A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book of this popular adult high fantasy series.
This is an article answering the most frequently asked questions regarding the fantasy series, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J Maas.
If you have any questions, please be sure to leave a comment below!
Is A Court of Thorns and Roses an enemies to lovers novel?
Yes, this novel is an enemies-to-lovers story.
Does it have romance?
Yes, it does have romance and is promoted as an epic love story.
Is the series finished, or are there more books to come?
The “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series is currently finished, consisting of 3 main books, and 1 novella.
Once you finish the first three (“A Court of Thorn and Roses,” “A Court of Mist and Fury,” and “A Court of Wings and Ruin”), Feyre’s story is considered complete.
“A Court of Silver Flames” is the last book published in this world, and follows the characters Nesta and Cassian.
Is it worth reading?
Absolutely.
This book is very popular and for good reason.
For instance, it has romance, spice, adventure, enemies-to-lovers, fantasy, and is overall an amazing book.
Personally, this book is the reason I fell in love with fantasy novels.
Where does A Court of Thorns and Roses take place?
It takes place mainly in Prythian, the faerie lands.
There are seven different courts within Prythian.
These are:
- Spring Court (this is where most of the story takes place)
- Summer Court
- Autumn Court
- Winter Court
- Dawn Court
- Day Court
- Night Court
It starts off in the mortal lands, where there is a wall separating the humans and the fae.
Comparatively, the last half of the novel takes place “Under the Mountain,” an area between the Solar and Seasonal Courts.
Is this the first book in the series?
Yes! This is the first book in the series.
The next one after this is “A Court of Mist and Fury”.
Is Feyre human?
Feyre is human!
She and her family live in the mortal lands.
[Spoiler]
At the end of the novel, she turns into high fae.
Does Tamlin die in A Court of Thorns and Roses?
No, Tamlin doesn’t die in A Court of Thorns and Roses.
What is the blight in A Court of Thorns and Roses?
[This contains spoilers]
During almost the entire part of the book that takes place in the Spring Court, Feyre learns about a mysterious blight on the land. She doesn’t learn about what it truly is until later in the book.
While living at the Spring Court, Feyre learns that the blight has taken away a lot of Tamlin’s powers and seems to be stirring again after almost 50 years. It is also the reason why everyone in the Spring Court wears masks.
But it’s not until Feyre returns to the Spring Court after being sent back home that she learns what the blight truly is.
She returns to the Manor to find it completely wrecked and abandoned. The only faerie she encounters is Alis, her maid.
Now that the 50 years is up, Alis can finally tell her what the blight truly is (or who the blight is): Amarantha, the villain of the novel.
In short, Amarantha manipulated her way into Prythian and took power from the High Lords, claiming the position of High Queen of Prythian. She is the one who placed a 49-year-long curse on the Spring Court.
(As part of Amarantha’s curse, no one could reveal what it was or talk about the curse).
I’ll cover more about Amarantha and the curse in this next section.
Who is the villain in this novel?
The villain is Amarantha in this novel.
Amarantha is high fae.
She was a powerful former general of Hybern who became his emissary. Over time, she manipulated the High Lords with cunning cruelty. She is now the High Queen of Prythian.
She is cruel, vindictive, and enjoys torturing and manipulating others to get what she wants.
Her only weakness is her love for her sister, Clythia. Unfortunately, her sister died at the hands of a mortal (Jurian), which started her hatred for humans.
Amarantha is the one who put the curse on the High Lords and took most of their powers.
Her specific curse on the Tamlin and the Spring Court is wrapped up in her hatred for humans.
She was angry that Tamlin wouldn’t be her lover, and so crafted a plan to curse him. She invited the Spring Court to a masked ball as an apology for taking Lucien’s eye and scarring his face.
At the ball, at which all courts were present, Amarantha offered peace- if only Tamlin would be her lover. But Tamlin knew her for what she truly was, and refused. Angry at Tamlin’s refusal, she cursed the entire Spring Court (which is why they all have masks on).
The only way out of the curse is if Tamlin can get a human who has killed a faerie (specifically, one of Tamlin’s men) to fall in love with him. She gave him 49 years to accomplish this.
At the end of that time period, Tamlin would have to join her Under the Mountain.
[Spoiler]
When the 49 years are up, she takes Tamlin captive and Feyre tries to save him. Feyre enters into a bargain with Amarantha in which she must complete three trials or solve a riddle.
Near the end of the book, Amarantha is the one who kills Feyre.
Who does Feyre end up with at the end?
Feyre and Tamlin end up together at the end of this novel.
What is the riddle in A Court of Thorns and Roses and what is the answer?
The riddle in this book is:
“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…”
The answer to Amarantha’s riddle is simply: love.
How does A Court of Thorns and Roses end?
[This contains spoilers]
After successfully completing Aramantha’s third task, Amarantha tells Feyre that her bargain contained a major loophole: she did not specify that she had to free everyone immediately. (Only in solving the riddle did Amarantha say she would free everyone immediately).
Amarantha kills Feyre, and as she is dying, Feyre solves the riddle, freeing everyone.
The High Lords immediately get their full powers back, and Tamlin is finally able to kill Amarantha.
As Feyre lays dead (yet she is still witnessing all of this through her bond with Rhysand, viewing her death through his eyes), each High Lord gives Feyre some of their blood.
The last chapter begins with Feyre reawakening from her brief encounter with death.
As she wakes up, she begins to realize that she has become High Fae.
After she had died from Amarantha’s hand, the action of each High Lord giving her blood saved her and actually turned her into High Fae.
The masks that the spring court had to wear are gone, as Feyre broke the curse.
Everyone in the Spring Court is celebrating!
Feyre and Tamlin sneak away from the celebrations to have an intimate moment.
Rhysand comes to visit Feyre, and she reminds them of their agreement: Feyre is to stay at the night court for a week out of every month.
She and Tamlin leave Amarnatha’s court Under the Mountain. The High Fae from many of the courts destroy and seal the court Under the Mountain.
The last line of the book is Feyre saying to Tamlin, “Let’s go home”.
Is A Court of Thorns and Roses similar to Beauty and the Beast?
Yes, there are definitely similarities to Beauty and The Beast.
The human has to stay with the “Beast” (which would be Tamlin).
There is a curse to break.
Feyre falls in love with Tamlin, just like Belle fell in love with the Beast.
If you loved Beauty and The Beast, this novel/series is a great read.
Characters in A Court of Thorns and Roses
Feyre
She is a human who lives with her father and two sisters in the mortal lands.
Feyre is the youngest of her siblings and is the sole provider of her family.
She is also illiterate.
Though Feyre and her family grew up wealthy, they fall into extreme poverty.
When she turned 11, she started hunting to provide food for her family.
Feyre loves to paint, although she hardly ever has the time or the money to buy supplies and practice.
The author describes her as strong, resourceful, and creative.
Feyre falls in love with Tamlin after some time in the Spring Court.
Nesta
She is Feyre’s oldest sister.
Maas describes her as being cold, distant, and selfish.
As the oldest, it is her responsibility to provide for the family.
Unfortunately, she does nothing to provide for them.
Instead, she throws her burdens onto Feyre.
Nesta has a strong hatred for her father.
She also shows more kindness to Elain than she does to Feyre.
Elain
Elain is a quiet sort who typically spends her days tending to her garden.
Her family hoped for her to marry a wealthy man so they would be saved from poverty.
She is Nesta’s favorite.
Tamlin
This character is high fae and is the High Lord of the Spring Court.
Tamlin was the youngest of three sons and part of his father’s warband.
Fighting and killing are the only things Tamlin was trained to do.
He took Feyre to the Spring Court after she killed another Faerie by mistake.
While Feyre is with him at the Spring Court, Tamlin glamours (puts a sort of spell on) her family and takes care of them financially.
Time passes, and eventually, he gains Feyre’s trust, leading them into a romantic relationship.
Lucien
He is a high fae of the Autumn Court, son of the High Lord of Autumn.
Lucian has red hair, a gold mechanical eye, and a scarred face.
He is Tamlin’s best friend.
Though he is initially wary of Feyre, slowly Feyre and Lucien become friends and spend some time together.
Rhysand
Rhysand is high fae and is High Lord of the Night Court.
Feyre and he first meet at the Calamari celebration in the Spring Court.
Tamlin and Rhysand are rivals and dislike each other very much mainly because Rhysand works for Amarantha.
But also, there is bad history between their families.
He may be seen as a secondary villain in this book.
However, he does offer his help to Feyre at the end.
Suriel
These creatures are malevolent, ugly faeries.
They must answer any questions once they are captured and cannot lie.
The Suriel is not a member of any court.
Feyre captures one by luring it with a dead chicken, following instructions from Lucien.
Her main objective is to learn if there’s another way to break the curse, as she wants to get back to her family. She learns that Tamlin is High Lord. She also tries to get information about “the blight.” In response, Suriel instructs her to stay with the High Lord and tells her a bit about the King of Hybern.
While she is talking to the Suriel, they fall under attack, and she frees the Suriel from her trap, saving its life.
