This is my first experience of reading Sarah J. Maas, and though I wasn’t sure about it initially it quickly became more entertaining.
When we first meet Feyre she is like Katniss in a new setting-desperately poor, relied on by her family and hunting to survive. When she kills a wolf she is focused on the money and sustenance it will provide. Unfortunately, her kill sets in place a chain of events that quickly become bigger than anything she could have imagined.
Living on the borders, Feyre has been conditioned to hate Faeries so when she is ordered to live in the lands of Prythian to atone for her killing one of them she is resistant. Now surrounded by Tamlin and his court, Feyre has to learn to live in this environment in order to keep her family safe.
As I read this it brought to mind well-known fairy stories, as well as popular contemporary stories. This could have been a rather trite romance, and the presence of other characters -Lucien and Rhysand- kept it interesting. I loved the background story hinting at an epic battle for control of a kingdom/intrigue, and the section where Feyre is trapped under the mountain fighting for her life was powerful.
Part of me still wonders if there is more to the story of Feyre’s mother as there are hints that she might be more closely allied to events than we first think. It would make sense of the decision taken at the end that keeps Feyre in the story.
While this perhaps won’t be classed as one of my favourites, I definitely want to continue reading the series.