Reviews with content warning for Cursing - A Court of Silver Flames

Feyre has given Nesta some time hoping it will change her, but she has gotten worse. She’s spending Feyre and Rhysand’s money going to taverns and sleeping around with any Fae male that crosses her path. Feyre gives her sister an ultimatum, get her shit together and train with Cassian or be cast out into the human world. Nesta agrees to train with Cassian, but only pretends to cooperate. Cassian has his hands full and must help her heal with her PSTD, like Rhys did for Feyre. Meanwhile, a threat is looming in the background from the human queens, and Nesta might be the best weapon they got.

Nesta Archeron is my least favorite, not counting Tamlin, whom I hate, but once again Maas proves she can change my mind about a character. This one has a lot of similarities to ACOMAF as it deals with a lot of the same themes such as PSTD and grief. The romance starts the same, but Nesta is a bit meaner to Cassian than Feyre was to Rhys. At least Nesta didn’t throw a shoe at him, but she’d probably would have thrown a dagger instead. Nesta is full of female rage and has mixed feelings about her father and Feyre. She resents Feyre but won’t acknowledge her own part in the terrible things that happened to them. Feyre took care of them while Nesta didn’t bother to do anything, and she saved Elaine from the King Hybern and the cauldron. Nesta’s one redeeming quality is her love for Elaine, but she’s almost too protective. Nesta also loves Feyre and appreciates her, and she also realizes it’s easier to blame Feyre than admit her own faults. As for her father, Nesta feels their father abandon them, but he brings a ship named after Nesta to rescue them during the war. He also sacrifices himself and the last thing he says is he loves Nesta before his neck was broken while she froze up. She is triggered by certain sounds that remind her of his death. She pushes everyone away even Elaine and Amren, but Cassian won’t give up on her. Being in Nesta’s head allowed us to understand her and feel sympathy for her, though I still got frustrated with her. We get a different side of Cassian as well, that isn’t as lighthearted and easy going, but a version of him that still struggles with his own demons. I liked the new characters who became friends with Nesta and could relate to her. They don’t judge her, especially since they have their own trauma’s that they experienced. This book also includes the actual blood rite being played out with Nesta and her friends being forced into it. The magical objects and the confrontation with the human queen who was turned into a crone by cauldron was a fun and cool part of the story, but it wasn’t the main point of plot and I wonder if Maas will continue building this threat. Yes, once again we have some intense and hot sex scenes that are detailed, and it was awkward listening to it via audio book. This one has a different narrator, and she does a great job portraying Nesta’s emotions. I enjoyed this one and am excited for the next one.

Content Warnings