A review by courtofsmutandstuff
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was not expecting this to be an exploration of trauma, how it is internalized, sent out at others, and ultimately healed, but I LOVED that this is what the book was (that and the smut). I HATED Nesta from book one and felt she was a poorly written flat character who was written to be resented and hated, and I'm really glad Maas has given Nesta this book from her perspective. Being inside Nesta's head (even though it's 3rd person), especially in her moments of lashing out and self-hatred, seemed really authentic and I really enjoyed the perspective and its exploration of trauma. I HATED Nesta, even at the beginning of this book, and how she only seemed capable of lashing out; Cassian is a saint for his perseverance (because we aren't responsible to heal the people who hurt us) but as the book's unofficial motto says, he keeps reaching out his hand. I really like that a huge part of Nesta's healing is female friendships (I love Emerie and Gwyn) and meaningful work. 
For me, the series was worth it for this book, and I really loved its exploration of trauma and self-healing. 
I also REALLY appreciated the steam - I feel like this book finally merits ACOTAR being considered smut.