When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin--one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin--and his world--forever.

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Review:

What makes a story Great?  I am thinking a lot about this question as I write this review.  I don't give out five star ratings willy-nilly.  As I write more and more reviews, my criteria to be impressed changes and grows.  Is a book worthy of a wonderful review simply by being entertaining and different, or does there need to be more?  I am still learning the answer to that question.  For me, being emotionally moved by a book is what does me in.

ACOTAR transcends into a great book because Sarah J. Maas uses the events in the story to discuss complex topics such as parenting, family ties, and dignity in death.  As I read the book, I could relate to some of the situations on a very personal level, particularly when Feyre states that no one should have to die alone.   I identified with Feyre's complicated feelings towards her family, and cried and cried over a death scene that, for all it's fantasy aspects, was tender and realistic. 

This book is thoughtful, but is also a lot of fun.  ACOTAR is a fresh take on the Beauty and the Beast tale, with many twists, the most striking of which is that the Beauty, Feyre, is no delicate, cultivated flower.  Oh, and the Beast is a Faerie Lord!