REVIEW: A Court of Mist and Fury (book) by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury is the second book in Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses series. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This takes place shortly after the events of the previous book. Feyre is a mess, her sleep interrupted by nightmares of Amarantha and her time Under the Mountain. She desperately wants to do something useful. Unfortunately, Tamlin's time Under the Mountain has left him with a bone-deep terror of anything happening to Feyre. It doesn't matter that she now has the lifespan and powers of the High Fae - he's convinced that if he gives her the freedom she craves, she'll come to harm.

However, even Tamlin can't do anything about the agreement between Feyre and Rhysand. When he comes to claim his first week with her, there's no choice, she has to go. Her time with him doesn't go at all the way she expects, and it isn't long before she wonders if she wouldn't be better off with Rhysand than Tamlin, the man she loves and who she died to save.

I didn't keep track of what folks were saying about this series when it first came out, but I wouldn't be surprised if a subset of ACOTAR fans read this and felt angry and betrayed. In the first book, Maas set up an "enemies to lovers" romance in which Feyre fell in love with Tamlin, a being she'd been taught her whole life to fear and hate. In this book, Maas turns things around yet again - Feyre's relationship with Tamlin is toxic and destroying her, and it's Rhysand who helps her and who she falls in love with.

Since I was never really all that invested in Tamlin and Feyre's romance in the first place, it didn't bother me when she started to fall for Rhysand instead. Something about the atmosphere around Rhysand and his inner circle felt familiar, and I eventually realized that they reminded me a lot of the central characters in Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy - there was a similar level of banter and bonding over shared terrible pasts. If I had to choose, I'd probably pick Daemon over Rhysand, but the relationship between Rhysand and Feyre has fewer discomfiting and problematic aspects than the relationship between Daemon and Jaenelle.

Overall, I found this to be more enjoyable and readable than the first book, although it definitely could have been more tightly written. Also, the ending was confusing and perfectly set up for Feyre to get herself killed, although of course I'm sure she'll be fine.