A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1)

 

Summary (from the publisher): Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jeweled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

Review: Set in a fantastical world of faeries and magic, Feyre is a mere mortal, struggling to survive after the loss of her family's fortune. When she kills a wolf, she must pay a steep prize and is sentenced to live in a magical kingdom. Her masked captor is hiding many secrets and over time Feyre realizes more and more about what a dangerous place she now lives in and also that she is developing feelings for her captor. Now, she must fight an ancient curse or risk losing him forever. 

As others have also compared, this novel is very much Beauty and the Beast fan fiction meets Hunger Games. The whole storyline of a poor village girl forced to live in a magical castle with a mythical, cursed beast was replicated. Like the Beast, Tamlin is running out of time to end his curse and must rely on Feyre's love to save him. But unlike Belle, Feyre is a skilled hunter and there are significantly more ominous and dangerous creatures in the woods beyond wolves. 

There are a lot of fantastical plot devices used in this book that honestly make no sense but were still immensely entertaining. Tamlin is relatively lacking in depth, but I was rooting for his release from the curse and for Feyre and Tamlin to get together from the beginning. Although Maas didn't spend much time in the world building here, which is significantly lacking in details and full explanations, I was intrigued and curious to see where the storyline will go in subsequent books. 

Stars: 3