A Court of Wings and Ruin is the third book in a fantasy fiction series by Sarah J. Maas. I’ve already reviewed the first two, A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury. This one had its strengths and its weaknesses but I’ll get into more of that below after the synopsis. This review will have spoilers.

Synopsis

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s manoeuvrings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit – and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords – and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

My Thoughts

I have some very mixed thoughts about this beast of a book. Let’s start with what I loved:

• I didn’t like Feyre at all in ACOTAR and I started to like her a bit more in ACOMAF but in this book she really shines. She finally develops into a strong, fully developed character. I think that Maas did a great job “showing” Feyre’s growth.
• Rhysand is still perfect and wonderful. I think it would be a bit more realistic for him to have some flaws but I still love him *shrugs*.
• I know this is an unpopular opinion in the Maas fan world, but I can’t help but like Tamlin. I’m glad that in this book we learn he’s not just some evil monster. He has some issues that need to be worked on but I like that he’s a flawed and more realistic character.
• I’m a sucker for happy endings, so of course, I liked the way this ended for the most part. I do feel there’s a lot of unanswered questions that I hope get answered in later books; questions such as: Does Lucien and Elain become a couple? Does Lucien ever find out who is real father is? Does Nesta and Cassian become a couple? Does Azriel ever find love? Does Mor ever tell Azriel the truth? I’m sure there’s more I’m just not thinking of but I’m going to be highly annoyed if I never find out these things, lol.

Now for what I didn’t like:

• ACOWAR was a lot slower paced than ACOMAF was and it was a lot more focused on the war/politics than on character development. I get those things were important to the storyline but I was bored at times.
• As much as I loved the happy ending, I feel that it was kind of a cop out. I’m glad that Rhysand didn’t actually die but I feel like Amren, or one of the other main characters, should have. It was supposed to be a war to end all wars and all of our beloved main characters came out totally unscathed.
• Nesta drives me insane. I am unable to like or really care about her.
• I feel that the King of Hybern was killed far too easily.
• If I ever have to read the word “mate” again I’m going to throw myself off a cliff. Like I said in my ACOMAF review, Maas will BEAT A WORD TO DEATH.  Her editor needs to step it up.

I’m really excited to read the fourth book, A Court of Frost and Starlight. Hopefully, it will answer at least some of these questions. I liked A Court of Wings and Ruin but as of right now, I think A Court of Mist and Fury is my favorite… but that might change later on. Overall, I’m still loving this series and think it’s worth reading for those in the New Adult genre age group that like fantasy. If you’ve read this book what are your thoughts? Thanks for reading and have a great day!