A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns And Roses #1)
Sarah J Maas
YA - Fantasy
416 Pages
A Court of Thorns and Roses was recommended to me by my aunt, and I am so glad that I picked it up. Feyre and Tamlin are so perfect together, Lucien is a witty, sarcastic, know it all who really does care about Feyre's well being. I don't know what else to say about this book than ALL THE FEELS. I felt every emotion while reading this book, I felt like one with the characters. I felt what Feyre felt, I even cried a couple of times. Sarah J Maas is a wonderful author, and I'm looking forward to starting Throne of Glass.
Feyre is the middle child who, after her mother passes, is the caretaker of the family. She cooks, cleans, hunts, and provides. Once, they were nobility, living in a fancy house, wearing fancy clothes and being waited on hand and foot. When Feyre's father invests all of the family's money into some ships to be sent across the ocean and bring back more riches and jewels, the ships are never found, causing the debt collectors to collect their payment in another way. In way of broken bones and taking everything they own. The family looses their rank, Feyre's father's leg is completely shattered, and they're now outcasts.
The first page of the book takes place while Feyre is hunting. She finds a doe eating quietly and goes to shoot it when she sees a large wolf pursuing it as well. Now, in this world, animals are not always animals. Sometimes, the High Faeries are shifted into the shape of an animal such as a wolf. Feyre takes her chances and shoots the wolf, seeing as it will provide a pelt worth enough to give her family some extra money for the month. The wolf doesn't revert back into a faerie, so she shoots the doe and skins the wolf selling the pelt the next day at the market.
That night, a beast with the mane of a lion burst's through the door at Feyre's home demanding to know who shot and sold the pelt of one of his court. He gives Feyre the choice to die or to return to Prythian with him and live out her life comfortably as a member of the Spring Court. Tamlin wipes the family's minds so that they think Feyre is away taking care of a dying aunt.
Upon arrival to the Spring Court in Prythian, Feyre is very reserved. She doesn't talk, doesn't associate and barely eats. In the end, hunger wins out when presented with a multi course meal that she hasn't had since her family was nobility. She stays in the manor and after a while, lives happily. Painting, learning to read and write, and of course falling in love with Tamlin.
Tamlin tells Feyre about later on is about the "sickness" plaguing the lands of Prythian. All of the faeries in the land have lost most of their powers, and in Tamlin's court, the people are stuck with masquerade masks after the "plague" hit. The plague spoken of is not a sickness, but a dampening of magic abilities due to a curse by Amarantha, a woman who tricked the High Fae of the lands into giving her all the powers.
Fast forward to after Feyre and Tamlin fall in love and realize it for themselves, Tamlin sends Feyre away just as things are getting worse in Prythian. She doesn't know why, and refuses at first, but has no choice after all. She is sent back home to her family, who has been completely taken care of by Tamlin, and spends three months there before deciding she doesn't care if Tamlin wants her there, she's going to go back and help. When she returns, she is met with a destroyed, abandoned house. She is told by a servant who came back to forage that she was the solution to the whole situation. Tamlin had to have a human who hated faeries fall in love with him for the curse to be broken, Instead, now she has to trek to Under the Mountain where Amarantha now rules all of Prythian with Tamlin as her (Unwilling) partner, and go through three trials or solve Amarantha's riddle.
I of course solved the riddle as soon as I read it.
“There are those who seek me a lifetime but never we meet,
And those I kiss but who trample me beneath ungrateful feet.
At times I seem to favor the clever and the fair,
But I bless all those who are brave enough to dare.
By large, my ministrations are soft-handed and sweet,
But scorned, I become a difficult beast to defeat.
For though each of my strikes lands a powerful blow,
When I kill, I do it slow... ”
In the end, she completes the tasks, nearly dying multiple times in the process, but of course, Amarantha never meant to let her and Tamlin leave together alive. After Feyre completes the trials and Amarantha refuses to let them leave immediately, Tamlin, fully restored to his full magical powers, kills Amarantha.... after she kills Feyre.
For saving the population of Prythian, the seven high lords of the land, breathe life back into Feyre and she becomes a High Lady.
This book is definitely a read it now, in my opinion. Grab the book from somewhere, from someone, and divulge yourself in the world of Prythian.
A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)
Sarah J Maas
YA - Fantasy
640 Pages
So we left
A Court of Thorns and Roses with Feyre returning to the Spring Court with Tamlin, Having just saved the entire country of Prythian and hopelessly in love. I am happy to say in
A Court of Mist and Fury, she dumped his butt and found someone who actually cared for her, treats her like a person rather than a prisoner, and doesn't just "love" her because she is now the most powerful person in all the lands.
Upon returning to the Spring Court, Tamlin and Feyre become engaged and Ianthe, a high priestess and Tamlin's good friend, moves in to help with wedding planning and to keep Feyre company. Feyre isn't allowed to leave the grounds, or go anywhere without an escort. She is so depressed that she won't paint, she hardly eats, and she sleeps about 80% of the time. This is all understandable for someone who just risked their life to save the one she loves, was used as a showpiece, almost died from an infection, actually dies when Amarantha snaps her neck, is reborn holding a piece of all 7 high lords' powers, and is now the most powerful person in Prythian. If she wasn't depressed, at least a little, that would be an issue. Point to Sarah J. Maas for keeping things real!
In the first book, Feyre strikes a deal with Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court, to keep her alive. She only has to spend a week with him every month. But he hasn't shown up yet. Come her wedding day, Feyre is freaking out, begging (internally) for someone to save her as she's walking down the isle toward Tamlin. Okay... Back up. Remember that tattoo that showed up when she made the deal with Rhysand? Well she has a mental bond with him now. He can hear all of her thoughts, when he chooses or when she is basically shouting in her head, including her pleas to save her from this marriage. Of course, heroic Rhys shows up and calls in the first week of his bargain. Tamlin is mad. So, so mad. I mean, honestly, who wouldn't be. A gorgeous, more powerful, High Lord whisks away his bride-to-be and takes her to his court.
DRAMA.
The first few times Rhysand calls in his part of the bargain, he's just housing Feyre. She can come and go as she pleases, she eats (thankfully) and drinks, teaching her to use her mental guard and he starts helping her learn to read and write. What she doesn't know is that there's a reason he's teaching her this.
Time goes by and one day, Tamlin buys Feyre a new paint set... but she doesn't take it because she's so scared and depressed she isn't painting. He gets furious and destroys the room they're in and from there, it's all just downhill. Feyre decides one day that she's officially tired of sitting around with Ianthe discussing "girly" things and wearing dresses, so she demands Tamlin let her go with him on his rounds... and he locks her in the house, just like when Amarantha locked her in the dungeon, she was officially a prisoner. Her powers from the Night Court come out in full force, she engulfs herself in darkness, scaring the crap out of the servants, and is rescued by Mor, Rhysand's cousin. Feyre comes to in the Night Court and from there, she doesn't plan to go back to Tamlin.
Feyre becomes one of the people of the Night Court. She befriends Mor, Az, Amren, and Cassian and is (mostly) at peace... Until she learns exactly why Rhys was teaching her to read and write. Being the most powerful person in Prythian, she can save (again) the country from Hybern, the wicked king who sent Amarantha over to scope things out. Hybern is waging war on Prythian and is already trying to snatch Feyre for his own. Feyre just has to find the Cauldron and say the spell from the Book of Breathings that Amren had translated.
The whole situation is a mess. Feyre has monsters tracking her, Tamlin looking for her, she's learning what powers she has and how to properly use them and then, Rhys throws a curveball. They're mates. And he knew the entire time. Feyre of course throws a fit, "Why didn't you tell me?" "I never would have went back with Tamlin" ...blah, blah, blah. Honestly, he had a good reason. With Rhys being the most powerful Lord in Prythian and now Feyre being the most powerful person period in Prythian, their children would be hunted their entire lives. No one would ever be safe.
When Feyre finally gets off her high horse after having some meditative painting time, they fully embrace their relationship and apparently sneak off and get married and their whole "mind-connection" thing solidifies forever and they're equals. Which turned out to be a good thing because when they "snuck" into Hybern's castle to perform the spell on the Cauldron, they were caught and guess who was there to take back his "beloved?" Yep, Tamlin. Filthy, filthy, horrible man. Tamlin brought in Nesta and Elain, Feyre's sisters, who were the test subjects for the human queens to see if they could really be turned fae and live immortally. Well, guess who now has two fae sisters?
Of course, Feyre is putting on a show and acts like she snapped out of a trance so that she could help Rhys on the inside of the Spring Court. Tamlin believes the whole facade and he babies Feyre and tells her how everything will be okay and everything will be better now. That's about where it left off, I'm eagerly awaiting A Court of Wings and Ruin in May!
Oh yeah, Elain and Lucien are mates.
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3)
Sarah J Maas
YA - Fantasy
I also worked on my Color Affection by Veera Valimaki some while I read when the Serenity was at the short row sections. I've only put in a few rows since the rows are so long now. but I did decide that rather than doubling sections 2 and 3 and having to bind off a gazillion stitches, I'm just going to do 1 1/2 times sections 2 and 3 and bind off half a gazillion stitches. In the photo, I am on the last stripe and I will start the short rows eventually.
And the Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder in Knit Picks Stroll Handpainted "Gemstone" are coming along slowly but surely. I'm still getting the hand of Two-at-a-time socks so it's slow going.
I realized last week that the Cozy Neighborhood that I started last summer for Grace's Christmas gift, Was too small. Barely, but enough that it wouldn't be flattering. I (again) was trying to alter the pattern fit because apparently I have little faith in designers actually knowing what their doing. (So NOT TRUE! I absolutely know that designers are the experts.) At first I did the extra-small size for the whole sweater (as much as I had knit anyway.) and this second time around I had done the medium for the shoulders and the extra small for the rest. I currently have a whole sweater body minus the bottom shaping, and of course, as fate would have it, I need to rip it out. I will be knitting the medium size the whole way this time. I will not alter it in any way, and I will put all of my trust into Joji Locatelli.
So last year, something called Bullet Journaling really took hold and has flourished more than I think anyone imagined. I didn't pick up the hobby until August, but I have been loving it. At first I was very basic, just check/shade boxes and I only kept track of my knitting, reading, and stash. 
This year, I added in a savings jar for SSK 2018 (Super Summer Knit-together hosted by Leslie and Laura of the KnitGirllls.) A habit tracker, which I'm hoping will help me stay on top of things and focused, and I upped my reading section to an adorable bookshelf page. I'll write in a book title on the spine of a book for each one I finish. I also decided to be a bit more descriptive when it comes to my projects. I may even omit the check/shade box section all together. I've even got a graph for the TV shows I actually watch, which is only 5 but I only have 3 graphs so far. 
