If you like spicy romance novels and you like high fantasy novels, you will like this series. It is an adult series for adult themes and adult scenes, not just spice, but also gore/war/torture, and that is important to note. This series has its own magic system and mythologies, and is connected to other universes of the author including Crescent City and Throne of Glass but can be read on its own. I think it is a really good series.
SPOILERS (not heavy spoilers but will talk about things which happen in the book in a general sense) for conversation about feminism/fascism/mental illness.
Many people want a high fantasy series which is feminist in nature and the male love interests are feminist, this is not that kind of book. It definitely has feminist undertones and female empowerment undertones, it is written by a female author which historically high-fantasy books in a female lens have been shunned so I prefer to support female authors, but the love interest does many things which are not feminist.
The male love interest in this book drugs her and dances inappropriately with her, and then claims there was no other way to make the villain think he didn’t care about the protagonist and put her in danger. That is pretty unbelievable, there are a million other options that do not include drugging someone in that situation.
The male love interest “rescues” the protagonist and brings her to a place which only his friends and family, for hundreds of years of relational ties, are. This technically is a social isolation happening. This is apparent when 5 books later the love interest is not only still lying to the protagonist, but getting all the friends and family to lie for him about something that directly and drastically affects her life. She technically is supposed to be the same level of power that he is, but it is very clear that was a stunt to show symbolically how much he cared for her. Because if she truly had the same power as him then the friends and family would not have lied like that, the same way they would not have lied to him. The other thing about that is she was raised to her status without any well learned political or historical education of the people she is ruling, giving the male love interest good reason to be able to over-ride anything she put into place, and not giving her enough knowledge to truly do her job. What also goes along with this is that all education on those political historical topics will have to come through him or people whom he is employing/has these strong ties with.
There is a race of people which the love interest rules over who are physically and sexually abusing females, and neglecting/abusing their male children to be warriors. The love interest claims to have put laws into place to prevent this, however, he does not enforce them. Similar to how he symbolically gave the protagonist a position of power, he seemed to have symbolically put a feminist law into place but then not follow through. It is claimed the abuse they are facing is culture, and to give the males more time to change, which is obviously untrue and harmful. “He will change” rhetoric harms women often. I think the way the fantasy race and issue of female violence was written was realistic, but I also think that realism is disturbing because of his unwillingness to be harsher in punishment towards males who are literally physically altering these females. It also is somewhat insinuated there is fascism going on because of his obsession with keeping one “good” city safe, and his distaste for the sexist race of warriors and the other city - which he oversees and is in charge of. It is almost like he believes their lives lost causes and something to be used to protect his favorite city and people, which is obviously harmful to the people who do not live in his favorite city because their ruler has abandoned them to harm in belief of culture.
Again, this is a fantasy book, I do not believe this to reflect the authors beliefs on feminism or humanitarian efforts, but if you personally are looking for a high-fantasy book with a feminist love interest, this is probably not the one.
Lastly, the last book has a topic of mental illness- specifically substance use issues. This book was so difficult to read as a researcher in psychology because of the abuse the protagonist faced and how she got better despite, in real life, this person would likely be far worse off. What I mean by this is the protagonist was unliked due to a disability she had in childhood, inadaptibility which is something that happens in children groomed to be married off (groomed meaning taught to be something very specific, particularly in a way of being sold to the highest bidder and marrying a wealthy male). Her sister took her meaning for life by marrying someone powerful and rich without any of the efforts and grooming which the protagonist faced in childhood, so all her trauma no longer had meaning and she no longer felt any reason to be alive. After this she developed an addiction to alcohol and began sexual risk taking behaviors. What her family did was ridicule and shame her but also enable her with money. Shame results in a cycle of wanting pleasure, so doing this was worsening her behavior. After the family got fed up with her wasting money, instead of setting boundaries and no longer buying alcohol, they threatened her life, took away her autonomy, verbally and emotionally abused her, isolated her, and then the person in charge of helping her developed a sexual relationship with her (which is supposed to be romantic but when she already struggled with risky sexual behaviors, this was taking advantage of her). On top it, a scene occurs where she essentially is noted as suicidal, and instead of helping her he continues to be short, rude, and mean to her and forced her to hike (???). And this was because she pointed out a lie which the whole family was keeping from her sister by her love interest, so the protagonist of this book was being punished for giving information which her sister had a right to know. It is just so incredibly hard to read.
Of course, these people do not have psychology or mental wellness, however, I think the part I take most issue with is the unrealistic fact she gets better. Because this is a popular series I would also be concerned with people taking the idea that this sort of behavior towards someone mentally ill is romantic or okay in any way shape or form. This is fantasy, most people know that, but I feel compelled to state it anyway.
Overall:
I do like the books, I like the writing style, I even do not mind many of the character flaws and the big issues I mentioned occurring, it adds to moral/ethical calamity and makes you question who is the real villain or hero. But, I have seen people stating that this is a more feminist style high fantasy romance and I just wanted to point all the reasons I do not believe that to be the case.
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About the author
A series that will wreck you, heal you, and change your brain chemistry forever!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ An unforgettable, soul-shattering romantasy journey — 5 stars across the board. The A Court of Thorns and Roses series is the reason so many of us fell headfirst into the romantasy genre, and for good reason. Sarah J. Maas delivers a world that is lush, emotional, seductive, brutal, and endlessly compelling. What begins as a fairytale-inspired fantasy with ACOTAR quickly evolves into a sweeping saga of love, war, trauma, healing, empowerment, and found family that completely takes over your heart (and your bookshelf). Each book deepens the story and raises the stakes: • ACOTAR pulls you in with deadly fae magic and a fiercely independent heroine. • ACOMAF changes the game emotionally and romantically — this is where obsession begins. • ACOWAR is an epic, emotional finale that will leave you crying in the best way. • ACOFAS offers a softer, more introspective pause to breathe, reflect, and rebuild. • ACOSF takes a bold turn with a new narrator, giving us one of the rawest and most personal journeys of self-worth, grief, and redemption in the series. The writing evolves, the characters grow, and the emotional investment becomes all-consuming. It’s a series filled with iconic quotes, plot twists that punch you in the gut, enemies-to-lovers perfection, and characters you’ll want to protect with your life. Is it fantasy? Yes. Romance? Absolutely. But at its core, this series is about choosing yourself, rising from the ashes, and learning what it means to fight for your place in the world—and for the people you love. If you’re wondering whether to start it… the answer is yes. But fair warning: this isn’t just a series. It’s a full personality trait.
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