Every so often in young adult fiction, an author comes along and creates an absolute frenzy. If any of you were present for the John Green years, you know exactly what I'm talking about. And while we haven't yet gotten to that level of crazy, there is a valiant lady of literature that has been turning readers into madmen over her two bestselling series. Yes, I'm talking about Sarah J. Maas.
She doesn't just have one notable series that has readers flipping tables over, oh no, she's got two. "Throne of Glass" and "A Court of Thorns and Roses" have been getting so much hype lately. And it's easy to understand why. Her writing is a YA lit fanatic's dream. 700-page books, action for days, slow-burn romances, badass female characters up the yang, her books have it all. And sure there are haters, but what well-known series doesn't have those?
At this point, she's got about eight books out, with the ninth set to release in late June, which is pretty incredible considering she just released the last one a few weeks ago. And boy, was it a big one. "A Court of Wings and Ruin" is the third and final book in the "A Court of Thorns and Roses" trilogy. And people were losing it in anticipation. Tumblr, Instagram, Youtube, you name it, fangirls were ready and waiting for this book to hit the shelves.
And thankfully, it really didn't disappoint. This trilogy had a clear storytelling arch that Maas had set from the start. The first is Feyre (our amazing main character's) journey. It was all about her, setting up the stage for what she would become, falling in love with one guy (and then realizing he's a loser), falling in hatred with another (and then realizing he's the bomb.com), and eventually becoming a super-mega-ultra-lightning magical fae badass.
The second was a character-driven love fest, in which we met the gang (who's amazing and I love all of them), deciding we shipped everybody, and finally losing our minds when Feysand figured their shit out (Thanks, Suriel, way to be a bro).
But this third book was all about the action, which makes sense, you know, 'cause they're in a WAR. We meet some new players, continue waiting impatiently for Nessian to become a real thing, and hope Elian (i.e. Little Baby Snowflake) is alright. There were a few moments where I almost threw the book across the room, but for the sake of those who haven't read it yet, I won't include any spoilers.
Overall, it was a great way to end a series while still making her fans excited for more. Luckily, Maas has that same fanfiction streak in her that many of her readers do, so we can look forward to seeing more books from this world, through the eyes and stories of different characters. Personally, I want a whole Nessian spin-off series, but I'll settle for literally anything from this author. There's definitely more to come from her, and I can't wait to see where her series take us next.
