Sarah: I should have never doubted you. ACOSF was epic and wonderful, and exactly what I needed in a dreary February.
Also, to my local bookstore: Please remove this from the YA section. It’s definitely not YA.
What happens?
If you’re new to ACOTAR … Buckle your seat belts, friends. We’ve got 3+1 books to catch up on.
Spoilers. Obviously.
A Court of Thorns and Roses is very loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Feyre – an impoverished human woman – kills a wolf during a hunt. That night, a monstrous beast arrives at her hut and steals her away, claiming a life for a life.
Turns out the monstrous beast is actually Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court, who’s has been cursed by an invading general. By the time Feyre works all everything out, she’s been sent back to the human lands and Tamlin has been captured. In a stunning display of bravery/stupidity, Feyre goes chasing after him – lands herself in some serious trouble – and, against all odds, manages to save the day.
So, Feyre returns to the Spring Court to marry Tamlin … but, after three months of mental and physical torture, she’s struggling with some pretty serious PTSD. (And, so is Tamlin.) As her mental health declines – and as her relationship with Tamlin starts to fall apart – Feyre is whisked off to the Night Court by its High Lord, Rhys. Feyre – slowly – starts to heal. And – slowly – starts to fall in love.
I’m just going to leave this here, K?
Unfortunately, life is more complicated than falling in love over Starfall. War is looming, and Feyre’s new family is threatened by the King of Hybern. Not only are the High Lords woefully outnumbered, but Hybern also possesses the Cauldron: a mystical, ancient magical device which helped make the world.
Battles are lost and won. By the end, Feyre, Rhys, and their family are – through some miracle – all alive, and the world is safe … for the moment.
Which brings us to Nesta … Feyre’s older sister, who – for lack of a better word – is an aloof bitch. (And, yes: I know she’s much more complicated than that.) She starts the series as human, but is captured by the King of Hybern – is thrown into the Cauldron – and is turned into high fae. She plays a secondary role in the first four books … though, by Frost and Starlight, it becomes apparent that she’s extremely traumatized by her making, her father’s death, and having survived a war. I don’t blame her.
Which brings us to Silver Flame … Nesta’s spin-off book. About a year has passed since the end of the war, and Nesta is spiraling – bad. She’s drinking herself into a stupor, racking up huge tabs (charged to dearest Rhysand), and inviting home strange men on a nightly basis. Not knowing what to do, Feyre gives Nesta an ultimatum: either start training with Cassian, or be exiled to the human lands.
Not liking the idea of a witchfae-hunt, Nesta decides to go with Cassian. What follows is a lot of training …
… stairs:
.. steamy stuff:
… my favourite female friendships in the ACOTAR series:
… and some serious Good Will Hunting vibes:
… which is just the tip of the story. Elsewhere, there’s the threat of a new war, a vengeful Queen, ancient artifacts, the prison, baby drama, lots of Inner Circle stuff. Like, a ton of stuff happens. It’s no surprise that the book is nearly 800 pages.
First lines:
The black water nipping at her thrashing heels was freezing.
Not the bite of winter chill, or even the burn of solid ice, but something colder. Deeper.
Highs and lows …
✔️ Nesta’s journey. I loved it. Her path was slow, meandering, and organic – and had the backtracks I’d expect of mostly-untreated PTSD. By the end, she had obviously changed … but, at her core, remained very much Nesta. I’m really excited to see her interactions – at the end – she still felt very much like Nesta.
✔️ Emerie and Gwyn. Hello, OCs. You are amazing, brave, and super inspirational women. I love you both! (And I love that Nesta was able to create her own found family.)
✔️ The House. This is really the best bit of magic in the entire series. I want a house just like this!
❌ The Blood Rite. Sure, it was interesting to see … but, I don’t think it was necessary or warranted given the rest of Nesta’s journey. Her strength came from her internal struggle and persistence, not racing to the top of a mountain. The book should have ended with Nesta, Elain, and Feyre meeting at their old house, having a good talk and cry.
❌ The mating bond. Nesta’s journey felt pretty well-paced … up until the mating bond reveal. We get a glimmer of her internal process … but then, over one evening with hot chocolate, everything is OK? Just like that? This could have been explored in so. much. more. depth.
Final thoughts …
I honestly didn’t think there was much left to explore in the ACOTAR world … but this book has entirely proven me wrong. I NEED (NEED!) to find out about Elain and Lucien; Tamlin; and Azriel and Gwyn!
The details:
Book: A Court of Silver Flame
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Published: 2021, Bloomsbury
My copy: Personal Copy
Read date: February, 2021
Rating/5: 🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇
Sigh. Seeing that I committed to a full series re-read … I guess this was inevitable.
The Geeky Jock 