Reviews tagging 'Torture'

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

280 reviews

challenging dark emotional slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It took me four months to finish this book. FOUR months! Every time I picked it up I just wanted it to be done. Now that I’m finished with it I’ve been drawn back to other books and am reading again.

As much as I want to like this book, I dislike how long it is and how dragged out Nesta’s growth was. It shouldn’t take months to read a book and not should we feel like we’re experiencing years and months while reading. The last one hundred or so pages tho? I loved them! I wanted more of that! Give us more action!

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adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I loved following the path of healing for Nesta... and knowing that it's not over.

I'm sure there will be more books & I can't wait to see what she grows into.

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous emotional

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The first half of the book was... Mind numbing. My least favorite book. Once again, stubbornness to the point of self destruction runs heavy in this title.

Part 1 chapter 18 start of 19 event should have happened on the bridge on solstice in A Court Of Frost and Starlight.

I understand that we have to weather Nesta's coldness but was it really necessary to paint the picture for ANOTHER 17 CHAPTERS?

My other issue with this book is that all of the sudden, everyone's character building went out the window, they felt alien and just wrong. I understand that this may be how Nesta sees them but we literally bridged the gap with Nesta and Feyre during the previous books, and Elain and Nesta were always close. It isn't like Rhys to be this... Shitty... He's always been well composed even when stressed.

I will say the second half of the book as Nesta bonds with her new chosen friends and begins opening up with them, and them with her, that's when things get good. There is good character growth with Nesta in this portion. This book is worth the read if only for that even if this is my least favorite in the series and that includes the first book.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional inspiring medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Listen. I'm not the biggest SJM fan. But you cannot look me in the eye and say this book needed to be 750 goddamn pages. 

The change from 1st person to 3rd threw me off at first, but I quickly got used to it. I really liked Nesta until ACOFAS. Getting a good look at why she suddenly became nasty was interesting, but that's kind of... the ONLY thing I found interesting. 

I appreciate what this book was meant to be- an honest look at what depression and trauma can be like, especially for women. This was a fantasy novel written to include modern women. Specifically, the type of woman who tends to like this series. These women are romance novel and music lovers. Most of them are sick of men, especially the many who have hurt them. They band together to become physically and mentally strong and I do think it's a lovely message. The indepth look at meditation was also appreciated. 

But this novel felt so incredibly unpolished, I simply couldn't get over it. To be frank, all of her novels remind me of fanfiction, but this one especially so. If I have to hear about how cold, freezing, icy, and dark the cauldron's waters are one more time, I'm going to lose my mind. And for the love of all that is holy, can we please agree that SEED is not a sexy word? Can a man orgasm in this novel without ROARing?? I will pay any amount of money to not have to hear about everyone smelling everyone else's arousal ever again in my life. 

This novel could've been 1/5 the length and it would've been an infinitely better story. As it stands, I'm rating it for the depression representation, not the "one ring" plot she had the audacity to feed us again. Just because the all powerful objects are smaller than a hot tub this time does not make it a whole new plot, Sarah. 

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adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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