#HOW ELSE DO YOU EXPLAIN HOW TAMLIN IS ABSOLUTELY SERVING

[praetorqueenreyna]

Hi-res version of the frostbite.studios & atouchofmagicdesigns ACOTAR dust covers! Bless them for making Lucien and Tamlin look SO FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDD!!!

[gopeachllama]

Why I think Feysand were OOC in ACOSF

I hope that no one misunderstands from the title but let me say this is a 100% PROfeysand post. so if you hated feysand even before acosf, then this post isn't for you.

So i've seen a lot of interesting theories about feysand's and in particular rhys' behaviour and choices throughout acosf. and while alot of them seemed possible and may have been the case canonically speaking, even as a feysand stan i just couldn't seem to wrap my head around some of the things they said and did in the book. they just both seem OOC, its the only pausible explanation for me.

To understand why feysand were OOC in the book we have to look at this through a narrative perspective. as in we have to ask why would the author write the character/s in this way?

a quick overview of what a character arc is

so there can be a lot of variations of a character arc in a story but the basics is as follows (how does the character go from point 'a' to point 'b'):

the 'big lie' - the views/beliefs/actions the character has at the start which will be challenged throughout the story (this is point 'a')

the 'incident' - a plot point in which starts development of the character. something that spurs the character into action, this most ofter happens when they are placed in an unfamiliar situation. this usuallyy is the intial challenge to their 'big lie'. at this point the story will move forward and theres no going back.

the midpoint - the character changes conciously or subconciously, they start to recognise their own flaws in the 'big lie'.

world collaspes - this is usually on the heels of a victory, the character reaches the lowest point in their journey. they finally confront 'the big lie' and forces to stop this deception they inflict on themselves. they can destroy it or it will destroy them.

the climax - the reason for the story. the reason why the character had to take this journey in order to get to this moment. the moment that the character will decide once and for all whether they will go forward to point 'b' or regress back to point 'a'

the resolution - the character reaches point 'b'. their view/beliefs/actions have changed, they no longer believe in the 'big lie'.

So obvisouly the main character in acosf is Nesta. What sjm does in her books is that every plot point and development of secondary characters is in service to the arc of the main character. None of the character's outside of Nesta have their own development. Not even Cassian, any sort of changes or developments he undergoes is in service to Nesta (a complete missed opportunity for Cassian but that a whole other point). And before anyone tries to say otherwise, you can have development for characters even if they are secondary ones (and for a book that is 800+ pages long it is definitely possible). An example is with his can also be seen with Gwyn. Her leaving the library for the first time was a huge moment for the character, but she did so, in order to comfort Nesta after her big fight with Cassian. It was also so that Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie could all be together in Illyria so they could be kidnapped and forced to enter the blood rite (where the final showdown occurs with Nesta and the villan).

so what has this got to do with feysand and why are they OOC?

In fact the entire plot with feyre's pregnancy was made to give chracter developments for Nesta. There was nothing written in the book that suggested any developments for feyre and rhys. it did nothing for them. Nesta needed to become central to the story and the only way sjm thought to keep feyre side lined was to make her pregrnant. It was also just lazy writing and world building bc there is no way that rhys would have though of this when he and feyre were trying for a baby.

SIN #1 The Shields

Rhys practicing shields (shield thats doesn't even allow anyone to even touch her) on feyre, which she just allows. the book explains because of the fact that there is more danger to her now that she's pregnant. Narratively, this would make sense if there is a payoff. Like later in the story if feyre was in physical danger and the shield saves her or if the shield became a detriment to her in some way. But no nothing like this happens. Rhys 'practices' the shield on her and thats it. Rhys, who was the same person that trusted feyre enough defend herself against the weaver. It was totally out of character that he would shield her to the point that Cassian can't even kiss her on the cheek (sounds familiar huh). and the same goes for feyre, who has no problem with this (*cough* tamlin locking her up *cough*). Thats is some OOC behaviour.

So what were the point of the shields? well since sjm made it canon that fae can smell when a female is pregnant, the biggest way they came into play was in the scene when rhys lifted it long enough so that everyone could sense that that feyre was pregnant. And It could have been just that, feyre and rhys were expecting a baby, and Nesta can go along with her development, they did not need to intersect. But it did, and we'll come back to that later. This scene is a lighthearted moment in the book, one of the rare few where all the characters are happy and celebrating a good thing. acofas we knew that rhys and feyre decided to try for a baby, and seeing it pay off here was enjoyable for the readers.

But what else does this scene do? through Nesta's perspective, we can read her thoughts on it, and though she doesn't reveal much its an important character moment for her. the readers can see that she can feel happiness for someone else beyond the self-loathing she guards herself with, it shows that she is a character worth rooting for.

SIN #2 Rhys concealing the dangers of the pregnancy from feyre

oof this one is a doosey. this was the most baffling thing to come out of acosf for me. there is literally no reason or explanation that would make sense for rhys to lie to feyre like that. It offers no development for the two character it affects the most: rhys and feyre. there no fallout on rhys' end for lying to her, and there is no turmoil for feyre such as falling into depair like we told she would (the whole reason that rhys was hiding it in the first place).

When Nesta finds out that the pregnancy was most likely going to kill feyre and the baby. instead of Nesta disagreeing and urging Rhys to tell feyre, she doesn't say anything and forms a temporary truce with him, a character she has always had conflict with. It also serves as the incident that allows Nesta to have her 'world collapse' moment in her character arc. How else was Nesta going to realise what a shitty person is was being if she didn't do something so absolutely shitty? in a fit of rage, Nesta reveals to feyre that the pregnancy was going to kill both her and the baby. she get taken away on a hike in illyria (because???) and she reaches rock bottom after she comes to term with what she did. the story is taken away from velaris and the inner circle, and any conflict and resolution that happens between feyre and rhys, if it even happened at all, happens off page. again furthering my point about the pregnancy having no impact on the two characters is affects the most. After Nesta's fleeting moment of enlightenment, and her swordplay sex marathon with Cassian (urgh) she returns to velaris and nothing has changed between rhys and feyre. there isn't really much of a development with Nesta's relationship with feyre, their 'reconciliation' occurs all of less than one page and doesn't even happen out loud, just mind to mind. Now that Nesta has had her important character moment, nothing else matters (again lazy writing).

SIN #3 Everyone dies

ok so yes everyone has said their two cents about this and i agree with it. Feyre and nyx had to die so that Nesta could have her climax moment. It is the climax of the story since it is the big story development right before the resolution. and about the bargain - feysand decided in acofas that they were going to try for a baby. meaning that it was after this decision that they struck the bargain that they would die together. so at some point they would have thought of the fact they would have a child/children when the both die. im sorry but do they seem like the kind of ppl that would make a suicide pact even if it meant leaving their children behind? TOTALLY OOC for me. and i dont know i guess also the stakes weren't high enough with just the threat of feyre and nyx dying.

So feyre and nyx are dead and rhys will soon follow and Nesta intervenes to save them. Its also a self-sacrificing moment bc she has to give up her powers in order to do this... Showing that she does truely love her family and the depths of her powers. (seriously idc how you stan or hate how does anyone this good book?). don't doubt that in the future books sjm will find a way for Nesta to get her powers back (whatever they are (pure death WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???))

So Nesta saves the day, everyone is fine and nothing has changed except Nesta is nice now probably. the end.

welp this got way longer that i expected but anyways long story short there was nothing about the pregnancy that gave development to feysand characters and it was all for the development of the main character.

i don't claim acosf!feysand and sjm better fucking leave them alone in the rest of the books.

[lilbooktopus]

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas Synopsis: The huntress Feyre is taken to Prythian as punishment for breaking The Treaty and slaying a faerie in a wolf's skin. She is given freedom to roam within the gates of the manor, but not to return to her family and home. The longer she stays in the manor of her captor Tamlin, the deeper she falls in love with the masked fae. Outside Tamlin's walls, the kingdom that lies north of the human realm is a land tormented with a curse, a shadow that leeched the magic of its inhabitants and set dark creatures dangerously close to the human borders. Feyre must break the spell or watch everything she loves fall into its doom.A Court of Thorns and Roses is a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast.

First Impression: ACOTAR is told in first person POV and we get Feyre to narrate everything to us. I'm not a fan of first person POV but I thought the first four chapters were okay until I felt they were going too slow. And that's where things started to go downhill. 

Book Talk

Meet Feyre, a huntress whose only motivation in life is her family who treats her badly despite being their sole provider in this hard winter and her hobby painting. She gets whisked away to faerie land by a not-so-obviously handsome masked high fae as a punishment for killing one of their kind. In Prythian, she lives a life of absolutely zero consequences for reasons revealed in the last part of the book, if you manage to hang on long enough.

Feyre is a sad excuse for a heroine. She's petty (don't let her hear you say 'ignorant' and 'insignificant'; she'll think you're talking about her and mope, or find a creature that could kill her), and goes beyond the usual amount of recklessness and stupidity YA main characters have, the likes of which has never been seen since Bella Swan's cliff dive.  She'll do the exact opposite of anything you say will keep her safe and manage to stay alive long enough for an alpha-male to come to her rescue.

ACOTAR is a book that kept me thinking who the bigger douche is, Tamlin or Rhysand, and watch Feyre mistake abusive behavior for protectiveness and kindness over and over again as she tries to break the most specific curse in the history of magic casted by the most underwhelming villain I've ever seen. I got frustrated watching Feyre complete everyone's sentence with "insignificant human", describe things with "I can/not paint it", wait to be invited to faerie parties she had no business being in, fail to answer the easiest riddle in the history of riddles, and basically make the worst decisions ever without having to face any consequence.

It took a dull 275 pages and 31 chapters of Feyre's whining, hating faeries, and inexplicably falling in love with faeries enough to sacrifice her life for her High Lord (haha yes, that's a thing!) before any semblance of a plot became apparent and by then the only things keeping me hanging on were sheer will, moral support from friends, and the fact that I bought all three books already and doomed myself to this fate. If you ever find yourself in the same position, the only way to get through it is by telling yourself there must be an explanation somewhere. Explanation, never a justification.

PS. Lucien is the character I liked the most and I love the Suriel (a veiled faerie with features scary enough that Feyre will probably say she won't be able to paint).

World-building: ★★☆☆☆ Characters: ★★☆☆☆ Plot: ★☆☆☆☆

(Click read more if you’re prepared for a long ass review. You have been warned.)

Book Talk

Let's start with the things I loved. Let it not be said that I loved nothing in this book because if I am to be completely honest, I did.

Side characters I loved Lucien, Tamlin's friend and emissary. He's the life of the book for me, the person that makes most sense. Just your regular slightly-arrogant fae, but not really out-of-line. He has a witty response for everything and will never tire of reminding our MC how to keep herself alive, although he's always ignored. Plus, interesting backstory.

Alis, another fae serving the Spring Court, who is Feyre's handmaid. She gives Feyre some bits of advice throughout her stay in the manor, to keep the new girl alive… if only Feyre would listen.

Creatures Above all, I loved the assortment of faeries roaming Prythian, especially the Suriel, a faerie that could answer all your questions. Feyre's encounter with the Suriel is my favorite event, more because of the Suriel than Feyre's presence. I liked how eerie it felt to read of this faerie, yet feel responsible for its safety.

Things I loathed about this book:

Plot (or the lack of it) There is basically no plot. The only part that matters is the events Under the Mountain. The rest of the book talks about: 1. Feyre thinking she is worthless, useless, ignorant human 2. Feyre painting, Feyre failing to paint something 3. Feyre worrying about her family 4. Feyre-Tamlin inexplicable "romance" 5. Feyre being stupid and running to random dangerous things Only around 150 pages matter here, which could be found at the last part. The events Under the Mountain are the most exciting too, if you manage to hang around that long. Tip: Just tell yourself it would get better. It won't ever be good, but it will get better.

Writing I just hated Sarah J. Maas's writing. For one, SJM abused dashes and adjectives. I'm daring you to find at least two consecutive pages without a dash in it. She uses three adjectives on something that could be described with one.

Another thing I despised was Feyre constantly bleating about her painting. Her hobby is used to describe both her mood and her surroundings. She's sad: she can't paint. Something is too beautiful: she can't paint it. How the heck is "It's so beautiful I wouldn't be able to paint it" supposed to make me understand how a place looked like?

Third thing I hate is how easy information comes to Feyre in the form of characters in the know spout these info while they monologue. Tamlin spilled Lucien's backstory to her, Alis talked about the curse, Rhysand explained his motives and whatnot. It's so lazy on SJM's part.  

The Most Boring, Annoying MC since Bella Swan I have never hated an MC this much since Bella Swan. Feyre is presented to us as a badass huntress, the sole caretaker of her family in this hard winter. She endures her spineless father and ungrateful sisters, slaves for them and keeps them alive. Basically, they are bitching on the only reason their family hasn't starved to death yet. I would have pitied her if only she weren't such a martyr.

This girl is one giant walking trope. She constantly thinks she is plain and not beautiful, how hunger made her bony, how her cheekbones are too sharp. Basically an attempt to make her more relatable which doesn't really work because she's the one narrating the story so we hear her whining and then hear everyone else tell her otherwise and want her/lust after her.

Feyre sees her worth through the eyes of others: a. How her family needs her before and doesn't need her now that they are provided for by Tamlin, b. How the faeries perceive her. She is petty enough to take one snide remark to heart and repeat it to herself over and over again. Here's a few of my favorite (there's a really long list):

1. Insignificant - yes, I was insignificant to their lives, their power. As insignificant as the fading chipped designs I'd painted around the cottage. (pg. 66) 2. I could still cling to that scrap of a dream, though these High Faes are likely to laugh at how typically human it was to think so small, so little. (pg. 78) 3. You mean a faerie is passing up the opportunity to mock an ignorant mortal. (pg. 117, when Tamlin offered to help her) 4. I'd stop asking, just as the Suriel had ordered. Like a stupid, useless human. (p. 170) 5. I was an ignorant human fool. (p. 367) That said, I am very much annoyed with her constant whining about how useless the faeries think she is, snapping at anyone who mentions she has a flaw. Apart from that, she hates how no one seems to trust her (although she doesn't trust faeries herself), how she's not privy to their decision-making, and surprise: how she's not invited to parties.

1. As if I were at the very, very bottom of a long list of priorities. (pg. 106) 2. Perhaps it was contained but it seemed it was still wreaking havoc - still a threat - and perhaps one they truly didn't want me knowing about, either from lack or trust or because… because I was nothing to them. (pg. 108)

So what if she's petty and very much presumptuous? That's not enough to hate her! Brace yourselves because Feyre is also that kind of heroine who has a death wish. She deliberately disobeys any orders which were set for her own safety. Okay, so what if she's reckless? Right! If only she could save her own hide but sadly, she could not. Every freaking time she heads out, either because of curiosity or spite, she puts herself in a dangerous situation she could not get out of until a male savior comes to her rescue.

Under the care of these faes, Feyre lives a life of zero consequence, never gets reprimanded earnestly because… you'll find out if you could hang around long enough to reach 75% of the novel. And even then I felt like I was being cheated because it's so lame that Feyre could do nothing wrong or if she does, no one will lift a hand because everyone is looking to her to break the spell that's on them. It's a very convenient way for the author to slink out of the responsibility to keep her MC in check. Feyre being reckless to the point of almost killing herself doesn't make her brave or endearing; it makes her stupid.

Here's another attempt to make her more relatable: giving her a very ordinary hobby which is painting. More about this on Writing.

Problematic Relationships

This book is riddled with red flags for me, problematic relationships and power imbalance. Feyre is tossed into a world dominated by powerful males, high lords and such, and she is a powerless human forced to blend in. She is forced into desperate situations she could not get out of without the help of said males like Tamlin and Rhysand. I felt like Feyre is often exploited, reduced to a plaything, and she could do nothing but to accept it. Problematic relationships are okay only if these instances were not romanticized and are presented as problematic indeed, not like how Feyre saw these as sweet, sexy, kind, or supportive.

Tamlin "Do not disobey me ever again." My favorite Tamlin quote. Tamlin is presented as this high lord, noble and fair, probably handsome behind the mask (No, the mask didn't really do anything to diminish his effect on women). And he would not explain anything to Feyre and would constantly growl and unsheathe his claws, and lengthen her canines at her. Cursed or not, he's a too-dominating, overprotective, suffocating ass of a fae.

An example of which is Fire Night, where Tamlin tells Feyre to lock herself in or else, when he becomes possessed later in the night, he might come to her and force himself on her. Feyre was thrilled and thought, "A feral part of him wanted me." Yes, if she didn't stay in, he would rape her and it would be her fault. When the douche of a guy comes home, he pins Feyre against the wall and kisses and bites her neck despite her protests which, no matter how half-hearted they are, are still to be taken as NO. And when she tells him not to do that ever again, the damned fae just chuckles. Next day, he justifies biting her neck because she disobeyed him despite his orders, saying "If Feyre can’t be bothered to listen to orders, then I can't be held accountable for the consequences."

Rhysand Rhysand, on the other hand, was marketed as this bad boy whatever. He's just a douche. No matter what his ulterior motives were, I felt like he went overboard and did unnecessary stuff that the author wanted readers to swallow as sexy. Rhysand would make Feyre do/do everything to Feyre without her permission, invading her mind and body.

Later in the book, Rhysand abuses her both verbally and physically, making her dress in clothes she's uncomfortable in, insulting her, intoxicating her and making her dance for him in front of people while he touches her and makes her sit on his lap. He laughs at Feyre's pain when he was checking her injured arm which is totally unnecessary - you can't say it's because he's playing a role here - because no one was there to see. When he comes to her in the night to lick her tears and insult her more, she thinks that Rhysand had kept her from shattering completely. It's really worse when Rhysand reveals he didn't need the one-week-a-month deal to heal her arm. He was hurting her for fun.

Romance I'd be hard-pressed to tell you how Feyre and Tamlin fell in love with each other, so much that Feyre was so ready to let go of her anger towards faeries and throw her life away for him. In the absence of an actual showcase of their hearts jiving together, we just get SJM telling us that they're in love. Or Feyre was very much attracted to this sad, brooding lord, whose tan skin and perfect eyes call to her, whose touch makes her skin burn.

Villain/Curse I was so disappointed by the villain of this novel and the curse this notorious she laid on the land. It was so underwhelming that I nearly melted into a puddle. Amarantha, the she so evil, so powerful, that they would not mention her name is not worth all the fuss they're giving her.

First, her curse is the stupidest curse ever. I mean, you expect a mask to hide Tamlin's beauty to prevent people from falling in love with him? Did it stop Feyre from assuming he's beautiful? Did it stop her from noticing his tanned skin, his muscles, which she was soooo attracted to?

Anyway, the curse was so damn specific that it sucked. It super duper sucked.

Oh and did I mention about the easy way out Amarantha gave Feyre? Okay, defend it all you want and say the evil queen did that because she underestimates humans so much but it was so ridiculous I answered it by the second line. For a quicker way out, she should have at least made it more difficult than that.

Final Verdict:

This book gave me the biggest headache of all time, especially the final chapters where the strength of my mind was tested. I hate this book with a burning passion but I will read on because I already bought all three books and it would be a waste of money to burn them. From a lame MC, abusive alpha-males, underwhelming villains, and a non-existent plot, this book will give Twilight a run for its money. 

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5)