I’ve now gotten to the third book in Sarah J. Maas’s ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ series, A Court of Wings and Ruin. Over the past three books I’ve mused about what makes Rhysand such a sexy character, beyond how devastatingly handsome he is, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it has to do with always allowing Feyre to make her own decisions. He’s charming, flirtatious, intelligent, caring, loyal to a fault, a touch wicked, with just the right amount of restrained violence that makes him so attractive to Feyre. But what I found so attractive about him is his consistent support of Feyre making her own choices, even if they are not the ones he would have made or negatively affect him. He loves her and trusts her so completely that he does not want to diminish her in anyway, by taking the freedom of choice from her. Of course all the other things don’t hurt, and combined with the fact that I have a slight fetish for wings (one day I may even get them tattooed on my back) makes for Rhysand being one sexy male.
A detail I particularly liked in A Court of Wings and Ruin is that homo and bi sexuality are finally brought up as part of the spectrum of affection. Though it’s a tad frustrating for one character’s male lover to not have a name, even though he is mentioned several times. There are so few characters on the LGBTQ+ spectrum that it bothers me he isn’t given a name and is only referred to as someone else’s lover. Though that is a minor quibble.
But this book is not all sexy fun times as the war has arrived to Prythian and the conniving among courts continues. Centuries of inter-conflict make difficulty for new alliances to be formed. We learn more of the individual courts and back story continues to unwind, as histories that have previously been hinted at are explained. The time has come where everyone is put to the test and the stakes are high. I expected a positive outcome and was not disappointed. By and large this book does have a happily ever after. I have enjoyed the journey and the development of Feyre across the series and am curious to read other books by Maas.