Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses

Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Mass
Bloomsbury, 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I just finished reading two of Sarah J. Maas's books.  I have been meaning to give them a try and finally did.  My dad gave me the entire set of Throne of Glass to put in my classroom after he read them. It's been waiting for me to read it and determine its appropriateness--I have determined it is not so appropriate for a 6th grade audience.  Although it's the first in a series, I'm not really interested in reading more about Celaena.  I had an okay time reading the story, but there were lots of lagging moments for me and I only managed to get through it because we were on a long car ride over Thanksgiving.  The mystery wasn't really so mysterious and because I was aware that there are multiple books in the series, it was easy to surmise that she made it through the trials to become the King's Assassin.  So I won't be reading any more of the series and will most likely donate them to our public library.  I really have little interest in finding out about the love triangle that has formed between Celaena, Dorian, and Chaol.

A Court of Thorns and Roses 
Sarah J. Maas
Bloomsbury, 2015
Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Now, I've been interested in reading A Court of Thorns and Roses because I was really interested in how Sarah J. Maas formed this story as a Beauty and The Beast story.

The story was interesting and I wanted to see how things played out.  The Evil Fairie Queen was an good twist to the story.  However, I wasn't a fan of her relationship with Tamlin because I don't trust it.  Even now, after finishing it, I don't trust it (maybe there will be reason in the next book, but I'm not going there).  Tamlin is controlling and I did not like the scene that took place the night of the The Great Rite.  The violence that made to seem sensual and enticing made me not only distrust Tamlin for the rest of the book, but also question Feyre's feelings for him.  How manipulated has she become.

Then when they go Under the Mountain and she becomes Rhysand's toy, it was nauseating.  I finished it.  But I won't be reading on.  I hate triangles and the next book will become this struggle that Feyre must choose between two men and one is "good" and the other is "bad" and what can she do?