Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, published by Bloomsbury on 5th May 2015

Goodreads synopsis:
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Review:
'A Court of Thorns and Roses' should be on everyone's to-read list.  An epic fantasy with adventure, danger, drama and romance, it proves Sarah J. Maas's credentials yet again as the one author you don't want to miss out on.  She is on my auto-buy list and dare I say it (because normally I can't choose just one) may actually have taken the crown of my favourite author.  If you haven't discovered her yet then you must be living under a rock! 

The Throne of Glass series is one of the best fantasy series out there.  I didn't think anything would be able to come close to topping it until I read this book and was totally blown away.  Gripping and entrancing from start to finish, I loved every single second of the story.  It was even better than I'd imagined it would be. 

The story centres around main character Feyre who slaughters a wolf while out hunting.  Trying to provide for her father and two sisters, she will do whatever it takes to keep food on their table.  However, Feyre finds herself having to pay for her actions and ends up in the faeries world of Prythian - her prison or her salvation?

Feyre has all the best traits and characteristics of a Sarah J. Maas heroine.  She is incredibly strong - not necessarily physically, but she is strong in mind.  She is a survivor and will always find a way out of the most difficult situations.  She is brave, fearless and adaptable.  She is someone to admire.  Her relationship with High Lord Tamlin was one of my favourite things about the story.  Although their first meeting sees them not exactly getting off on the right foot, they soon become more to each other.  I enjoyed watching their bond deepen and grow as they begin to understand each others character.  Another interesting relationship is set up near the end of the book between Feyre and a new character.  I'm intrigued to find out how this is going to develop and how it will affect Feyre's romance with Tamlin. 

This book had it all!  The second half was so exciting that I couldn't put it down.  While I wanted to make the story last, I also just had to race through it because I needed to know desperately what was going to happen next.  A stunning read with a heart shattering romance at it's centre.  I adored this book.  It was phenomenally brilliant and I'm dying to read it all over again.   

The first in a trilogy, I can't believe that I have to wait until I get more of Feyre and Tamlin.  It's going to be so hard but I shall be counting down the days until publication day for book two.