A Court of Thorns and Roses Beat Sheet: How Sarah J. Maas Structured ACOTAR

Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, copyright 2015
Pages: 721 pages (ebook edition)

Genre: Superhero + Monster in the House

I’ve read lot of romance novels, to be sure, but far fewer when their plots are blended with fantasy (the “Romantasy” genre). And I could count on one hand the novels I’ve read that prominently feature the Fae in the main cast. However, after reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, I found myself compelled enough to hunt for more, as well as to delve deeper into this incredibly popular 5-book series. (I’m on the verge of beginning the fourth book, if that tells you anything.)

Impressively, Book 1 is still on the Amazon Charts after 9 years, with a 4.6 average and over 254,000 ratings. Booklist gave it a starred review, and USA Today said it was “Passionate, violent, sexy and daring…. A true page-turner.” Agreed.

Cross the 3 elements of a Superhero story…
1) The hero of your tale must have a special power—even if it’s just a mission to be great or do good.
2) The hero must be opposed by a nemesis of equal or greater force, who is the “self-made” version of the hero.
3) There must be a curse for the hero that he either surmounts or succumbs to as the price for who he is.

…with the 3 elements of a Monster in the House story…
1) A monster that is supernatural in its powers—even if its strength derives from insanity—and “evil” at its core.
2) A house, meaning an enclosed space that can include a family unit, an entire town, or even “the world.”
3) A sin. Someone is guilty of bringing the monster in the house… a transgression that can include ignorance.

…and add in a sexy dash of Buddy Love as a subplot, and you’ve got a book that the Huffington Post called “Vicious and intoxicating…. A dazzling world, complex characters and sizzling romance” (on A Court of Thorns and Roses – Top Pick).

From the Publisher:
The sexy, action-packed first book in the #1 bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses series from global phenomenon Sarah J. Maas.

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

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore into an unforgettable read.

________

Here’s a look at the Save the Cat! beat sheet for this intriguing, complex, and cross-genre novel that I found to be utterly fascinating:

Opening Image (pp. 10-23): At 19 years old, Feyre routinely hunts for food for her family. On this night, in the midst of a cold winter, she finds herself deep in the forest, near the northern border of the faerie lands of Prythian. She’s desperate to bring home some meat to feed her father, her two older sisters, and herself. She spots a deer, but a large wolf with yellow eyes appears, ready to attack it first. In order to get the needed food, Feyre waits until the wolf kills the deer, and then she shoots the wolf. She skins the wolf for his fur before dragging the whole deer home to her family.

Set-Up (pp. 24-63): Feyre and her family have been living in a new village for the past eight years, ever since their fall from fortune. Creditors had broken her father’s leg, repossessing their manor and its contents and taking their social status along with their belongings. Readers meet her sisters—the vain Nesta and the gentler Elain—neither of whom helps to provide for the family. Their father hasn’t tried to earn money for years, not even by begging, and their mother is long dead. Feyre’s mother died before teaching her to read, and this illiteracy is something that embarrasses her.

But Feyre is not without multiple skills. In addition to her hunting talents, she loves to paint, though she doesn’t have the time or opportunity to do much by way of hobbies; she’s too busy trying to keep them all from starving.

All Feyre wants is a peaceful future with her elder sisters married off and some quiet time at home with her father. Unfortunately, she knows they have no land or riches that would tempt potential suitors into marrying Nesta or Elain. Despite being the youngest, Feyre was the one their mother sought out on her deathbed, making her daughter promise to stay with her father and sisters and look after them. This is a vow Feyre has taken seriously.

She spends much of her time risking her life to hunt for food and then selling the pelts at the local market. She does this with her latest acquisitions the following day, trading with a mercenary woman—someone who’s made a living guarding the wealthy lands of humans that border the immortal realm. This woman warns her that the High Fae may be planning something, possibly another brutal attack on the humans. The mortals have been victims of a vicious war by the Fae before and wouldn’t be able to withstand it again.

Theme Stated (pp. 42-43): Feyre’s father says, “We need hope as much as we need bread and meat. We need hope, or else we cannot endure.” He also tells her that she needs to let her sisters “imagine a better life. A better world.” But Feyre believes “there’s no such thing.”

Catalyst (pp. 63): Shortly after they return from the market, they hear a loud “ROAR!” An enormous growling creature appears in the doorway of their ramshackle cottage.

Debate (pp. 64-78): “Murderers!” the beast bellows at them. Feyre knows at once that it must be a faerie. The creature demands to know who killed the large wolf in the forest. Turns out, the wolf with the yellow eyes had been a faerie, too, and the beast is there to insist on payment according to the Fae/Human Treaty.

“A life for a life,” says the beast. The faeries must claim her life in some way, either by killing her outright or taking her back to Prythian, where she must forsake the human realm forever. Feyre doesn’t want to leave her life with her family, no matter how miserable it’s been at home, because she knows her father and sisters will go hungry without her. But, if she doesn’t go with the faerie creature, she’ll be dead. So, really, there’s no choice. She says her final words to her family and then follows the beast outside.

Break into Two (pp. 79-86): Feyre is headed with the beast on a two-day’s journey to his faerie world. He seems continually irritated with her and, finally sick of her questions, he puts a magic spell on her and she passes out. When she awakens from her enchanted sleep, she’s at the wall—the southernmost border of Prythian—and she’s forced to follow him into the land of the Fae. Entering a new world, indeed.

B Story (pp. 91-94): Feyre’s relationship with the creature, whose name is Tamlin, quickly becomes complicated, especially when she discovers that he can shapeshift from his beastly form into a strikingly handsome member of the High Fae. A romance between them seems unthinkable at first, but not for long. Tamlin is one of only seven High Lords, the members of the ruling nobility among faeries, and he wears a mysterious mask on his face that seems to be permanently affixed. Those in his Spring Court wear them also.

Fun and Games (pp. 87-292): Feyre is introduced to Tamlin’s court and his staff, most notably, a scarred, one-eye faerie male named Lucien, the High Lord’s closest friend, and Feyre’s assigned personal maid, Alis. None of the faeries appear pleased to have a human female in their midst, which is understandable once Feyre learns that the wolf she’d killed had been their good friend Andras.

But her fears of being enslaved or even treated poorly by the Spring Court and its High Lord are quickly dismissed. Her bedroom is luxurious beyond her wildest dreams. Her clothing is finer than those she’s ever worn, even when her family was wealthy. And the meals she’s served are plentiful and delicious—nothing like the meager rations she’d had in the mortal realm.

However, there are secrets—and dangers—everywhere. Alis warns her to keep her wits about her and to listen more than she speaks. Tamlin reassures her that she need not worry about her father and sisters. They’ll be well taken care of in her absence. He knows she’s been their only source of food and income. But, if she were to attempt to flee and cross the wall back into the human lands, her family would receive nothing. Their survival depends upon her staying.

So, despite her discomfort in living with such grandeur, she stays. She learns more about her master from Alis, about the scary creatures hovering on the edge of their estate from Lucien, and about a blight that’s spreading across the land from Tamlin. The High Lord explains it as a sickness that diminishes the powers of the Fae, and that there’s a chance this blight may affect mortals, too.

Mysterious though he is in many ways, Tamlin begins to charm Feyre, and she finds he seems charmed by her in return. He’s impressed with her interest in art and her longing to paint. Loves that she can feel so deeply the beauty of the artwork she sees in his manor. Buys her paints and canvases so she can create her own designs. Thus, an uneasy relationship between them begins… and an unwelcome attraction blossoms.

Meanwhile, there’s much Feyre doesn’t understand about the Spring Court and tries to figure it out, frequently with Lucien’s assistance. He helps her to escape some of the deadly monsters nearby and, after a few missteps and moments of mistrust, they find themselves bonded in friendship. Tamlin begins to teach her to read and even takes her to his favorite spots on the estate. She shows compassion when he’s injured and gently binds his wounds.

Turns out, neither are what the other expected, especially after years of prejudices between their species. He knows how much she’s given up to protect her family, and he’s the first to rush to her rescue when she’s inadvertently put in danger. Later, when he brings a gravely wounded faerie into the manor, she’s the first to help. They’ve somehow become a team.

Midpoint (pp.292-300): Tamlin is truly beginning to fall for Feyre. He’s intrigued by her human joy and the genuine kindness she showed the dying faerie (who’d been attacked by a nameless but evil “she”). He kisses her palm and her cheek, and he even writes her a love poem of sorts, using words that she’d been struggling to read. She realizes she craves his warmth.

Bad Guys Close In (pp. 300-454): There are a lot of bad guys in this story, particularly ones with magical powers. The worst of them (the still nameless “she”) has yet to be formally introduced, but readers can feel her coming. At a festival called Calanmai, or Fire Night, which signals the official start of spring, Tamlin warns Feyre to stay inside her bedroom, lock the door, and not come out until morning. He has a Great Rite to perform but won’t explain to her what it is.

She, of course, doesn’t follow directions. She’s soon accosted by three male faeries but rescued by another one—an incredibly handsome High Fae stranger, who she later learns is Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court—a male who’s as powerful and dangerous as he is dashing.

Tamlin finds her wandering in the hallway back at the manor and, while still under the spell of magic, he suddenly bites and then kisses her neck. At yet another party, Feyre again disobeys orders and drinks the faerie wine. She gets carried away, but Tamlin looks after her in her drunkenness.

They dance together in a secluded location and kiss deeply. Feyre confesses that she finally believes her father’s words about imagining a better life and world. But it’s a short-lived happiness because the blight seems to be worsening, creating darkness and death.

Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, bursts into the manor. Despite Tamlin’s and Lucien’s attempts at hiding Feyre, he senses her presence and remembers her from Fire Night. They call Rhysand “Amarantha’s whore,” and that’s how Feyre learns the name of the evil “she.”

One of Rhysand’s many powers is his ability to look inside people’s minds and even to shatter them. Tamlin and Lucien beg him not to tell the wicked Amarantha about Feyre, and he demands to know her name. She lies and gives him the name of one of her sister’s acquaintances from their mortal village.

After this encounter, Tamlin knows how risky it is for Feyre to remain at Spring Court. He’s determined to send her home to her human family for her own safety, but she doesn’t want to leave him. They finally have a passionate night together, and he whispers to her that he loves her. She’s hesitant to say it back, even though that’s what she thinks she’s feeling.

Regardless, she’s forcibly sent away the next morning and soon finds herself at her family’s new house—a beautiful chateau that’s nothing like the dank cottage she’d left. Her fathers and sisters are rich again, all of them put under one of Tamlin’s spells. They believe the reason Feyre was gone was to care for an elderly aunt. But her eldest sister Nesta hadn’t fully fallen for it. She remembers that Feyre had been taken by a beast, and she’d even tried, unsuccessfully, to go to the faerie land to find her. Feyre explains to Nesta all that really happened during her months away.

All Is Lost (pp. 454-463): Feyre discovers that her sister’s friend—the name of whom Feyre falsely gave to Rhysand—has disappeared. The young woman’s house in the old village was burned to the ground and her entire family killed in the fire. The guilt Feyre feels is overwhelming. She must go back to Tamlin and the Spring Court, no matter what dangers lie ahead. She sets off toward the wall and, once again, enters the land of the Fae.

Dark Night of the Soul (pp. 463-489): Tamlin’s Spring Court manor is wrecked, and he’s vanished. Feyre manages to find Alis, who reveals their High Lord was taken by Amarantha to her treacherous court known as Under the Mountain. Feyre also learns that the “blight” Tamlin kept talking about was actually the evil Amarantha and a curse she’d put on everyone for the past 50 years.

She’d been the one who originally scarred Lucien and took his eye. She’d been responsible for the impossible-to-remove masks. And she’d been the spellcaster whose amorous advances had once been scorned by Tamlin. She responded to his snarky claim that he’d rather marry a human with hate for faeries in her heart than to ever touch Amarantha himself.

The wicked woman took revenge on Tamlin for that. She gave him five decades to make good on his claim or the curse on his people would become permanent. Had Feyre honestly told Tamlin before she left that she loved him, Amarantha’s spell would have been broken. But she didn’t. And he put her well-being ahead of his own and sent her away before Amarantha could hurt her. But now time was up, and it was too late.

Break into Three (pp. 490-494): All dark and miserable roads lead to Under the Mountain. Alis points Feyre to the cave where Tamlin, Lucien, and many others are being held. Alis warns her not to trust a soul in there—that her senses are her greatest enemies and they’ll be waiting to destroy her. Nevertheless, Feyre presses onward and enters the cave.

Finale (pp. 494-691): Feyre is forced to go in front of Amarantha’s throne, and next to the evil female sits Tamlin, who is stony-faced and silent, as if in a trance. Feyre also sees the corpse on the wall of the young woman from her village—Nesta’s friend who’d been tortured and killed because Amarantha thought she was the woman Tamlin loved.

Feyre’s guilt for having lied continues to plague her, but she can’t understand why Rhysand had passed along that lie. He might not have known Feyre’s real name, but he knew that villager wasn’t the woman he’d seen at Spring Court.

Feyre tells Amarantha she’s there to claim Tamlin, the man she loves, but Amarantha will only let Feyre have him if she completes three challenges or answers a riddle. Only then will the curse be broken.

Needless to say, Amarantha doesn’t intend to play fair. Feyra is beaten up and caged in a cell. Lucien sneaks in to tend to her wounds, and Rhysand pretends he doesn’t recognize her, even though she’s certain he does. (Gathering the Team)

Each of the three challenges are more punitive than the last. After the first one, Rhysand slips into her cell to heal her injuries, lest she die of infection, but he exacts a price. She must promise to spend one week of every month with him at his Night Court, assuming she completes her tasks and gets free. She reluctantly agrees, and he marks their bargain with a tattoo covering one of her hands and her forearm.

He later surprises her by protecting her against the guards, and he even helps with the second challenge (a literary one), using her new tattoo as a way to secretly communicate. Feyre is shocked that Rhysand chooses to rescue her from more than one perilous situation. He seems to be simultaneously cruel and cleverly strategic, admitting to her that working Tamlin into a fury is the best weapon they have against Amarantha.

At one critical moment, Rhysand roughly kisses Feyre, which succeeds in angering Tamlin, but it also serves to protect both Tamlin and Feyre from Amarantha’s wrath.

The third and final challenge is the most taxing on Feyre’s human soul. Even though she manages to complete it, Amarantha is determined to kill her. And she succeeds. As Feyre is on the verge of dying, she even solves the riddle, which is supposed to immediately break the curse on the faeries.

Freedom! The masks fall off the Fae and their powers are restored, but Amarantha has snapped Feyre’s neck, leading to her mortal death. Even after Amarantha is killed, Tamlin is left cradling the dead Feyre in his arms.

One by one, the seven High Lords come up to Feyre, and each drops a glittering kernel on her, Rhysand and Tamlin included. Through this gift, they’re jointly able to resurrect her and bestow upon her immortality—eternal life as a new member of the High Fae. Feyre awakens and is reunited with her lover, Tamlin.

Final Image (pp. 691-698): Rhysand, using the power of the tattoo he’d given Feyre, summons her to say goodbye… for now. Regardless of her relationship with Tamlin, Rhysand still expects her to fulfill her side of their bargain and spend one week per month with him at his Night Court. Feyre and Rhysand have an unusual bond, having both shared soul secrets during their captivity.

It appears there’s a great deal more to this epic saga, and their interactions have only just begun. Look for them to continue in Book 2 of the series, A Court of Mist and Fury.

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