This book was not my favorite. I think I could have done without reading this book. Only a small portion of this book was needed for the transition into the next book in the series. The rest of it felt like filler material. 

I have mixed feelings. While I don't think it was the best book I've read from the series, I do think it had some redeeming qualities. 

It tended to drag on, particularly with the numerous shopping scenes. I couldn't help but think that the book could have been shorter if those scenes were cut out. 

The book did manage to make me continue disliking Nesta. To be fair, she's not coping well with the aftermath of the war which explains her behavior towards Cassian and others. On the other hand, Cassian deserves much better than what he gets in the book. I have hope that she might be able to turn things around in the next book and prove herself worthy of his love and attention.

I think it's still worth reading, but you wouldn't miss anything if you didn't. 

4/5 stars; now to explain why lol. 

A lot of people told me they didn’t like this book. After reading it, I can understand why they might not; it’s a different kind of book when compared to the series. This one (at least in my opinion) was meant to show the softer side of some characters as well as shed light on their mental health struggles. It wasn’t meant to be a fantasy novel. It wasn’t meant to be about a huge buildup, conflict, and resolution. It was meant to show that even fantastical character have struggles. Even High Fae have to deal with the mundane/boring parts of life. The novel was meant to humanize the series, not continue to storyline. 


I truly enjoyed getting to know each beloved character better. Everybody’s personality quirks really got their moment to shine! Relationships between a lot of the characters were deepened, some rifts widened in heartbreaking ways, and ALL the characters were addressing some heavy feelings/emotions. A huge thank you to SJM for taking the time to acknowledge, complicated emotions and concepts like grief, guilt, PTSD, and self esteem.

So, 4 of 5 stars for the book this is, not for the series people want it to fit into.

Given my usual opinion on books in this series I was pleasantly surprised by this one. While it had the same issues of dragging and over repetition as the other books I felt like it happened less often.

Once again, I don’t really enjoy Rhysand’s POV all the much. Something about the way he talked/thought about Feyre felt off to me. Not to mention a lot of his side of things seemed to be concerned over the extremely sus age gap between him and Feyre. I understand it’s fantasy and I can uncomfortably hand wave that sort of thing, it really rubbed me the wrong way their 516-ish year age gap with dismissed with the ab*sive relationship between his parents that had a 882 year age gap. Maybe it’s foreshadowing Rhysand turning into his father.

I will also note that this felt like a really strong starting point to build Rhysand and Feyre as budding villains. Something about their behaviour/thoughts just established this for me, but that could be wistful thinking.

Outside of that, I enjoyed the non-Feyre and Rhysand characters and their dynamics. This felt like a good way to build up to Silver Flames and I’m interested to see how/if the characters grow and develop relationships (and by characters I mean Elain and Azriel.)

A nice break from the events of the previous book. Entirely unnecessary for the plot, but a short and comforting read… mostly.

2024 Reread:

Rating: 5/5 stars.

There really aren’t words for just how much I love this one. It’s calm and it’s sweet and it’s quiet and it’s beautiful. It’s a warm hug and the perfect love letter to incredible characters and coda for the first part of the series. Absolute perfection.

Rating: 5 stars

A holiday novella, <I>A Court of Frost and Starlight</I> follows Feyre’s first Winter Solstice as

High Lady of the Night Court

.

This one is a bit controversial, but here’s my hot take. Anyone who says this isn’t a required read is WRONG and I will die on this hill. For me, it reads like an extended epilogue to ACOWAR, in the absolute best way, including a ton of set-up for events to come in <I>A Court of Silver Flames</I>. Plus, who doesn’t love a fluffy holiday romance?

CW: Grief, eating disorder, mental illness, alcoholism

This novella is a description of what happened after the war in A Court of Wings and Ruin. The characters face the repercussions of all that happened,

the Cauldron being destroyed, Rhys' death, and Nesta killing the King of Hybern

.

A Court of Frost and Starlight is almost slice-of-life in nature; there is no true "plot" other than following the characters as they adapt to what happened and future challenges, and setting up the plot between Nesta and Cassian in A Court of Silver Flame.

And the big thing that happened between Rhys and Feyre? While it was very clear that Sarah J. Maas was setting up the fact

that Rhys and Feyre were having a child

in previous books, I can't help finding myself dissatisfied that

Feyre wanted to try to have a child

so soon. She mentioned that she wanted to live life, and I can't help feeling that Feyre is far too young (in Fae terms) especially compared to Rhysand. It just felt a little bit rushed is all.

Overall, though, I enjoyed seeing the "mundane" aspects of life in Velaris among the group.

I think this is just a really good wind-down christmas book after the absolute war that just happened. I love that it goes through all of the character's traumas, and it shows how they are forming into a little chosen family.