**spoiler alert** A Court of Thorns and Roses did not surprise me in any way when it came to plot, storytelling, world building, or characterizations. I had slightly higher expectations for this YA Fantasy series because of the hype, but finished it feeling confused about how certain books are able to have such a great stroke of luck in catching virality...It was still a page turner because of how easy it was to pick up, but in a way where it felt like I was turning off my brain a little bit each time. I think it would have left a better impression if the story actually had good pacing and development, but there were too many big moments that were summarized in a short line. For example, Fayre's journey to the mountain as well as when she was transformed into a high fae occurred within a paragraph and it felt like a cop out to even include these developments into the story. It was as if everything was working in Fayre's favor because the author didn't want to put in effort into describing the hardship or journey. I also think Fayre as a character was very unlikeable and had surface level woes. I couldn't help but be annoyed by how long she wanted to escape the palace even though it was obvious that the conditions were favorable in every way. I also think her oath to her mother to always look after her family was a cheap thread that connected her to her original life and family that held no depth or validity. Overall, I'm not sure why the characters and story felt so shallow even though the book was a decently girthy 400 page-long book. I would consider continuing the series in between tougher, more emotional reads, but this is a book that I feel like I could find on Wattpad.