to know what his deal is.

4️⃣ Tamlin

I genuinely liked him in this book.

And I think that’s important to say.

5️⃣ Nesta

Infuriating.

But interesting.

6️⃣ Elain

Sweet, but we haven’t gotten enough of her yet.

👑 Amarantha

Terrible person.

Excellent villain.

📖 The Quotes That Stayed With Me

There are several lines from this book that I think capture its themes beautifully.

“Don’t feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy.”

This one actually feels incredibly appropriate for readers.

Sometimes we overthink what we’re supposed to read.

Sometimes we feel guilty for changing books.

Sometimes we think we have to finish something simply because we started it.

And honestly?

Read what brings you joy.

Then there’s the line:

“We need hope, or else we cannot endure.”

And I think that might be one of the simplest explanations for Feyre’s entire journey.

She needs something to hope for.

Something beyond survival.

Something beyond tomorrow.

And then, of course:

“Be glad of your human heart, Feyre.”

This one is probably my favorite because it completely reframes what Feyre thinks is her greatest weakness.

Her humanity isn’t something she needs to escape.

It’s part of what makes her powerful.

⭐ My Rating

4.5 / 5 Stars

🌹 World-building: 4.5/5

🏹 Characters: 4.5/5

❤️ Romance: 4/5

👑 Villain: 4.5/5

⛰️ Action: 5/5

📖 Pacing: 4/5

✨ Overall: 4.5/5

A Court of Thorns and Roses isn’t my favorite book in the series.

But it’s an incredibly important one.

Because without this book, there is no Prythian as we know it.

🌙 Final Thoughts

A Court of Thorns and Roses is a story about a girl who thinks she’s been brought into a world of monsters… only to discover that monsters aren’t always the ones wearing claws.

It’s about a girl who thinks her greatest strength is her ability to survive… only to discover that her greatest strength might be her ability to love.

It’s about masks.

Curses.

Power.

Sacrifice.

Fear.

Hope.

And finding a life worth fighting for.

Feyre begins the book as a human girl standing in the woods with a bow in her hands.

She ends it as something completely different.

She has crossed a wall.

She has entered a world she didn’t know existed.

She has fallen in love.

She has fought monsters.

She has faced a queen.

She has died.

And she has been reborn.

But if there’s one thing this first book makes clear, it’s that Feyre’s story is just beginning.

Because now she’s High Fae.

The curse is broken.

Amarantha is dead.

Tamlin is free.

And Feyre is returning to the Spring Court with an eternity ahead of her.

But she isn’t the same girl who arrived there.

And neither is the world around her.

Which brings us to the book I am very excited to revisit…

🌙 A Court of Mist and Fury

Because if you know…

you KNOW.

And if you don’t?

Well…

I’ll see you in the next review. 🌹