A Court of Wings and Ruin Review

 

A Court of Wings and Ruin Spoilery Review

If you have not yet read the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, check out my other reviews here: A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all. (From Goodreads)

*There are spoilers for the series ahead. If you have not read the books and do not want to be spoiled, do not read past this point*

This book was fabulous. I do not know why I was expecting anything else from Sarah J. Maas. I was concerned when I went in, but all of those doubts vanished once I got into the story. I had heard that ACOMAF was still the favorite after this, but I don’t think there is much of a comparison. I loved both books for so many reasons! ACOMAF is more character driven and ACOWAR is more plot driven, which makes it difficult to hold them against each other. There were so many good things in this book and I loved every second of it!

Overall, I really appreciated how things were not too dragged out. There are some authors who would have made the littlest things take 5 chapters. I thought the pacing in this book was perfect and that made me fly through. Everything unfolded nicely and it was wonderful to not have to force myself through long, drawn out scenes.

I know that a lot of people think that this book wrapped up too neatly or that there were too many questions left, but I think it was finished beautifully. I was so surprised that they all made it out alive, but I don’t have a problem with this. They deserved to be happy after all the pain they went through, and a lot of people did die in this series. As for the unanswered questions, I am okay not knowing everything. In an interview with Morgan Matson she said, “I love my characters and I love telling their stories, but it is almost like I am allowed to peek in on them for a moment in time… It’s almost like what happens to them isn’t my business any longer, since I was just telling part of their story.” It would be nice to have a more conclusive ending, but it has been left up to us to see where the story will go and what the characters will do with their lives, and I am okay with that. Plus, we have more books coming, and while I do not know who they are about, I am sure we will get an update on our favorite characters!

Before going into this book I had heard that one character was going to die and I was completely convinced that it was going to be Cassian. I have no idea how he went through so much and was still able to survive. I am still not sure who that rumor was referring to, what with all the death that happened in this book, but praise the lord that none of the Inner Circle died!

I was shocked when Mor came out to Feyre. It made sense, I’m honestly surprised no one had guessed sooner, but I never saw it coming! I know a lot of people are upset about the representation that this shows, but I get it. She couldn’t have her father and the autumn court coming after her, so she hid it. Then, she met Az and didn’t want to ruin the friendship that they had. I can understand why she hid for so long, plus it explains why she never accepted his love. I am kind of disappointed because Mor and Az were my number one ship, but I am interested in seeing where this is going.

Nesta and Cassian are so perfect for each other! As the book progressed, I was glad to see Nesta slowly warming up to him. I was shocked that there was no scene between them before the end, but I guess you have to leave some things up to the imagination (or the next book *wink, wink* @SJM). The hate to love romances are done so well in this series! They are incredibly believable and add a lot to the development of the characters.

I am incredibly conflicted on the subject of who Elain will end up with. I know she and Lucien are mates, but I can see her and Az happening. I really just want everyone to be happy, but I don’t know if we'll ever see their relationships work out.

The moment when Elain killed the king was where everything came together for me. I was shocked and surprised and started dancing with happiness when he died! And, it was Elain that killed him. I am glad that she had the chance to do it, since he took so much from her. She was happy in her human life, throwing parties and being engaged to Grayson, but he took that away. If anyone was going to kill him, it should have been her.

Feyre’s character development is priceless. From having such low self worth to being able to look into the Ouroboros and be okay with who she saw on the other side is amazing! I loved seeing her so sure of herself as High Lady and Rhys always supporting her. When she didn’t want to fight in the battle and thought herself a coward, Rhys shut that down so fast. He assured her of who she was both to herself and to him. I was so happy to see her in a healthy relationship with someone who cared deeply for her!

Feyre learning to fly was amazing! The fact that she even brought it up, even wanted to learn, blew my mind. The girl that we used to know is gone and in her place is the High Lady of the Night Court! I loved watching her and Az train together. These scenes made me love the shadowsinger so much more than I already did!

When Rhys dies and they bring him back the same way as Feyre was a lovely way to bring the series full circle. Feyre’s despair when he died was so much that I started crying. I cried a lot in this book, now that I think about it… Anyways, this again cements to me how perfect they are for each other and how much Feyre has grown!

Rhys and Feyre’s bargain at the end was a fantastic way to finish off the book! Their relationship began with a bargain and it will end with one. It means so much that they trust each other so much that they would place their lives in the other’s hands. From being abused by Tamlin to the beauty that is their relationship, no one could have asked for a better ending!

Feyre messing with Tamlin was one of my favorite parts of the book! Sure, it came back to bite them later, but it was worth it. Seeing how she had so carefully laid all of those plans and set him up was so deserved after everything he had put her through. She showed her cunning and bravery in these chapters, which again shows so the progress she has made since the first book!

Her father redeeming himself was another one of the best parts of the book for me.Much like how Feyre changed in the books, her father did too. In the face of war and fear, they became strong and decided to do something about it. I was so pleased to see him come for them on ships bearing his daughter’s names. He made me regret thinking so poorly of him for so long. I was sad to see him die, but I think he had it coming. Thankfully he was able to redeem himself before his demise.

Amren’s betrayal killed me. I couldn’t understand why she would do such a thing, but I know why it needed to happen.I was shocked she would do something like this to Feyre, yet it was satisfying to finally she the monster that had always been lurking under her skin. I had thought she was gone, afterwards, and it was crazy when they hauled her out of the cauldron, albeit powerless. I really grew to love Amren’s character during this book and I am glad she found Varian!

The Bone Carver looking like her son was so unexpected! I don’t know if this is foreshadowing or if it is just supposed to play into her fears of possibly having a son. I was nonetheless ecstatic when she figured this out, along with the fact that he looked like that before she and Rhys were together!

The Suriel’s death had me in tears. I had never understood why people loved it so much, but the kindness it showed Feyre was so beautiful. And she stayed with it until it died, like she did with the faerie in the Spring Court in ACOTAR. I loved how loyal and kind she was in this scene, risking herself so that the Suriel did not have to die alone.

The other high lords made this book 1,000 times better. They were so funny and interesting and I couldn’t help but become invested in all of their stories. I especially loved the High Lord of Winter, Kallias, and his wife, Viviane. Viviane is like the best of Feyre and Mor combined and I can tell why they are such good friends. I also love Tarquin and I am so glad that he revoked the blood rubies! I think that the new world they are going to build is going to be wonderful and I hope that we get to see some of the process!

I loved this book (if you couldn’t tell)! I gave it 5/5 stars! It was phenomenal! I cannot wait to see where this story goes in the future! What did you think of A Court of Wings and Ruin? Comment below. I would love to hear from you!