Hello everyone!
Back with regular updates this week and regular blog posts, which means today is book blog day. And I had this one ready to go since before I left for my impromptu seaside vacation, but that doesn't mean I forgot about it.
How could I, when it was so awesome I figured I might need a heart transplant by the end?
So most of you know that I was late on the Sarah J. Maas appreciation train here, because it took me a little bit to find some amazing vloggers who spoke about her books, and then I started reading her Throne of Glass series first, but I'm in the middle of that one at the moment whereas I definitely gobbled up the other one, because ... reasons.
Okay, let's be honest, there's just one reason and his name is Rhysand.
Yeah, yeah, if any of you remember my blog post about the first book in this series, you'll probably also remember that I hated Rhys back in the day.
Well, opinions change, alright? And in A Court of Mist and Fury, they most certainly did.
Before I say anything further I'd like to point out that I will be leaving links down below to all my other SJM related posts, because I do think I've numbered them by now and have quite a few, so you'll be able to go back and see what I've already written. Suffice to say, also, there are more in the works as I read more of her books!
So if we remember back in A Court of Thorns and Roses, a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. we meet Feyre, who comes to the land of the High Fae and is set to break a curse placed on the High Courts, and who also falls in love with Tamlin; at this point, we meet Rhysand as a busy-body who keeps meddling in other people's affairs and just generally gets on everyone's nerves. Feyre succeeds, even if she does perish doing it, but the High Lords revive her and she has now become like them.
This is where we begin the second book of this trilogy, as both Feyre and Tamlin are experiencing severe PTSD while dealing with regular court situations, though early on Feyre notices some things are amiss and her lover doesn't seem to be the kind-hearted soul she took him to be (threatening to kill some of his subjects if they don't pay up, much?).
The main issue, however, is that he keeps locking her in and keeping her out of important decision-making, stating that it's best for his people if they see her as safe and happy and secure, which slowly drives her insane (also to vomiting and losing weight).
Things come to a head when she's supposed to marry Tamlin and screams in her mind for someone to help her, prompting the appearance of none other than Rhysand, who calls in his bargain for one week with her per month, and whisks her away.
Oddly enough, while she thought he would be overbearing, Rhys allows her to breathe and she regains some of her old self while with him, only to backtrack again after being returned to Tamlin.
Things go out of control when Tamlin literally locks her up, resulting in Feyre's minor breakdown and Rhys breaking the spell on the house to get her out of there, whisking her off to his own court, where she meets his motly crew of inner court: Azriel, the spy, Cassian, the general, Morrigan, the princess, and Amren ... the whatever.
No, seriously.
Once there, it slowly becomes apparent that there is more to Rhys than meets the eye, and Feyre slowly begins to feel more at home and trusts the people around her again, who try to help her and work with her powers instead of subduing them. And, also, she learns what Rhys sacrificed during the evil queen's rule: hiding a whole city from everyone else.
It becomes obvious that she and Rhysand are attracted to each other, but Feyre is confused, and, also, there's a new big bad on the horizon: the King of Hybern, a neighbouring continent, wants to rule pretty much everything. So, they need to stop him by finding a Book that will help stop the Cauldron (which basically spewed out the world, as in, a bathtub created the world).
Yeah, no rest for the wicked, right?
They steal half the book from the Summer Court, but the other half is with the Mortal Queens who refuse to give it up without tangible proof of the Fae being honourable (as if meeting in Feyre's mortal sisters' house isn't honourable enough), so they agree to show them Velaris.
Of course things aren't that simple as, on top of the knowledge that Tamlin is hunting for Feyre (really, is she a dog now?), Rhysand gets hurt and Feyre rescues him, learning in the process that she is his mate, which infuriates her because he hadn't told her. So she goes off into seclusion for a while as they await the summons, only to have Rhys track her down eventually and the two of them settle their differences (and the knowledge that he sent her for his mother's ring to a witch's house to see if she survived) and bond.
The meeting with the Queens is sort of successful (the youngest one smuggles the second half of the book to them), but afterwards Velaris is attacked, and the defenders barely turn back Hybern's forces, which tells them that the Queens are working with their enemy.
So now it's off to Hybern to try and actually stop him, but of course it doesn't work that way and the lot of them get themselves caught, only to be saved by Feyre who sees one way out of it after it is revealed Tamlin is working with Hybern as well: she will pretend that the mating bond is broken and go with Tamlin to save the others.
Masterfully managing that, after witnessing her sisters being thrust into the Cauldron and becoming Fae like her (Lucien being revealed as Elaine's mate while there are hints Cassian might be Nesta's) and Cassian's shredded Ilyrian wings, the gang return to the Night Court sans Feyre.
But Rhys has one last surprise: the mating bond was a ruse, as it cannot be broken (Amren agrees), and he had made Feyre High Lady of the Night Court, his equal and an unprecedented action, the previous night - then sent her into Tamlin's home.
A spy.
I LOVED THIS.
I remember saying I was going to be so unhappy if there would be a love triangle, but really, when I saw Tamlin in this book (making me want to read the first one again for better understanding) I pretty much saw him as a control freak, so Rhysand takes the top spot immediately (it helps I imagine him as Matthew Daddario, too). Feyre is such a badass one can't even begin to explain (battle of Velaris, much?) and she and Rhys just click. All the other characters in the much healthier Night Court, or Court of Dreams, are also well fleshed out and intriguing, not to mention the idea that Feyre is the mate of the most powerful High Lord is also neat.
And now she's a fox in the chicken coop with Tamlin having no idea whatsoever (though Lucien might suspect), and Hybern is going to invade but we all know Feyre will work within to hinder that.
I also sincerely hope that she whoops Tamlin's ass in the process just to get him to see he needs to treat women differently.
I can't wait for the third book!
xx
*image not mine
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