A Court of Thorns and Roses
About A Court of Thorns and Roses
Lose yourself in a world so sumptuous that you may never return home ... The tantalising start to a seductive fantasy series from global #1 bestselling author Sarah J. Maas for fans of E. L. James and Deborah Harkness
What readers say
A fairy-tale retelling that readers say starts slowly, setting up the world of Prythian through a Beauty and the Beast-style romance, then turns darker and much more intense in its second half with a deadly series of trials. Fans like Feyre as an active, scrappy heroine and the mystery threaded through the plot. Critics call the first half thin and derivative and the villain one-dimensional, and many readers say book 2 is where the series really takes off.
Best for: Readers starting the series who are willing to trust that it gets better.
Summary of public reader reviews, updated October 2026.
