Frustrating, But Worth It: "A Court of Thorns and Roses"

To begin, this is by no means a "YA" novel. I am surprised that the publishers would market it as such. While I am not offended by the content as I am an adult, I am frustrated because I almost had my 13 year old little sister read it before me and she is definitely not old enough for what occurs here.

I'm OK with novels like Graceling or The Blue Sword or even Fault in Our Stars that do contain sexual scenes and believe they are appropriate and healthy for a young audience. I say this to illustrate that my opinion is not based on an exaggerated sense of prudery.

BE WARNED: This book contains fairly explicit sexual scenes. Not extensive, but enough that this novel is actually New Adult.

That aside, I adore this book! I have a long held love affair with fractured fairytales and am forever looking to discover a new twist on one of my favorites. Everything from the name Feyre to the complications that arise with Rhys fit into the world that Sarah J Maas creates.

This book has a natural flow, but variation and change. One of my least favorite characters is the person I admire most by the end of the book. I love the reality that is presented about relationships and the rejection of the idea that every being that comes into contact with the leading lady has to fall in love with her.

The descriptions are fresh without feeling forced and the abstraction that is the world of Fae is expressed without me feeling like I didn't understand anything.

I simply love this book. I do recommend that people read and enjoy this novel. However, I will restate the earlier warning that this book should not be considered YA.

On another note, other versions of this fairytale (that happen to be two of my all time favorite books) are East by Edith Pattou and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. They follow the story a bit more traditionally, but they are also firmly YA for those unprepared for the content of this novel.

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