When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down! – Goodreads
Well, I’m in a book hangover right now. You know, the kind where you’re so upset that you turned the last page that you can’t bear to start another right away? One of those.
I’ll be honest, I was a little annoyed with the book in the beginning. I thought that Feyre was overly stubborn and kind of an idiot (seriously, who the hell insults a murderous Fey? Do you have a death wish?). Though her survival instincts and resilience was strong when she had to take care of her family, it’s like it all disappeared when it was only her.
However, once I got over that, I fell in love.
First, the worldbuilding is great. It was so easy to picture the beauty and the terrible creatures that lurked there. The story is very Beauty and the Beast meets the dark faeries, which I surprisingly enjoyed (I am not a huge fan of faerie-lore). Except instead a library he gave her a room of paintings. She even wears a gold gown to dinner one time. Also they dance at a festival (which, in my head, was to the tune of “Tale As Old As Time”).
One gripe is the concept of the blight: I literally had no clue WTF that even was for the entire book. I kind of knew it was a curse, I knew it was bad…but it never really explained WHAT it was and how it could take shape.
The character development was fantastic, and I loved all of the characters by the end, the good and the evil. Though Feyre annoyed me at first, she grew on me, and I really liked her by the end. I think I also have a fictional crush on Tamlin. Lucien was like the sassy faerie version of Ron Weasley…but mostly I just pictured that because he’s a redhead.
I REALLY loved the romance in this book. Sure, it was a little Stockholm Syndrome-y/instalovey, but it worked. Totally worked. This book is definitely intended for older audiences—maybe fifteen and up? There are some pretty steamy scenes that don’t leave too much to the imagination. There aren’t any throbbing rods or glowing flowers or anything, but there’s no secret that they’re doing it.
Overall, loved the shit out of this book and highly recommend it. I rated it a 5/5 and added it to my favorites list. I think I like it better than the Throne of Glass series!
lifebetweenreads.com 