A good book! It had a few slower places and it wasn't all romance, which I expected because of the Beauty and the Beast retelling part. It's a new adult story although not overtly so in this first book.
There was enough romance to keep me hooked however.
Some minor spoilers below...
Feyrah starts out the story hunting. The first chapter is told entirely in prose, which is different as there's normally speech involved as well. This helped me get an idea of the setting and of just what Feyrah was doing and feeling.
Tamlin, the main make character isn't introduced for a few chapters, which was also surprising. We got to know Feyrah's life before Tamlin before he came into the story. This was quite unique, for me at least as with most books I read both the female and male leads get either introduced together or a just few chapters apart. In ACOTAR it took me ages to get to where Tamlin entered the story. This gave Feyrah more character development but it also didn't give the characters as long to develop their relationship.
We learn that Feyrah has had a bad life up until the point in the book because she's lost so much. She was hunting to get food on her family's table because they couldn't afford it. Tamlin enters the story to get redemption from Feyrah for doing something forbidden in his lands. Tamlin is a faerie and is considered high fae we later learn.
Tamlin takes Feyrah away from all she has known to his lands in the Spring Court where all the faeries where masks as they can't be without them. There she learns to stick up for herself among the faeries. She also falls in love with her captor. This isn't Stockholm syndrome however as Tamlin does save her a few times from evil creatures within the forest. On a faerie celebration night that Feyrah is forbidden to go to she meets a stranger who is later revealed to have a pivotal role in the plot. This character comes to the Spring Court and although Tamlin tries to hide Feyrah he's not able to.
Tamlin and the this other character have a fight as Feyrah shouldn't be among fae or on their lands. Tamlin thought he could protect Feyrah from everything within his realm but he realises that he can't. This series is New Adult as I said above so the characters show what they feel towards each other at this point. I found this bittersweet as I knew the characters would be separated for a while after this part.
The next day Tamlin sends Feyrah away even though he doesn't want to. Before she leaves he tells her that he loves her. She doesn't say it back because she doesn't really understand why she's being forced to leave.
Back in the human lands, south of the faerie border Feyrah is sent to her family who have been looked after by Tamlin's money while she's been away. They've moved from their hovel of a home into a mansion. Feyrah doesn't really like this change at first. Feyrah misses Tamlin and life in the faerie realm. Her sister, Nesta (who she doesn't really get on with at the beginning of the book) sends her back to Tamlin as she can see that her heart isn't fully with her family. Part of it remains with Tamlin.
When she gets back to the Faerie realm, Feyrah is shocked not to find a faerie in the Spring Court. She finds the building where she was staying all in shreds as if a fight or struggle has happened. Then she does find her faerie servant (the one who was helping her wash and dress while she was there). She reveals the reason why Feyrah was really taken against her will, at first to the spring court.
Feyrah then travels to a new setting where a lot of events occur. At this new setting Feyrah faces an evil force who put the faeries in the situation their in with the masks. She must succeed in 3 different tasks to get out with her lover (Tamlin) and the rest of the court. Does she succeed or does she fail?
I don't want to spoil anything more so I won't write what happens but I really enjoyed this book. It took me a little while to get through because I was busy doing things other than reading :O but I didn't want it to end, truthfully. I loved the relationship that developed between Feyrah and Tamlin the most. I can't wait to see how this continues in the next books in the trilogy...I therefore give this book 4 stars as it had lots of good things. I just wish that there was more of a relationship between the 2 lead characters.
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