ACOMAF Review

    Amarantha is dead, and Feyre has the same powers as High Fae. Still with a human heart, the cost of Feyre's victory torments her. Her bargain with Rhysand has also now begun. Her path turns towards one of passion, political games, and something even more wicked than Amarantha. Feyre is once more the answer to stopping the evil from consuming the world. In order for her to triumph, though, she will have to learn to control her new powers, fix her broken parts, and decide who to trust. Her future has two paths- she has to decide which she will take.

    Keep in mind that everyone has their own opinion. This review is only my opinion, and you may have your own, different one. I would take into consideration what I say, but do not make a decision about the book solely based off of this review. Let's begin:

    Sometimes there are warnings about violence or sex before the start of a movie or T.V. show. There are also warnings for rides at theme parks. These can be very helpful in deciding if you can handle what comes after the warning screen disappears.

                    WARNING: This book will cause major mood swings. Read at your own risk.

That is the warning that needs to go on the very first page of this book. I mean, the range of emotions I experienced while reading this was extreme. There were times where I was smiling, laughing, and giddy. There were times when I was mad, concerned, and scared. Then there was the extreme of actually tearing up and ready to just cry for the characters and what they were forced to go through. It takes a very special book and author to make me experience such a wide variety of emotions while reading. Let's just say that I probably would have been entertaining to watch during the read because I not only felt the emotions, but expressed them (Sorry to my friend who facetimed me while I was reading, haha).

    After I finished the first book and posted about it on my bookstagram (the_ya_book_talk), I got a few comments that told me I would love the second book even more. On one hand, these comments made me even more excited to start reading, On the other hand, I kind of doubted them because I just kept thinking there was no way they can get better- the first was already perfect. To all those who commented, you did not know about my doubts, but I am going to apologize for them anyway. You guys were 100% right.

    There are quite a few new characters, and all of them are complete badasses. The characters that we already knew were like that continued to prove it (*cough* Feyre *cough*). For a couple of the older characters, my feelings changed to a more negative view, but the author does this on purpose and obviously does a good job because it worked. They become characters you love to hate. There was one that did the exact opposite. Regardless of whether I like the character's personality or not, all are well written and the character development is fantastic. All are very interesting and keep the story lively by doing the unexpected (the betrayals and plot twists, especially at the end, are proof). Oh, and Rhysand has my whole heart, bad side and all.

    The world grew a bit more. Readers get introduced to one place, in particular, that I love. I thought the world-building was great. I could easily picture where the characters were at at all times. This, in part, is due to the author's lovely writing style, which is easy to follow and beautiful at the same time.

    The plot itself was spectacular. I absolutely love where Sarah J. Maas took the story and how everything is playing out. There was never a dull moment. Additionally, you get so much more out of the plot than just fantasy. There is romance, action, fantasy, betrayals, and more.

    Like I said in my review for the first book, this one more than pushes the boundary for YA. I would not recommend it to anyone who is in the lower half of the target age range for YA books or younger. This is for more than just the violence. Romance plays a major role throughout the book, and there are a couple of intimate scenes, the more extreme of which occurs in chapter 55. These parts are about more than the actual acts that take place, though. They all have a deeper meaning. Chapter 55, for example, is quite beautiful when you look at the deeper ideas, and the other scene drops pretty great hints about one of the characters and their hidden qualities.

    The cover, map, and entire interior of the book are gorgeous! I really appreciated the map because it was useful to look back on at time while reading. I appreciate the cover and interior designs just because they are so nice to look at, and the outer designs make my bookshelf look so much prettier, haha.

    Overall, I would not hesitate even a millisecond to recommend this book to YA readers and adults alike. It is absolutely captivating and (time for a cheesy joke) if you searched up perfect, this book would come up. I adore Sarah J. Mass and am amazed at the skill that she has. Similar to ACOTAR, this book soared to the top of my favorites list.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury

# of Pages: 624 (626 with acknowledgments)

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Fae, Romance

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses (book 2)