Reader Rayna

Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #3
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publish Date: May 2, 2017
Genre: Adult Romantasy Fantasy Romance
Pages: 699
Format: Hardcover

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s actions and learn what she can about the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit. One slip could bring doom not only for Feyre, but for everything-and everyone-she holds dear.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre endeavors to take her place amongst the High Fae of the land, balancing her struggle to master her powers-both magical and political-and her love for her court and family. Amidst these struggles, Feyre and Rhysand must decide whom to trust amongst the cunning and lethal High Lords, and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the fate of Feyre’s world is at stake as armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy it.

As this is a sequel, there may be spoilers!

Finally, after eight years, I have finished this trilogy. And not for lack of wanting to, mind you. I had a lot going on when this came out and picked it up only to put it down and not pick it up again until last year, 2025, when I picked it up and stopped again, wanting to read something else. And now I finished it in two days because I just didn’t want to stop.

The story picks up right where we left off in ACOMAF, the characters needing to figure out how to defeat Hybern and the scale in which his threat is to be taken. They come up with a plan to keep Tamlin at bay while also trying to figure out ways that they can have a one up in the impending war to come, and though they have to double cross some allies to get there, they do eventually find some means of doing so.

There were many dips and lulls, the ever growing threat of war on the horizon, but there was time in which many meetings could be had, betrayals could happen, and mysteries could unearth themselves. I felt like some of it brought the pace down a little, but not enough that I didn’t want to keep going.

The characters here were many, including the High Lords from the other courts, which was interesting to see. It was fun to see the different dynamics and characteristics and personalities each one had, making each one feel distinct. Each High Lord felt like they had those titles for a reason: powerful, strong, and they knew it. I think that they added a bit of extra dimension to the plot, allowing the world to expand even more as Feyre and the others dealt with plan after plan going either not how they planned, or in a surprising way.

We got to see more of Feyre’s sisters, too: Nesta and Elain. I loved seeing how each sister dealt with different situations and how they would react accordingly. It felt more organic, as though you were in the room with them.

Friendships were tested in this book, as well, between the main core of the Court of Dreams. Small and big things pushed everyone to limits they probably weren’t expecting to reach, but they also all resolved them like adults, which was good to see, honestly. Not every book does that, and even if it’s on the sidelines it’s mentioned somewhere that a talk had to have happened for a relationship to have been smoothed over and back to how it was before the friendship was tested.

There were so many reveals, especially toward the end, and as we got closer to the end and the stakes were raised higher and higher, I felt myself getting more and more emotional. I couldn’t stop reading, needing to know what happened next, and as a result I cried multiple times throughout the end of the book, which shocked me! I wasn’t expecting to cry! Some parts hit me hard or touched my heart that I couldn’t help but release the emotion. I think being able to weave that type of emotion into a story definitely felt like a payoff.

Now, could I guess at some things and be frustrated the characters couldn’t figure it out quicker? Yes, of course, just like the riddle in the first book being incredibly obvious, some things in ACOWAR were also very obvious. Was I also surprised by other things? Yes, very much so. One thing, in particular, I didn’t figure out until I was literally turning the page before it was revealed because I remembered something from the previous book. I love when authors are able to weave in things like that for the readers to find; little snippets and pieces that we can detect over time.

Overall, this book was very action packed and had a lot of reflective moments as well. I was hooked when I picked it back up, and I’m so glad I finally finished it. I’ll definitely be rereading the series again in the future, but now I still have a novella and a whole other book in this world to read! I definitely recommend this original trilogy if you’re looking for a fantasy romance with action, adventure, lots of romance, high stakes, funny moments, emotional moments, and characters you can’t help but adore (at least I do!).