Review: A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Summary from Amazon:

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 over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristen Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

Review:

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Book 1

Release Date: 5 May, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Genre: Young Adult/Romance/Action & Adventure

ISBN:  9781619634442

Edition: ARC Ebook/Hardback

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 15 April, 2015

I love retellings of classic fairy tales. I enjoy Sarah J. Maas's writing (I'm still working on getting through Throne of Glass, but that's only because I get distracted by the large number of books I seem to acquire), so when this came up in the Netgalley listing of upcoming books, I jumped at the chance to read it.

This book doesn't really disappoint if you're looking for a good, solid retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Set in Maas's rich backdrops, the story follows the life of Feyre, a young woman who's family has fallen on hard times and they're forced to do whatever they must to survive. Well, more to the point, Feyre must do what she can to make them survive. Given that her sisters barely raise a finger to help, Feyre must do the hunting to ensure they don't starve. The family's almost out of food when she encounters a wolf in the woods, one that's big enough to almost guarantee that it's a fae. What she doesn't expect when she kills it is being drawn into the forbidden land of the fae on a 'life-debt'. 

But things aren't as they seem in this seemingly docile life. In a world where everything is more than willing to kill you for just being human and a confusion of how the court truly looks, Feyre has to learn to navigate the dynamics of Tamlin's court. In a thrilling combination of romance, magic, and a few dark twists, Maas brings new life to the classic tale and leaves readers wanting more. 

I can't wait to see where this series continues on from here.