User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Spoilers hidden because I’m not a dick This review gonna be a lili bit of raving about this book by itself VS ranting how it was as a continuation of Maas’s series
Honestly, my biggest challenge going into this book was all my preconceptions of this world and its characters.
The stakes were high.Cassian is one of the biggest favorites in the fandom
Whereas Nesta has a reputation for being a....
So going into it, the book was better when I tried to block out all the nasty shit in previous books and high expectations.
This isn’t the start of a new ✨Maas✨series, just a standalone romance happening in same world. I highly recommend that mindset cuz then it's less disappointing. Moving on,
꧁The Characters꧂I have never liked
Nesta Acheron. sorry not sorry. I didn’t like her much in the previous books but I acknowledge that her character has potential for such depth that Maas really tried to develop here.
But did it work?
Typically these characters dynamics would usually have me ✨screaming✨
with a bloodthirsty heroine and spitfire cocky guy who always comes back for her!!I’ve always loved Cassian. But i didnt
*quite* love his POV.
I felt like thru an attempt of making his character more dimensional, we lost some of his key characteristics as the flirtatous badass who uses humor and adrenaline to cope... Yes it was amazing getting insight into his thoughts and Maas’s writing style easily adopted this dual perspective. I just wish we got more of the Cassian that trained Freye and let her punch out as needed while cracking jokes at Rhysands expensive.
Maas is known for her growling, purring, overprotective, asshole, alpha males. BUT I LOVEEE ITTTT
And his relationship with Nesta was so well developed. He knows Nesta as a victim, killer, broken girl, self-sufficient woman, and general badass.
He's seen it alll and he keeps coming back for her.Together, these two were the perfect combination for
a hot chaotic relationship that had you swooning, cackling, and gasping.
I don't think Nesta will ever be my fav character
however her story really speaks to mental health for someone who reacts/protects themselves with sharp words and anger
Some describe Nesta as ambitious and authoritative character but to me she was very
selfish, cold, and distant. She did nothing to help Feyre provide for their family and spent the money Freye earned on frivolous items. THEN in fey world went on whole refusing to train/ help others but demanding they protect ONE of her sisters?!
*fuck off* In this book, She
*finally* had moments of -well i’m tired of not being able to protect myself. LIKE YES BITCH THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL BEEN SAYING THIS WHOLE TIME
So on that element, I was sooo glad she was actually making progress and decisions!
At the same time, I found myself disappointed with the Inner Circle
*gasp* I know, I was sad about it too. I understood why they were done with her shit. Because, same.
But the constant bashing of Nesta's drinking, sex, and weight were low blows especially compared to the violence and weight loss Freyre went thru. hypocrites much? I fully recognize this isn’t reflective of the characters we know
but its Nesta’s perspective of the characters acting towards her...
*Shrug*꧁The Maas Quality꧂ Honestly, sad to report no major twists. It was just a really good, borderline dark, romance driven by character development and lotttta
sexy sexy fun times since its not longer YA
If I had just randomly picked this up, then this book would’ve been off the charts with such dynamic characters, beautiful worldbuilding, and an okay plot.
But in comparison with her others, this book seemed kinda basic and was missing some intricate detail plot twists that you usually can count on with Maas.To sum up it was an epic story of redemption-- Of a girl finding herself again after tragedy. And along the way she makes friends, and a lover who listens to her who supports her rough recovery, and not always her actions.
Somehow this book felt soooo long and overly descriptive.. but also was not enough. No idea how that happens but there it is.
The next threat/enemy makes logical sense. So I liked that
I wanted Nesta to get fierce FOR her sisters and be finally willing to fight FOR them. I love
some badass sisters dynamics of teasing each other, bitching at each other but would do anything for each other in the end!
Didn't really quite get that. I was constantly underwhelmed by Nesta. She talks lotta shit but what has she actually done?
She has continuously refused to show initiative in her own life and failed to provide for herself. Instead, she constantly chose to lean on the resources of others for her survival.
All she has done is complain.
Complain about her human life while refusing to work and save herself or her sisters.
Complain about the happiness her lili sister found while refusing to be part of it.
Complain about the only people willing to fight and save humans while refusing to train or learn to fight FOR HERSELF.
iM bOrEd and AnGeReD by the dismissive bullshit that defined her character up to this point in the series This book showed some sparks of greatness! Taking initiative in her life! Using all that spitfire and backbone to make something for herself! But in the end, it kinda failed to live up to the fierce powerful Nesta I was hoping she would transform into.
Reading this book you can’t help but compare to Maas’ other great heroines. I think the big difference is that Aelin always kept moving forward. And Bryce was a little shit. But Nesta handled her depression by freezing and becoming
nasty. Which is just really hard to read sometimes.
Overall, I’m glad I read this book but it won’t be a major re-read like most Maas books. The book stands on the friendship the characters build, Nesta overcoming her despair and FINALLY developing her interesting powers. I greatly enjoyed the character dynamics of how Cassian and Nesta are such strong complex characters, but I wanted their romance to be more epic and to sweep me away. I love this world and all the creatures and BADASS FEMALE WARRIORS but the plot was lacking and I hate the power change that a lot of Maas’ characters are undergoing.
If you are teetering whether to read this book, I gotta tell you to lower your expectations and try to forget the bullshit of Nesta’s past in order to just fully enjoy this book. It was pretty great seeing the Inner Circle’s relationships in the aftermath of Wings and Ruin, especially through Nesta’s harsh eye that hardcore READS THESE BITCHES and all their flaws. Plus it gives some foreshadowing and builds excitement for which characters might be next.
It was a good romance, but it wasn’t a great Maas book. ALSO I’M STIL FRIGGEN PISSED ABOUT THAT COVER-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-Book thoughts I have never liked
Nesta. sorry not sorry. I didn’t like her much in the previous books but I acknowledge that her character does have potential for such depth
Some describe Nesta as ambitious and authoritative character but to me she was very
selfish, cold, and distant. She did nothing to help Feyre provide for their family and spent the money Freye earned on frivolous items. THEN in fey world goes on whole refusing to train/ help others but demanding they protect ONE of her sisters?!
*fuck off* Just the idea of a sister knowingly fucking over another in how she treated Freyre as human for YEARS ... it actually hurts my heart a little bit .... that kinda selfishness
But Cassian liking her will probably MAKE me like her more
*god i hope so cuz he deserves the best* I just sick of Nesta's unrelenting nastiness while also hoping she resolves her trauma and that Cassian finds the happiness he deserves
Wish list It’d be kinda cool to find out that she was doing something
—sacrificing— to help the family
that Freyre never knew back when they were humans behind the wall
She just needs
SOME redeeming quality for all the times she constantly bitching and lashing out at everyone. Some reason for why the whole Cassian ignoring thing and treating her sis Feyre like dirt
*shaking my fucking head* Also generally she way 2 protective and angry towards people for there not to be some sorta backstory or event behind it hahah
Cover: ehhh I not really a fan of this style... also don’t think it really suited for Cassian with the hardcore Autumn court theme and colors. This just seems like such a let-down and step-down compared to the artful creativity and beauty of Crescent City
*frowny face*But its Maas so of courseeeee imma read it
*duhhhh*
Rating: really liked it
EDIT: this kind of blew up so I just wanted to say that if you're one of those people writing essays in the comment section to try to change my mind: I don't care lol 😭 good for you for being passionate about something but I'm not here to read a think piece on why you disagree, stream red velvet tho x
The following will contain major spoilers.Nobody is surprised. I knew absolutely nothing would make this book good, save SJM deciding not to write it altogether.
Now, I have to make it clear upfront: I
love Nesta. I really resonate with the way that she deals with her own emotions and is consequently treated by the people around her. That being said, I loathe SJM’s books. I only begrudgingly pushed through this for Nesta, and even that wasn’t worth it.
Nothing could have made this worth it.
I’m not here to give a criticism of the plot or politics, because I’m sure nobody cares (I don’t). I’m also not here to judge the sex aspect of this book, although I know many people have chosen to critique that. Instead, I’d like to cover the three cardinal sins this book committed:
respect, rebirth, and rhysand. RespectACOSF starts off with our heroine using drinking and sex as her coping mechanism. The third book in the ACOTAR trilogy left our main characters, especially Nesta, heavily traumatized. She witnessed her good-for-nothing father come back after he did
nothing for her or her sisters as children and try to fight Hybern. She watches as he dies in front of her. She watches as thousands of Illyrian soldiers die. She watches as Cassian is nearly killed multiple times in front of her. She’s underweight, depressed, has PTSD, and gets shit all because of it.
No, in fact, she’s
punished for it.
The straw that broke the camels back is the fact that she spent 500 gold on beer and gambling. Now, the problem isn’t that she drank or gambled. It’s that she used this money-which is HILARIOUS considering that Rhysand owns five houses and pays each Inner circle member a salary that is so grotesquely huge it’s described in previous books as being more than they’ll ever need in their lifetimes. Rhysand is even completely fine with the fact that Velaris is full of so-called “slums” but oh, no, NESTA can’t be living in one! It’s fine if poor people exist, she’s just not allowed to be one of them because it’s “embarrassing” to them. Obviously, they cut her off completely, DESTROYED the entire neighborhood she lived in (has anyone wondered what the fuck happened to the other people living there lmao? are they just homeless now?), and ship her off to a sexist, homophobic war camp with the one person she doesn’t want to be around because being depressed is just /such/ a sin.
She is repeatedly berated by every member in the court. Some lovely examples:
>Cassian tells her that everyone “fucking hates (her)” and later makes this out to be “oh, I just said that but I didn’t really mean it.”
>During one of their sex scenes she asks him if his friends won’t be angry with him for sleeping with her because she’s so aware of the fact that they hate her.
>“Perhaps you can find it in yourself to try a little harder this year.”
>He jokes that she might order him to kill himself, and she asks him if he really thinks she’s capable of that. Because this entire time they’ve made her feel like she
is a monster.
>Mor tells her that she “never deserved the benefit of the doubt that good people like (Cassian) give her” and also says that she should be thrown into the court of nightmares. For anyone unaware, the court of nightmares is where her homophobic and abusive family is.
>Amren constantly makes fun of her appearance and berates her for having sex. She tells her she looks awful at every opportunity, and always chalks it up to be because she sleeps around and drinks too much.
>Rhysand gets his own section for abhorrent comments.
There is no end to it. Every chapter brought a character insulting her for just
existing. Her weight problems are described fucking atrociously. The first time Cassian even sees her in the book he comments on how she’s “skin and bones” but guys, he still wants to tap that. Every time her weight is mentioned is either to insult her for starving herself because, need I remind you, she’s DEPRESSED, or it’s for Cassian to point out while he talks about how hot she is.
All of this. All 768 pages of insult after insult after humiliation and pointless paragraphs for
Nesta to apologize to
them. Because it’s /her/ fault she’s depressed. It’s /her/ fault she has PTSD. It’s /her/ fault and she needs to change for everyone else. Because everyone forced her to leave against her will because they
loved her, something they make sure to remind her of every single damn chapter. Nesta is disrespected by everyone throughout the entire book and is rewarded for it by being the one who must respect them instead.
RebirthYou have no idea how excited I was back when I was an ACOTAR fan and Nesta was rebirthed as a High Fae and got her powers from the cauldron. It was like watching someone so similar to me-someone who was mean, and opinionated, and
bold hold all the power in the world. I wanted to see how SJM would write her journey of becoming physically and mentally strong-of mastering her powers.
We see glimpses of it. How her eyes shine with fire. How she sears the stairs she walks on with a single finger. The light emanating from her. The way she is single-handedly more powerful than Rhysand, who was said to be the strongest High Lord. It was incredible.
And then she gave it all up.
That’s it. Journey’s over. She gave up all of the power she had, but not before using it to mutate her pelvis so that she would be able to birth an Illyrian baby without dying.
Yeah. That’s all.
RhysandI have never met a character whom I loathe more than Rhysand. Perfect, feminist king Rhysand who loves giving women a choice so long as they pick the one he wants them to. He’s the most worthless, pathetic, egomaniac asshole I’ve ever read about. His name is mentioned 791 times, which is 791 times too many.
It’s made very clear from the get-go that he hates Nesta. He’s aggressive toward her in a way that makes me want to strangle him every time he speaks. Every comment toward her or about her is an ill-intended remark.
Nesta makes what he knows of him clear early on: “Any offering Rhysand threw her way was solely out of love for Feyre.”
Wait for it, things are about to get comedic.
When Nesta finds out about Feyre’s pregnancy, Rhysand looks at her threateningly, because of course he thinks she’s a danger to his kid. It says, “Rhysand was not only male, but a Fae male, and he would eliminate any threats to his mate and child.”
Here comes the funny part—
Absolutely hilarious to me that Rhysand wants to be the white vanilla king who loves women (and is definitely not misogynistic) and his wife SO MUCH that he hid from her the fact that her giving birth could potentially kill her.
Oh yeah!
Because wanting to protect your mate (gag) involves lying to her about her own body and child. He strictly forbids anyone tells her about it, so, naturally, Nesta tells her.
Now, I’m not going to sit here and pretend like she had good intentions. She was just doing it to be an ass. But at least she told the god damn woman that the kid inside of her was going to KILL HER! And then, Feminist king Rhysand declared, and-I-quote, “Get Nesta out of this city. Right now. Before I fucking kill her.”
Round of applause for our cracker saltine lord ruler Rhyse Hall, everybody.
I have no other words. No words for how every single time Nesta dared to stand up to the awful way she was treated by him Cassian would get angry at
her. As if Rhys was some infallible God who could do no wrong and must never be criticized. No matter how large his wrongdoing was, it was always her fault. Always her who was the problem.
I just feel like...I don't know. I like Cassian, or I did, at least. I think that a good love interest should both support the heroine and call her out when she's being a dick, but relentlessly siding against her is just so ??? What's even the point? His entire family hates her guts, and he doesn't do much to make her think otherwise or to comfort her about it. He definitely doesn't act like he doesn't share some of their views. I don't see how a male lead placing his family over his girl could be very romantic?
Concluding thoughts and my 13th reasonThis is the worst book Sarah J Maas has ever written, and that’s saying a lot. From her worthless white feminism to the complete and utter mind-numbing torture I had to face through this Bible-length tome, I could not have thought of a worse thing to read. It’s sad because I truly love Nesta Archeron so much, but this book made it evident that Sarah Janet hates her and wants to give her the worst story ever. Also, Feysand baby had a stupid name. Sorry
EDIT:frequently asked questions so that you can stop asking them:
Why would you read something you know you'll hate?It's a free country! Why did you read this entire review if you knew you would hate it? (Yes, I /am/ a miserable person. I enjoy writing hate reviews. I think it's funny)
It's a fiction book, it doesn't need to be realistic. By mistreating mental illness and eating disorders in fiction you perpetuate the idea in real life. The thing is, writing about something is not an endorsement, but neither is it a condemnation. SJM could have written about these situations in a way that was respectful, but, at least in my opinion, she completely missed the mark. I'm not saying she shouldn't have written about Nesta's mental health and weight issues. I'm saying that the way she wrote about them made it seem like they were just...her fault? Do you know what I mean? Like, as someone who has received comments about my weight many times, I felt deeply uncomfortable by how people treated her.
If that's what you think then what do you think about... (enter character/ship I didn't mention)? I like Gwen? I don't have any further thoughts.
Do you think having mental illness excuses someone to be a bad person? Mental illness is an explanation, not an excuse. It /explains/ why Nesta wants to be left alone. It /explains/ why she has a hard time being around anyone in the Inner Circle. It /explains/ her complicated feelings toward them. Nesta was already a mean person before this book—the actual question is whether or not any of her rude behavior
needs to be excused in the first place. And that's for you to think on. Personally, I don't care.
What Red Velvet song?All of them!
Rating: really liked it
*This review contains no spoilers.*
Ranting and RavingTo the bitches that want to leave shitty hate comments, by all means, please indulge yourselves. I could give ten flying fucks what you have to say.
Let's get one thing clear: I am a hard core SJM fan. I have read and loved every book this woman has ever written. But can I be real a second? This book was shit, and I hated everything.
CharactersI hated
every single person in this book. Well, except Azriel (he can have me any day). But everyone else can die.
I don't understand how you can make a fantastic, wonderful trilogy about love, friendship, healing, and everything beautiful in this world, and then come out with a disgusting, trashy, smutty "romance" that has absolutely no plot, shitty character growth,
and an overall shitty book. Not to mention the cover. What the fuck is that, anyway??? An orange mask? A tiger?
SJM took her perfectly developed characters and pretty much just let them rot. From the first three books, I loved every single person. Everyone. Now I hate Feyre. I hate Rhysand. I hate Cassian. I hate Amren. I hate Mor. For fuck's sake, I
despise Elain. Why is she a character? Why does she
exist? What does she add to the book? What role does she play, other than to collect people’s sympathy and make them feel sorry for her? I’m sorry (not), but
Elain is a fucking idiot. I cannot STAND this hoe. Sarah, please write her death. I can't deal with her constant whining and bitching, running to Rhys and Cassian and telling them she wants to go back to the human world, just because Nesta was being nasty. Elain, you've been living with your sister your entire life, and you choose
now to complain about how much of a bitch she is? Where were you the past eighteen years? Please, sweetie, grow a spine.
I loved Feyre and Rhys
so much (note *past tense*). I would've done anything for them. Now I despise them with every atom in my body. The entire book is just them
fucking, and Rhys bragging to Cassian that they’re fucking. And now (view spoiler)
[Feyre and Rhys have a child (hide spoiler)] and now my life is over. I hated this book. I hated everything. Shit, have I mentioned that?
Now, on to the next bitch of the month: Cassian. Why the fuck do I hate Cassian now (who I ADORED in ACOTAR)? Well, for a simple question, there's an equally simple answer. Mostly because Cassian doesn't know how to keep his cock in his pants, and all he can think about is Nesta sUcKinG it and fUckInG it and doing whatever kinky shit they did that I can't even mention with a straight face. I hate you, Cassian. I
hate you. Get me characters whose lives
don't revolve around their OTP and who think about things
other than fucking, bucking and yucking the love of their life. Which—not to mention—Cassian and Nesta don't even seem to
love each other. It's all about the rElEaSe for them, because apparently, these fictional bitches have so much sexual tension that they can't help rubbing up on each other every twenty fucking pages. Bye. Every one of you nasty lil bitches disgust me.
Wait, you're
still not done talking about the shitty characters? No bitch I'm really not, because I'm so angry at how many trees died for this pathetic book.
So the next shitty character I’ll be talking about is none other than Amren the hoe and Mor the bird. I honestly feel a little bad talking shit about them just because I adored them so much in the trilogy, but this shit has got to be talked about.
Heads-up to all those authors out there: when you are describing a character and how pOwErFuL they are, please. please.
please do not get other powerful characters to "shiver" or "pale" when they are around the character you want to MAKE powerful. It is the cringiest thing I have ever read in my life. It’s so painful. Come up with some unique way to describe their power and make readers admire them, NOT get powerful characters like Amren to "shiver" and Rhys to "pale" when they are around Nesta. I don't necessarily
hate Mor and Amren, but they’ve become so fucking irrelevant in the fourth book that there's really no point in talking about them anymore.
Character ArcThe character growth in this book actually made me laugh. It was so minimal that it was astonishing. This shit is LAUGHABLE. It was just Nesta apologizing to everyone because she realized everyone fucking hated her guts and she had no one to go to. How can apologies possibly show character growth? I agree, Nesta's bitchy behavior throughout the book was inexcusable. However, that was why I liked her.
It would've been better if she continued being the bitchy little shit she was, but rushing her character growth towards the last 100 pages is stupid and inexcusable and straight up lazy, and it was a complete waste of my time.Love InterestNow let's get into why the fuck I hate Rhysand's guts. Mind you, I used to love this hoe. I used to LOVE him. Like I would’ve died for him. Now? I’m just glad I was never faced with that decision. If I was in Prythian, I wouldn't even want to breathe the same
air as him.
First of all, Rhysand is the only form of character growth in this entire book. I'm sorry, did I say character growth? I meant to say character
depletion. Rhysand has accomplished it, y'all. He has accomplished his unbecoming. Where was that sweet, kind, playful man that healed Feyre and helped her and everyone around him? Where the fuck did he go, because I sure couldn't find him.
Rhysand is a motherfucking jerk. Throughout the book he brags to Cassian about fucking Feyre nonstop. You have sentences like:
"'Feyre initiated this round.' Cassian could hear the pure male satisfaction in Rhys' voice as he said it."
"I dismissed the maids bc I don't want them hearing what we're up to."
Cassian, laughing: "Give the poor female a break"
Rhysand: "We're taking a break. For now." (Did this bitch really just say
for now?)
But really though, why the FUCK is this necessary? Does Sarah J. Maas think it's attractive for a male to talk about his girlfriend like that? What has she done to perfectly amazing characters? I am confusion? And disappointment? Now he is an egotistical jerk, a typical overprotective alpha male (*coughs* did someone say Rowan? - I despised him in EoS), and a fucking shitty ass friend. Bye, Rhys. You are cancelled and we are
not getting a refund.
I wouldn't go so far to say that ACOTAR was one of my
favorite fantasy series ever, but it was definitely up there. Now, it is down there. Like, way fucking down. I don't ever want to read about these thirsty whores ever again.
PlotHold up, there was a fucking plot? LMAOOOOOOO there was nothing in this book resembling anything of the sort. There was no plot whatsoever, to the point that there weren't even any plot holes. In order to have plot holes, you must have
some semblance of a plot. I was just
waiting for some crazy SJM shit to go down, for her to pull some astonishing bullshit on us, for some hoe to declare war on another hoe. But then the book just ended. And I was so confused. I didn't understand. I thought someone had ripped the last 200 pages from the back of my book. Alas, it was not my book's fault. It was the author's.
Additional PointsI woke up at 9:38 AM to write this review because my hatred is overwhelming. I hate it. I hate everything. I wanted to die reading this. Nesta is oh-so-powerful because her power is "pure death", as Rhys puts it. I just ... I couldn't even. I couldn't stand this book. The only person that was tolerable in the slightest was Azriel, who I would let do anything to me if we're being honest. I love him so much, but everyone else in this book has turned shitty and disgusting. The other character who I
sort of like is Nesta, who everyone says is a selfish bitch, but that's really the only reason why I like her.
I was going to reread ACOMAF and the rest of that damn series before I started this book, but now I can't even bring myself to, because then I'll just end up remembering the utter failure that was ACOSF. I'm not putting up with these characters anymore. Y'all can all die and I would laugh. Which is certainly a surprise, since I balled my eyes out when I thought Rhys was dead in ACOWAR. Now I
myself would brandish the knife on him. I’d gladly throw him in that fucking cauldron while cackling and sit there watching that bitch burn (that sounds really evil and i should delete this sentence but i won’t because i’m feeling resentful and bitter)
Overall, I hate this book with every ounce of sanity in me. If you're looking for a book with some steamy, smutty romance, then by all means, this might end up being your favorite book! But for those of us who have brains and who are sensible human beings and actually like to have
content in a book, with likable characters, who like to have a plot driven story, just go home. Get your money back. Don't even get yourself hype about this book. I walked down that path, and honestly, there is no going back.
And trust me, I know how popular SJM is. I can't scroll through the GR homepage without seeing some unsuspecting victim starting ACOSF. People probably won't stop talking about it for the next few months, which is unfortunate, because it's trash. I genuinely feel like this dumb shit is overshadowing some really top-tier books, so I'm going to redirect y'all to my favorite series of all time, An Ember in the Ashes. Read all four books, it'll do you some good, especially after shit like ACOSF fucks with your sanity. AEITA will put this trashy, slutty book to shameful tears.
-1,000 stars
Rating: really liked it
4.25 stars“So Nesta had become a wolf. Armed herself with invisible teeth and claws, and learned to strike faster, deeper, more lethally. Had relished it. But when the time came to put away the wolf, she'd found it had devoured her too.”
I am irrationally annoyed by how much I enjoyed this. I read the reviews and was prepared to snicker my way through the purring, the ridiculous sex scenes, and constant assertions of "my mate." However *sigh* this series just does something to my cold cynical heart. I laugh at it, but I am incapable of hating it.
So take my hand, lovelies. Let us venture into my detailed thoughts, which I have thoughtfully assembled into a list with no discernible pattern or theme:-
Nesta is so bitchy sometimes. I get that it's complex and there's a certain feminism in portraying someone like her as a protagonist instead of a villain, but jeez, girl. Learn some basic manners. I occasionally wonder if SJM went too far in making Nesta the selfish stepsister in ACOTAR. It's hard to shake off that image. She does attempt to justify it in this book by explaining that Nesta was angry at her father for giving up and not providing for his daughters. Nesta was ready to let them all starve to prove a point
-Rhys says to Nesta, “Of course you have a choice. You always have a choice here,” like he didn’t force Nesta out of her flat, force her to live in one of his residences where she can't leave, force her to train with Cassian, force her to work at the library, etc. Surely there are better ways to stage an intervention. I know they did it out of love, but Tamlin did what he did out of love, too
-Speaking of, everyone hates Tamlin because he gave Nesta and Elain to the King of Hybern (which he did to save Feyre), but when Rhys threatens to kill Nesta if she hurts Feyre, that’s somehow okay. (view spoiler)
[Nesta literally had to flee for her life after telling Feyre the truth about her pregnancy (hide spoiler)]-Rhys and Feyre are supposedly equals, but he refuses to tell Feyre about the dangers of her pregnancy. Nesta is portrayed as the bad guy for telling her sister the truth
-Can we stop worshiping Rhys now? Please?
-I like that Nesta asks Cassian how he likes his blowjob. It normalizes communication during sex
-SJM is too lazy to think of actual names for magical places and items. Under The Mountain sounds ominous if you think about it, but then there’s the Harp, the Mask, and the Crown
-I
really liked Nesta's character arc: her struggle with trauma and depression, her cold rage at her father for refusing to provide for them and the steel pride that prevents her for apologizing to Feyre for her past behavior, the self-loathing and insecurity, the female solidarity with other victims of sexual assault and misogyny. On that last note, I've never understood why Nesta and Elain were so upset with being being transformed into beautiful, powerful High Fae back during ACOWAR. SJM explains it more by linking the violent act of being forced inside the Cauldron and changed against her will with rape/sexual assault.
-While I adore the themes mentioned above, SJM writes the same arc over and over. All of her female protagonists (Aelin, Feyre, that girl from House of Earth and Blood) wrestle with crippling depression at some point. She recycles plots and characters and writing phrases. Gets pretty old
-The ending is thematically confusing. (view spoiler)
[Nesta and her friends are thrown into the Illyrian Rite of Passage thing, which has traditionally forbidden female warriors because sexism. They get through it together without magic, symbolically smashing the patriarchy. This ties in with all the themes ACOSF has been pushing.
Feyre's childbirth near the end is where it gets confusing. Both Feyre and her kid die, but Nesta saves them by stopping time and bargaining with Death (or the Cauldron, can't remember). She alters the shape of Feyre's pelvis so a kid with wings can pass through and transforms hers as well for her far-off future kid with Cassian. In exchange, Nesta gives up some of the power she took from the Cauldron, but gets to keep a little because God forbid a SJM character is anything less than overpowered.
Thematically, the childbirth scene doesn't make sense in terms of the book's overall plot. What is the implication? That women have to sacrifice power in order to have kids? That doesn't fit the whole feminist angle.
Maybe the scene can be interpreted as Nesta finally repairing her bond with Feyre? ASOSF has seen Nesta feeling disconnected from her family (guilt over her dead father, anger towards Elaine for supposedly turning her back on her, both rage and guilt regarding Feyre). Here, Nesta is restoring family by saving her sister and nephew's lives. She communes with the Mother, the harbringer of life. It contrasts her power of death, which is connected to her feelings of rage and desolation. Nesta believes she is too prickly to love, but through her hand (and better mental health), life blooms.
That's a better interpretation than SJM had a baby in real life and wanted to work in motherhood somewhere. Also, Feyre has been resurrected twice now. Another three stamps and you get a free ice cream scoop at Scoops Ahoy!
(hide spoiler)]My review of A Court of Thorns & Roses
My review of A Court of Mist & Fury
My review of A Court of Wings and Ruin
My review of A Court of Frost and Starlight
Rating: really liked it
I got my dust jacket cover! Yeah, baby. I bought another hardback so I’d have both 😉. It’s beautiful
I got my awesome book sleeve of Cas and Nesta!!!!
🖤💕🖤💕🖤💕🖤💕
FYI: ONCE AGAIN! THIS IS A NEW ADULT BOOK WITH SMUT!!! THIS MEANS, DON’T READ THE DAMN BOOK IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ SMUT AND THEN RUN YOUR DAMN MOUTH! I DON’T READ MUCH SMUT, BUT I DAMN WELL KNEW IT WAS IN THE BOOK!! THIS BOOK MEANT A LOT TO ME FOR REASONS DOWN BELOW AND I’M TIRED OF ACCIDENTALLY SEEING A BIT OF CRAP REVIEWS. OH PLEASE, TAKE ME OFF YOUR FRIENDS LIST IF YOU DON’T LIKE WHAT I SAY SO IT WILL BE EASIER ON ME TO CLEAN MY FRIENDS LIST!! I’VE HAD IT WITH PEOPLE!! I WANT TO DEDICATE MY TIME TO RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS TO MY WONDERFUL REAL FRIENDS ON HERE AND IN LIFE. NOT WASTE TIME ON BOOK DRAMA!! (Funny how no one skimmed the smut they bitch about) 😉🤣😂😏
My thoughts are wayyyy down below. And if anyone doesn’t like what I say or the book that I love so much or the author just go eff off! I don’t give a rats ass what you think. I’ve already deleted and blocked a person I didn’t particularly like their comment on my review so... 😘
This is a whole damn mood for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I read fantasy books I try to remember to put on my favorite YouTube music. It just sets the mood!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6nRFaOF...
In the beginning
And in the end
There was Darkness
And nothing more
***I have this image coming from my UK woman on a booksleeve! 😏
Nesta didn’t, couldn't, move as Cassian leaned in to whisper in her ear, "The first time I saw that look on your face, you were still human. Still human, and I nearly went to my knees before you." His breath caressed the shell of her ear and she couldn’t stop her eyes from fluttering shut. His smile brushed against her temple. "Your power is a song, and one I’ve waited a very, very long time to hear, Nesta."
I didn’t have a clue how much I would love this damn book! It’s my favorite out of all of the series so far.
I’ve been deeply hurt mentally and physically in my life. I used to be in a fighting school until my physical/medical shit has mostly taken things away from me. I have a couple real life girl friends, but nothing like this book, oh how I wish!! So, this book hit all of the feels for me!
Nesta is an asshole, but she has some reasons with mental trauma - I can relate - I’ve got a lot of mental issues myself but not for the same reasons.
I loved the fighting and strengthening scenes, I so much loved this in my life and miss it tremendously. I love the girl friends made and the girl empowerment in the book. These women went through hell!!
I love Cassian so much. I love Nesta! I love all of the family and I love that damn house! Oh if I could have a house like that!!
I love some of the things Sarah said in the acknowledgments.
This book made me cry tears of sadness and happiness!
The strength these women showed through the help of Nesta and Cas and Az were amazing. But ultimately they did it themselves. I love finding characters that are like this as I can try my hardest to be the same way. Among the many things I deal with I fight wanting to kill myself. It’s been really bad lately and I’m working with my doctors and my nature. These characters made me so happy, which I don’t have a lot of happiness and I’m so grateful. There’s only so much a person can hide about themselves trying to act all happy on the other side of the internet.
Anyway, I loved this book dearly.
And if it didn’t have enough action for you or was too smutty or written without certain characters and bullshit you wanted, f*ck off and write your own damn book and quit your damn bitching. I’m just sayin, I haven’t read any shit reviews and I won’t. I’m keeping to my own happiness of the book.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Rating: really liked it
100 days into 2021 and 100 books have been read. Check out my latest BookTube Video to see which ones are my fave!
A FREAKING GLORIOUS UPDATE 
If you've been following this epic, I've been so disappointed about the mid-series cover shift..
BUT I'm really happy to announce that Alexandra from
Stars that Dream finished her cover jacket design.
And it is so above-and-beyond my expectations. Simply. Gorgeous.
Here's the
link to the cover if you'd like to buy one too!!! (Note - she's doing a limited run of them,
so pick it up while you still can!)
The Original Review 
That cover reveal hit me.
AND I DO ADMIT this is a pretty minor thing in the grand scheme of the universe... but the way this cover
DOESN'T MATCH the original series bugs me so much.
Don't get me wrong, the new copies have an interesting concept and while I don't quite get the symbolism on the covers... it's not the worst.
BUT WHY would you change it halfway through the series? Now I'm either stuck with
unmatching covers OR buying all new covers. I just feel a bit frustrated.
Especially because at first glance, this
Mardi-Gras-mask-on-concrete appears to be
Lucien themed (despite this being Nesta's story). After all, Lucian wears a fox mask for 50 years, has autumnal fiery magic... like... am I the only one making this connection??
Anyway...I think I found a solution.
I know this is JUST a print but THIS was the cover I was expecting!!
Gorgeously made by StarsThatDream
And I found out that she's going to make a dust jacket once the dimensions for the book is released. Hopes and prayers are answered!!!!
Rating: really liked it
No one is a bigger Nessian stan than me...so imagine my surprise at this rating.
This review
WILL CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS so please read at your own risk if you haven't finished or picked up the book. But to adequately rant (like, truly rant) about all the ways this book didn't work for me we just need to air it all out without an vague mentions of what went down in this book.
My biggest problem with this book started and ended with Rhys and Feyre. Y'all, I truly do
NOT care about them anymore. They had their time to shine and they did...so can we please move on? The second I read about Rhys having his shield up around Feyre so no one could detect her scent I was 1000% sure she was pregnant and pissed the fuck off because I knew somehow this was going to circle all the way back around them. And sure enough Rhys went off to be an absolute piece of garbage and not tell Feyre that she would die delivering their child since it had wings. So, when Nesta
FINALLY has her big moment to show how much she's grown as a character it's overshadowed by Feyre going into labor and almost dying. Which pissed me off in itself, however, I made it 730 pages and nearly put this book down because of how triggering it was. A warning would have been nice instead of having to read about a lifeless child being born because some of us have actually been dealt that shitty card in life and would rather not have to relive those moments. I was truly ready to vomit and ended up having to skim those pages.
Next up, and almost just as disappointing was the romance between Nesta and Cassian. I have loved them since day one and was so looking forward to watch their love story unravel. On one hand, I loved the physical aspect of it. SJM upped her smut game for sure in this one but that's pretty much where it ended. There was something major missing between the two of them that left me feeling next to nothing for them and all the tension between the two of them in the prior books was so far out the window. Truly a letdown and please don't even get me started on how abysmally underwhelming the "mate" reveal was.
Third, was Nesta's growth. Just like I loved Nesta and Cassian together, I loved Nesta by herself. She's always been one of my favorite characters in this series even when she was a shitty person. So, I was always looking forward to the day when we would get Nesta's story because she needed a major glow up growth wise and usually SJM is really great at writing good, solid growth in her characters. But again, this fell so short that majority of it just seemed physical instead of mental. While I'm aware she has a lot of growing to do and this book was essentially her realizing that it leads me to wonder...did we really need 750 pages just to get to that point? I think not.
The only, and when I say only I really mean it, thing I thoroughly enjoyed in this story was the "Valkyrie" training and the friendship that Nesta, Emerie, and Gywn had. I was flying through the part were the girls were thrown into the Blood Rite and cheering them on to make it all the way to the top of Ramiel. But that's basically it...and to get that little enjoyment in 750 pages is just a total fail for me.
Of course, even though this book totally didn't cut it for me and left me beyond furious (Rhys & Feyre, I'm looking at you) I'm still a clown and will buy the next book when it comes out because I need to see what in the hell SJM is doing with these characters. Specifically Mor..why was she nonexistent this entire book? And Azriel... are him and Elain mates or not? Because I will riot if they are, he deserves so much more than miss garden girl.
Okay, rant over 🙃
Rating: really liked it
"So Nesta became a wolf. Armed herself with invisible teeth and claws, and learned to strike faster, deeper, more lethally. Had relished it. But when the time came to put away the wolf, she'd found it had devoured her, too." Trigger warnings for depression, suicidal thoughts, sexual assault.Just out of respect for this book, I feel like I should be going through a mourning phase, sit with this story a little while longer and let it simmer, rather than trying to move on. I can't even begin to tell you how much of a therapeutic reading experience this was.
It had all the SJM trademarks, great friendships, great emphasis on found families, great character development, and even greater sex. Of course.
I'd call this Part 2 to
A Court of Mist and Fury. It echoes that book very much in terms of the themes discussed such as severe depression and going through the process of healing from trauma, which she very much highlights is never linear.
With Nesta that depression took on a different, more aggressive form:
• Nesta is a stone-cold bitch. I relate.
• Her anger was fierce. I relate.
• She pushed people away with her attitude. On purpose. I relate.
• Lack of self-worth. I relate.
• Extreme discomfort to emotions so anger is the easiest option. I relate.
Do we see a pattern developing here? ”Did she count–was she worth being counted? It was the question that sent everything crumpling inside her.” She had every right to be one (anyone that has carried this much anger and depression on their shoulders knows how much this weighs you down and debilitates you), though I initially hated how her anger would attack anyone that remotely showed any care. But your circumstances shape you. Trauma leaves an imprint. Hurt people hurt people. She was trapped in a vicious cycle of self-loathing and hatred and grief and it took a tremendous toll on her mental well-being. All due to her dysfunctional childhood, her body being invaded without permission and being thrust into a world she was conditioned to hate.
I could write essays on Nesta’s character. I adore what Sarah J Maas did with this. There was so much attention to detail when it came to Nesta’s overall well-being, all which attributed to her growth and healing and it blew me away. It became about the little things, celebrating the small growths, embracing setbacks and moving forward in your own way and your own time.
This is very much a character driven book, which is probably why I loved it so much. I’ll take that over plot any day, especially when it’s done well. However, there is a plot present. The world-building become even more epic in this book. It was so much more solid, since it was built upon from the other books in the series. I mean, that House? I want one!
I didn’t want this book to end – it could’ve been longer. This almost felt like an extensive prologue. We just got to see the cusp of her capabilities as
Nesta and I’m craving more of her. It was incredible to see her personality come forth and shine through, behind all the layers she hid behind for so, so long.
———————————————
TITLE! 😭😭😭😭 I can’t believe we get to go back to this world again soon. And be with these characters.
MY EMOTIONS!
Rating: really liked it
All the Stars ⭐️✨⭐️✨⭐️
I know a lot of people don't like her...but Nesta is my favorite ACoTAR character, and has been since the end of book one/beginning book two.
I love female characters who are unashamedly prickly...who have defensive outer shells and soft inner cores...who secretly
care that people don't like them...but also simultaneously don't give a shit.
Ever since Maas has been dangling the Nesta/Cassian pairing in front of us like so much chocolate, I have been dying for the focus to be on them. And after
A Court of Frost and Starlight (which I also really enjoyed, although I know a lot of people didn't), I was basically pining for their story.
Enter the announcement and wait for this book...the long, loooooooong wait...
Then it came out and I inhaled it. And it was everything I wanted it to be and more. Seriously, this was so fucking good, I could cry, folks.
Nesta's transformation was amazing...her and Cassian's transformation together was amazing...their banter was amazing...Rhy and Feyre as side characters were amazing...the main plot and all the sub plots were….amazing...
I think I’ve officially used up the word “amazing” for the day, so I’ll move on.
Simply put: I just loved everything about this book and enjoyed every single page.
Also, Maas is not even pretending anymore, you guys. This book was NOT young/new adult. It was FULL-ON
adult. And it was...fucking delicious.
I'm already starting a re-read.
Rating: really liked it
going into this book, it already had two strikes against it:
strike 1 - i hate nesta with every fibre of my being
strike 2 - i hate the mid-series cover change to something so low budget
so not a great start.
but honestly, shame on me for doubting queen SJM.
she took a character i hate and made me admire, sympathise, and root for her until the very end.
i dont quite love nesta (i may forgive her nasty behaviour, but i will never forget it) and she wont be my favourite character any time soon (i wanted soooo much more feyre, rhys, and az), but wow. her character development, her growth, her understanding, her progression. its all a thing to behold.
her story is something i think us readers needed, even if we didnt originally want it.
and i love how good cassian is to and for her. i fully support them as a duo.
so SJM did the impossible - she made like nesta. who would have thought.
↠ 4.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
sometimes i forget i can read things with my eyeballs so to prove it to myself i read 750 pages of unexciting smut
(also that random shit in bold below was when i thought this was going to be another nonsense feysand book but honestly... still fits for nessian)
----------------
here for the butt crack play ONLY
Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars ✨ And I'm chuckling at how my prior ramblings were about how this book would be out in Autumn 2018. Well, that aged like milk!
Rating: really liked it
Uh.
Rating: really liked it
yep. absolutely. yes.
Rating: really liked it
I took an edible and now I'm too high to write this review
