Tumgik
#anti a court of thorns and roses
aquafaith · 2 years
Photo
Tumblr media
Hold me back hold me back I’m about to go on my ACOMAF rant and I won’t be able to stop, I’ve held back for so long and it’s so pent up I can’t deal with unhinged Rhysand stans anymore help help I’m getting my soapbox out help help help
3K notes · View notes
theboarsbride · 1 year
Text
A Court of Thorns and Roses (Rant) Review.
Tumblr media
Rating: 2⭐⭐/5 stars
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Length: 420 pages
Review: Soooo……..needless to say I really did not enjoy this book (nor did I ever really anticipate such because this was a hate-read and I cannot stand SJM as both an author and a person lmao). This is going to be a long rant review, and I know a lot of what I'll bring up has been brought up previously in other reviews, but I will still try to provide new insight nonetheless! This review will come in segments, and can be accessed beneath the cut.
ALSO!! There will be spoilers throughout this review. Don't read any further if you don't wish to be spoiled!
AND ALSO! This is merely my opinion. If you enjoy this series, AWESOME! I'm glad for you, this just isn't for me, and I, in good faith, cannot give this book a good review.
⚠️AND NOW CONTENT WARNINGS⚠️ There will be mentions of sexual assault and overall abusive and possessive behavior. I will mark parts of the review that mention these themes with an asterisks (*) so that you may avoid that content if you're not up for reading about it.
NOW ONTO THE REVIEW!!
1. What I liked - While this was still a hate-read I don't want to be a total downer and I wanted to find something about SJM's writing that I enjoyed. Granted there wasn't a lot, but they were still there!
- To start, I feel like SJM can write really interesting and tense action scenes. The opening scene with the killing of the wolf, the naga chase scene (which, like… why are we getting naga in this very clearly English/Celtic folklore-inspired world, and to never have similar creatures featured again?), the trials Under the Mountain, etc. Just, overall, the third act taking place Under the Mountain was so fun!! Like, it wasn't great and still riddled with SJM's writing and other uhhhh questionable stuff (we'll get there), but overall I enjoyed it so much more than the previous two-thirds of the book!
- There were also some romantic moments that I thought were really sweet, and I wish we saw more of that! I wish we saw more of Feyre and Tamlin’s relationship blossom more!
Now onto stuff I didn't like…..(there's a lot)
1. The Writing and Characters - I can't stand SJM's writing style. The obvious annoyance is her overuse of em dashes, and also ellipses. Both of these were so incredibly unnecessary in her work, and only distracted me, and slowed my reading.
- And also she reuses the same sentence structure, and it annoyed me once I noticed it (ex.- i was going to the bathroom, which was white and clean and shining. Then, I went to school, a place that was dull and bland and boring.) 
- Like jfc. I wholeheartedly believe the conspiracy that no one actually edits SJM's book because good LORD.
- I refuse to believe that SJM knows, or would even care to know, how to write believable poor people. I refuse to believe that Feyre’s family has been destitute for nearly a decade - because they sure as hell don’t come across like it. Feyre’s sisters, Elaine and Nesta, act so dainty and bitchy about work and survival despite living this way for ALMOST 10 YEARS. Their mentalities, how they react to being poor, how they treat their belongings, how they treat and handle their food, how they handle their money, etc. doesn’t line up for me. I just don’t buy it.
- Also in relation to this point: Feyre is weirdly quick to let Tamlin’s servants wait on her hand and foot. Her psychology, how she thinks, and engages with Tamlin’s manor around her doesn’t fit with someone who’s spent eight years living in violent poverty and starving.
- A bit of a nitpick but, it bothers me that SJM writes Feyre as a painter yet I, for the life of me, couldn't tell you what her style is, how her artwork looks, or even what ANY piece of art looks like in this world. Feyre talks about her artistic eye and all that, but to me that description means nothing. Being a painter and liking art does nothing for Feyre's character, it's such a useless detail when it could be something that adds depth to her character and shows the reader how she views art, how she views the world, etc. This just shows me that SJM did nothing to research art, styles, and mediums, nor does she actually care about her character writing enough to utilize art as a way to elevate Feyre as a character.
- The pacing is so boring. It’s just painfully slow and stuff that could be exciting is skimmed over and never elaborated on, and all that really happens for the first two-thirds of the book is just Feyre vibing (and being passive aggressive towards) Tamlin and Lucien.
2. This is a fairytale retelling? - This book has EVERYTHING I absolutely loathe about modern day fairytale retellings - more specifically retellings of Beauty and the Beast.
- It fails as a retelling, in general, because it completely misses the point of the fairytaleS (there are multiple going on in ACOTAR) and ends up being a shallow husk of these classic tales.
- ACOTAR markets itself as a retelling of several fairytales: Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun, West of the Moon (a Norwegian variant of BatB featuring a 'beast' that is a polar bear by day and a handsome prince by night), Eros & Psyche (a Greek myth that's widely accepted as one of the original versions of the 'monster bride-groom' narrative framework), and the Ballad of Tam-Lin (a Scottish folktale that features a man cursed by a queen of faeries). And yet I feel like it fails all of these stories, primarily Beauty and the Beast. BatB is a story about kindness and love, and loving someone for who they are as opposed to what they look like, and ACOTAR embodies the very thing I hate about modern retellings of this story: a ‘beast’ that is outwardly handsome and the only ‘beastly’ thing about him is being hypermasculine, aggressive, toxic, and cruel while offering little opportunities of redemption. Except, Tamlin isn’t necessarily all of those things. Conventionally hot and hypermasculine, yes, but he’s been nothing but gracious and nice to Feyre. And WHY is he named ‘Tamlin’, obviously being named after the titular Tam-Lin from Scottish folklore, and SJM does nothing to give this story a ‘Scottish flair’? Which brings me to my next point:
3. Worldbuilding - There is nothing about this world that convinces me that this is unique. It does nothing to differentiate itself from other fantasy worlds, or even our modern world! You can tell that there are medieval and Rococo/Georgian Europe influences, but that’s only in fashion and aesthetics. But the faeries?
- To me, they’re nothing more than conventionally attractive people with pointy ears and MAYBE magic. Tolkien elves, pretty much! Like, deadass, I pictured Tamlin looking like Legolas but jacked as fuck (AND WHY COULDN’T WE GET MORE OF TAMLIN’S BEAST FORM!?!?!?!? UUGHH!!!! BIG SAD!!). There were so few, like… FAERIE faeries, and whenever there were any the only indicators SJM would offer are differing skin tones, sharp teeth, claws, wings, etc. They just felt so uninspired and lazy (teetering between underdeveloped spectral entities or LOTR elves) … why write about faeries if you’re not going to put in the effort to flesh them out as FAERIES? I once saw someone say that what SJM is doing to faeries is what Stephanie Meyer did to vampires and honestly??? I agree.
- I will forever be bitter that SJM decided to write about faeries and did NOTHING new with fae lore.
- *I know this gets explained a little more in the second book (which… I will get to that when I write my ACOMAF review because i’ve thoughts) but what exactly is this world’s religious system? Because you never get a good feel for it. I say this because several times Lucien mentions ‘Hell’, as in capital ‘h’ Hell - Christian Hell. Why would he say this when humans are agnostic/athiest with a sparse numbr of fae-worshiping cults (and were once implied to have had a polytheistic religion that differs from our world’s Christianity) and fae worship the Cauldron and other faerie deities so like.....why would SJM not use a few extra braincells to create her own version of Hell rather than using lazy cultural shorthand that, by the logic of this book's world, doesn't work???? And this is a recurring theme in ACOTAR: lazy, underdeveloped, under explained world-building.
- *This might just be me but I hate the fated mates trope in this series. It just seems like a way to sexualize domestic abuse, and it doesn’t allow me to enjoy seeing a budding relationship to develop if we’re told that these two characters are SUPPOSED to be together and are MEANT to be in love and have sex!! (also a me thing: the way SJM sexualizes stuff is a personal ick… her ships are built more upon sex and sexual attraction rather than romantic feelings, which just isn’t for me and makes me struggle to believe people to actually be in love despite how much the author tries to convince me of such). Also the violent gender essentialism and heteronormativity :( ….it only gets worse in the second book.
- Why must we refer to everyone as male and female??? I would give this a pass if the faeries were more faerie and less human but… these fae are just humans with pointy ears, so I am deeply uncomfortable by the constant use of ‘male’ and ‘female.’ (I’m convinced that SJM is into omegaverse erotica, and I’d honestly have more respect for her if she just wrote straight-up, shameless omegaverse erotica rather than trying to write a vaguely developed fantasy story that fails to deliver on the epic plot it’s trying to sell to me.)
4. Feyre - She is a dumb protagonist (and I blame the author). She is dumb and deserves death - and you can tell that this is a plot-convenience brand of stupidity, unfortunately. Like the instance with the Puca. She suddenly sees her crippled father on Tamlin's land in Prythian in the middle of the night??? Given the wary hostility and aggression and distrust she's been displaying towards everyone and everything so far in Prythian, why isn't she doing the same in this instance???? She's said herself she is wary of faerie tricks, and acknowledged that not even whole, able-bodied humans are able to survive in Prythian without the help of a faerie, so why would she think her disabled father, who is helpless in the mortal realm, be any different??? And why would she care that her father has come for her??? Did she not wish that her family starves without her, so that they realize she's important to them and she holds them in such an embittered contempt?????
- Tamlin and Feyre have no chemistry. It just feels like I should be shipping them because this is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and all that, but I just don't. SJM is relying heavily on a fairytale framework while also doing nothing to even try to convince me that these two characters are meant to be together. Their relationship is so dry and it feels like the attraction comes from nowhere, and only starting with physical attraction - which, to me, goes against the message of BATB, of loving someone for who they are rather than what they look like. The two of them, respectively, have more chemistry with Lucien than each other. Hell, why not make them a throuple???🤨 now THAT I'd ship because all three have banter, and any interaction with Lucien is so much fun to read.
- Also……how the fuck did Feyre not figure out Amarantha’s riddle?
5. *Rhysand - Yes. He gets his own section because I HATE him - and I HATE that he is destined to be the endgame love interest. He is a character we’re meant to root redemption for but I fucking refuse. And this is why.
- Rhysand has the perfect set up to be a scary asf villain, not a love interest. We will talk more about Rhysand and why he and Feyre are a ship I refuse to get behind, but that will be reserved for future updates. 
- For now: Rhys is great for a scary villain! He is night incarnate, he has snark, he has an imposing presence, and he can invade the minds of others......and he invades Feyre's mind, which she described as being immensely uncomfortable and painful, and she is afraid. Mind you, he does this without her consent. Keep in mind that everything he does beyond this point is without her consent and he is doing it as himself and for his own gain, not the influence of love pollen or magic. He is doing it while totally aware and sober. That's why he is a horrible person and a creep.
- He does many things without Feyre’s consent. He tortures, assaults, drugs, and harms her all without consent without anything else compelling his will other than himself.
- He forces her into a deal in which she is to spend one week a month in the Night Court with him, and he does this by twisting and pulling her broken arm when she refuses. He drugs and assaults her by making her drink faerie wine (which she refuses to drink as she was warned against doing so), dresses her scantily clad AGAINST HER WILL, covers her in paint so he knows where people all touch her AGAINST HER WILL, and makes her perform lap dances until she gets sick and then makes her all do it again AGAINST HER WILL. After catching her and Tamlin stealing a moment, he pushes her against a wall and kisses her WITH TONGUE to make it seem like he was the one that muddied the paint on her body rather than Tamlin. All of this he’s done AGAINST HER WILL.
- Have I mentioned how he does this against her will yet??? Did I emphasize enough that Rhysand does all this to Feyre without her consent???
- Rhysand is an evil creep that I refuse to redeem. What he did for Feyre Under the Mountain is awful and not at all deserving of redemption. And I don’t care if he says ‘I did this to help defeat Amarantha and save my court’ or ‘I did it to make Tamlin more mad and to kill Amrantha instantly’ or ‘I did it for your own good.’ I don’t fucking care, those are the excuses of an abuser. He didn’t need to literally torture and assault her.
- Also, on that note: why does he do this for the sake of making Tamlin more mad? Like??? Tamlin saw his court be cursed, he was sexually harassed by Amarantha ever since he was a child, and he witnessed Amarantha torture a woman he loves. Why would he need anything more to make him kill Amarantha faster? This argument fails to work for me. Fuck you, Rhysand, I hate you.
6. *Calanmai - This gets its own section because it’s just… so messy, and I wish to blame SJM for it’s messiness because the characters are all victims to her insensitive, careless writing.
- This is a very weird scenario??? Because, let's be frank, Tamlin assaulted Feyre and Feyre is a victim... HOWEVER. on multiple occasions she is told by FAERIES THAT HAVE EONS OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THIS WORLD, THEIR CULTURES, CUSTOMS, AND ACCOMPONYING DANGERS to stay in her room and that this is not safe for humans, especially her once the Great Rite occurs because Tamlin will be drawn to her. But she goes against these warnings, going to the festival and leaving her room before dawn. 
- HOW DUMB ARE YOU FEYRE??!?!?!?!?! WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID???!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!??!?! JUST UUGGHHH!!!!!!!! 
- And then there's Tamlin. With how the Great Rite is explained, it's like he is possessed by some springtime magic so that he is a vehicle for said magic? So the scene where he pins Feyre and bites her is almost set up like he both is and isn't possessed? It's more like he's drunk off of love pollen?? I don't know, but to me I think that both are and are not at fault - they are because Feyre didn't listen to SEVERAL warnings in a situation that is obviously unsafe for her and Tamlin could've prepared better by explaining things to her and setting up safeguards, and they aren't because Feyre is a victim and Tamlin is being possessed by a power that's greater him (which is kind of implied to be something he really doesn't want to do). Again, this is a very weird and highly uncomfortable situation - both are victims to SJM’s writing.
- Ultimately, the situation of Calanmai is poorly written and handled on SJM's behalf. It feels like her trying to eroticize a moment of assault, which in of itself is gross (bear in mind that this was initially published as a YA novel - and I initially read it as a YA novel in middle school), and to introduce Rhysand, the second half of this love triangle, which there are so many other ways this could've been done. And the fact that the assault is brushed off and treated like a friendly joke without having actual discussion about it makes it worse. - This is arguably the most 'fae' thing in this book so far? Like it feels so fae because of connections to celebrating springtime and fertility, and drinking and festivals, but at the same time this just feels like an oversexualization of traditional pagan beliefs by being a massive orgy?
- Just. Ew. Sarah J Mass, you’re gross for writing a moment like this and not being responsible enough to execute this concept with more nuance.
7. The Ending - This is really brief, but boooooo to Feyre being resurrected with all the powers of all the High Lords. :(
- (Also I know that Rhysand hints at him and Feyre being mates and uugghhh kill me now)
So these are my main thoughts regarding ACOTAR… It’s a fantasy romance that should be advertised more for it’s romance than fantasy elements as the fantasy-action takes a major backseat and acts more as a subplot to the main romance. It’s a fantasy world that is underdeveloped and is full to the brim of underutilized lore. It butchers existing faerie lore, and leaves much to be desired. Characters are unlikeable and stupid, and the only thing that got me through this book was Lucien.
SJM I do not like you, and I cannot wait to return to write about my hate for ACOMAF.
105 notes · View notes
moonssalad · 8 months
Text
I cant wait for the day when people will realise how toxic almost all of the men written by SJM are.
40 notes · View notes
anti-sjmessy · 1 year
Note
hey sis i am an anit sj/m and i saw this tik tok on booktok that said "women that can take over the world" and there was aelin and prehaps most sjm white female characters were there; just want to ask as an anti if you agree that they can take over the world alone because i kinda do and its making me feel guilty because their feminism is the amount of superpowers they have :(
I mean, isn’t Aelin like a whole colonizer? Like she did say something that was colonizer in KoA? Based on the superpowers, yeah, I think so. Then again, they’re attributed to practical gods with how much power they hold, which is unrealistic and provides for an imbalance.
However, literally none of Maas’s female characters have any training whatsoever in governing human beings when they take up their duties as people in positions of power. Considering Aelin is a white woman, we can more than likely assume her feminism is not intersectional.
White women in positions of power almost always do nothing for women of color.
Edit: I had this in my drafts forever and forgot to post. Hope I let you in on my thoughts, and as always if you wanna share your thoughts, please do! Thank you for the ask! ❤️😇
48 notes · View notes
Note
oh damn. well save yourself a mediocre story with stupid horrible characters and dont read acotar. i wish someone had told me that so im telling you now. cannot ever get the hours back.
You know what's amazing? Is that everyone who has brought up A Court of Thorns and Roses to me says this exact thing.
I just picture a throng of wretched looking people outside my window crying, "Don't make my mistakes!"
32 notes · View notes
yaralulu · 8 days
Text
Cassian calling eris a coward two minutes after finding out beron tortures him was kind of an insane take i’m not gonna lie.Not only did he find out beron tortures his sons but that eris was willing to get tortured to keep the night court’s secrets and cassian still had the nerve to call him a coward for wearing a mask to protect himself and his court.Sounds familiar cassian 🤨???
“Cassian didn't need to be a courtier to know his next words would slice deep, but it would be a necessary wound” yeah i’m not sure that’s really necessary considering he just got tortured by his DAD so maybe shut the hell up.I hope eris is even meaner to cassian next time he sees him just to really get him doubting if it’s really just a mask 🤗.
472 notes · View notes
kataraavatara · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
dare I dip my toes into acotar fandom discourse….
942 notes · View notes
Text
Feyre: if you take me from my mate, I’ll destroy your court and everything you hold dear
Tamlin: takes Feyre from her mate
Feyre: destroys his court and everything he holds dear
Tamlin:
Tumblr media
418 notes · View notes
theoriginalsuki · 2 years
Text
Out of curiosity I cracked open A Court of Thorns and Roses to see what the fuss is about and I'm in chapter 8 and don't get it? The world building is really watered down and the sisters are caricatures, especially Nesta, she's like a comic book villain, and Elain is the flower child. It's very clearly Disney's Beauty and the Beast. There are glimmers of a good story here and there. I guess I'll keep reading. I'm a contrarian, I don't mean to dismiss anyone's beloved fandom, I just need to write to understand what I'm reading.
0 notes
Text
The fact that Feyre finds it so absolutely abhorrent that Tamlin would tax citizens of the Spring Court who can’t afford it but sees no issue with Rhys legitimately leaving 90% of his court to rot under oppressive regimes because “change is slow” is absolutely fucking wild.
425 notes · View notes
lunamond · 2 months
Text
He had me dance until I was sick, and once I was done retching, told me to begin dancing again.
A Court of Thorns and Roses, Chapter 39
Tumblr media
Based on this post by @decadentpostnacho
485 notes · View notes
whitedemon-ladydeath · 2 months
Text
"rhys is finally in a time of peace and is happy with a healthy mate and son. of course hed rip into Nesta. Shes lucky he didnt do worse"
and. who do you think gave him that.
WHO do you think gave you that healthy mate and son, Rhysand? Mr. Let's Steal the Book Entrusted to the Summer Court. Mr. Let me just Routinely bypass Boundaries and Taunt High Lords due to a Personal Vendetta. Mr. Let me make a Death Pact with my Wife and potentially Leave my Court with no Ruler and make my child an Orphan. Mr. Let Me make a dangerous Deal with a Death God
The Dread Trove answers to Nesta. She is not one of Rhysands little special bootlickers like the rest of them. she made a calculated risk to help someone in dire need
Feyre would have done the same thing and you fucking know it
440 notes · View notes
theboarsbride · 1 year
Text
Feeling feelings rn so uhhhhhhhhh lots of swearing and negativity but I need to scream into the void.
Idk if I can handle finishing my gate read of ACOMAF... literally Rhysand is making me so uncomfortable and upset like B R UH???? Sarah J Mess stop trying to make this guy into some tragic antihero we're meant to redeem, this dude fucking assaulted and tortured Feyre and yet we're meant to think his "I dont want you to see me as a monster...you're the first person to look at me like I'm not a monster" cry baby speeches as something that makes him worthy of redemption?? Miss ma'am I think the fuck not, get this dude fucking out of here. This dude is a fucking piece of shit groomer and abuser, don't pull the "I did it for your own good" bullshit because that's a fucking shitty ass excuse stfu.
Thousands of year old geezer literally grooming a freshly-turned 20 (T W E N TY!!!!!!!!!!) year old woman who is in a VERY vulnerable place in her life, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Just. Why. Fucking why. Why are you taking advantage of her like this?
AND HOW IS TAMLIN THE BAD GUY HERE?!?!?!?!?!?!? Like he isn't great in this book (bear in mind that the author consciously retconned and assassinated his character from the previous book to make the literal abuser the more viable love interest) but B R UH?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! COMPARED TO RHYSAND?!??!?! WHY DO WE HATE TAMLIN WHEN WHAT RHYSAND DOES TO FEYRE IS SO, SO MUCH WORSE AND MUCH MORE CRUEL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? EVERYTHING TAMLIN DID TO FEYRE HE DID TO KEEP HER SAFE FROM VERY OBVIOUSLY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS, WHAT RHYS DOES TO FEYRE HE DOES FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL GAIN. FUCK THIS SHIT.
I am legit disgusted with this series - hate reading it isn't even fun. I am deeply uncomfortable. Fuck this.
Fuck you Rhysand.
121 notes · View notes
anti-sjmessy · 1 year
Note
My friend is all about Feysand and I casually like try and lead her to be better written books. She is trying to get me back to the ACOTAR but I rather read stories not shitty fae p*rn
Bro fr. Like Idgaf if you write smut and that’s the majority of the book—to each their motherfucking own, but don’t try and portray it as some turn of the century feminist thing. Write your p*rn script but dawg it’s genuinely not feminist and #WomenCanDoAnything—she did the bare minimum.
Imo, It’s a middle aged white woman writing about how she learned how to bounce on her man’s dick different and had a nut but that’s just my opinion
Anyways, be a slut. Do whatever the fuck you want. Love the ask, highly recommend Sharp Objects if you need any suggestions because I just finished it
xoxo, Rio
21 notes · View notes
arson-09 · 2 months
Text
Nesta and Tamlin being like the only reasonable characters in acotar yet also the most hated is so funny. They have the most nuance and in my humble opinion actual character yet they are heavily boiled down to being… mean. like thats all they get.
They dont fall for the night courts bullshit and get fucking crucified by the majority fandom for it. They have negative emotions that effect Feyfey and rice and tamlin and nesta are EVIL for it. Im sorry to break it to all yall feysanders but the whole world doesnt revolve around those mfs and character (and real people) are allowed to dislike and not agree with them💀💀 especially when they are FUCKING HYPOCRITES AND SUCK🗣️🗣️
312 notes · View notes
yaralulu · 2 months
Text
Amren to a very depressed nesta “You have become a pathetic waste of life.”
Rhys to a very depressed tamlin “"I hope you live the rest of your miserable life alone here.”
what the fuck is up the IC’s ass that they feel this need to be awful to very depressed people who are literally hanging on by a thread.
523 notes · View notes