a court of thorns and roses review (one star)

My rather strong opinions on A Court of Throrns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.

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Song: Daily Beetle by Kevin MacLeod

[celestetran]

I was super confused when I was reading and watching reviews and people were shipping Rhys and feyre and it didn't even cross my mind that Rhys could be a love interest because he was so abusive. How is this a thing???

[itsvanya]

I have never read anything by Sarah J Maas, but honestly, the thing that puts me off the most about these books are how rabid the fans are. It irks me so much that nobody can give an honest negative review without so many of them trying to justify the faults of the books or plainly telling you that you must not like the genre! But it also saddens me because in my opinion, even if you loved a book, it's good to be aware of its faults.

Just wanted to thank you for posting an honest, intelligent review. It's so refreshing to see. :)

[dorzigdonlax]

"I'll glue that mask to your face, so no one can see how handsome and cute and dashing and pretty you are!"

[ThoughtsOnTomes]

I was cackling through this entire review. I also may have raised my hands to the sky and said "bless" and "praise" on numerous occasions. Part of the fun of reading this book was knowing I was going to watch this after.

Thank you for being so eloquent in your critique of the writing. I have not gotten to the level in my critiques of noticing these things about the writing myself, generally speaking, but once you pointed them out I remembered every single one. Hearing them out of the story pinpointed how irritating the writing was more often then not.

Tamlin's possessive nature being played off as him being a good guy really put me off. He bit her and he's forgiven the next day, because she was warned. Ew.

Feyre's constant need to put herself stupidly in mortal danger, along with her lack of agency or a backbone, made me really dislike being in her head.

Worst villain I've ever read. I had the same reaction as you with the riddle. What villain worth anything is honestly going to give her an out like that with a simple riddle?!

Like I said on your goodreads review, I enjoyed Rhys. I enjoy problematic characters like him 90% of the time though, and I'm fully willing to admit that he is trash. Trash that I find interesting. But our disagreeing on some of my problematic faves doesn't make me adore you any less, and I will honestly watch this video whenever I need a good laugh in the future.

My perusal of the goodreads reviews for this book left me shocked. How is it honestly so close to a 5 star rating there?! Thank you for putting your eloquently stated opinion out there, because you obviously are not alone.

[ConnorOBrien]

I HATE when an author uses a jillion words to describe everything! I was laughing as you read them. I'll definitely be giving this one a pass (:

[Aha.]

Lucien was the best thing about the book

[Elle-engf]

this is late but PREAAACCCHHH. I am so sick of books getting popular that are terribly written with bad plots and cliche characters thanks for telling it like it is=)

[brookehaley]

I want to stand up and cheer you for this video! Not only did you have such awesome points for your dislike of the book but you gave an honest and critical review of a well loved booktube book! Sometimes I feel like people are afraid to go against the grain of hyped up books so as a viewer, I really am grateful for your honesty, intelligence, and ability to support your claims for disliking this book that almost everyone else seems to love. :)

[christyjohnson]

318 dashes...? where are the editors at to check their girl?

[allisonboshaw]

I want to say that I honestly enjoy your reviews. You don't just fangirl and talk about how much you this character and how you "ship" these characters. No, you actually take the time to leave an honest and INTELLIGENT review about the book itself. What I love the most is that your reviews don't feel fluffed or sponsored. I feel like you get right to the point and break down the issues that you have with plot, character development, writing styles, etc. Instead of just building the book up, you challenge it in ways most other reviewer don't seem to.

Also, I feel I should mention that when I read books, unless its for school, I never really put this much weight into them. I am more in the reading to be entertained and not really to break it down they way that you do. That being said, it is actually very refreshing to see reviews like yours. You really open up my mind and force me to look back at a book to consider it the way that you do. Thank you for that.

Consider me subscribed! =)

[haladriels]

Not going to lie, every time I'm in a bad mood I watch this video, and it always puts a smile on my face.

[Lalalainie]

Right now I'm about 100 pages into this book and finding it hard to keep going. I thought I would watch some reviews to motivate me to finish. This was probably not what I needed lol. I laughed my ass of though. Subscribed.

[slimjimmynewtron]

8:08 it’s been a couple years since I read this.. I remember all the terrible things but HOW COULD I FORGET THE MASKS?!!?! LIKE BFFR THAT WAS SO UNSERIOUS

[HO-bndk]

"Spoilers make it seem like there's a plot" LOL Brilliant!

[leadinglady]

Between your review of this and Sam's review, I think I am going to have to give Sarah J Maas a hard pass on this series. I read Throne of Glass and thought it was... Alright, but it was WAY OVER-HYPED. I heard a comparison once that waiting for the trials in that book was like waiting for the trails throughout Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire so I was OBVIOUSLY stoked, because the HP trials were freaking deadly. And then the trials in Throne of Glass were like, "Then she cheated and drank the non-poisoned vile." As you said in your review of that book - it was just like gym class.

Thank you so much for always being so articulate in your reviews! I love your 1-2 star book reviews because you so eloquently explain why and how the books suck.

[astoldb]

I don't like Maas' writing style either so I've been super conflicted on giving acotar a try but this has definitely convinced me not to. The number of dashes being used is crazy! Your review was so so thorough and we'll done, I loved it!

[thefruitsong]

I remember reading this and i feel the story/ plot didn't take off until the last 150 pages.
In a 400+ page book.
I literally almost fell asleep reading.

[therealannataylor]

My THANK YOU. I read it for the first time a few months ago and could NOT understand the hype. The terrible writing, the crappy romance, the terribly placed plot devices. I set the book down a million times before I could finally finish it. If I hadn’t put it down, I would have ripped my eyeballs out. I really don’t get the SJM frenzy. I just. I don’t. Thanks for your rational opinions 😂

[rebekahlaurence]

I'm in the middle of reading this book right now and it's nice to hear a similar opinion. Her writing isn't bad, it's just repetitive and lacking. Honestly, I would have written a lot of parts differently. :/ The novel was good when it started, but it's dragging now. I bought the other two books just see where it goes, but I don't know why I'm torturing myself. Thank you for posting this. Made my day!

[kristasmith]

as a younger person I really loved these books but now I find them horrible because I've been reading better books that have made me realize that these kinds are shit