I don’t know what the deal is about fall, but something about it just makes me want to dive into giant, 800-page fantasy books, and I’m not mad about it. I know not everyone has the time or energy to invest in a chunky read like that, so I’m going to give you a recommendation for an abridged version. “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas is the perfect book to get you started on your fantasy journey. It’s a bit on the shorter side but still has big book energy. 

Our story opens with a young woman named Feyre who is hunting in the woods to feed her starving family. Their survival depends on her skills as a huntress, but when Feyre kills a giant wolf near the border to the faerie lands, her actions have deadly consequences. It turns out she accidentally killed a faerie and in response his best friend, Tamlin, rolled up to exact vengeance by taking her back to his estate above the barrier in the faerie lands as a form of punishment. Despite her harrowing entrance into this new world above the wall, Feyre is quickly taken by surprise at how she settles right into the lushness of the faerie lands. It doesn’t hurt that her captor is drop dead gorgeous and is the suffering, broody type currently trapped by a curse. There is more at work going on in the other Fae territories, and Feyre begins to understand breaking this curse may take more than she’s willing to give, or risk dooming the world of Prythian to a dark and terrible fate. 

This book changed my life as a reader. I’ve always loved it as a hobby, but this book woke me up in terms of what a story was capable of doing. I was sucked right in and felt fully engrossed in this world from start to finish. The writing style was easy to read and still flowed beautifully. There are plenty of other Sarah J. Maas books to read, including the “Throne of Glass” series and “Crescent City,” but the ACOTAR series is one of my absolute favorites, and is the reason that I am as big of a reader as I am. With some books, you can read them and they aren’t memorable, but this book was so heartbreakingly good it hurt my feelings. Not in a bad way, but in the way that I was so blown away by her story writing abilities that I wasn’t sure what would compare.  

There are plenty of great fantasy books out there to get you in the rainy-day mood, but “A Court of Thorns and Roses” is the perfect book to lose yourself in and get lost in the world of Prythian. It’s got the heart and depth of an epic 800-page book all within 300 pages.  Plus, it’s got hot, broody, immortal Fae guys that are absolute simps over our girl Feyre, so that’s just another thing it’s got going for it.