A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Summary:
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 of the Court of Thorns and Roses series by #1 New York Times bestselling author 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:
This third book in one of my favorite series with some of my favorite characters starts off with a scene from Rhysand’s past. A scene from the war five hundred years ago that has him looking for Cassian’s body, looking for him whether he’s dead or alive. I feel like this scene was a good way of showing what the impending war is going to make you feel and also a way to further show how much Rhys cares about his loved ones.
I really liked this book because we got to see deeper into the characters. Like Lucian, we get to see Lucian and Feyre’s relationship change, partially because he’s not sure if she’s acting and partially because his mate is her sister who is somewhere in the Night Court and he can’t do anything about it. A decent amount of this book is spent with Feyre playing Tamlin in the Spring Court. She’s pretending that her bond has been broken by the crazy king and that she was tricked when in reality she’s the Night Court’s mole and is getting all the information and causing as much trouble as she can. I absolutely loved Feyre playing spy. She was conniving and devious and everything you would imagine a High Lady of the Night Court to be. It was so satisfying to see her play Tamlin the way she did because he deserved that and more for the drama he put her through and the awful things he did to try to get her back.
As for Lucien, I’m glad he left the Spring Court with Feyre. He’s so worried about obeying orders and pleasing Tamlin it’s almost annoying. So it’s nice to be able to get to know him more outside of the Spring Court and Tam’s influence. I genuinely laughed so much at Lucien interacting with the squad and him seeing how well Feyre fits in with them. It was super funny to see him so out of his element.
In their journey back to the Night court we get to see bits of the Autumn Court. I really enjoyed getting to see more of this fictional world because it’s all just so beautiful, and in Autumn Court’s case it’s viciously beautiful much like those who rule it. Seeing more of Prythian was probably my favorite part of this book. We get to visit the Summer Court again, while not for the best reasons but it’s probably my favorite with the gorgeous water and summer theme (summer is my favorite season in everyday life). We also get to visit the Dawn Court when all the courts come together for a meeting. The Dawn Court sounds incredible. Sarah J. Maas did an amazing job with the settings in this series. This is a world that I would without a doubt love to visit, outside of the crazy time of conflict of course.
Sticking with the subject of characters, once Feyre made it back to the Night Court with Lucien we got to see her training with Cassian and learning to fly with Azriel and Armen training Nesta and all of them trying to help Elaine. I just love these people so much. They all function so well together knowing when they can push one another and knowing when to back off. They have so much fun together and so much love for each other. They’re a family I wouldn’t mind being a part of.
Let’s talk about the sisters. We get to see Feyre and her sisters interact in a totally different way in this book. Nesta and Elaine have become a part of her world again when they were ‘made’ by the cauldron. Elaine seems to be in the same place mentally that Feyre was when she survived under the mountain whereas Nesta seems to just want to argue about anything she can. Nesta is (and always has been) insanely protective of Elaine, but it’s increased tenfold now. It’s very clear that these sisters love one another, but aren’t sure how to express that, especially now that Elaine is little more than a shell of herself, but they make it work the best they can. I really enjoyed watching the sisters develop together in their the new dynamic of their relationship, but also watching them develop further as individuals. As the book progresses Elaine comes out of her shell with a little help from everyone and does her best to accept her new life. Nesta does the same, she sees how selfless and dedicated Feyre is and makes the right choice to train with Armen and do what she can to help turn the tide for the war in their favor.
So when it comes to the war actually happening it was super interesting to see all of the High Lords come together and share their expertise and decide what to do and when. It was an interesting dynamic between characters especially because nothing seemed to go in their favor. They faced obstacle after obstacle, coming up with plan A through Z for their next move. There were some surprising allies that appeared, allies that we thought were enemies. Feyre wasn’t the only one that was good at playing a part. At one point, all of the players had pretty much accepted that they were going to lose and everyone was going to die and that’s the moment that the tide turned. It was such an incredible moment when the allies they didn’t know were coming showed up and hope was renewed that the courts had a fighting chance.
The one thing I have to say that may be a slight spoiler is about the father of Nesta, Elaine and Feyre. Their dad comes in at the last moment with three ships filled with allies and reinforcements that all had lost hope of arriving. The ships were named ‘The Nesta, The Elaine and The Feyre.” He did this for his daughters because he wanted to show them he could be the father that they always wanted and deserved. This had even the cold Nesta in awe. This was just such a heartwarming moment that I had to mention it.
A Court of Wings and Ruin was ended fabulously. There was no bullshit ‘happily ever after’ moment. The story ended with the family together and struggling together and on their own to be okay with everything that had happened. It wasn’t the corny feel good ending, but it was an ending that left me happy because good had triumphed over evil. The war was over and now it was time to heal and rebuild. It was the right ending for this story.
As I’ve said in my reviews of the first two books in the series, go to the story, buy these books and read them as fast as you can. This is one of my favorite series because they’re amazing. There are just so many fabulous quotes and feel good moments that can be taken and applied to real life. These are the kind of books that tell a story, but also tell you to be a good person, but defend what you love. It’s a great story that gives some strong messages about life. So buy it, read it and love it forever like I do.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

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