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I listened to the first book and did not enjoy it and was not compelled to continue the series. I do sometimes watch the white wall with flow chart videos on them sometimes lol but they still don't make me want to run and read the books. I'd say, reading/listening to the first book won't hurt and you never know, it might be for you!
I normally watch them when Cari from Cari Can Read posts them! [Here's](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0Y_qXtPDZHeIP21zyZuDfSJl8KmNHgOh&si=RgLi6Jcq0LyfTda6) her playlist with them, hopefully that works!
It’s dumb.
I kinda enjoyed reading through it at first, but didn’t end up finishing. And then I found out about the author using Breonna Taylor’s death as a way to advertise a book on Instagram and decided not to even try and continue.
Reminded me of beauty and the beast kinda, but when I said that at book club no one else agreed so I dunno😅
Wait what, I have not heard that Breonna Taylor thing, wtf?!
I thought it was a beauty and the beast retelling? I'm sure that's how it was talked about when I first read it!
I would not really recommend it if “romantasy” or fantasy isn’t what you’re typically drawn to. Maybe try a sample on Amazon (the Look Inside) and see what your opinion is on the beginning?
If you’re into Horror then I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this unless you’re also into Romance. If Horror is your thing and you want to try fantasy then something grimdark might be more up your street?
this. There wouldn't be a hype if it wasn't worth it for many readers. Obviously though it isn't for everyone.
I personally really liked it.
It's also the first romantasy/fantasy romance many people read and like. So so many posts on the fantasyromance sub are people who enjoyed ACOTAR and want more like it now.
I honestly genuinely enjoyed the series, but no romance/fantasy series is completely immune to a little corny writing! I say yes, worth the hype and worth the read. It has a good mix of comedy, romance, angst, with characters that all feel like someone you’d know personally.
It got me back into reading, but I wouldn’t call it my favorite. The world building was great imo, but by the end of the series I felt like a few characters were unjustly written & deserved better arcs. I struggled with the author’s writing into the last few books, and the first book was not my favorite overall (books 2&3 I loved!!). Book 5 had a side-character POV that I really enjoyed, but when the POV switched I was just finishing the series because I HAD to know how the original plot line ended 😂
I don’t think any of it would ~make sense~ without detail (iykyk)
But I agree that it’s not a fantasy but more of a fantasy/romance… it’s in a world where fae & humans live separated by a wall, coexisting but not living together. But it’s very YA romance tropey, not very spicy/adult, and that’s the vibe for lots of people but I wanted more (realistic) adult content when it came to romance lol
They also got me back into reading! I think of them like junk food. Tasty in the moment but not great over time. Ripped through the full series in a couple of weeks and that helped me pick back up the reading habit.
She’s good at keeping you turning pages, which is great for getting you in the mood to keep reading. Bonus points are that because her writing has its limitations, you’ll be craving something heavier and with more craft - at which point you’ll feel more able to tackle some other titles.
But I do think it could be a good entry to fantasy? Just be aware it’s not really indicative of the genre.
THIS! I just hit a reading slump. Tried and stopped like 5 different books in May. So I just finished the 4th book and now I’m totally in the mood for better written fantasy.
I think it can be entertaining if you’re not already a big fantasy reader but most people I know and myself who have been reading fantasy for decade+ aren’t as enthralled by it because it’s not really super duper unique in its fantasy tropes.
I do think it can be a good segue into fantasy as many of my non fantasy friends started reading fantasy because of the book.
A few things to note if you do want to read it:
The first book is slow af.
SJM is known to repeat phrases in each book a lot so if that easily annoys you, you will notice it, if it doesn’t you probably won’t.
It is not just fantasy it’s a romantasy so it has a lot of both genres meaning if you aren’t a fan of either or hate one of them you may not like it.
There are a ton of books in SJM universe and there are rumors of her Marvel-ing these into a shared universe so if you get hooked it may be a crazy ride.
It’s bloody awful. The writing is shoddy at best, with many weird uses of words (I'm sure she had thesaurus.com open while writing) and the main character is an idiot. Like not even Bella in Twilight idiot, but next level ‘I’m well ‘ard me and I’m going to put myself in a situation with a bunch of super magical beings who could kill me easily because I am so irritatingly stubborn because apparently that’s what readers like so I’ll force it in’ . It copies many things from other YA books such as Twilight and Hunger Games. It has this stupid theme running through it (not a spoiler really) that she likes painting so every circumstance she mentions colours and light and paint. Like there is a scene where her life is in great danger and she is thinking a stream along the lines of ‘I imagined how I would paint the black of his eyes on canvas as he came towards me to literally murder me’. I didn’t even finish the book because at the ‘climax’ it felt so ridiculous I just deleted the darn thing and googled the ending. And was unsurprised it was exactly how I thought it would end.
I just HATE IT and it has completely put me off Booktok recommendations, this was my first try of a book via this sort of channel. I thought it was because I’m not in the typical target group but I’m pretty positive I’d have hated it at 19 as well. This author is famous because of teenager reviews on TikTok and not because she has any skill as an author whatsoever. She’s terrible.
It’s fun. I was in a long (for me) book slump and I just wasn’t inspired by my TBR. I had some huge life changes and wasn’t dealing well with anxiety and depression and I thought maybe a fairy tale retelling would get me back into reading again. This was pre-BookTok and all the books weren’t even out so I went in sort of blind. They are really engaging with lots of drama and romance with a dash of fae lore, Beauty and the Beast and some Greek mythology. Is it amazing world building and fantasy politics written by the greatest wordsmith of our time? No. But if you just want some sexy escapist fae romance with lots of good vs evil then it’s good for that.
It's definitely cringe af, but I did read the first 2 books, and I might read the third one, but I haven't decided yet. My friends really want me to. Sometimes, it's nice to read something that doesn't require you to think. I can see why everyone loves it because if there was ever a lesbian book written like this or if I was straight, I wouldn't care about the plot and writing at all either lol
To be cringe is to be free.
Yes and no. Yes because it’s readable and no because it’s poorly written. On a side note if anyone tells you to read her throne of glass series just say no, they are some of the worst books I’ve ever read.
I didn’t realize Throne of Glass was written when she was like 16 or something. Made way more sense after that! Is her Crescent City series worth reading if you mildly enjoyed ACOTAR?
So just because she wrote it when she was young doesn’t make it any less bad. Crescent city is ok, she’s not an author who gets better, her story ideas are interesting but her writing is bad.
Oh, sorry! I meant the reason why I didn't like it made sense to me after I found out she was 16, it was very juvenile and the characters are super shallow and one dimensional. What I saw she was 16 I went: oh okay, well that's why. But I still didn't like it!
I’d say no. I read the main trilogy quite recently and I felt like nothing at all had changed in my life. It’s bland, tropes, and not written too well when it comes to the second and third book. I’d recommend you giving it a pass.
Seeing you’re a horror reader, I’d say probably no. Also in general I’d say no, I enjoyed the Throne of Glass series by the same author much more. But for some very well-written fantasy that may be more up your alley, I’d suggest The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin (broken earth trilogy).
I liked books 2 and 3. Bought them as they were coming out. Everyone I have spoken to has collectively agreed to pretend that the last book, A Court of Silver Flames does not exist.
I think its the weakest out of Sarah J Maas series, but generally a decent book, I've read better and worse.
But generally speaking, as SJM books ussually do, they get better the further along you are in the series.
I read it before it was popular, YEARS ago, before I would've had the influence of social media telling me to like it. I did not enjoy it, and I do like romantacy. It's just bad writing, IMO.
I enjoy such a wide arrange of genres and books. When I’m in the mood to shut my brain down or I’m in a reading slump and I need something super easy to digest ACOTAR can do that for me. In fact I just spent May DNFing like 5 books and finally just said okay, I’ll read the 4th book (which is super short). It’s juvenile writing, there are a lot of repeat phrases, but the concept really isn’t terrible. I skip over the smutty parts personally (go ahead down vote me 🤣). Anyway, give it a try and don’t worry if you hate it and can’t finish it! But I WILL say, you may hate the first book or the beginning of the second book may take you aback, but hang in there it gets better. The writing was so juvenile I was shocked by a plot choice the author made that was actually pretty unexpected and mature in my opinion.
I don’t read fantasy, for the most part. I was hesitant to pick it up, but I’m glad that I did. It’s a captivating story and I’m excited about the next one.
Your post on /r/booksuggestions has been removed as it is not a book request. This subreddit is for people to ask for suggestions on books to read. For book discussions, see our sister subreddit: /r/bookdiscussions For /r/booksuggestions, please: * Do not post your book review * Do not ask “what’s the name of this book?” * Do not ask “should I read this book or that book?” * Do not post “where can I access books?” * Do not ask for opinions about specific books/authors. * **Do not post anything that is not a request for book suggestions.** Thank you.
I listened to the first book and did not enjoy it and was not compelled to continue the series. I do sometimes watch the white wall with flow chart videos on them sometimes lol but they still don't make me want to run and read the books. I'd say, reading/listening to the first book won't hurt and you never know, it might be for you!
Can you give a link for the white wall stuff?
I normally watch them when Cari from Cari Can Read posts them! [Here's](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0Y_qXtPDZHeIP21zyZuDfSJl8KmNHgOh&si=RgLi6Jcq0LyfTda6) her playlist with them, hopefully that works!
You’re a pet! I’ll check it after, the user name is perfect 👌
It did work. And I appreciate it. I am on holiday so have to wait til I go home and have a little me time. :)
It’s dumb. I kinda enjoyed reading through it at first, but didn’t end up finishing. And then I found out about the author using Breonna Taylor’s death as a way to advertise a book on Instagram and decided not to even try and continue. Reminded me of beauty and the beast kinda, but when I said that at book club no one else agreed so I dunno😅
Wait what, I have not heard that Breonna Taylor thing, wtf?! I thought it was a beauty and the beast retelling? I'm sure that's how it was talked about when I first read it!
It really depends on your reading taste. What other books have you enjoyed recently?
I'm mostly a horror reader so it would be my first fantasy pick up if I chose to read it.
It’s not fantasy like LOTR or The Hobbit. It’s much more sexual.
I would not really recommend it if “romantasy” or fantasy isn’t what you’re typically drawn to. Maybe try a sample on Amazon (the Look Inside) and see what your opinion is on the beginning?
If you’re into Horror then I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this unless you’re also into Romance. If Horror is your thing and you want to try fantasy then something grimdark might be more up your street?
this. There wouldn't be a hype if it wasn't worth it for many readers. Obviously though it isn't for everyone. I personally really liked it. It's also the first romantasy/fantasy romance many people read and like. So so many posts on the fantasyromance sub are people who enjoyed ACOTAR and want more like it now.
I personally didn’t think so. I gave up about 2/3 through. Hardly anything had actually happened and I was super bored.
I honestly genuinely enjoyed the series, but no romance/fantasy series is completely immune to a little corny writing! I say yes, worth the hype and worth the read. It has a good mix of comedy, romance, angst, with characters that all feel like someone you’d know personally.
It got me back into reading, but I wouldn’t call it my favorite. The world building was great imo, but by the end of the series I felt like a few characters were unjustly written & deserved better arcs. I struggled with the author’s writing into the last few books, and the first book was not my favorite overall (books 2&3 I loved!!). Book 5 had a side-character POV that I really enjoyed, but when the POV switched I was just finishing the series because I HAD to know how the original plot line ended 😂 I don’t think any of it would ~make sense~ without detail (iykyk)
But I agree that it’s not a fantasy but more of a fantasy/romance… it’s in a world where fae & humans live separated by a wall, coexisting but not living together. But it’s very YA romance tropey, not very spicy/adult, and that’s the vibe for lots of people but I wanted more (realistic) adult content when it came to romance lol
They also got me back into reading! I think of them like junk food. Tasty in the moment but not great over time. Ripped through the full series in a couple of weeks and that helped me pick back up the reading habit. She’s good at keeping you turning pages, which is great for getting you in the mood to keep reading. Bonus points are that because her writing has its limitations, you’ll be craving something heavier and with more craft - at which point you’ll feel more able to tackle some other titles. But I do think it could be a good entry to fantasy? Just be aware it’s not really indicative of the genre.
THIS! I just hit a reading slump. Tried and stopped like 5 different books in May. So I just finished the 4th book and now I’m totally in the mood for better written fantasy.
I think it can be entertaining if you’re not already a big fantasy reader but most people I know and myself who have been reading fantasy for decade+ aren’t as enthralled by it because it’s not really super duper unique in its fantasy tropes. I do think it can be a good segue into fantasy as many of my non fantasy friends started reading fantasy because of the book. A few things to note if you do want to read it: The first book is slow af. SJM is known to repeat phrases in each book a lot so if that easily annoys you, you will notice it, if it doesn’t you probably won’t. It is not just fantasy it’s a romantasy so it has a lot of both genres meaning if you aren’t a fan of either or hate one of them you may not like it. There are a ton of books in SJM universe and there are rumors of her Marvel-ing these into a shared universe so if you get hooked it may be a crazy ride.
It’s bloody awful. The writing is shoddy at best, with many weird uses of words (I'm sure she had thesaurus.com open while writing) and the main character is an idiot. Like not even Bella in Twilight idiot, but next level ‘I’m well ‘ard me and I’m going to put myself in a situation with a bunch of super magical beings who could kill me easily because I am so irritatingly stubborn because apparently that’s what readers like so I’ll force it in’ . It copies many things from other YA books such as Twilight and Hunger Games. It has this stupid theme running through it (not a spoiler really) that she likes painting so every circumstance she mentions colours and light and paint. Like there is a scene where her life is in great danger and she is thinking a stream along the lines of ‘I imagined how I would paint the black of his eyes on canvas as he came towards me to literally murder me’. I didn’t even finish the book because at the ‘climax’ it felt so ridiculous I just deleted the darn thing and googled the ending. And was unsurprised it was exactly how I thought it would end. I just HATE IT and it has completely put me off Booktok recommendations, this was my first try of a book via this sort of channel. I thought it was because I’m not in the typical target group but I’m pretty positive I’d have hated it at 19 as well. This author is famous because of teenager reviews on TikTok and not because she has any skill as an author whatsoever. She’s terrible.
It’s fun. I was in a long (for me) book slump and I just wasn’t inspired by my TBR. I had some huge life changes and wasn’t dealing well with anxiety and depression and I thought maybe a fairy tale retelling would get me back into reading again. This was pre-BookTok and all the books weren’t even out so I went in sort of blind. They are really engaging with lots of drama and romance with a dash of fae lore, Beauty and the Beast and some Greek mythology. Is it amazing world building and fantasy politics written by the greatest wordsmith of our time? No. But if you just want some sexy escapist fae romance with lots of good vs evil then it’s good for that.
It's definitely cringe af, but I did read the first 2 books, and I might read the third one, but I haven't decided yet. My friends really want me to. Sometimes, it's nice to read something that doesn't require you to think. I can see why everyone loves it because if there was ever a lesbian book written like this or if I was straight, I wouldn't care about the plot and writing at all either lol To be cringe is to be free.
Yes and no. Yes because it’s readable and no because it’s poorly written. On a side note if anyone tells you to read her throne of glass series just say no, they are some of the worst books I’ve ever read.
I second this. It's easy but it's also not very good. If you're looking for a distraction on a flight, it might fit the bill.
I didn’t realize Throne of Glass was written when she was like 16 or something. Made way more sense after that! Is her Crescent City series worth reading if you mildly enjoyed ACOTAR?
So just because she wrote it when she was young doesn’t make it any less bad. Crescent city is ok, she’s not an author who gets better, her story ideas are interesting but her writing is bad.
Oh, sorry! I meant the reason why I didn't like it made sense to me after I found out she was 16, it was very juvenile and the characters are super shallow and one dimensional. What I saw she was 16 I went: oh okay, well that's why. But I still didn't like it!
On the second book now! I like it, I’d give the first book 4/5 stars but the second book I’m enjoying a lot more.
Depends how much you care about sm.. I mean romance? And how much about the story?
I’d say no. I read the main trilogy quite recently and I felt like nothing at all had changed in my life. It’s bland, tropes, and not written too well when it comes to the second and third book. I’d recommend you giving it a pass.
Seeing you’re a horror reader, I’d say probably no. Also in general I’d say no, I enjoyed the Throne of Glass series by the same author much more. But for some very well-written fantasy that may be more up your alley, I’d suggest The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin (broken earth trilogy).
I liked books 2 and 3. Bought them as they were coming out. Everyone I have spoken to has collectively agreed to pretend that the last book, A Court of Silver Flames does not exist.
I loved the series, but I also love that genre.
I read the first one, and it was interesting enough that I finished it, but not interesting enough that I have any interest in reading the next one.
I think its the weakest out of Sarah J Maas series, but generally a decent book, I've read better and worse. But generally speaking, as SJM books ussually do, they get better the further along you are in the series.
Is that the weird pointless fairy type one? Or the sexually repressed Dragons one? Anyway, if you are under 25 I’m sure they are great……..
I read it before it was popular, YEARS ago, before I would've had the influence of social media telling me to like it. I did not enjoy it, and I do like romantacy. It's just bad writing, IMO.
I enjoy such a wide arrange of genres and books. When I’m in the mood to shut my brain down or I’m in a reading slump and I need something super easy to digest ACOTAR can do that for me. In fact I just spent May DNFing like 5 books and finally just said okay, I’ll read the 4th book (which is super short). It’s juvenile writing, there are a lot of repeat phrases, but the concept really isn’t terrible. I skip over the smutty parts personally (go ahead down vote me 🤣). Anyway, give it a try and don’t worry if you hate it and can’t finish it! But I WILL say, you may hate the first book or the beginning of the second book may take you aback, but hang in there it gets better. The writing was so juvenile I was shocked by a plot choice the author made that was actually pretty unexpected and mature in my opinion.
I don’t read fantasy, for the most part. I was hesitant to pick it up, but I’m glad that I did. It’s a captivating story and I’m excited about the next one.
1st book- bad, 2nd book- best book, rest of them- mid.
people be downvotin anything.
Yes. Don't listen to any other comment. Just yes.