Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

94 reviews

adventurous emotional inspiring tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional tense slow-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

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

The actual story was fantastic! Figuring out where everyone was headed in terms of tensions still being high 2 years after the war that nearly killed them all. I loved seeing Nesta grow and having Cassian being of more importance was nice. The will they won’t they was also so great to read. My only issue was the sex scenes. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for spicy scenes in books. Love them and they can add to the story. This book had way too many and I really got tired of reading about Nesta’s large, lucious breasts on her tiny, under nourished body, and her tight, soaking wet “center” plus the descriptions of Cassions monster member was repetitive and felt lazy. We get it, she has a very small and tight vagina and he has a massive cock. It felt like these scenes were written by a man and that’s precisely why I don’t read any fantasy or sci-fi written by men. It just didn’t feel sexy or creative. The book could have lost 400 pages if the sex scenes were cut down and made more creative. The actual adventure of the book was amazing so hopefully the next book is better. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

Nesta you bad bitch, I'm so fucking proud.

ACOSF was a huuuuge improvement over ACOMAF. There was tons of chemistry and I've been begging for Cas and Nesta to pull their heads out of their asses and finally kiss. This book gave so much of that and more.

Got to see a new side of Nesta that wasn't just kitty claws. ACOSF brought out a lot of clarity in why she's such a bitch all the time and really showed that some coping mechanisms aren't always healthy or the best for maintaining relationships with the people you love. Sometimes you get so comfy in your shell and pushing people away that you forget what it's like to let someone in and let them see the real you. Nesta had a lot of character development in this book and it felt so long overdue. It was good to see her working on herself and coming out stronger on the other side.

On the other hand, Maas irrevocably destroyed Rhys in this book. There is no chance for redemption. She tried to play it off as all cool, but
lying to your partner, excuse me, "mate," about her IMMINENT, CERTAIN DEATH while giving birth to your child??? Absolutely f*cking not. You're dismissed.


For the life of me I can't understand why Maas does this to her characters, because it's not even like it's the intentional undoing of a character that makes you feel bittersweet rage as they turn to the dark side. She's just turning them into unredeemable twats for no reason and it's so unsatisfying. 

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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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
adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing 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

I adore Feyre; yet Nesta speaks to me in ways her sister’s character couldn’t begin to—enough for me not to mind the 3rd person omniscient. I think I preferred hearing of them, through them, rather than from them; all the thoughts of the Night Court members lived up to my expectations, yet still had me on an emotional rollercoaster. Throughout the series, I remembered exactly why I fell in love with slow-burn romances way back when—it only makes the scenes so much better. And by the time I got to this book, I craved the long journey of undiluted tension. To my surprise, Nesta and Cassian burned their way through that journey and left me reeling, desperate for more. SJM didn’t disappoint. I may have fallen in love with the Night Court back in ACOMAF, but they wholly own me now. Fiending for more. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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

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

I'm not gonna get into a whole detailed essay with this book. Read my previous reviews of this series for context.

It's no secret I hate Rhys and reading from Feyre's perspective, so this book was so refreshing in that I could almost forget they existed. Almost.

Overall, I loved the journey Nesta and Cassian went through. As someone who struggles with mental health, I think Nesta's healing was handled beautifully. I loved seeing her realize her love for Cassian and find friendship in Gwyn and Emerie when she thought she didn't deserve it.

Two big things I didn't like: Feyre's pregnancy and the fact that Nesta sacrificed her power because of it.

I love that we see Nesta coming to terms with the truth that she doesn't wanna be a cruel, ruthless queen. I even love that she makes sacrifices for family members who didn't see what she was going through- I think it really brought her story full circle. However, I hate that there was no other way for Feyre to have survived the pregnancy. For a world in which magic is abundant, you'd think they'd have figured out how to perform a C-section correctly.


It gets an extra half star over the other books literally only because Spicy Cassian and I didn't have to read Feyre saying "my mate" over two hundred times.
 

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

loved the other books in this series, but I found myself many times during this book going, “Is it bad that I like this one most?” I felt like I was betraying Feyre and Rhys, the OG main characters!

This book resonated with me on an even deeper level than the others had and I cannot even express how thankful I am to have read it. It has inspired to take better care of myself, exercise, and practice mindfulness, all things that are difficult because of my anxiety. I am thankful to have found a character like Nesta, who despite her own struggles,
has learned how to live
.

If you don’t like books that graphically talk about sex, this book is not for you (but I doubt you even got to this point because the first ACOTAR books had it too). This book was the most graphic when it came to sex, and the most abundant. I loved how female sexuality was handled. 

My favorite part of this book was the relationships. Obviously, Nesta and Cassian. NESTA, GWYN, AND EMERIE. THE HOUSE?! O m f g. Now all we need is Emerie and Mor to get together and Elaine and Az!!!!!!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings