“Be glad of your human heart, Feyre.”

I decided I would reread the series from the start before moving on to the newly released A Court Of Silver Flames even though it was just last year that I had entered the world of Prythian for the first time.

This my favourite series of all time, yes even more than Harry Potter and after my reread I realized I love it even more than I did the first time. The best part about rereading stories is that you are able to catch things that you didn't catch before. I read the series so quickly the first time that I didn't actually take the time to fully digest and enjoy it to its full potential. This time I did.

From here on out there will be spoilers- you've been warned...

When you first start reading A Court Of Thorns and Roses it appears to be a twist on the classic Beauty and the Beast story line. Girl becomes prisoner, girl falls in love with their captor, guys sends girl away, she returns and they live happily ever after. No one is shocked when Tamlin and Feyre finally kiss and confess their feelings towards one another. They might be shocked by the spicy additions making this not a fairytale made for your typical younger readers but to me it was a welcome addition. I personally enjoy novels with a bit of spice but I don't want the entire book to be about sex and Sarah does a great job finding the balance between hot and steamy and having an actual plot with character development.

The best part of this book for me comes at the end when she enters the mountain and is then put into 3 different trials in hopes of freeing her "true love" along with everyone else. The entire kingdom's fate is in the hands of a human girl. No pressure. I love that she didn't have any magical powers to save her. She used her human abilities to survive each trial (and a bit of help from Rhysand). The worm trial was absolutely amazing to read. She was so clever, if you didn't like her before you did after that! She had real human struggles during the trials and imprisonment and I'm glad this wasn't glossed over or made out to be better than it was. It was hard and raw and real.

Feyre is a hero, She is a character that girls can look up to not because she was able to love a beast but because she is badass. Even before coming into Prythian she was out there hunting to feed her family. She stepped up when no one else would. She entered that mountain knowing she would likely die and went in anyways with her head held high. In the end, she survived! She used her clever thinking, her determination, her intelligence and her passion to survive. Feyre was a damsel, she was in distress but no man came and rescued her in the end. She rescued herself and everyone else.

This is obviously a rave review but I will point out there are some serious cringe issues most of which involve sexual violence and harassment. For example, Calanmai made me a little sick to my stomach. When Tamlin finds Feyre in the hall, drunk on power, he corners her against the wall and bites her neck leaving a bruise. Thank god she slapped him because this was not ok and I was genuinely concerned this was going to turn into a full blown sexual encounter. I'm not sure I would have finished the book if she hadn't stood up for herself. Nothing about that scene is consensual, in fact Feyre explicitly asks him to let go and he doesn't! In the end he jerks away from her and says "Don't ever disobey me again" which just makes this scene even worse. Can you imagine if this happened to you at a party? 100% you would feel violated and harassed. Being drunk on anything does not give any man (or faerie) the right to treat a women like this.

Looking at this book and only this book, another problematic situation was when Rhysand has Feyre forced into a transparent gown and then parades her in front of everyone for the entire court to see and then drugs her with faerie wine so that she has no memory of the night before. When she wakes up she can tell that Rhysand did not violate her beyond her hips that that still doesn't make it ok. That would have made it 100 times worse but doesn't excuse these actions. In human terms, a guy roofed a girl and had her strip in front of everyone but he didn't rape her so it's fine. Uh no, that's still super not ok.

I think this is my least favourite of the series but it's incredibly easy to read. I love every single character in this book which I think is rare and hard to find. I love that it transports you into a different world. I loved hearing about the different courts and the unique creatures throughout the lands. There is a little bit of spice but it isn't overwhelming and adds to the story instead of distracting from it. There is strong character development and a badass heroine. Next up, A Court OF Mist And Fury...