At the beginning, I had a hard time getting past how much this book reminded me of "Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow," Jessica Day George's retelling of "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." An under-appreciated young woman with a somewhat dysfunctional family is snatched away in the dead of winter by a huge talking beast to help break a curse. Fortunately, the story eventually veered away from SaMIaS and more towards a Beauty and the Beast feel. 
 The characters were pretty great. Feyre, our heroine, was strong, independent, and capable of taking care of her family when they wouldn't take care of themselves. Tamlin was, of course, wonderful and charming in his learning-how-to-interact-with-human-women way. And an enchantment that leaves him and his court permanently stuck in masquerade masks? Not gonna lie, that was one of the biggest draws of the series for me. It was original and mysterious and sexy. 
 I got through the book very quickly. So much wasn't revealed until late in the story, and trying to get to the heart of the mystery behind the curse kept me up reading late at night. Unlike some reviewers, I didn't feel like the story was built up around the romance at all. The romance was a big part of the story, but the curse and the plot and the trouble caused by the blight definitely felt like the bigger picture. In fact, while the romance was sweet,the more intimate scenes seemed pretty awkward. Overall, though, the story flowed well and was very enjoyable. 
 Although (view spoiler)[ the riddle was way too easy. If I could figure it out in less than 2 minutes,Feyre should have been able to figure it out in no time! (hide spoiler)] 
 This book ended in a way that it felt satisfactory as a stand-alone. But it's clear from a couple of unresolved issues that there will be more to the series, which I'm very much looking forward to!