Book Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Frost and Starlight

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A Court of Frost and Starlight 〰️

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I enjoyed it. But if it wasn't part of the ACOTAR series, I'm not sure I would have. (Or even cared to read it). It was nice to read a lighthearted story after all that happened in the first three books. But still, this fourth book read like it was a made-for-TV Christmas movie. It was clearly a filler to tie us over until the fifth book. Probably also a cash grab. This book didn't need to be written. But again, I still enjoyed it for what it was. It wasn't my favourite read of this series.

I didn't care for how random chapters weren't told by Feyre (or even Rhys) and that chapters not in their POV were in the third person. I dunno; it just felt like a weird writing/stylistic choice. Other have it all in be first person or third person. And the random chapters in between Feyre and Rhys felt like filler within the filler. Especially Mor's chapters. Cassian's made sense. But Mor's could have been taken out, and nothing would have been missed.

But for those flaws, it was still sweet and charming and a nice little break from all the darkness. A friend told me she feels like it was Maas's way of writing from Feyre (and Rhys, I guess) and telling their story one last time before completely changing POV (and perspective) in the fifth book.

If you're a die-hard fan of ACOTAR (as I now am), I think you'll still enjoy this very short read. If not, you could skip this book and probably be just fine in going straight into the fifth. A few things may be mentioned in the fifth book that was in the fourth, but I think you'd pick up what's missing from context. After all, this book was super short (and a larger font) than its chonkier mates.

Book review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Wings and Ruin

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A Court of Wings and Ruin 〰️

I mentioned in my review of the second book in this series that it outshined the first one. And while I still stand by that statement, I would also now like to say the third book is even better than the first two. This book had me going through all the emotions, and I'm here for it. Loved it right from the start and was gripping the pages right until the end.

It was interesting to see Ferye back with Tamlin in the Spring Court again. Tamlin is now kinda the villain (as well as others), but he's so resentful of what Fyere did to him that I understand his motives. He made lots of bad decisions thought the series so far, but I can see he tried to redeem himself in the end. Was it enough? No, but it's a start. He was hurt and desperate, and while his choices that lead him down the path to siding with Hybern were clouded, I can see how he made those decisions. I can also see him growing from this and trying to regain his good standing with his court and with the rest of Prythian as the books go on.

Also, I never thought we'd see Feyre's sisters or family again after she turned High Fae in the first book, but they not only came back in the second book but played major roles in the third book. At first, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy their characters, but the more I read about them, the more interesting they are. I really want to know the extent of Nesta's powers, and it's cool that Elain is a seer now. It's interesting to see what the Cauldron did to them and how they still remained the same characters as they were when they were human, yet also different from High Fae.

I loved that we got to know more about the other characters in Rhysand's court. We learned a lot last book, but it was expanded even more. And it was great learning about the other courts as well. I loved watching them all come together, in the end, to fight what seemed like a losing battle against Hybern.

I also enjoyed the military stuff in this book. It normally goes over my head, but Maas managed to write it in simpler terms and in a fun enough way that I enjoyed all the military talk. Also, Fyere learning to fly was information I never thought about before when it comes to using wings. I never thought about how someone would probably use terrain and different parts of their bodies to get to fly. I'm sure it's obvious to some people, but I felt like I was learning to fly right alongside Fyere, and that was cool.

Not sure how I feel about Rhys dying and then immediately coming back. Like, it hit me hard when he died. And I would have hated to see him gone from the story for good. But having him get revived almost immediately kind of cheapened his death. It's the one part of the story I don't think needed to be there.

There were flaws, yes, but all in all, this book captivated me from start to finish, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the series progresses.