Have you ever thought you knew everything you needed to know about something, then actually experienced it and realized you were so pathetically, incredibly wrong?  Unfortunately for Feyre, the main character of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, this situation was taken to an extreme.

Feyre, a young woman made hostile by poverty and hunger, lives close to the wall separating mortality and immortality.  With her mother gone, her father crippled, and her two older sisters still dwelling in their luxurious past, Feyre has the permanent burden of supporting her family to fulfill the vow made to her mother on her deathbed.

While out in the snowy forest hunting for food, Feyre takes a chance that plucks her from her plain, miserable life and throws her into the complete opposite.  She is forced to live in a manor inside the Spring Court, peaceful lands of the immortal realm, and she doesn’t know what to make of her new life.  “But then chirping birds flitted past me, and a mild breeze kissed my face.  I spied a hedge-bordered metal gate ahead.  My prison or my salvation--I couldn’t decide which” (Maas 46).

At the manor, she meets various types of faeries, creatures thought evil and wretched by mortals.  Unsure of herself and confused by her feelings, Feyre coats herself in hostility to keep up a protective wall against these strange creatures.  Eventually the wall dissolves until Feyre becomes more comfortable around some of the faeries, which adds to her confusion. 

She thought the ancient human stories told her everything she needed to know about the beings of immortality, but quickly realizes just how wrong she was.  In this unfamiliar world, her senses betray her and everything becomes unpredictable.  All Feyre can do is try to get back to her family and forget about the craziness of recent events.  As time goes on and her chances of returning aren’t improving, Feyre realizes her worst fears have come true: there’s no going back to her old life, her family must survive without her, and she cannot fulfill her vow to her mother.

Reading this book will help readers understand the pressure of survival in a world of constant stress.  With Feyre’s fierce heart, biting sarcasm, and keen instincts that always seem to lead the way, it will be so easy to lose yourself in her world.  She is  strong-willed with lots of character, and always does what’s right, even when that means making the most difficult and important decisions of her life.  This makes for an intriguing personality.
Everyone interested in being absorbed with the excitement of fantastic worlds and willing to use their imagination to dive into new fantasies will love this book.  Suited for most ages, particularly teens, this novel is a great option for an intense read.