A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas | Rating: ★★★★★

“No one was my master— but I might be master of everything, if I wished. If I dared.”

 You know that feeling you get, not long after you close a good book, and you just have to sit there and bask in the aftermath? Hypothetically speaking, you kind of just sit there with your jaw on the floor, on the verge of rolling around? And it takes you a few hours to sort out whatever it is you are feeling, so you can finally--finally--write a review?

This bloody book did that to me and I'm, personally, considering a proposal to Sarah J. Maas. So here I am, after two and a half hours of sitting on my ass thinking, " Holy shit. I like it. I'm putting a ring on it. " and I'm going to be honest, it's kind of a brilliant feeling? Although, I can't seem to put my thoughts into words on how much I enjoyed A Court of Mist and Fury because in all honesty my biggest way of expressing this book, and my love for it, would have to just be me saying 'HOLY SHIT' in every language conceivable and then probably a dozen undiscovered, complete made up and forgotten ones.

(Quickly followed by the most creepiest addition yet: that old Myspace emoji that used to pop up in comments under 'horny'. Only because of its mischievous quality, I swear.)

What? I thought it was a good balance to my review. Whatever--the point is, this book is brilliant. I don't use that lightly, either, because it's just one of those words that I don't like to associate with a lot. A Court of Mist and Fury is going to be one of the only exceptions as of late to that and it is entirely because of Sarah J. Maas' ability to knock me on my ass every other chapter. It takes a certain talent to consistently pull out all the stops without sounding cheesy or dull and she is one of those (*Hank Moody voice*) motherf*ckers.

I'm not sure what can be said about this book besides: oh my God. Because... oh my God. There's so much suspense and action and romance and snark and--oh, it's just put together beautifully. And the world-building? Gasp--I loved seeing these new explorations and history and characters. I will admit, I was a bit sad with the turn the plot took with Tamlin (and, to an extent, Lucien) but it felt pretty right to see how Feyre and Tamlin's relationship developed in the aftermath of their captivity and it managed to break my heart in the way only a good novel can.

Onto the rest: I love Feyre. I mean... do I even have to say it? My poor girl has gone through so, so, so much in these two books and I'm just really pleased with how it's developed, even if my heart is presently ripped out of my chest when it comes to that ending and her sacrifice. It's impossible not to love her. I enjoyed seeing her relationship develop with Rhysand (as well as some serious growth and backstory when it comes to him as a solo character) and I think the new setting for her was a serious must-have to keep the story going.

That being said, I also love the theme of friendships and family. I liked the little group Rhysand had back home--in particular, Mor. Learning about this court--and this friendship turned family group--and seeing it from a different perspective was a treat. I thought not only was the dynamic interesting--it felt real in all its fantasy glory, which isn't always easy to achieve. The thing about this group is that they all belonged together and when Feyre arrived, and slowly allowed herself to get to know them, it was like they'd all been together this entire time. I loved the protective air in all of them and how, in the end, Feyre makes sure to extend that to her sister's--especially after that huge (and painful) plot twist.

To sum up my review: this book is fantastic and full of so much life, that I could scarcely bring myself to put it down when I had to. I'm so glad I read it.