A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
Published by Bloomsbury
Fiction / New Adult / Fantasy / Romance
Release Date: May 1st, 2018
The long anticipated novella to the
ACOTAR series!
To start this off, I know why some
people don't like it in comparison to the previous books. The plot
is subtle, if there at all as some would say. I knew going into the
book as soon as I read the premise that this was a bridge book, one
to give us some extra information before leading us into the next
full novel.
This is what seemed to bother people,
because they felt that nothing happened in this book.
Not technically true. In terms of
action on the level of, say, A Court of Wings and Ruin, yeah, not
much happened. But there were some key points in here and some
important information that needed to be separated from the next full
novel (there should be a sneak peak into the next book), where, if
this had been added into the beginning, it would have just been a
weak beginning to a novel. This needed to be its own thing, and, to
be honest, I appreciated it.
In this book, it's been several months
since the end of the war with the King of Hybern, and the Court of
Dreams, along with a few others, have been adjusting. It's close to
the Winter Solstice (Yule in Paganism which she respectfully pulls
from) and the time to come together and work past the pain and
rebuild towards a brighter future feels necessary for Feyre. As High
Lady, the first in history, she maneuvers through multiple
responsibilities to try to find her place and role in Velaris.
Rhysand, Azriel, and Cassian (#bae) struggle to find the roots of a
brewing rebellion among the Illyrians, we begin to see more attention
on the Archeron sisters and how they are coping with their new High
Fae lifestyles, bodies, and place, and we witness additional tension
between Rhysand and Tamlin over border legislation now that the Wall
is gone.
So, technically, there is quite a lot
that happens in this book. The plot just isn't as action-packed and
heavy as the past novels. It relies solely on the growth of
relationships and finding purpose.
To me, that's far deeper, and more
interesting, to read about sometimes. Especially when it comes to
characters that you've grown to love and care about. Others probably
aren't at that level with these characters yet, and that's fine. I
think this type of book was appropriate, even necessary, to have as
we continue on to more adventures with these characters. The Hybern
plot is over, but there's obviously something brewing in multiple
parts of Prythian and the Fae World that will carry on to be huge
plot points in the future.
Now that my defense is over, let me go
into some of the more analytical aspects of this review.
I always thought that Sarah J Maas did
a pretty good job of showing the effects of PTSD, and this one, she
expands to show that it does indeed come in multiple forms. In this
book, we see Feyre try to find her own release from the trauma, which
comes in the form of painting, and ultimately results in the creation
of non-profit painting classes for children and their parents trying
to cope with the loss of parents in the war, and the horrors they
witness when Hybern attacked Velaris.
But the most interesting character to
read about in this book, was Nesta.
We begin the learn more about how Nesta
is faring following the war, trying to adjust to her new body, life,
and situation. Her form of coping with the trauma she experienced is
by secluding herself in a hovel in the shady side of town and
drinking herself into stupors to the point where limitations mean
nothing. She refuses to speak, let alone see, her sisters or anyone
from their group despite the upcoming holiday. From a distance,
she's being unnecessarily difficult, but looking at it closer, it's
understandable. She can't stand to see anyone happy, because why
should they be? It's clear she's still traumatized by her transition
in the Cauldron, and the death of her father at the hands of Hybrern.
And probably immensely embarrassed at the fact probably everyone in
the Fae Realm knows about her shielding a dying Cassian from the
fatal blows Hybern had in mind for them. Showing affection was never
her strong suit, and she views that instance as a reveal of weakness.
Cassian sees it differently though.
I'm excited to learn where she and
Cassian go and how their relationship develops. It looks like the
next book will be focused on them so I'm more than giddy about it at
the moment.
The other thing I am interested to
learn more about in the coming novels, is Tamlin. Yes, Tamlin the
Tool.
He has proved himself to be
nonredeemable throughout the past three (yeah three) books. In
ACOTAR, glimpses of his possessive nature glimmered in several
situations, ACOMAF is self-explanatory, what a douche-bag, and then
in ACOWAR he was still an asshole, but kind of came through at the
end with saving Rhys's and Feyre's lives. But one good deed does not
erase three books of douche-baggery.
In this book, Tamlin is only a shell of
his former douche-bag self. Through Rhys's eyes, we see a lonely,
disheveled ghost in a torn down palace of his own making. Wanna talk
about regret? Yeesh.
He's let literally everything slide,
including the enforcement of his borders in relation to the missing
Wall, posing a threat to the Fae and humans, and the reason Rhys is
there.
In a way, it's satisfying to see Tamlin
the Tool swimming in his own regret and buried in the shattered
rubble of his pride, but it's also intriguing. I almost want a book
describing and guiding us through that descent after the following of
ACOWAR. Yeah, it would be depressing as shit, but oh my Gods it
would be interesting to read all of those raw emotions.
It's obvious we'll see more of him in
future books, since the Wall issue will probably be a huge plot point
in future books and he's still a major character. But I want to know
one thing: what will ultimately happen to him?
I ask that because of one of the last
things he said in this book, and that was: “Do you think she will
forgive me?”
There's that glimmer of the regret that
his pride will allow him to reveal, even to Rhys, that made me
curious as to what would happen to him in the future. He seems
willing to just waste away into nothing with nobody by his side. Not
that I think he deserves Feyre's forgiveness, but I think there's
still growth in Tamlin yet, and I can't tell you what kind I think
that is. It's up to SJM now.
Now that I've finished this review
that's about as long as the book itself, I overall give A Court of
Frost and Starlight:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Technically 3.5 stars
I think it was a solid bridge that was
necessary for this book series as it continues into further books.
It's not perfect, and I think with some stronger analytical thinking
it's clear that there were quite a few things in here that weren't
pointless. It drives the characters forward, and I think if you also
read the Acknowledgments section at the end you will see that SJM did
struggle while writing some of this. It could have been a little
shorter and cleaner, but it was good to read about the growth of some
of these characters and where they are in relation to the next book.
There's still more to come people, whatever you're waiting to read
about, it will likely come in the next couple of books.
If you're the type of person who likes
to really read more into characters without necessarily focusing on a
mid-to-heavy action based plot, then this will appeal to you. If you
don't like that, here are a few of the important things you need to
know going into the next book:
Feyre and Rhysand are trying for a
child, Rhysand bought Feyre a huge estate, Netsa is a mess and
Cassian has been low-key stalking- I mean keeping an eye on her,
Tamlin is a mess, no Elain is still not speaking to Lucien, the
Illyrians are probably going to start a rebellion, borders aren't
being enforced, Morrigan thinks some shady shit is still out there,
and Feyre started a painting non-profit.
There you go, you're good for the next
book.
And as for the first point, yes, there
is a pretty sexy scene in there, it's on Chapter 22. You're welcome.
Some people didn't like it, but I thought it was okay.
Look for the next review coming up I
don't know when. Currently I am reading A Clockwork Orange and
Throne of Glass.
Have a good one!
