A Court of Wings and Ruin is a Thrilling Read

A Court of Wings and Ruin was one of my (and this site’s) most anticipated YA books of this year. The final book in A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy, A Court of Wings and Ruin is a satisfying end to Feyre’s story.

We left Feyre returning to Tamlin in order to gather intel in the fight against the invading, power-hungry King Hybern. So, at the start of A Court of Wings and Ruin, we are back in the Spring Court where Feyre is deceiving Tamlin into thinking she’s back for him, trying to convince Lucien that she’s telling the truth, and attempting to best Jurian and the creepy twins as they scope out the border between the Fey and human worlds. Feyre eventually does return to Rhys, assuming her full High Lady powers, and, without giving anything away, all of the High Lords must come together to fight Hybern. Obviously, there is an epic battle.

Clocking in at a whopping 700+ pages, Sarah J. Maas did a great job of tying up lose ends, resolving things in a way that leaves the reader satisfied, and developing the main characters even more. Feyre comes into her own. Her relationship with Rhys only gets stronger. Feyre’s sisters, Elain and Nesta, must come to terms with their new Fae forms. Jurian’s story is explained a bit more. Mor, Cassian, Azriel, and Amren are all explored, too. Even Lucien and Tamlin get decent page time (also, Lucien is wonderful, and I hope Maas writes more about him in a later series).

The introduction and exploration of even more of Prythian is wonderful. The details that make up each court and the people bring them vividly to life. We even see a bit of the human world in A Court of Wings and Ruin, which made me wonder if the spin-off series Maas announced will incorporate more of that. Maas is able to create these delightful lands that really come to life as you read.

There were, though, some aspects that could have been better. Part of Amren’s storyline was a bit too convenient for my taste; it wrapped things up too nicely. Mor’s bisexual revelation seemed a bit too forced (although kudos to Maas for incorporating more diversity into the series). Some of the descriptions of Feyre interacting with Rhys were, surprisingly, grating. For instance, Maas used the term “stalking” to describe walking a bit too much; she also had Feyre sticking out her tongue far too much. It just came off as super childish. Finally, the fantastic chemistry between Rhys and Feyre is not as exciting in this book as it was in A Court of Mist and Fury. Perhaps that’s because the sexual tension between them was more illicit than their out-in-the-open relationship; or, perhaps, it was because there are so many other new relationships to focus on in this book (Nesta and Cassian! Elain and…Azriel or Lucien! Helion and his conquests!)…and will hopefully get more of in the future.

Overall, A Court of Wings and Ruin is an intoxicating adventure, and I can’t wait to dive back into this world in the spin-off series.