A Court of Thorns and Rosesis probably one of, if not the most,popular romantasy book seriesof the last decade. Since its initial release in 2015, the series has become a worldwide phenomenon, and was even picked up by Hulu for a television adaptation — one that has, sadly, since fallen through.
There’s no denying that theCourt of Thorns & Rosesbooksare well-loved, bingeable, and widely celebrated. But while that may be the case, it’s extremely difficult to please every reader. And so, like most popular series do, the books have had their fair share of criticisms.
While I thoroughly enjoyedeachA Court of Thorns and Rosesbook,it’s hard to ignore some of the more prominent and understandable complaints about the series— including the lack of high stakes, out-of-character plot developments, and a large cast of characters that makes it hard to balance the narrative.
6Lack of High Stakes Or Real Consequences
Hardly Any ACOTAR Characters Are Truly Harmed Or Killed
It might seem like a good thing that nobody’s favoriteACOTARcharacters are seriously injured or die, butin keeping everyone “untouchable,” Maas has missed the opportunity to add real consequences to the series. Instead, theA Court of Thorns and Rosesbooks tend to build up to extremely tense or nerve-wracking moments, only to resolve the conflict a few pages later.
This is especially apparent inWings and Ruin, as Rhys' “death” lasts all but a page, and Amren is easily resurrected from a seemingly fatal situation.
This is especially apparent inA Court of Wings and Ruin, as Rhys' “death” lasts all but a page, and Amren is easily resurrected from a seemingly fatal situation. While there have definitely been characters who endured injuries throughout the series — and an even smaller number who have died — I think it’s fair to say most of these events held no significant weight.
Character deaths are a great way to further the plot and bring emotional turmoil to the narrative. But sadly, the lack of stakes has made theCourt of Thorns and Roses’story far too predictable. This makes what should be deeply emotional moments feel inconsequential when knowing there’s really nothing to fear.
However, there is one character death Maas carried out really well. The Suriel’s passing is one of the most impactful and emotional moments of the entire series. And while it was devastating to lose the character, it added so much depth to the story — and further proves Maas should have allowed for more character deaths throughout theACOTARbooks.
5The Large Cast Of Characters
The Series Is Juggling Too Many Storylines At Once
There are many who have criticized theA Court of Thorns and Rosesbooks for its large cast of main characters, resulting in numerous storylines — some of which don’t get the attention they deserve. While I don’t fully agree, it’s true to an extent that the books have to juggle many character arcs, which can sometimes make the narrative feel strained for the sake of progression.
Maas has experience writing from the perspectives of multiple characters in her other fantasy book series, likeThrone of Glass, and hasn’t run into any issues. However, the complaints aboutACOTAR’s large cast don’t come necessarily from an annoyance to the sheer number of storylines, but rather thatsome characters are dismissed or sidelined in order to focus on another.
This is seen multiple times throughout theA Court of Thorns and Rosesseries, and it’s no surprise that, with such a large cast, Maas would struggle to do every character justice. For instance, Lucien Vanserra, a character that was introduced in the very first novel, has had very little growth or relevance since — despite being a fan-favorite.
Had Maas added in a few more character POV’s — like she does inThrone of Glass— I don’t think it would be as much of an issue.
It also doesn’t help that most of the story is told from Feyre’s POV — at least until it jumps toNesta and Cassian inSilver Flames.Because of this, readers can only experience the narrative through a few characters at a time, despite its large cast. Had Maas added in a few more character POV’s — like she does inThrone of Glass— I don’t think it would be as much of an issue.
4Age Differences vs. Emotional Maturity
The Fae Are 500+ Years Old But Act Like Teenagers
One of the most obvious and easily agreed-upon criticisms of theACOTARbooksis the fact that the Fae, who are hundreds of years old with tons of life experience, somehow have the emotional maturity equivalent to its 18-year-old protagonists. To be fair, this is true for most romantasy books of the last decade, but that makes the argument no less valid.
Given that the majority of theACOTARbook characters are centuries old, it would be easy to assume that most would be incredibly wise, or at least act their 500-year-old age. However, this distinction in age seemingly has no effect on their emotional maturity. Instead, most characters act as if they are the same age as Feyre — who has lived for a very short time in comparison.
The first book in the series does a better job at building a foundation for the capricious nature and disinterest of the Fae in human affairs. But as the story progresses in the latterA Court of Thorns and Rosesbooks,the “teenage drama” that unfolds — like the situation between Mor, Azriel, and Cassian — feels uncharacteristic of the lore behind the Fae.
3The Pregnancy Trope
Many Readers Hated This Plotline For Feyre
Feyre’s pregnancy reveal inA Court of Silver Flamesis probablythe most polarizing criticismof the entireACOTARseries — and many fans claim it diminishes Feyre’s character, as it completely ignores her beliefs and wishes from prior books. It’s a hard criticism to ignore, as the idea of Feyre becoming a mother came out of left field.
Due to this, every dynamic of the subplot felt forced to pave the way for Nesta to become the main character. And as Maas reintroduced Feyre and Rhys into the storyline, she lost the authenticity of their relationship that had been established in books prior.
Instead of allowing the sisters to reconcile in a way that would have been healthy and believable, Maas used Feyre’s pregnancy to create tension and conflict that did not develop naturally.
I have no qualms with Nesta’s storyline other than this fact. Instead of allowing the sisters to reconcile in a way that would have been healthy and believable, Maas used Feyre’s pregnancy to create tension and conflict that did not develop naturally — especially when reading how Rhys' character behaved in tandem.
After these missteps, many readers are understandably nervous that Feyre’s character will continue to be handled questionably in future books. However, when thenextA Court of Thorns and Rosesbookdoes come out, I hope Maas proves us wrong.
2Nesta’s Trauma & How The IC Deals With It
No Character Behaved As They Would Have In Books Prior
InA Court of Wings and Ruin, Feyre and everyone else in the Inner Circle do their best to help and Nesta and Elain heal after their trauma with the cauldron. And while it seems Nesta is doing relatively well in comparison to Elain,A Court of Silver Flamesproves Nesta isn’t as okay as she lets on.
WhenSilver Flames picks up, Feyre and the Inner Circle are aware that Nesta isn’t doing well.But the way that they deal with her trauma, and fail to even recognize it, is what has readers criticizing the narrative. Every character has a traumatic past, so it’s uncharacteristic for them to turn their backs on Nesta while she processes her own.
They essentially just ignore her problems and decide to hide her in the House of Wind for most of the narrative, which doesn’t track as actions many of theACOTARcharacters — who Maas has developed over four books — would take.
Being Nesta’s book, the series is set out to show the truth behind Nesta and redeem her for many readers who didn’t care much for her character. And while I do think it succeeded in doing this,Maas also used her trauma for dramatic effect and conflictinstead of creating a larger subplot for believable healing and reconciliation between the sisters.
1ACOTAR Characters Becoming The Most Powerful Without Believable Progress
The Latter Books Don’t Include Enough Character Development
InA Court of Thorns and Roses, Feyre’s skills as a hunter help her to overcome several obstacles and trials once she’s Under the Mountain — all of which are believable moments given her history. However, the same can’t be said forNesta inA Court of Silver Flames, who, with almost no training, wins the Blood Rite.
The Blood Rite is a trial by combat in which every Illyrian is thrown into a brutal environment in a gruesome fight to the death with the goal of reaching the peak of Ramiel — something only a handful have accomplished in the past 500 years. Rhys, Azriel, and Cassian are some of the few that have accomplished this task, but not easily.
Nesta’s character had no prior fighting experience, and a common complaint is that Maas rushed her story into one book rather than develop her skills over time.
WhileSilver Flamesdoes see Nesta train with Azriel and Cassian to become a Valkyrie,it’s not believable that her limited training could have prepared her for — or helped her win – the Blood Rite. Nesta’s character had no prior fighting experience, and a common complaint is that Maas rushed her story into one book rather than develop her skills over time.
There are plenty of things that make Nesta a strong character, but without a proper build-up, her winning of the Rite just didn’t make sense to the overall plot. It’s one of the few critiques aboutA Court of Thorns & Rosesthat really does hold up.
