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

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Months after the war with Hybern, Nesta is still estranged from her sisters and the rest of the Night Court. Finally, Feyre gives Nesta an ultimatum: she can start going to training with Cassian every day and work in the library in the House of Wind...or be banished to the human lands. Angrily, Nesta agrees—but she won’t acquiesce that easily. It doesn’t help that she’s now spending hours a day with Cassian, the one person who always seems to set off her anger—or worse, her desire. Though the war has ended, peace is fragile, and the human queens are up to something that Nesta, Cassian, and the other members of the Night Court must prevent...or go to war again.

I was underwhelmed by the ACOTAR series when I first started reading them (partly because they had been so hyped up on booktok, and probably also because I listened to the audiobooks...mistake), so I didn’t have high hopes for A Court of Silver Flames. I surprised myself by enjoying it more than the others, though the plot is still just as confusing. The biggest difference I felt between this book and the previous several was the importance of the female relationships. Though Feyre has some female friends, their relationships never felt as fleshed out as Nesta’s friendships with Emerie and Gwyn. Also—and I am fully aware that this is a very unpopular opinion—I never liked Rhys all that much, and seeing him from Nesta’s point of view only supported that opinion. Cassian, on the other hand… (My favorite of the “bat boys” is still Azriel, though, so I’m holding out hope that one of Maas’ upcoming books will be about him
...and Gwyn, perhaps?? I never cared all that much for the Azriel/Elain pairing (she is just too boring, I’m sorry) but I want him to find a happy ending, and I loved Gwyn!
)

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):
Happpy! But still plenty of room for sequels because God forbid these poor idiots have a minute of rest.

 
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