A Court of Thorns and Roses is my first read of 2023 and my first ever fantasy read too. I really should've listened to Booktok and picked this up sooner!
I was actually always nervous to read fantasy, worried I wouldn't be able to comprehend the worlds and the magic, as I'm quite a literal person. However I think that Sarah J. Maas is a great writer for entry-level beginners to fantasy. Another thing I was worried about was the new language I needed to learn for a fantasy book, but ACOTAR was simple to follow whilst building the world beautifully. I also found great comfort in the map at the beginning which I definitely kept flipping back to.
The characters were complex and layered but focused heavily on Tamlin, Lucien and Feyre, and I am looking forward to reading more about the other mysterious, more interesting side characters. I *loved* the sexual tension in this book, but I would say it wasn't as spicy as I was expecting from the reviews and Booktok. However the tension built slowly and powerfully, it had me hooked and it was very well paced throughout.
I am really looking forward to continuing this series soon and expanding my reading horizons into more technically-difficult fantasy in the future. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in fantasy and are looking for a manageable way to explore the genre.
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️