A Court of Mist and Fury

by Sarah J. Maas ★★★★☆

Like with previous reviews of books in a series, I will start with a warning:

If you have not yet read A Court of Thorns and Roses, STOP READING THIS NOW! 

My review below is of the second book in the series, A Court of Mist and Fury. This review will contain major spoilers and a summary of A Court of Thorns and Roses, but no spoilers for this second installment in the series. If you're new to Feyre and the world of Prythian, my review of ACOTAR (as it's affectionately known) is here in case you want to use it to evaluate if the series is right for you.

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If it's been a while since you read A Court of Thorns and Roses, here's a quick summary of the key points to remember heading into A Court of Mist and Fury:

• Feyre, a human, is captured by the faerie Tamlin after she unknowingly killed one of his people (who had shape-shifted into a wolf). To atone for her crime, she must live out the rest of her days in the faerie land Prythian.

• Tamlin and Feyre develop a slowly budding romance and eventually fall in love. When Feyre returns to the human realm to see her sisters, the Spring Court is attacked and Tamlin is taken captive by Amarantha, the evil High Queen of Prythian who has placed the entire land under a curse. She takes Tamlin and his best friend Lucien to her kingdom Under the Mountain. Feyre returns to the Spring Court, learns of Tamlin's capture, and travels Under the Mountain to try to save him.

• Amarantha gives Feyre the opportunity to break the curse if she can complete three tasks. The first requires her to escape a labyrinth while pursued by a giant worm; the second involves decoding a riddle (during which it's revealed that Feyre can't read) in a short period of time; and the third involves stabbing three faeries through the heart with an ash dagger.

• Feyre is seriously injured in her battle with the worm. Rhysand, who is the High Lord of the Night Court but acting as Amarantha's consort under her rule, visits her in her cell and offers to heal her injuries in exchange for Feyre spending one week per month with him in the Night Court. Feyre has no choice but to agree. Rhysand makes the pact official by creating a bond between the two of them, designated by a tattoo of an eye on Feyre's left hand.

• In her final trial, the third faerie is Tamlin. Feyre believes she has to kill her beloved, only to remember discussions about him having a heart of stone. She plunges the dagger into his chest, and his stone heart allows him to survive.

• Amarantha is enraged, refuses to break the curse, and beats Feyre to death. Just before dying, Feyre speaks the word to break the curse.

• With the curse lifted, Rhysand and Tamlin regain their powers and destroy Amarantha. In gratitude for her saving their people, each of the High Lords of the seven Courts drop a glittering spark of light upon Feyre, resurrecting her and transforming her into High Fae.

A Court of Mist and Fury picks up shortly after the conclusion of these events. Feyre is back at the Spring Court, fully in love (and lust) with Tamlin. They begin planning their wedding. As Tamlin grows even more in love, he also becomes even more protective of Feyre. He refuses to allow her to leave the grounds of the Spring Court unaccompanied, and if he had his way she'd never leave the Manor. This domineering and overprotective approach grates on Feyre, and their relationship becomes strained.

Oh, and let's not forget about the deal that Feyre made with Rhysand! Despite the agreement, there's no sign of Rhysand for the first three months following their return from Under the Mountain, giving Feyre hope that perhaps he will no longer bind her to it. But then, just as Feyre is about to walk down the aisle to meet her betrothed, Rhysand winnows in and invokes the terms of the agreement, whisking her away to the Night Court for a week.

A Court of Mist and Fury carries forward from there, and on the whole I think it's a better book than its predecessor. Maas introduces to even more characters, and once again creates nuanced and interesting storylines for them. Feyre's strong-headedness can be tedious at times, and her unending vomiting—typically from guilt and grief for having killed the two faeries Under the Mountain—becomes excessive (twelve different times Feyre's vomits or threatens to, and no, it's not morning sickness). Spice level remains reasonably contained—about a 🌶️🌶️ out of 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️—and I like the direction that Maas chose to take the series.

There are some captivating plot choices that keep the story moving. Where ACOTAR was a solid 4-star read for me, this one creeps up closer to 4.5. It's a more polished book, and feels more authentic than the Beauty and the Beast rip-off that the first half of ACOTAR was. It was significantly longer, as well—200 pages longer than the first book! I liked it enough that I'll certainly keep going with the series, but not so much that I'm rushing into Book 3, A Court of Wings and Ruin, which is an even longer 700-page beast.

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Quick Facts

• Title: A Court of Mist and Fury

• Author: Sarah J. Maas

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

• Release Date: May 3, 2016

• Format: Ebook

• ISBN-13: 978-1619634473

• Pages: 641