A Court of Mist and Fury: Summary / Recap (ACOMAF)

 

I have made no secret of the fact that I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I can remember how a book made me feel, how I felt about it and what I rated it. I fail miserably at remembering anything more then the most basic details about a book unless I've read it more than once. I have started doing updates as I read over on Instagram and this really helps me: check those out here. 

I did a complete chapter by chapter series recap for the Throne of Glass books so that with each new release I could just go read through it without having to reread all the other books again. It was super useful and you can check it out here. Be warned: I wrote these with myself in mind so do throw in comments here and there and some thoughts I have. 

I am now going to do the same for the ACOTAR series as I wait for the next book, and will continue to do it with each new book released. I hope you find this useful, I will be summing up every single chapter and including all details that are mentioned. FYI: I also have a habit of saying man/woman rather than male/female for the fae sometimes and this also may have some spelling mistakes as I typed it up quite quickly.

Crescent City recaps:

House of Earth and Blood

House of Sky and Breath

House of Flame and Shadow

ACOTAR recaps:

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Wings and Ruin

A Court of Frost and Starlight

A Court of Silver Flames

Throne of Glass recaps:

Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight

Heir of Fire
Queen of Shadows
Empire of Storms
Tower of Dawn
Kingdom of Ash

A Court of Mist and Fury

Prologue

Feyre is having repeated nightmares about the fae she killed Under the Mountain. In one nightmare she stabs one fae who turns out to be Feyre herself.

Part One: The House of Beasts

Chapter 1: Feyre wakes up from a nightmare and runs to the bathroom to vomit. It has been three months since they left Under the Mountain (UTM). Feyre it still trying to adjust to her new immortal body. She is struggling to believe it is real that she has escaped, part of her worries she will wake up to find herself back in her cell UTM. Feyre hasn't heard from Rhys once in that time, hasn't tried to come get her as part of their bargain.

Tamlin never wakes up or comes to check on her when she wakes up from her nightmares and is vomiting. She thinks sometimes that he does wake up but pretends to sleep. She notes Tamlin also has nightmares too but he also doesn't talk to her about them. Sometimes he awakes from a nightmare, shapeshifts into his beast form and will guard the room.

Chapter 2: Lucien and Tamlin go out a lot to hunt down Amarantha's creatures that are still around and on their land. Feyre wants to get out of the manor and go to visit the local fae village that is trying to rebuild. Tamlin tells her no and won't allow her to go.

Feyre and Tamlin are now engaged, he proposed two months ago and now they're currently planning their wedding. They recently celebrated Winter Solstice, although Feyre didn't enjoy it. It took place on her birthday but she didn't tell anyone. They will be getting married in two weeks.

Lucien hunted down 5 naga the day before and was injured, lied to Feyre and said he fell from his horse. Tamlin tries to justify controlling where Feyre can and can't go by saying he can't concentrate on what he needs to do if he is worrying about her. Tells her to just stay in and paint, Feyre notes that she hasn't been able to paint since she came back from UTM.

Feyre is being made to dress in bright dresses rather than the tunic and pants she prefers - he says her wearing that attire sends a message across the lands. She keeps her dagger on her at all times, Lucien gifted her a belt she can keep it in.

Ianthe is the High Priestess and a childhood friend of Tamlin. She is there to help Feyre plan the wedding and Feyre finds her a good distraction and has been helping Feyre adjust to life in the Court. Feyre notes: "I was too watched - too monitored and judged". Ianthe and her family managed to escape the horrors UTM by fleeing to Vallahan 50 years ago. Ianthe is obsessed with the message the wedding sends and says every detail is important even though Feyre doesn't care about any of it. She has to wear a hideous dress that neither Feyre or Tamlin like because Ianthe thinks it sends the best message. Ianthe has set her sights on Lucien but he is not interested in her, seems angry at her that she fled all those years ago. 

Feyre and Tamlin have sex, afterwards he apologises for not letting her go to the village, says he needs her to be all right. Feyre asks what she will be called when they're married, as she assumes she will be a High Lady. Tamlin says there is no such thing as a High Lady, she will just be known as Lady of the Spring Court. Tamlin says High Lords only take wives/consorts and there has never been a High Lady.

Chapter 3: The next day Lucien takes Feyre to the nearby village. She asks why he lied about his injury from the naga and he says Tamlin ordered him not to tell her how he got hurt. Lucien says Tamlin is "giving you as much free reign as he can" and that she has no idea how hard it for Tamlin to even let her off the grounds. Feyre responds that she didn't realise she had become a prisoner (agreed!).

Lucien says Tamlin is worried people will try to use Feyre to hurt him but she says he can't expect he to stay locked in the manor forever. Lucien responds: "Isn't that what all human women wish for? A handsome faerie lord to wed and shower them with riches" And he tells her that as Tamlin's wife there are traditions and expectations she must uphold.

Lucien tells her that Tamlin is calling for the Tithe for the first time since the curse was broken. The Tithe is collected twice a year, usually near Winter and Summer Solstice and every single member of the Spring Court must pay a Tithe to Tamlin. This is used to keep his estate running and pay for sentries and servants. In exchange Tamlin protects and rules them. She will be expected to sit beside him while he collects the Tithe and punishes anyone who doesn't pay.

Lucien excuses Tamlin's controlling behaviour by saying he had to watch Feyre die and so of course he wants to protect her now. They arrive at the village and offer help but no one will accept their help. Lucien explains that Amarantha kept the fae of the Spring Court in camps underground with no light for 50 years, they have suffered a lot.

A Court of Thorns and Roses: Summary / Recap (ACOTAR)

I have made no secret of the fact that I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I can remember how a book made me feel, how I felt about it and what I rated it. I fail miserably at remembering anything more then the most basic details about a book unless I've read it more than once. I have started doing updates as I read over on Instagram and this really helps me: check those out here. 

I did a complete chapter by chapter series recap for the Throne of Glass books so that with each new release I could just go read through it without having to reread all the other books again. It was super useful and you can check it out here. Be warned: I wrote these with myself in mind so do throw in comments here and there and some thoughts I have. 

I am now going to do the same for the ACOTAR series as I wait for the next book, and will continue to do it with each new book released. I hope you find this useful, I will be summing up every single chapter and including all details that are mentioned. FYI: I also have a habit of saying man/woman rather than male/female for the fae sometimes and this also may have some spelling mistakes as I typed it up quite quickly.

Crescent City recaps:

House of Earth and Blood

House of Sky and Breath

House of Flame and Shadow

ACOTAR recaps:

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Wings and Ruin

A Court of Frost and Starlight

A Court of Silver Flames

Throne of Glass recaps:

Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight

Heir of Fire
Queen of Shadows
Empire of Storms
Tower of Dawn
Kingdom of Ash

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Chapter 1: Feyre is out hunting in the woods, has gone further in than she would usually go as she is quite desperate. Feyre mentions she has been sleeping with a guy named Isaac Hale. Sees a deer enter the clearing, this could feed her family for at least a week. Then she sees a wolf approaching, she notes it is enormous, around the size of a pony and unnaturally stealthy - she thinks it could possibly be a faerie. She says that fae hate iron but it is ash wood that slows down their immortal healing powers and makes them easier to kill - she has one ash wood arrow on her. She waits for the wolf to take down the deer and then she shoots and kills the wolf. She skins the wolf and then carries the pelt and the deer home.

Chapter 2: Elain and Nesta are her older sisters - Feyre is 19, Elain is 20-21 and Nesta is 22. All three are described as having gold-brown hair. Nesta is described as cruel, whilst Elain is described as sweet. Neither seems to really help Feyre, she is the one who keeps the family fed. Her fathers leg is injured, creditors once broke his knee when he lost his wealth and couldn't pay them. Nesta resents their dad, believes he could work and help them more if he wasn't so ashamed. 

Nesta is described as quite mean, judgmental and unappreciative of all Feyre does for them, without Feyre they would all starve. Their mother died years before, Feyre describes her as a cold woman who did not love her children and only loved their father. On her deathbed she made Feyre promise to look after her family, Feyre was the youngest child and only about 8 at the time. She still doesn't understand why her mother made her promise and not her father.

Tomas Mandry, a woodcutter's son, wants to marry Nesta but Feyre does not approve of it.

Crescent City: House of Earth & Blood - Sarah J Maas

Title: House of Earth & Blood

Author: Sarah J Maas
Source: Publisher

Bound by blood.Tempted by desire.Unleashed by destiny.
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.
As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.
With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.

I'm planning to just refer to this book as Crescent City throughout this review because I have had enough of these ‘­­­­_____ of _____ and ______’ titles. They are too long and all start to sound the same and I’m not wasting my time typing it out.

Crescent City is a hot mess of a book, that is the only way I can think to describe it. I have no idea how to actually review this one, so this review is about to be as much of a hot mess as the book is. Was this book terrible? No. Was it amazing? Definitely not. Do I recommend it? I don't know, it depends if you want another cookie cutter SJM book or not. This book basically goes the way all of her books do, even to the point where she seems to have copied and pasted characters and plot points from one series to the next. If you aren't a big SJM fan or are just done with her books in general, you are probably going to want to avoid it. Her other series were hard for me because I enjoyed them both in the beginning but both had big issues and I was disappointed with the finales for both books. I still seem to come back to her books though because they are addictive and easy to read.

Dear Evan Hansen

Title: Dear Evan Hansen
Author: Tarryn Fisher
Source: Purchased

When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family's grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong. He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell, that the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend.

Suddenly, Evan isn't invisible anymore--even to the girl of his dreams. And Connor Murphy's parents, with their beautiful home on the other side of town, have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his closest friend. As Evan gets pulled deeper into their swirl of anger, regret, and confusion, he knows that what he's doing can't be right, but if he's helping people, how wrong can it be?

No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose. And a website. He's confident. He's a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. Until everything is in danger of unraveling and he comes face to face with his greatest obstacle: himself.

A simple lie leads to complicated truths in this big-hearted coming-of-age story of grief, authenticity and the struggle to belong in an age of instant connectivity and profound isolation.

Dear Evan Hansen was a book I eagerly anticipated releasing but then also felt very apprehensive about reading it. It's probably why it has actually taken me a few years to actually get to it. I absolutely love the musical, it makes for a very emotional, moving watch and also the soundtrack is one I never tire of listening to. I really wanted to read the book but then I was also scare that I wouldn't love it as much as the musical or the book would end up leaving me disappointed. I can now say that I wasn't disappointed by this book and I did enjoy it, however it still felt like it was lacking something that it was hard to put my finger on. 

What I Liked:

Connor Murphy:  Connor is a character that you don't actually get to hear from during the musical. Yes, he has musical numbers and moments where he is there but the character is dead and really what we are getting is what Evan imagines Connor would be saying and doing, it is like he feels haunted by Connor and judged for what he is doing. In this we actually get chapters from Connor's POV, in a very 'The Lovely Bones' kind of way where he is watching what is going on once he is gone. I really enjoyed his point of view and voice, and also the fact that we get to know Connor a little better.

The writing: I was worried this would read like a terribly written fan fiction or one of those awful novelisations of movies you sometimes get. I was very pleasantly surprised and really happy with that aspect of the book, it is very well written. I also felt like you could tell that the author really wanted to do the musical justice whilst also fleshing out the story to fit to a novel length. 

What I Didn't Like:

Connor's backstory: I didn't dislike the actual backstory itself and the deeper look into Connor but I felt that it took away something by giving him that. I can't quite explain why. I feel it might be because without that it makes it even more obvious how Connor's story has been taken from him, how other people are creating a narrative of who he is and why he did what he did. He isn't there to give his side of the story but in this we get it and I don't know if it was really needed or added to the story.

Evan: I love Evan but I feel he is a character that doesn't do so well on the page and where you are actually in his head. Let's not pretend that what Evan does is in anyway okay, it is indefensible. It is easier to see how it goes that way and snowballs away from him in the musical then it is here though. The actor I saw in the role portrayed it so well and I felt Evan was easier to sympathise with. He definitely is less so in this and I can see people who aren't familiar with the story would get frustrated with him very quickly.

Zoe & Evan's relationship: I can't explain why it works so much better on stage than it does on the page, it just does. It just feels much more manipulative and hurtful in the book and harder to empathise with Evan here. It doesn't help that his infatuation with Zoe comes across a lot more creepy when you're reading it, rather than a little teenage crush. 

For the most part I enjoyed the book, so much so that I managed to read it in one sitting and stayed up far too late to finish it. However it just didn't pack the emotional punch that I was expecting. I found it a lot harder to connect with Evan, which also then made it harder to understand how he could do what he does in regards to Connor and his lies. I feel I'd have also enjoyed this even less if I wasn't already familiar with the characters and story through the musical. 

3/5

Aurora Burning

Title: Aurora Rising
Author: Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Source: From the publisher

Our heroes are back… kind of. From the bestselling co-authors of the Illuminae Files comes the second book in the epic series about a squad of misfits, losers, and discipline cases who just might be the galaxy’s best hope for survival.
First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.
Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.
And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.
Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.
When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.
Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.

I have one thing to say about this book that sums up my feelings about it:

"I am not feeling nothing."

And if you have read the book then you already know exactly what I mean. If not, let me just say that I absolutely loved this book so much. It ended and I just felt like I wanted to flip right back to the first page and read it again. It also left me wanting book three so badly that I know the wait is going to feel excruciatingly long. This was a superb read and a new 5/5 favourite read for me. If you haven't started book one in this series, go read it. And if you haven't ordered Aurora Burning yet, do it, you won't regret it.

What I Liked:

Basically me during every part of this book.

Pacing: There wasn't much I didn't enjoy about book one, I did however think the pacing was slightly off and that made the book harder to get through. I am happy to say that the pacing was absolutely perfect here. There was a lot of action but it wasn't all shoved near the end of the book, nor was it followed up by pages of nothing until another action-packed scene. This book had the perfect balance, there was enough action to keep you engaged but also time to be with the characters and to really get to know them better, as well as helping to build up their friendships. I honestly can't find one fault with the pacing here, I loved it.

Action-packed: I can't say it enough but I loved, loved, loved, loved this book! There was so much going on in this book and I didn't want to put it down. It jumps straight into the action and the book doesn't really let up until you reach the end. I couldn't get enough of this story and I loved all the twists, turns and surprises and the wait for book three is already killing me.

Backstory: I loved Squad 312 in book one but I felt that we definitely only scratched the surface of some of these characters, especially Zila. She was the character I most wanted to find out more about when I was reading book one, especially because she could be so quiet at times and we didn't know very much about her before she joined the Aurora Legion. I got what I wanted, more backstory for her and other characters. I loved getting to know characters more, I wasn't expecting for this to be a book that would have me sobbing though - it did!

Characters: I still absolutely love the cast of characters here, even more so now that we are exploring more of their backgrounds and lives before they joined the squad. I still absolutely adore their interactions, they make me laugh and I love the back and forth between them all.

The Ending: P.E.R.F.E.C.T.I.O.N! I loved the entire book and I especially loved the ending and how it has just left me wanting to build a time machine so I can go forward in time and read book three already.

What I Disliked:

Romance: I still do not like the romance between Kal and Auri. I loved basically everything else about this book. I even love these two characters as individuals, but I fucking hate them as a pair and any scene with just the two of them made me cringe. I'm honestly just done with 'mates' being used as an excuse for authors to not actually build a real or realistic relationship between two characters. This feels as rushed, forced and underdeveloped as mate romances usually do. I honestly think this book would have worked way better if they built up an actual relationship and there wasn't a 'mate' part to it.

5/5

*I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher.