4 Stars
Pros: Lucien is funny, in his sardonic, smarmy way but also a very likeable and complex character/Tamlin's amount of protection and gentleness, of love even, is surprising, though it all makes sense in the end/Rhysand, I'm interested to see how his character is developed as the series progresses.
Cons: At first glance I was really afraid it was going to be kind of "Stockholm Syndrome" but once the narrative got going, it wasn't that bad/ The attraction between Tamlin and Feyre was all rather convenient but, it's a fantasy novel, so I was expecting a love story/The ending, though obviously there's more to the series, was all rather convenient, but again, it's a YA novel, so I wasn't too surprised.
Full Review:
Feyre is hunting in the woods near her house. They've run out of food and she knows they'll starve if she doesn't manage to kill anything today. She spots a deer and is about to loose an arrow when a wolf appears. It's larger than any normal wolf she's ever seen, but she doesn't care about that. All she cares is about taking care of her family. So she kills the wolf, who in turn had killed the deer, skins both carcasses and brings the deer home.
After making a sizeable profit on the Deer and Wolf Pelts at the Market, Feyre returns to her two house cabin where she lives with her father and two sisters. Her father is a broken man, having lost his wife and his fortune. The debters came and knee capped him as a way of punishment. He had enough money left to flee with his remaining family and buy the cottage. And now he's lost in thought, depressed and no help at all.
Feyre's sisters are worse. Nesta is snobby, still attached to having had money while Elain is attached to Nesta at the hip. Feyre know she's the only one who will do what's necessary to make it so her family survives. She promised her mother, on her deathbed, that she would take care of them all, and now she lives by that promise.
That night though, a creature breaks into their house and demands retribution for the murder of his friend. He's a Faerie, across the wall from Prythian, demanding retribution for his friend, who was the Wolf that Feyre killed. Feyre offers herself as sacrifice, a life for a life. The creature, who she later learns is the High Lord of the Spring Court in Prythian (the land of Faerie) Tamlin, takes her back to his estate. She did it to save her family.
At first she obsessed with somehow reaching her family and making sure they're okay, but after awhile, Tamlin assures her that he's glamoured her family to believe that she's gone to live with an aging aunt and that they're now taken care of, fed, warm. And at that, she eventually realizes that she now has a life to live, that she can experience the world as she would, something she could never have done when still with her family.
And as she and Tamlin start to grow used to one another, she realizes that he's not as much of a monster as she thought. She sees some of the celebrations of the Faerie and realizes, on the celebration of the Summer Solstice, that she's happier with Tamlin than she's ever been in her whole life. It's not as much like Stockholm Syndrome as I had at first feared, which is good.
Of course, all good things must come to an end and there are darker dealings going on behind the scenes than Feyre's aware of. When Tamlin abruptly sends her home, after having a run in with the High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand, Feyre is understandably confused and, though she doesn't say it, devastated. It's only when she returns home to see that her Father, is once again, wealthy and all things are mended, that she realizes just how well Tamlin took care of everything for her. But her sister Nesta, admits that the glamour didn't work on her. That she remembered everything and though she went in search of Feyre, she couldn't find her. It's a startling revelation for Feyre, to understand that Nesta, who's always been so cold and cruel, actually went after her. And since the glamour didn't work, she tells Nesta everything, about Tamlin and her time spent at the Spring Court.
It's not until she's in the Marketplace and hears about a fire and the entire family being trapped inside, that the puzzle pieces start to click together. She realizes what's happened and she rushes home, telling Nesta that she has to go back to Prythian, that she's made a terrible mistake and that Tamlin must be in trouble. And so, she does. What ensues is dark, quite dark for a YA novel but Maas has a real knack for keeping the reader hooked and even though the ending was all rather convenient, it was a great read, right to the last page.
I enjoyed this novel far more than I thought I would, which is pleasantly surprising. I'm eager to get my hands on the next novel and see where things go from here.
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