A Court of Thorns and Roses, commonly abbreviated to ACOTAR, is the first in a series that ranks among my absolute favorites. It is also my November book of the month!
One of the things I like most about Sarah J Maas is that she writes convincingly flawed characters. That may sound like an odd thing to like, but when an author can get me to wonder about, or make me care about, a character's motivations? I'm IN. This series, building upon the phenomenal foundation laid by ACOTAR, gives me characters I disliked at the beginning and loved by the end.. and vice versa! Stories that can really wrap me up like that end up being re-read favorites.
So, about the book itself: The protagonist of ACOTAR is Fayre (Fay-rah), a young woman who gets caught up in a power struggle beyond anything she could have imagined. Though an artist by nature, Fayre supports her family the best she can by hunting and doing the physical labor. There is a significant amount of familial tension between Fayre, her father, and her sisters that remains a source of conflict throughout the series, especially as Fayre develops relationships and allegiances outside of what her family and her society deem acceptable. Fayre struggles a lot in this book, actually, but she acts consistently in alignment with what she believes is right. Sometimes that works out, sometimes it doesn't. Her internal struggles make her relatable and her external struggles make her an interesting piece of the story. When she's pulled into the drama of the Fae Courts, her life is in significant danger. Naturally she's 'the only one with the power to break a curse' but has to muddle through on her own the best she can. That's difficult when the people who protect you aren't being entirely honest though... isn't it?
If you're a fan of court intrigue, fae/human mythology and folklore, action, romance, and reaalllyy long arc character development, then I encourage you to curl up with at least the first two books (if not all four) because you'll want to jump right in to the next one. I WILL say, after I read the second and third book, I went back to ACOTAR and read it again for some of the clues I had missed!!
I also have a deep and abiding love for Maas's other series, Throne of Glass because I'm an absolute sucker for female assassins who are bold, skilled, intelligent, determined, vulnerable, and charismatic. Hoo boy, go check out that series too.
Best,
-C