Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - A Court of Silver Flames

I could not get past the first 5 or so chapters. How Sarah had the Inner Circle leave Nesta on her own to deal with her PTSD and get mad at her for not getting better is so aggravating. Mental illnesses, for most people, don't get any better without help. Her family should have reached out sooner, not when they were embarrassed by her behavior.
They didn't reach out because they were concerned for her but embarrassed when she spent their money. Which I feel the need to point out, they have been paying everything for her for a year. I also find it unbelievable that none of the Inner Circle are sympathetic towards Nesta with her PTSD. The fact that the Inner Circle can't relate to her PTSD after having gone through what they did in the first three books and what others are said to have gone through before is completely unrealistic.
There were also better ways to get Nesta up to the mountains. The Inner Circle didn't need to trick her out of her house, steal all of her things, condemn her building, and give her an ultimatum where both options are threatening to her life(go to a place that is known for its misogyny or to a place where Fae are hated).
On a final note, A Court of Wings and Ruin had an ending. There was not hint of another book, besides it being listed on Goodreads. This reeks of an author only continuing a series for more money. I know authors get their money but I feel that if an author is going to continue to write about a world different characters should be the focus of the story. Yes in the first three ACoTaR books it was about Feyre and Rhysand and this was about Nesta and Cassian, but Nesta and Cassian also had important roles in the first three books.

Content Warnings

clarissagosling's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm not sure what to say about this. I could barely put it down, cried multiple times, and yet I wanted more from it.

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morevna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

Here there be spoilers.

glad I didn't support this with actual money because uuhhh, what in the everloving fuck was this? she's done Nesta so dirty. and Rhysand is one of the 3 worst men - oh sorry "males" - in this series. also, who fucking thinks you can "heal" trauma by having ridiculous sex at every opporturnity? especially trauma involving r*pe? I swear to god, I hated every single sex scene in this book. also, what was Cassian's personality again besides being either horny or hurtful towards Nesta? and that scene where they talk about being mates - how awfully he treats her, how he's forcing it upon her, how she doesn't get a choice to not use that word or do a ceremony or whatever - way to treat a survivor of r*pe and other trauma. way to fucking go. last but not least. how dare Nesta be stronger than mighty, shiny Rhysand, savior of everyone and their mama? ofc that had to be changed at the end of the book. how dare a woman - oops "female" - be stronger than almighty fucking Ricepan.

If I have to read the word female or male regarding a person ever again I'm going to combust. this is awful.

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bookforthought's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I loved all the books in the ACOTAR series so far, so when I heard Nesta would be getting her own book I was equal parts excited to return to this world and concerned about her as the main character. It turns out, I was right to be concerned, but for the wrong reasons. Nesta Archeron as a protagonist actually ended up being the thing I enjoyed most in what was an otherwise disappointing and underwhelming read.

At the start of the book, Nesta is a shadow of her former self, as she has seemingly lost all interest in life and passes her nights getting drunk in seedy taverns and sleeping with strangers. Nesta is clearly struggling to cope in the aftermath of the war with Hybern and all the trauma of being transformed into High Fae, going through a war and the violence and death that follows. Always a difficult person, her anger, venom and need to lash out at everyone around her seem to now have increased tenfold as she struggles to fit in with the rest of the Inner Circle.

Here is also where my problems with the book started. One of my main sources of disappointment was the way characters I had loved in previous books suddenly seemed completely changed in the way they relate to Nesta and push her to change her behaviour and, ultimately, herself. Rhys, Amren and Mor (for the short time she's actually around) seem nothing like the supportive, understanding characters who helped Feyre recover from her trauma and reach her full potential in previous books.

Now, were Nesta's coping mechanisms for dealing with trauma healthy? No. Should trauma be used to justify her behaviour and nastiness towards others? Also no. Is any of this a good reason for the Inner Circle to constantly belittle, body shame and slut-shame Nesta? Absolutely not. In particular, Mor's suggestion that Nesta should be sent to the Court of Nightmares for engaging in activities that were harmful to no one but herself (and Rhys' wallet), when Mor herself had been punished by her awful family for doing something not all that different actually enraged me. And this is all without even getting into Rhys' own patronising and controlling behaviour, both towards Nesta and towards Feyre, which would make this review way too long.

I also can't get over the fact that so much hostility towards Nesta is ostensibly rooted in her behaviour towards Feyre while they were in the mortal world, but none of it is extended to Elain, who was guilty of the exact same thing. Both of them were older than Feyre, and neither of them did anything at all to help her save them from starvation. Yet, for some reason, all is forgiven for poor, sweet, innocent, hypocritical, manipulative Elain but Nesta must atone for her sins and be punished for her past inactions. Elain is easily the character I dislike the most, in case you were wondering.

Despite all this, I did like the way Nesta's character grows and develops throughout the book. Her journey towards healing and self-acceptance is not an easy one, but it was great to see her persevere and find her place in the world. I loved the whole "Valkyrie" element and her friendship with Gwyn and Emerie, two characters I wish we'd seen more of throughout. Cassian was also great, and I loved how supportive he was of Nesta. I also liked having the dual POV, even though Cassian's inner voice sounds more like that of a horny teenager than a centuries-old, mature male.

Which brings me to my next big issue with this book. There was way too much smut. Now, I don't have a problem with sex scenes in general and I do appreciate them when they're well-written and add depth to the book. Here, however, it was just too much for my taste and I found most of the scenes to be repetitive, with ACOTAR's signature mix of growling, purring, roaring, etc. being repeated again, and again, and again... The plot was virtually non-existent for the majority of the book, as over half of it is Nesta training, shelving books and having sex. What little plot there was felt rushed, and most elements were predictable and/or deeply unrealistic within the world of the book.

I'm sorry, but I just can't get on board with Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie beating all the Illyrians in the Blood Rite after training for a few months, when the males have been training for the Rite their whole lives. I'm all for female empowerment in books, but it has to make sense.

Overall, I was entertained and did enjoy the book (and I will definitely read the next in the series), but I was very disappointed by it, probably because my expectations were too high. Despite its length, I was left wanting more, in terms of characters but also plot-wise. The pacing and editing felt off, I almost forgot the villains existed, and there were also way too many elements that for me were problematic. I ended up really liking and rooting for Nesta, a character I had always found difficult, and so ultimately it was worth reading for me even though it didn't live up to the previous chapters in the series.

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mldn's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Content Warnings

decklededgess's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

trigger warnings: sexual assault, rape, physical assault, war, PTSD, physical disfigurement and mutilation, abusive family, sexism and misogyny, sex and nudity, alcoholism, pregnancy complications, birth complications, emotional abuse, depression, anxiety

me a sjm in a deep south accent: i can’t quit you

anyways this book is proof sjm books wouldn’t be getting so much shit for being “toxic” if they were simply categorised as adult and new adult like they should have been since like throne of glass.

all the queer baiting/lack of diversity/insensitive oversight on ableism/lack of diverse bodies etc all of that stands. in fact in this one she regressed and i honestly thought she forgot mor was selectively lesbian from acowar.

anyways. there are better books to read but these would be easier to ignore if teens weren’t reading this.

Content Warnings

behowel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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