Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy via Amazon
Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.
As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places.
In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.
It honestly pains me to type up what I'm feeling right now and quite honestly, it's disappointment. Let me just point out that I adored the first two books, would even go as far to say it was one of my favourite series, so I was beyond excited to discover what was in store for Feyre next. By the end, I wished I'd never found out and just left the series after book two.
I mean, it wasn't terrible; Sarah J Maas' writing is simply stunning and there were some parts that I really did enjoy, so let's start there. It started exactly where it left off. The members of the Night Court finding each other and Feyre in the Spring Court "willingly", trying to prove her undying love and loyalty to Tamlin. Definitely not a ploy to try and discover what Tamlin's plans for war are...
We all know she's still in love with the High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand (more about him later) and Rhys is determined to get his mate back. War is looming and we see so much more of the other Courts in this book, which I absolutely loved. Sarah J Maas' vivid descriptions almost make you feel as though you're there. Everything is building to the final battle and the tension is built in a dramatic, believable way.
The characters? Now, I loved some of the characters and their development. Feyre has grown so much since the first book and she is a serious bad-ass now, so why is she so co-dependent on Rhysand? And why is he the same with her? They are some of the strongest characters I've ever come across but I honestly feel like their relationship was overwritten about so much, it made them weaker. And the sex scenes every few pages? Way too much. I remember the sex scenes in previous books and they felt real and genuine, but now they just felt awkward and overused.
Characters I did like? Lucien. Oh Lucien, I am so invested in you. He overtook Rhysand as my favourite character because we find out so much more about him and his character development is just perfect. The Bone Carver - not much more to say than he is an absolute gem of a character and brings so much humour and sarcasm to the book.
The battle. The ending. I was so excited for the battle scene and I got to page 600 (bear in mind, the books only 700) and it still hadn't started! It felt so rushed for me and like her publisher had told her she had to hurry to meet her deadline so she just tried to make all ends meet AND describe an entire battle in less than 100 pages, it just didn't work. There was way too much, "oh this person's dead, oh no they're not. Oh this person's bad, oh no they're not" and it ended far too happily considering they'd all just battled in this almighty war.
To finish, I honestly had just envisioned so much more from this book. I love the world, I love the characters, I love the style of writing; I just felt like it could have been so much better than what it was. It breaks my heart even typing that.
PS. Tamlin, I love you.
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