A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas | Book Review

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Published: May 2017

Read: October 2019

Series: ACOTAR #3

Rating: 2 stars

This is book 3 in the series, my thoughts on A Court of Thorns and Roses (book 1) can be found here and A Court of Mist and Fury (book 2) here

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I just don’t know what happened with this one. 

I am *almost* lost for words... this was so disappointing! Whilst I love being in this world and love watching Feyre, Rhys and the Inner Circle, this book felt lacking in… well, everything.

I still enjoyed it (kind of) but the writing felt distant, and I didn’t feel drawn in or connected. I think this was largely due to there being so much telling rather than showing. This frustrating narrative choice made the story feel dull and rushed. Something felt off with the pacing in general and so many events were glossed over. In the first two instalments, it felt like we were along for the ride which made it so much more exciting, addictive and enjoyable.

Spoilery discussion ahead

There were just so many things that disappointed me (cue rant). For starters, I did not like the double resurrection trope at the end (Why? It felt cheap and unnecessary), also why did everyone in the Inner Circle need to couple up? (*eye roll*), and don't get me started on how Mor's sexuality was used as a plot twist sloppily slapped in at the end (it felt like an unexplored afterthought, and I feel like using sexuality as a plot twist is in poor taste). Also, Maas's strange choice of dialogue during her sex scenes has to be mentioned here… they're just so cringey. Angst, she does superbly but this… just no. 

And the ending… THE ENDING. Apart from feeling rushed, there were no stakes or consequences at all. Even in the face of full-scale war not a single main character died or got hurt, or if they did, Maas just brought them back to life in the end. This whole novel was full of deus ex machina and conveniences. 

Whilst I’m glad Feyre and Rhys made it to that future I was rooting for, this novel felt lazy to me, and I am so sad and disappointed as I was so invested in the series. Sadly, it only gets 2 stars from me.