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A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3) by Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #3
Published by Bloomsbury Childrens Books on May 2, 2017
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 699
Goodreads

Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling 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 earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.

Review is spoiler free, all spoilers are tagged and hidden.

“When you erupt, girl, make sure it is felt across worlds.”

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas was easily one of my most anticipated novels of 2017, which was probably the reason I felt so disappointed by the events that occurred. A Court of Mist and Fury was, without a doubt, one of my favorite novels of all time, it was what propelled the series into Throne of Glass territory. To me, it seemed that Maas knew exactly what I would love in a story and would bundle it up with beautiful words and deliver it. In A Court of Wings and Ruin there was a disconnect, I felt unsatisfied by everything that transpired—underwhelmed where I should have been an emotional wreck.

The beginning was great, Feyre was a little cunning genius and her scheming had me shook. Then it just went downhill from there. The bright moments were those with Feyre and Rhys (although I felt the novel was lacking even in that) and the whole family, as well as the world building expansion.

The “great final battle” was again, bland. It had so much potential and failed to live up to my expectations that had been building for 600 pages. View Spoiler »Feyre could have made an epic stand with these so called powers I was dying to see at their full extent. It didn’t happen. Instead we see Elain uneventfully kill the King, which I found a bit crazy to believe. However, something that did have me incredibly emotional was when Rhys died. That was intense. Can we also talk about the fact that Rhys and Feyre had no epic final scene? Nothing before the war and the one in the end was lame. « Hide Spoiler

But, I feel like Maas sacrificed the possibility of a great series conclusion in favor of laying the foundation for unnecessary sequels. There were loose ends that gave the impression that they were left like that on purpose, and the novel would have been so much better if those subplots had been developed—given closure. Don’t get me wrong, I will definitely be reading any and all novellas/spinoffs/sequeals (which I imagine must be the point).View Spoiler »Nessa and Cassian’s relationship had so much potential, but it was incredibly drawn out on purpose and I have no doubt one of the books is going to belong to them (not that I’m complaining) Same for Lucien and Elain (who I hardcore ship with Az, my poor baby). Miryam and Drakon’s story was hinted at as well. Mor’s plot was a mess, ugh. She and Az had so much potential and I feel like the bombshell about her sexuality came out of nowhere. There is also the whole thing with Tamlin, although I despise his actions (he was such a dipshit at that meeting omg), I really wanted Feyre and him to obtain some sort of peace. I loved Amren and Varian and I ship it with my entire existence. « Hide Spoiler

Also, something else I would like to mention is the diversity of the characters in the novel. It is no secret that Maas is not know for the most diverse cast, a fact that appeared to have been attempted to be resolved in this installment. Although, I recognize that this novel featured more inclusive characters, it felt a little forced. View Spoiler »MOR MOR MOR MOR « Hide Spoiler

Overall, although it breaks my heart to say this A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas was a disappointing conclusion to what had the potential to be an incredible series.