As of 2024, Sarah J. Maas has sold a staggering 38 million copies of her books. While she has always had a cult following for her fantasy series, “Throne of Glass,” it was her second series, “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” that grasped the hearts of readers worldwide at an astounding level. The first book in the series, also titled “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” was published in 2015, and the fifth and final, “A Court of Silver Flames,” was published in 2021. Although she has written other award-winning novels since then, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” (ACOTAR) was the series chosen to be adapted for television by Hulu in 2021 — though the project has since been delayed.
This past summer, the novel’s popularity reached a record high as it saturated social media platforms, going by its abbreviation ACOTAR. Although its main audience is young-adult women, the novel became popular among many ages and genders.
Why is ACOTAR so popular? When my sister gave me the book this past summer, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to invest my time in the long, almost intimidating novel. I was also hesitant to start a book that centered around fairy realms and magic. However, as someone who is obsessed with Greek mythology and romance novels, I was open-minded and decided to find out what all the hype was about.
The book is a “Beauty and the Beast” retelling. The main character, a miserable teenage girl named Feyre is “saved” by Tamlin, who is a beast in every sense of the word. She is removed from her poor hometown in the “human realm” and taken to Prythian, the “faerie realm.” I must warn readers that the book is hard to get into. Rather than pulling you in immediately, the beginning of the book serves the purpose of laying the groundwork for the rest of the series. The beginning might overwhelm you with fairy lingo, which made me laugh, cringe and wonder if the book was meant for children. However, if you put aside your ego and get past the awkward start you will soon be desensitized to the ridiculousness of fairy talk, and perhaps you will, as I did, become enthralled in it.
I didn’t think I was capable of reading a 448-page novel in less than two weeks, but I could not put this book down. The romance, the unpredictable plot and the empathy I had for Feyre made me succumb to the trend and become another superfan of ACOTAR. Maas is a poetic and descriptive writer. She incorporates multiple senses in every scene, making each page a full-body experience. By telling the story through Feyre’s eyes, readers gain intimate access to her thoughts, feelings and motivations. This deepens the emotional connection to her character and makes her surreal journey more personal and relatable.
I recommend listening to the novel as an audiobook. My favorite activity over the summer was putting on my headphones and going for a long walk on the beach while listening to ACOTAR. I was able to forget about my personal life and problems, losing myself in the fantasy world of ACOTAR. Fantasy novels are uniquely powerful in their ability to whisk readers away from the mundane aspects of daily life. Their beauty lies in their capacity to create entirely new worlds that have their own rules, cultures and histories. To me, this immersive quality is a refreshing escape from reality.
ACOTAR was not the raunchy fairy novel I expected it to be. Maas incorporated magic in a way that intensified the stakes and connections between characters. This created an extremely compelling romance trope, which left off on a cliffhanger at the end. Thus, I had no choice but to start the second book, “A Court of Mist and Fury.” This second novel starts exactly where the first one leaves off and it is captivating from the start. Having almost finished it, I actually like it more than the first novel. Fans online agree that the following novels in the series exceed ACOTAR. This is partly due to the fact that readers already understand the fairy realm, Prythian, and partly due to the complex relationships between Feyre and her romantic interests (I won’t give anything away). Nonetheless, that should not deter you from reading ACOTAR, as it will open the door to this entire amazing series.
Rating: 4/5
