A Court of Thorns and Roses Colouring Book Review

Last year, I devoured the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, and adored the books so much, I've been a little obsessed ever since.

My love for this enchanting world of gorgeous fae lords and warriors, magic, friendship, and romance hasn't stopped at the series, oh no. Not content to stop at the novels, I also went and acquired the officially licensed A Court of Thorns and Roses colouring book, and spent many a good pain day painting my way through some of the pages in 2023.

I may have an ACOTAR problem.

But I just couldn't resist.

And thank the Cauldron, because it's one of the best colouring books I've ever seen or owned.

If you're a fan of the ACOTAR series, and love colouring, I think you're going to love this as much as I do.

So, the A Court of Thorns Colouring Book takes you on an illustrated journey through the first three books in the series- A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, and A Court of Wings and Ruin.

This was the first page I painted, and for my first attempt at mixing skintones, I'm kinda proud of how Feyre's colouring came out. I made such a mess of Tamlin, though, especially his hair and sleeve from overworking the paper, but I guess it's fitting since his character is also a train wreck. I also wish I'd done the butterflies differently- I started off attempting to make them into Monarch butterflies, and it went a bit wrong- but overall, I really enjoyed working on this page.

I can't paint realistic trees to save my life, but this page makes me want to live in the Spring Court.

I'm not much of a fan of Elain so far (I'm gonna need her story to change my mind), but this was one of my favourite pages so far. I loved playing with lots of pinks and purples- it was so relaxing. Side note: her garden in the mortal world was described as having purple and white flowers, but I added in some pink to compliment her dress. The roof of the house was said to be emerald green, so I decided to give it green window frames- but they look awful, so I wish I hadn't.

So many of the iconic characters, settings, and scenes in the series have been brought to life in stunning detail, from Tamlin taking Feyre from her home in the mortal world, to meeting the people and wonders of the Spring Court, and Rhys and Feyre's first meeting on Calanmai ('There you are. I've been looking for you.'), to the horrors of Under the Mountain. You can colour your way through Rhys gate-crashing an important wedding and Feyre throwing a shoe at him; meeting the Inner Circle and Mor rescuing Feyre; the wonders of Starfall and the heartfelt moment at the beginning of Chapter 55; and even intense scenes like Feyre battling the Attor, and Nesta crawling out of the Cauldron at Hybern. As the illustrations move to the story of the third book, you'll be able to colour-in Lucien bowing before Feyre on Solstice, and the Bone Carver looking like a demon child that needs to be killed with fire; cool locations like the Forest House and the Night Court library; Nesta sizing up Cassian, and Azriel sweetly loaning Truth-Teller to Elain; to Amren taking on Hybern, and Rhys and Feyre sharing a quiet moment together on the rooftop in Velaris after the war. There is such a fantastic and diverse selection of scenes and characters included, and every last one is amazing.

Some of my favourites include Tamlin and Feyre lounging in the glen, Alis leading Feyre to Under the Mountain, the wedding scene, Mor rescuing Feyre after her panic attack, Rhys and Feyre on Starfall, the landscapes of Velaris and the Spring and Summer Courts (so intricate!), and the romantic little scene in the cabin before things heated up. (You know the one I mean *wink*).

This one was fun as I got to use my metallic Winsor & Newton watercolours for the first time. I used them on the floor tiles, staircase, statues, and curtains. The colours of the Spring Court entry aren't described, so I chose spring greens to symbolise Feyre fading into the background as she was wearing a green dress in that scene. Her hair was supposed to be golden brown, but I screwed up again and it came out a little too ginger.

I totally messed up this page. I had a minor disagreement with the black paint, and also messed up the curtain and Rhys' skintone. It was my first time attempting to mix darker skintones, and didn't go quite right. (Apologies to anyone with brown skin- no insult intended)! And I couldn't try layering other shades on top to fix it as the paper started to disintegrate. 

Altogether, there are forty-five drawings from five different illustrators to colour-in, with sixteen based on A Court of Thorns and Roses, eighteen dedicated to A Court of Mist and Fury, and eleven inspired by A Court of Wings and Ruin. You can also colour-in the introduction pages, which features an illustration of Feyre surrounded by thorns and roses.

Each illustration has been given a double-page spread, with one side featuring the illustration in thinly-lined black ink, and the other displaying a relevant quote from the books in large type, cornered with swirling patterns that look a little like butterflies. The pages are white and made from good-quality paper that is thick enough that most inks shouldn't bleed through, and spoil the quote on the back. I've been using watercolour paints to colourise the drawings, and even though the paper isn't designed for that, it can cope with a light layer or two, with some rippling to the back of the paper. The paper will disintegrate if you keep working it with a wet brush, though. But overall, I'm very impressed. The pages are perforated so that you can tear them out and use them how you wish, but unfortunately, they are printed back-to-back, which means you'll have to choose between displaying  your artwork and the quote of the following illustration.

Overall, it's a fantastic colouring book for any fan of the ACOTAR series. The illustrations are so beautiful that it's a must for any fan's collection- even if you don't plan to colour them in, it makes a great companion book for better visualising the characters and scenes in the books. But for those who want to use it to get creative, it's such a treat. Whether you love the Spring Court or the Night Court, are team Feysand, Nessian, or Elriel, whether you would rather throw Ianthe to the Middengard Wyrm or the Attor, and can't decide who you hate more- Amarantha or Tamlin, this book has it all. (Excluding topless Illyrian bat boys (pity) and s*x scenes, that is). There's no explicit content, so apart from a few creepy monsters, it's suitable for under-18s, too. It's so satisfying to be able to bring so many favourite characters and scenes to life with colour, and I couldn't recommend this colouring book to you more.

I'm loving it, and I can see it keeping me entertained for a long while yet. I also have the Throne of Glass colouring book, which is also amazing, but I have a lot more painting to do before I'm ready to review it.

The A Court of Thorns and Roses colouring book retails around £13-14 in the UK, and you can find it on Blackwells here.

Are you a fan of A Court of Thorns and Roses? Do you enjoy colouring-in?

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A Court of Frost and Starlight Festive Book Review

I love to read books with festive storylines at Christmas time to help get me in the mood, and I discovered a new one this year from one of my new favourite book series that will probably end up being reread every Christmas from now on:

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas.

It's a fun, festive novella from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, that sees the characters of the Night Court celebrating their winter Solstice, and it's ideal for anyone who enjoys NA fantasy romance, with hot fae characters, and plenty of angst and humour.

I'm here with a little review of the book to tell you why you need to read it this Christmas.

Title: A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOTAR book 4)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Genre: NA Fantasy romance / Romantasy.

Plot:

A Court of Frost and Starlight is a festive fantasy novella that bridges the gap between the end of the war in a A Court of Wings and Ruin, and the events of A Court of Silver Flames the following summer. The Winter Solstice- ACOTAR's version of Christmas- is approaching, and as they prepare to celebrate the festivities together, the Inner Circle- a found family of sickingly good-looking fae friends who lead the mysterious Night Court- are working to heal from the war, rebuild the city of Velaris, and find peace with the other courts and humans beyond. Or so they say. 

When they're not shopping for Solstice presents, having snowball fights, or weird s*x, they spend a shocking amount of time wandering around the frozen city streets of Velaris, having dinner together, making a mess of the decorations, and drinking in front of the fire. Basically enjoying all the best parts of the holidays the way any of us might.

Feyre, who, apparently, barely has time to sleep or spend time with her High Lord mate, Rhys, somehow manages to find an awful lot of time to paint, teach art, and treat Nesta and Lucien like dirt. (But we mustn't speak ill of our High Lady). Rhys is horny but too busy checking in on a deeply depressed Tamlin to get any; Mor is restless and in need of adventure; Amren has taken up jigsaw puzzles- yes, AMREN!; Cassian is fighting misogyny in the war camps and pining after Nesta; and Nesta is drinking herself into oblivion and pushing everyone away. And Azriel and Elain... I don't know, but they're there, too. 

And... well, that's about it. That's the plot. 

Um... yeah. It doesn't really have one, besides a group of friends enjoying the festive season together, and trying to find their feet again after a gruelling war.

Thoughts:

I'm a huge fan of the ACOTAR series, but even I'll admit that the writing is a little cringe-worthy, and reads like a twelve-year-old's attempt at fan fiction. It's as if the author employed someone inexperienced to ghost write her characters enjoying Christmas together with the plot of a low-budget TV Christmas movie, except the characters are fae and half the males have bat wings. 

It doesn't compare to any of the other books in the series in storyline or quality AT ALL, but I still enjoyed it for the small bit of character development, new POVs from Cassian, Nesta and Mor, comedic value, and getting to learn more about some of my favourite book characters. If you're a fan of the series, it should fill a bat-boy-shaped hole in your life between books, and it's ideal for some light-hearted relief, but if you go in expecting a masterpiece, you will be disappointed; it's festive fluff, and little more. But  hey, sometimes festive fluff is exactly what you need- especially at Christmas time when the stress levels are high, and you don't have much time to relax and unwind with a good book. And if that's the case, and you're looking for an easy, simple, but enjoyable story that can be read in a day, I would recommend ACOFAS. It's a fun, quick, effortless read with plenty of cute, funny, and heartwarming seasonal scenes to help get you in the mood for Christmas, as well as some deeper, heartbreaking moments to punch you in the heart, as certain characters struggle with their mental health due to trauma and loss. But please proceed with caution if topics like war, grief, depression, s*xual abuse, physical abuse and s*x are triggering.

A few highlights of the book for me were getting to read from Cassian and Nesta's POVs for the first time, and their heated scenes together as Nesta battled with her trauma and grief. She straight-up broke my heart pushing the few people that cared about her away while she spiralled further and further, and it annoyed me how nobody seemed to realise why she was acting the way she was when they'd all been through trauma themselves. Nesta's such a misunderstood character, but I love her, and wanted someone to help her so badly. The scene where she rejects Cassian's Solstice present hurt my heart, and I was rooting for them to end up together. It was also interesting to finally read a flash-back of the aftermath of Mor's assault, when Eris found her on the ground of the Autumn Court, and I was surprised by how the scenes between Rhys and a deeply depressed Tamlin changed my feelings towards Tamlin yet again. There's also plenty of romantic moments between everyone's favourite power-couple, Feysand, and some sweet moments laced with sexual tension for Azriel and Elain. Lucien also pops his head in, but of course, he's still being completely ignored. He deserves better.

The seasonal scenes were also really fun to read, from the three five-hundred-year-old winged man children having their annual snowball fight together, to Azriel redoing the decorations Cassian and Feyre made a mess of hanging, and getting flustered when Rhys busts him downing wine in exasperation. Mor's legendary bad gift giving was also pretty funny, and the story of where Rhys got all of Feyre's outfits made me cry.

In conclusion, A Court of Frost and Starlight is not the best written book in the world, doesn't have much of a plot, and doesn't match the quality of the rest of the ACOTAR series, but it's a fun read if you're an ACOTAR or fantasy fan who enjoys a bit of festive fluff. I don't think you need to read the first three books to enjoy it, but it would definitely help you understand the characters- and the fact the males have bat wings- better. The book has it's good sides and bad sides and down right cringe worthy sides, but it's worth enduing for the good bits. Just go in with low expectations, pretend it's a fan fic, and you'll be less disappointed by the drop in quality since ACOWAR. Don't worry- it more than picks up again in A Court of Silver Flames.

Rating: Three and a half stars out of five from me, but hey, it's Solstice, so let's round it up to four.

You can find a more in-depth review of the book from me on my Goodreads here.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to start my reread.

Have you read A Court of Frost and Starlight yet?

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Litjoy Crate ACOTAR Stained Glass Book Sleeve Review

2023 has been my A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) era, and I'm not done yet.

Not even close.

I've even gone as far as buying bookish ACOTAR merch this year. 

I reviewed the amazing Litjoy Crate ACOTAR book tin here on the blog back in the spring, and I loved the design so much that I just had to go back and snag one of the matching book sleeves for myself, too. I've been meaning to talk about it for months, but, luckily, the timing works out okay for present inspiration because it would actually make a great Christmas present for any fan of the series.

So, this is the Litjoy Crate ACOTAR stained glass book sleeve, which features RosieThorns88's amazing Beauty and the Rhys artwork. It depicts Rhys, Feyre, and Tamlin (and the High Lords' beast forms behind them) on Feyre's wedding day, and it's inspired by the stained glass art from Beauty and the Beast. 

The fun thing about the design is that there are loads of little Easter eggs from the books hidden amongst the characters like Lucien's fox mask, the Ouroboros, Feyre's wedding shoe (if you know, you know), the Bone Carver's chisel, and the Cauldron turned into a giant rose. There's also the starry Night Court sky and the Spring Court manor in the stained glass windows at the back, and pretty pink roses along the bottom.

There's a lot of deep purples, pinks, black, and green in the art, but they're not as vivid as they are on the book tin, and some of the darker colours (especially on the Night Court side) have printed a little too dark to see the image clearly. I think it makes an otherwise gorgeous book sleeve look a little bit like a cheap knock-off in places, which is such a shame as the art is amazing and it's otherwise well made.

The book sleeve has been made from polyester with inner foam to cushion your book or e-reader (or whatever you decide to store inside) and keep them well protected from dirt and damage. It feels soft and springy- a bit like wetsuit fabric. It's also durable and thick, can be easily wiped clean, and has a zip closure at the top to keep you book or tablet safe and clean.

It comes in three sizes to suit paperbacks, hardbacks, and tablets, and I went with the medium to cover most of my bases. The medium is 8 x 11.5 inches in size, and it's perfect for smaller hardbacks- but can be used for paperbacks and Kindles, too. It won't accommodate larger hardbacks like A Court of Silver Flames, but I can just about squeeze A Court of Wings and Ruin in it (as you can see in the photos), which is 699 pages long. You won't fit anything bigger in this bad boy (there's zero chance of fitting Kingdom of Ash in here), and it's definitely better suited to more average-sized books so you don't strain the zip and stitching. I don't really understand why they'd make an ACOTAR book sleeve and not make it roomy enough to fit all of the books, but at least A Court of Thorns and Roses, and A Court of Frost and Starlight fit in perfectly. 

These stained glass book sleeves range from $16.50- $25.00 (US dollars) in price- the medium is $20.00- and shipping to the UK was under $10 with taxes, which I think is really reasonable. It does vary depending on how much you buy, though. I didn't get hit with an extra custom charges for shipping to England, but this will vary from place to place.

Overall, I really love my ACOTAR book sleeve, and it's great for keeping the book I'm reading protected at home or on the go in between reads. I really want their Throne of Glass book sleeve, too, and I'm hoping it gets restocked.

Do you use book sleeves to protect your books?

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A Court of Thorns and Roses Litjoy Crate Book Tin Review

Hands up: who loves A Court of Thorns and Roses?

Am I the only one with my hand in the air, or are you also a fan of the magical faerie world of courts, handsome High Lords, and ripped, brooding fae warriors with bat wings? 

If you are, you're going to love what I have to show you today. Also, let's fangirl together.

Unlike Feyre, I don't have any soup to serve you while we do, but feast your eyes on this beautiful, officially-licensed A Court of Thorns book tin from Litjoy Crate. It's probably the most frivolous thing I've bought in years, but Cauldron boil me, I just couldn't resist it.

This paperback-sized book tin features an incredible design by the artist RosieThorns88, which has been inspired by the iconic stained-glass art from Beauty and the Beast. I fell in love with this artwork before I'd even read the series because it is just that pretty, and finally made a purchase when I was half way through A Court of Mist and Fury. I regret nothing. 

This gorgeous tin-turned-piece-of-art depicts Feyre, Tamlin, and Rhysand on her wedding day in A Court of Mist and Fury, with the High Lords' beast-forms behind them. 

In the background, wind curling vines of thorns, and pink and purple roses, with the Cauldron near the top, cleverly designed to look like another giant rose. And the fun part? If you look closely, you'll find lots of little Easter eggs from the books mixed in to the picture, like a Where's Wally? challenge for grown-ups. There's the Night Court mountains and the Spring Court manor on either side, plus the Book and the Cauldron, Feyre's bow and arrow, a wedding shoe, the Ouroboros, Lucien's fox mask, the Weaver's spinning wheel, Rhys' bowl of soup, the ring, a bone and chisel (representing the Bone Carver), a necklace (perhaps the one Varian gave Amren?), a dagger (representing the third trial Under the Mountain), and what looks like the Veritas orb. I can't work out if the sticks above the wolf's head are Tamlin's horns, or something else entirely. (Any ideas?). The image is then bordered with stained glass windows in pretty shades of purple, pink, and blue, designed to look like a night sky through black iron windows, and this is repeated over most of the book tin.

The spine of the book tin is arched, and features a simplified design of the snarl of thorns and roses, with the rose-shaped Cauldron and Book at the top.

The edges feature stained-glass windows in decadent dark shades of purple, pink, and blue. The colours are to die for.

On the back of the tin, there's a (cheesy) quote from  Feyre in A Court of Mist and Fury. 'I was his and he was mine, and we were the beginning and middle and end. We were a song that had been sung from the very first ember of light in the world.' It's printed in a cool, fairytale-style font in ombre purple and pink, and takes the form of another stained glass window, with lots of thorns and roses curling into it.

And if you open the tin, you'll find that the inner door is decorated with another quote from ACOMAF- one of my favourites: 'He thinks he'll be remembered as the villain in the story. But I forgot to tell him that the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. He was the one who let me out.' If there's a better quote for a fairytale book tin, I'd like to hear it.

The good thing about this tin is that it's not just a pretty piece of book merch to display with your books- it's functional, too. Okay, with a storage area of 20cm high x 10cm wide x 5cm deep, you're not going to be able to store anything big in it, but it is useful for keeping little things like keepsakes, money, stationery, sewing supplies, or an emergency chocolate stash safe from prying hands. (I'd definitely recommend using it for the latter. Everyone needs an emergency chocolate stash).

It's also fantastic quality, sturdy, and well-made from high-quality tin-plate. 

It even comes in its own presentation box, featuring the same design in slightly more vivid colours, so it makes a lovely gift for any ACOTAR fan. The box is far too pretty to throw away, so I've currently got both on display on my bookshelves.

With its gorgeous design, attention to detail, and great quality, it's well worth the $22 it retails for. 

Shipping from America to the UK was also fairly reasonable, which I was really surprised about. It was $7 for shipping, with $5.80 taxes, and I didn't get any custom charges. I think delivery cost varies depending on what or how much you order, though, so that's something to be aware of.

If it's captured your heart, you can find it on the Litjoy Crate website here. 

And if you love the tin but have no use for it, you might be happy to hear that the design also features on book sleeves, and a window-cling (the latter only in the members-only Lunacorns' store). I'm hoping for a restock on the blanket they used to do, too.

Litjoy Crate also stock a great selection of other Sarah J. Maas products that'll likely tempt you if you're love her books. Just don't blame me if you want to buy it all!

Are you an ACOTAR fan? Which book and character are your favourites?

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Currently | April 2023