I had heard a lot of mixed reviews about this series and I had a friend that started reading it and wanted to be able to talk about it with me. So, I decided to pick it up. A lot of the negative reviews on this book criticize it for the wrong reasons, in my opinion. This includes citing a villain without much motivation and abusive behavior within the book. This isn't to say that there aren't things that suggest unhealthy behaviors in the book, but I find it really hard to believe that Sarah J. Maas isn't aware that they are there and doesn't plan to do something with them. I am okay with unsavory and unhealthy behaviors in books by characters if it is purposeful and relevant to the development of the plot, depending on how it is done.

I absolutely loved the villain, Amarantha. She's completely off her rocker and unnecessarily cruel because she wishes to have control of everything around her. It seems to have become very popular for villains to have super complicated motivations and backstories within literature as well as many other forms of entertainment. While I often appreciate that, I think that it's something I don't need for every single villain in every single story. Amarantha is a good example of that. We don't really get a full blown background on her, just enough for us to understand the motivation behind her actions. The rest of her behavior is easily explained by her lack of sanity and for me that's all the explanation I need to be satisfied.

I can say that for me this book is a first in the sense that this is the first time I have not shipped the main couple in a book even though I liked the book. I'm really not a huge fan of Tamlin and Feyre as a couple. I don't particularly dislike either of them as individual characters, but I just don't necessarily feel much chemistry between them. I have a feeling that Tamlin is not the best person for her to be in a relationship with because his actions are often morally questionable and he can come off as controlling. I specifically refer to the events that occured during and after the Fire Rite. A lot of things about that celebration are borderline rapey, if not that. I'm sure that was done on purpose by the author, though. I genuinely have trouble believing that Tamlin is completely trustworthy despite how much Feyre feels for him.

Feyre isn't a bad protagonist at all to me. She works as hard as possible and does everything she can for those she cares for, even her ungrateful family. She isn't afraid to voice her opinions and stand up for what she believes in even if she has to fight tooth and nail and suffer for it. She is a strong character, but to her chagrin is ignorant of the way many things work in the faerie world. This does cause her a lot of grief, but a lot of the trouble she gets in isn't her fault and she is super resourceful whenever she is in a sticky situation. It's something that I really appreciated in her as a character. 

My favorite character by far was Lucien. I am a sucker for characters with dry humor on their side, and Lucien is the king of it. He loves to get under everyone's skin in a playful way and I loved reading the banter between him and the rest of the characters, especially Feyre. 

This isn't the most amazing book I've ever read, but it's not anywhere near being a bad book. If you are a fan of fantasy and want to give a retelling of Beauty and the Beast a try, I'd say this isn't a bad place to start at all.