If this is what counts as a fairy love story these days, then consider me permanently checked out. A Court of Thorns and Roses is one of the most poorly written, boring, and utterly unbelievable ventures into fae romance I could imagine.
Centered around a protagonist named Feyre — which is somehow both an absurd and fitting name for such a ridiculous character — the story begins with her starving in the woods and shooting a wolf with her bow and arrow. This apparently triggers the wrath of the fairy realm, and she’s dragged across the wall into a land of eternal springtime by a High Fae who’s been alive for literal millennia. Naturally, he’s immediately smitten with this impoverished, half-feral teenager. The age gap alone should’ve gotten him arrested… But I digress.
What follows is a tepid and thoroughly unconvincing attempt at a romance, culminating in a single encounter well past the halfway mark — and somehow, we’re meant to believe this is love? From abduction to passion in five hundred pages. Stockholm Syndrome, I guess, is now considered romantic character development.
There’s a vague curse, an evil force lurking, and a climax that felt more like an obligation than a payoff. Honestly, I was too checked out to care by the time the “twist” arrived.
One ash arrow out of five. Would not recommend, and absolutely will not be returning to this genre of fae-flavored fantasy romance again. Thanks, but no thanks.
