Spoiler-free blog for book 3, but contains spoilers for books 1 and 2.
Click here for book 1 and book 2.
I apologize in advance – but I am not ashamed to say it. I liked this book least of the whole series.
Let’s get into it.
What’s book 3 about?
Feyre has returned to the Spring Court and begun her scheming. She has two goals: uncover Tamlin’s plan, then take him down. Set against the backdrop of war, this book is the darkest of the series as Feyre must decide who to trust and where to go.
Why didn’t I like it?
It’s…complicated. While I absolutely loved A Court of Mist and Fury, this one fell flat in a lot of ways for me.
The first act was the best, then the second quarter or so had some good moments, but the last half really struggled to hook me. It took me about a month to get through; it just didn’t compel me to pick it back up every time I put it down, and I skimmed through big chunks just to finish it.
One issue is that the pacing felt off—we dwelled on a lot of scenes that felt like filler, or scenes I found boring, but didn’t spend enough time (or any time) on the truly important things.
I’ve mentioned my issues with the writing in my previous two reviews for this series. But this time, these issues seemed to really stick out. Let’s break it down:
- Lots of repetitive words or phrases
- There were intentional stylistic choices that annoyed me – there were SO MANY questions that didn’t end in question marks
- I understand this was probably to convey the flatness of the question, but it was done so many times by so many characters that it lost its effectiveness
- The last half featured a lot of fragments and single-sentence paragraphs
- Like the last bullet, I understand why, but it was too frequent to be effective
I felt I should’ve been more compelled by the scenes of war, but I wasn’t. The second half, where most of those scenes were, seemed to do more telling than showing. I just wasn’t invested.
I would’ve liked more character growth (which is what really hooked me in the last book), and the things that were meant to show growth didn’t have the impact.
Without spoiling it, I will just say the ending was more annoying than compelling.
Should you read it?
Probably. If you’ve come this far in the series, you should finish it out – especially if your goal is to get to A Court of Silver Flames, which I do recommend because I loved that one.
I’m also just one person; a lot of other people did enjoy ACOWAR, and you might, too.
Check out my other reviews in this series:
- Book 1: A Court of Thorns and Roses
- Book 2: A Court of Mist and Fury
- Book 4: A Court of Silver Flames
Other Sarah J. Maas:
6 responses to “A Court of Wings and Ruin (Book 3): The worst of ACOTAR”
I have come this far, I’m definitely invested. Starting today because I just want to stay in that world!!!
I think you’ll like it! A lot of people have told me it’s their favorite of the series. I can just be an extra critical reader 🙂 But you’ll probably enjoy it
Hiya, I’m not enjoying it as well, I’m half way through the book and I’m not sure if I should even finish it. Is it worth finishing or even reading the last two books after this one?
That’s tough to say. I didn’t enjoy ACOWAR overall, but I will say the ending is crazy. After that one, I skipped the novella and went straight to ACOSF, which I really enjoyed. However, ACOSF is character-driven and mostly about Nesta and her personal journey to recovery — I loved that, and really enjoyed it. BUT it’s suuuuuper spicy haha, and these slower-paced ones aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. So, up to you! Have you read the Throne of Glass series?
I agree with every aspect you mentioned. I was afraid it was only me but it’s painful to get through.
Yes, my least favorite of SJM’s! I skipped the novella after this and went straight to ACOSF, which I did like.