#I do think reader and Feyre have a somewhat different connection to the one reader and Rhys had before things went…as they did

[tadpolesonalgae]

Hi tabby, super random question but in the Drunken mistakes series, does Rhys actually care about or like the reader? Because it feels like feyre obviously likes her (has feelings for her I mean) and at the beginning Rhys seems concerned for her (bringing her food) but then it’s like he doesn’t care as much? Like he calls her pet names but he seems more inclined to use her than really having feelings for her? :) thank you

-🐍

Hiya!! And thank you for reminding me about that series, I love the dynamic of the first part so much 🫠

So, Feyre definitely likes reader, and reader kind of(?) liked Feyre back? It’s kind of tricky to say since reader does have (did have?) romantic feelings for Feyre but wasn’t comfortable with them which is why the story progressed in the way that it did?

For Rhysand, he also has romantic interest in reader but since the series is basically pure smut, we just haven’t had a chance to see him express a non-sexual interest in her yet :)

I’d honestly love to add something else to that series since…well, Feysand, but I have some other stuff going on with them already? I’ve started writing a part 3 to Tag, You’re It, as well as a more wholesome one-shot that’ll probably be called Dizzying Kisses featuring poly feysand so I’d like to finish one of those before giving another go to the drunken series…but it would be so nice to write it 😞

[acourtofthought]

I find it so strange when readers try to pit Elain and Gwyn against one another, acting like one is better than the other when they've had extremely similar journeys so far:

Catrin was always the strong one. The smart and charming one. After our mother died, she took care of me. Looked out for me.

That sounds a lot like Elain and Nesta's relationship right? Where Nesta was the strong one when it came to Elain? Where she looked out for her?

We were raised in the temple as well. I never left its grounds until … until I came here.”

For Elain, I wouldn't say she was quite as cut off from the world as Gwyn was and she did experience the loss of her mother and poverty at a young age however, I don't know that she suffered the greatest burdens that came about from those things as Feyre did (and to some degree, Nesta). So again, both she and Gwyn had a somewhat sheltered childhood.

“I have been broken once before,” Gwyn said, her voice clear. “I survived it. And I will not be broken again—not even by this mountain.” / “A commander from Hybern raped me two years ago. He had his soldiers hold me down on a table. He laughed the entire time.” Tears gleamed in Gwyn’s eyes. “Hybern attacked in the dead of night. We were all asleep when they broke into the temple and began the slaughter.

I think what Gwyn went through hits home for a lot of us and that's why so many connect with her story. But Elain's experience is not less traumatic just because Cauldrons do not exist in real life (technically temples full of fae priestesses harboring a piece of said Cauldron do not exist in real life either). What happened to Elain is metaphorical for anything being done to someone against their will, for having their choices taken away, and for losing the life they planned on and hoped for in the blink of an eye:

"Fear like I had never known entered my heart as the men dragged my sisters, gagged and bound, before the King of Hybern. / But there they were—in their nightgowns, the silk and lace dirty, torn. Elain was quietly sobbing, the gag soaked with her tears. / Elain was shaking, sobbing, as she was hauled forward. Toward the Cauldron. / Lucien staggered a step forward as Elain was gripped between two guards and hoisted up. She began kicking then, weeping while her feet slammed into the sides of the Cauldron as if she’d push off it, as if she’d knock it down—/ Elain’s foot hit the water, and she screamed—screamed in terror that hit me so deep I began sobbing / Elain was still shivering on the wet stones, her nightgown shoved up to her thighs, her small breasts fully visible beneath the soaked fabric. Guards snickered.

I've seen it said that Elain's experience was only "being dumped into a Cauldron" therefore it wasn't that big a deal. But that ignores everything we're told of the experience:

Of course, there are risks—the transition can be … difficult. But a strong-willed individual could survive.”

“I saw it,” Rhys whispered. “Felt it. Everything that happened within the Cauldron. / And I saw … felt … what it took from her.” / He met Cassian’s stare unflinchingly, his eyes full of remorse and agony. “Her trauma is …” Rhys’s throat bobbed. “I know,” Cassian whispered. “I guessed,” Rhys breathed, “but it was different to feel it.”

Gwyn and Elain were both forcibly held against their will and had their bodies violated.

“I’ve been here for nearly two years"

We don't know exactly how many months went by from the time Elain was made until she started interacting with the outside world but my guess is about 4 / 5? Elain started getting better after Lucien made an appearance in the NC however she didn't leave the townhouse until it came time to seek shelter for the humans prior to the war.

Elain and Gwyn stayed in a place they felt the safest until it was time to do more. For Gwyn, she wanted to train as it was something her sister would have done and Elain wanted to find a place for the humans:

Nesta straightened her fork and knife beside her plate. “Can’t you spirit them away somewhere south—far from here?” “That many people? Not without first finding a safe place, which would take time we don’t have.” Rhys considered. “If we get a ship, they can sail—” “They will demand their families and friends come.” A beat of silence. Not an option. Then Elain said quietly, “We could move them to Graysen’s estate.”

Gwyn and Elain were both traumatized a second time in the series. For Elain, it was being kidnapped again, stabbing someone and seeing her father's murdered body and for Gwyn, it was being kidnapped and taken into the Rite.

But in both instances, the females stepped up to do what they had to do.

Gwyn waited on its other side, bloodied and in a warrior’s clothes, face filthy and torn, but eyes clear. (Gwyn after leading the beasts to the Illyrians)

And then walked to me and Nesta, who pulled back long enough to survey Elain’s clean face, her clear eyes. (Elain after helping to save Briar and kicking the beasts which saved Briar and Az).

Gwyn showed additional bravery later in the Rite as did Elain when she stabbed the King.

Gwyn has made it known that she no longer wants to take the safe road though we know she's still processing new traumas from the Rite (which probably played a role in why she wasn't sure she'd attend Nesta's mating ceremony) but all that does is set her up for her story. SJM FMCs start at a low point and work their way up.

It is confirmed that Elain still has trauma though she has shown signs of progress since the war. She's out and about in Velaris, helping it's people. She was willing to search for the Trove when even Nesta was afraid to, she joined her sisters in the Hewn City even though the cruelty there bothers her.

Elain is not 100% fine (again, a perfect setup for her own book) but she has had progress that cannot be denied.

And finally, both females stood up to Nesta in SF:

“I don’t need to be coddled. Only spoken to like a person.”. “I doubt you’ll enjoy the way I speak to most people,” Nesta said. Gwyn snorted. “Try me.” Nesta looked at her from under lowered brows again. “Get out of my sight.” Gwyn grinned, a broad, bright thing that showed most of her teeth and made her eyes sparkle in a way Nesta knew her own never had. “Oh, you’re good.” Gwyn turned back to the stacks. “Really good.

“You do not decide what I can and cannot do, Nesta.” / Elain cut in sharply, “I am not a child to be fought over.” / “Oh, fuck you,” Nesta snapped, and then choked. Elain blinked. Nesta blinked back, horror lurching through her. And then Elain burst out laughing. Howling, half-sobbing laughs that sent her bending over at the waist, gasping for breath. / Elain held up a hand, wiping her eyes with the other. “You’ve never said such a thing to me!” She laughed again. “I think that’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

I do think Gwyn and Elain are headed down different paths, Gwyn's being that of a warrior and Elain (in my opinion) one of a healer / peacemaker between courts. And Gwyn definitely seems a bit more irreverent (but not in a negative way, she just doesn't seem bothered by someone's standoffish personality which is why she seems better suited for Az) but outside of that, it's difficult not to note their similarities. Gwyn is bookish what with the research she does alongside Merrill, Elain is canonically wise and observant (so both intelligent in their own ways), they're not as bold and brazen as Nesta or Feyre however there is evidence to support that they too are curious about sex, and they each take solace in creature comforts (bracelet making and singing for Gwyn and gardening and baking for Elain).

When someone insults Elain, they are insulting Gwyn and vice versa and it's too apparent that the reason that happens in the first place is readers are blinded by their ship to pay attention to what SJM has told us about both females as individuals.

Out of the possible pairings I do think Az and Gwyn are more compatible but at this point, she's even more similar to Elain than she is to Az.

[silverlinedeyes]

Ok I have LOTS of thoughts, and am going to add a few here. But ultimately I agree with most if not all of your analysis, though of course we don’t know all the answers because we’ve only been in his head for such a short period of time!

One, I think the question about Mor that Rhys asks at the beginning of his conversation with Az is really important, and Azriel’s lack of response might shape the rest of their conversation. Rhys seems to think that Mor and Azriel will or at least might ultimately end up together, and he has at least implied this belief to Feyre in previous books. I have a feeling Rhys is acting here in part to protect Mor, because he doesn’t want this to hurt her, and in part Elain, because he thinks Az is in love with Mor so this must just be lust. Az, on the other hand, is over Mor basically, so he doesn’t even think Rhys’s question is worth responding too. Maybe if Az was more willing to explain himself, this conversation wouldn’t have gone downhill (obviously), but we’re not getting big declarations in a bonus chapter anyways.

Two, I (obviously based on my other posts) agree that Gwyn is a lightsinger, and I think at least part of Gwyn’s part of the bonus was to really show us as readers that this is what she is. Sarah has some pretty big hints about it throughout the book, but the conversation between Azriel and Gwyn about *singing* and *shadowsingers* really seems like a message to the reader to pay attention: what other singers have we heard about, oh, IN THIS BOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME. Also, Az is feeling pretty damn lost when he goes to the roof and she just happens to be there...

Three, I think it’s interesting (and intentional) that both Az and Gwyn recall how Az found her in Sangravah in this scene. Az briefly pictures how he found Gwyn, and it seems that Gwyn recalls that night as well. And not in a “Azriel rescued me he’s my hero” kind of way, but in a “reliving her trauma briefly” kind of way. I’m not sure this is meant to signal something good for them. And by that I mean that this might be intended to signal that things cannot and will not be romantic between them. I could imagine for Gwyn that being with Azriel might be too hard given that he reminds her of her trauma, and that he saw her at her most vulnerable and defeated. And I think it’s possible Sarah is trying to hint at that in this part of the scene.

Four, I 100% agree with you that they’re not mates. The bond seems to snap into place in traumatic situations, and didn’t in Sangravah. But even more so, the Blood Rite confirms this I think. Azriel is...not concerned about Gwyn in the scene when he and Rhys meet Azriel in Illyria. Or at least not any more concerned about Gwyn than he is Emerie or Nesta. And Azriel is more concerned about saving Eris, his enemy, than Gwyn. I’ve seen people say this is evidence that he has feelings for her because he respects her and knows she can handle herself. And...while I do think he respects Gwyn, I just have to respectfully disagree with this analysis especially in SJM’s world. If they were mates, or if he had real feelings for Gwyn at this point, he would be going NUTS like Cassian is about Nesta.

Five, I agree that this chapter is hinting at a connection between Az and Gwyn that will be important in future books, and that they do have some kind of chemistry. Like you, or what I think you think at least, I think this will be platonic, though it’s possible Gwyn has a bit of a crush on Az. But they do banter in a way that suggests to me that they will get along well. I really think Az is going to end up training her to control her lightsinging abilities like he trained Feyre to fly (assuming at their root, lightsingers and shadowsingers use their powers in somewhat similar ways since they communicate or control elements), and those scenes will also teach us the readers about Az’s abilities. Of course I might be wrong and their connection and relationship might end up being different or more than that. But certainly this chapter is telling us that Gwyn is going to play a role in the next book that is connected to Az in some way.

Six, WOW I did not think about the necklace returning point and that maybe Elain didn’t do it. Who else (or what else) might have? Az’s shadows? Could Gwyn’s singing in the stairwell have lured them too?

Seven, your point about the service is really interesting. I have a very strong feeling that Az was somehow lured to the library by Gwyn (whether when her singing followed him the night before, or now as your suggest, that she is singing at the service). He says he intended to return the necklace all day, but he didn’t. Instead he “found himself” at the library. There’s a lot of passive language throughout the bonus actually. It seems Azriel is, both with respect to Elain and Gwyn, acting on instinct or being pulled by...unknown forces. But it seems to me that these are for different reasons. For Elain, it’s because he instinctively is drawn to her by his attraction/feelings/instinct (maybe mate bond?). And I think here, with Gwyn, it is because something outside of himself (her singing) lured him to the library. Why? We don’t yet know. Is there something special about the necklace that Gwyn (or someone else) wants? Does Azriel just feel drawn to her because she has lured him, and so he decides to give her the necklace as a result?

Similarly with the image of her. Something “sparked” in his chest after Clotho says her line, then Azriel sees the image of Gwyn smiling, and he thinks, “for whatever reason...he could see it.” Again with this passive language. What reason? And why does something “spark” in his chest? To me, both of these things, coupled with the use of the word “glow” in the next paragraph, all seem like they might also be a result of Gwyn being a lightsinger. Did she somehow cause this image to enter his head when she lured him with her song? (I really don’t know, and have lots of questions about lightsingers).

My last point is that I’m not sure the last line of the chapter refers to Gwyn’s smile (or the image of gwyn being happy generally)! It might, and your analysis there is likely spot on. But it also seems like an “echo line” to me to close the chapter. It’s in its own paragraph all alone. And it echoes a previous line. This whole chapter revolves around this necklace somewhat. I just wonder if that line is meant to close the chapter by harkening back to the necklace and how complicated it (and Azriel’s feelings) are.

If he is talking about the image of Gwyn, it’s also interesting because Nesta describes Gwyn as having some secret beneath the surface. Is this line another lightsinger hint? That there is a “secret” to Gwyn’s beauty? I also think that it might bring Azriel joy to know he has brought joy to someone who was sexually abused and traumatized, given his history. So that might be part of why the image affects him so as well. That it’s beautiful to think of gwyn healing and being happy.

Anyways, thank you for these analyses!! They were really insightful, and also raise a lot of the same instincts and questions I have. And I hadn’t noticed, for example, that his shadows report to him on Elain’s return upstairs. That certainly doesn’t seem like they dislike her or the idea of her and Az.

Alright, If We’re Gonna Play with Az’s Bonus Chapter, Let’s PLAY with Az’s Bonus Chapter (Pt. 2)

Yeah baby, part 2 of a PAINSTAKING close read lol.

Azriel winnowed into shadows before she could say anything he uses the shadows to ESCAPE, they are a coping mechanism, appearing at the door to Rhys’s study a heartbeat later. His shadows whispered in his ear that Elain had gone upstairs. It’s interesting that the shadows specifically report on Elain’s whereabouts here and not earlier, as well as later not reporting on Gwyn.

Rhys sat at his desk, fury a moonless night across his face. He asked softly, “Are you out of your mind?”

Azriel donned the frozen mask he’d perfected while in his father’s dungeon. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rhys’s power rippled through the room like a dark cloud. “I’m talking about you, about to kiss Elain, in the middle of a hall where anyone could see you,” he snarled. “Including her mate.” It is not out of line for Rhys to acknowledge that this was stupid. If for no other reason than that it would hurt Lucien if he saw/felt them.

Azriel stiffened. Let his cold rage rise to the surface, the rage he only ever let Rhysand see, because he knew his brother could match it. Which is the mirror to something that Rhys notes in ACOFAS, that they are similar in their darkness. Because Rhys is really the only person Azriel can be himself with, completely, I think it’s important to acknowledge that this is unprecedented ground for them and specifically for Azriel. This is the first time Azriel can actually voice ANY of these thoughts out loud, and only because Rhys saw them, he did not bring this concern to Rhys himself. “What if the Cauldron was wrong?”

Rhysand blinked. “What of Mor, Az?” Also very not out of line thing to ask. Feyre is the only person Mor has really told about her sexuality, and so to Rhys and co. AND Azriel, nothing about this situation has changed in the past 500 years. The fact that Azriel is able to get over Mor, without that confirmation of her sexuality, because of Elain, is significant I think.

Azriel ignored the question. Hmm yeah, but he can’t keep ignoring this question forever, and that’s another reason he and Elain did NOT kiss in this chapter. He and his family and Mor all need closure regarding their relationship. “The Cauldron chose three sisters. Oh boy, I have a lot to say about the number three later on! Tell me how it’s possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another.” He had never before dared speak the words out loud. NEVER BEFORE DARED TO SPEAK THE WORDS OUT LOUD. This is the first time he’s even verbalizing these thoughts - of COURSE he doesn’t know how to navigate this conversation. This is raw emotion being spewed out right now, enhanced by the unresolved tension from his interaction with Elain.

Rhys’s face drained of color. “You believe you deserve to be her mate?” So, he says that his two brothers ARE WITH two of those sisters, which is a way to acknowledge the fact that both people in each pair accepted the bond and that it was a mutually built connection. Then he says “the third was given to another” which is actually really different. He’s saying that Elain was given to Lucien by the Cauldron, suddenly one member of that bond is not an active participant - and this is mostly true! Elain has ignored Lucien diligently, and she hinted about her lack of feelings for him when she asked Feyre why he should be entitled to her affections just because of the cauldron and whatever amends he has made. I don’t like Azriel saying that Elain is something to be given as opposed to a person to be connected to, but I’m not sure exactly what it means that he did that. ANYWAY, Rhys really does supply the word deserve, and we have evidence from earlier in this chapter that essentially proves that Azriel does not believe he deserves Elain, anyway. He is having an argument with Rhys, yes, but it almost feels like he’s arguing with himself.

Azriel scowled. “I think Lucien will never be good enough for her, and she has no interest in him anyway.” (THE ONLY TIME ELAIN’S ACTUAL FEELINGS, ACTIONS ARE CONSIDERED IN THIS DISCUSSION BTW) Also, not that he doesn’t answer Rhys’s question. For Azriel, this isn’t necessarily about what HE deserves in this moment, it’s about what Elain wants. Almost certainly, Azriel DOESN’T believe that he deserves Elain, but he sees the injustice of her being forced to accept a bond with someone for political or spiritual/societal reasons. So while to Rhys it may seem like Azriel is is putting Lucien’s claim down in order to boost his own, I actually think Azriel is trying to distinguish a different issue - Elain’s agency. This same thing happened with Mor and Eris. ABSOLUTELY THIS IS NOT ALL LIKE THAT SITUATION BECAUSE LUCIEN IS NOT ERIS!!! I am not trying to compare their behavior. BUT, Azriel would have dueled Eris for Mor’s agency regardless of whether or not she chose to be with him.

“So you’ll what?” Rhys’s voice was pure ice. “Seduce her away from him?” Rhys, I think, misinterpreting Azriel and it’s mostly not Rhys’s fault. Azriel doesn’t communicate well and is not currently communicating well. That being said, I wish he would give Azriel more benefit of the doubt.

Azriel said nothing. He hadn’t got that far with his planning, certainly not beyond the fantasies he pleasured himself to. HE HADN’T PLANNED ANYTHING, this whole conversation is just like a raw nerve.

Rhys growled, “Allow me to make one thing very clear. You are to stay away from her.” Well come on, now, Rhys, what if she doesn’t want to stay away from him? BE A FEMINIST RHYS, just add, “unless she wants to see you”!

ALSO, DID RHYS TELL FEYRE ABOUT THIS? MY MONEY IS ON NO, AND IF RHYS DIDN’T TELL HER ITS BECAUSE HE KNOWS HE’S NOT WHOLLY DOING THE RIGHT THING BY ELAIN.

“You can’t order me to do that.”

“Oh, I can, and I will. If Lucien finds out you’re pursuing her, he has every right to defend their bond as he sees fit. Including invoking the Blood Duel.” Another really big sign that this is going to play out Elriel style is the mentioning of the Blood Duel. Chekhov’s gun eh?

“That’s an Autumn Court tradition.” The battle to the death was so brutal that it was only enacted in rare cases. Despite being an outsider, Azriel had wanted to to invoke it when he’d found Mor all those years ago. Had been ready to challenge both Beron and Eris to Blood Duels and kill them both. Yes see? He would have done this regardless of Mor’s feelings toward him. Only Mor’s right to claim their heads in vengeance had kept him from doing so.

“Lucien, as Beron’s son, has the right to demand it of you.” But hey fun fact Rhys knows that Lucien is almost CERTAINLY not Beron’s son. Interesting to consider in context.

“I’ll defeat him with little effort.” Pure arrogance laced every word, but it was true. Again, Azriel is dodging Rhys’s points and is honestly being pretty immature right now, but he hasn’t actually said ANYTHING about an intention to pursue Elain with any of this. Rhys has filled in the blanks, and Azriel has responded to smaller aspects of Rhys’s macro-points with which he finds fault. I think this is also because he knows Rhys is right about a lot of the realities of the situation, but he is in the mood to be contrary right now, so he’s fighting back where he can stomach it.

“I know.” Rhys’s eyes flickered. “And your doing so will rip apart any fragile peace and alliances we have, not only with the Autumn Court, but Also with the Spring Court and Jurian and Vassa.” Rhys bared his teeth. Rhys’s motivations are based entirely on things that have nothing to do with Elain’s feelings, which is sad. But, they’re not insignificant considerations. Though come on dude you did pretty much enable Hybern’s arrival to Prythian by alienating The Spring Court with Feyre’s escape.“So you will leave Elain alone. YES, ALONE, because Elain probably is PRETTY FREAKIN LONELY If you need to fuck someone, go to a pleasure hall and pay for it, but stay away from her.” Low. Blow.

Azriel snarled softly.

“Snarl all you want.” Rhys leaned back in his chair. “But if I see you panting after her again, I’ll make you regret it.” I do think this is a really ungenerous description of what was happening downstairs with Elain. Their interaction was careful and consensual, we have painstaking detail to prove that, and it was far from panting/animalistic in action.

Rhys had rarely threatened punishment or pulled rank. It stunned Azriel enough that it knocked him from his rage. This is another person taking ANOTHER choice away from Elain. I think she may find out about Rhys doing this and I personally think she’s gonna be rightfully pissed.

Rhys jerked his chin toward the door. “Get out.”

Azriel tucked in his wings and left without another word, stalking through the house and onto the front lawn to sit in the frigid starlight. To let the frost in his veins match the air around him.

Until he felt nothing. Was again nothing at all. With Elain, he is SOMETHING. Because he feels things.

Then he flew to the House of Wind, knowing that if he slept in the riverside manor, he’d do something he regretted. He’d been so vigilant about keeping away from Elain as much as possible, Further evidence that Azriel never intended to fight Lucien or make a stink over Elain and had stayed up here to avoid her, and tonight… tonight had proved he’d been right to do so.

He aimed for the training pit, giving in to the need to work off the temptation, the rage and frustration and writhing need.

He found it occupied. His shadows had not warned him. I am not sure what it means that his shadows didn’t warn him. It could mean that Gwyn is protected from his shadows/immune to them. It could mean that his shadows wanted him to go see Gwyn - either out of a desire for Azriel to find some peace with her or out of curiosity as to who/what she is?

It was too late to bank without appearing like he was running. Azriel landed in the ring a few feet from where Gwyn practiced in the chill night, her sword glimmering like ice in the moonlight.

She stopped mid-slice, whirling to face him. “I’m sorry. I knew you all were going to the river house, so I didn’t think anyone would mind if I came up here and—“

“It’s fine. I came here to retrieve something I forgot.” The lie was smooth and cool, as he knew his face was. His shadows peered over his wings at her. They are… wary of her? They’re shy around her?

The young priestess smiled — and Azriel thought it might have been directed at his curious shadows. But she just hooked her coppery-brown hair behind an arched ear. “I was trying to cut the ribbon.” She pointed with her sword at the white ribbon, which seemed to glow silver. Some interesting language here and above (glimmering, glow etc.) to do with light, and again a juxtaposition between light and dark. But not a golden light, a colder/silver light.

“Aren’t you cold?” His breath clouded in front of him.

Gwyn shrugged. “Once you get moving, you stop noticing it.”

He nodded, silence falling. For a heartbeat, their gazes met. Gaze is definitely a romantically charged word, this is one of the tiny details that makes me unsure about the future nature of their relationship. He blocked out the bloody memory that flashed, so at odds with the Gwyn he saw before him now. I definitely do not think they are mates. I’m not closing the door on them being romantically involved, I don’t have enough evidence to do that, but I really think that if they were mates, Azriel would have known when he saw her at Sangravah.

Her head ducked, as if remembering it too. That he’d been the one who’d found her that day at Sangravah. Shades of Cassian’s reactions to Emerie’s wings having been clipped, in ACOFAS. “Happy Solstice,” she said, as much a dismissal as it was a holiday blessing.

He snorted. “Are you kicking me out?”

Gwyn’s teal eyes I have a lot to say about these teal eyes :) flashed with alarm. “No! I mean, I don’t mind sharing the ring. I just… I know you like to be alone.” Her mouth quirked to the side, crinkling the freckles on her nose. “Is that why you came up here?” I’ll talk more about this later, but there are a few small moments in the book where it seems like Gwyn might have a crush on Azriel, or some kind of special awareness/interest where he is concerned. I have seen almost no evidence that Az returns those potential feelings, except PERHAPS for the moment where he hears her screech and pays attention. But I think anyone would pay attention if someone screeched? Also he watches reverently as she cuts the ribbon, but that also feels like it would happen regardless of any romantic feelings he might have. But I don’t know for sure!

Sort of. “I forgot something.”

“At two in the morning?”

Pure amusement glittered in her stare. Better than the pain and grief he’d spied a moment before. So he offered her a crooked smile. He cares that she not be feeling pain and grief, as he does with anyone he deems good, and that is part of why he offers her the smile, as he clearly says right here. “I can’t sleep without my favorite dagger.”

“A comfort to every growing child.”

Azriel’s lips twitched. I think her irreverence matches his sense of humor quite well. He refrained from mentioning that he did indeed sleep with a dagger. Many daggers. Including one under his pillow.

“How was the party?” Her breath curled in front of her mouth, and one of his shadows darted out to dance with it before twirling back to him. Like it heard some silent music. This shadow is acting totally independent of him. She’s asking a simple question of Azriel at the moment, and he CAN’T hear the music he believes that shadow might be dancing to. Lightsinger evidence, I’d say.

“Fine,” he said, and realized a heartbeat later that it wasn’t a socially acceptable answer. “It was nice.” LOL I will say here that Azriel has to make a lot of conscious effort in this interaction. He makes himself respond in a specific way, which is not language that was used to describe his interactions with Elain earlier in the chapter. This could totally just be because he doesn’t know Gwyn that well, and certainly that’s a big part of it, but I think there’s something to be said for the fact that he is still filtering himself here with Gwyn in the quiet.

Not much better. So he asked, “Did you can the priestesses have a celebration?”

“Yes, though the service was the main highlight.”

“I see.” LOL

She angled her head, hair shining like molten metal. More glowing-type stuff “Do you sing?” I love Gwyn.

He blinked. It wasn’t everyday that people took him by surprise, but… which is great! Elain surprises him with the headache medicine in ACOFAS, Feyre surprises him with her intuition and tenderness throughout. I think this indicates that they will have a significant relationship regardless of its exact nature. “Why do you ask?”

“They call you shadowsinger. Is it because you sing?”

“I am a shadowsinger— it’s not a title that someone just made up.” It’s super-duper interesting that they actually discuss the fact that he’s a shadowsinger. When Feyre meets Azriel, she is curious, but specifically doesn’t ask follow-up questions or for expansion on the ability. Why specifically remind us here that Azriel is a shadowsinger and that Gwyn sings? If not to foreshadow something related to the ability and Gwyn?

She shrugged again, irreverently. Az narrowed his eyes, studying her. “Do you though?” She pressed. “Sing?”

Azriel couldn’t help his soft chuckle. “Yes.” I love Gwyn. She is the reason I now realize a lot of what I’ve been doing in my life is irreverence :P

She opened her mouth to ask more, but he didn’t feel like explaining. Or demonstrating, since that was surely what she’d ask next. So Az jerked his chin to the sword dangling from her hand. “Try cutting the ribbon again.” I love this so much. Maybe it is romantic, but I think that’s debatable. What’s not debatable is that it’s completely charming.

“What— with you watching?” It’s actually pretty funny that in order to avoid giving a demonstration of something that makes him vulnerable and puts Gwyn in the role of expert he flips it and makes her demonstrate vulnerability while he is the expert. Gwyn might be quite a bit braver than Azriel in some ways.

He nodded.

She considered, and he wondered if she’d say no, but Gwyn blew out a breath, steadied her feet and balance, and sliced. A beautiful, precise blow, but it didn’t sever the ribbon. SEE? Brave. I love Gwyn.

“Again,” he ordered, rubbing his hands against the cold, grateful for its bracing bite and the distraction of this impromptu lesson. Distraction is a notable word here. Azriel’s thoughts don’t really ever stray from Elain and his turmoil throughout this interaction, that’s what the word distraction tells us.

Gwyn sliced again, but the ribbon remained unyielding.

“You’re turning the blade a fraction as it comes parallel to the ground,” Azriel explained, drawing his Illyrian blade from down his back. “Watch.” He slowly demonstrated, rotating his wrist where she did. “You see how you open up right here?” He corrected his position. “Keep your wrist like that. The blade is an extension of your arm.”

Gwyn tried the movement as slowly as he had, and he watched her self-correct, fighting against the urge to open up her wrist and rotate the blade. She did it three times before she stopped falling into the bad habit. “I blame Cassian for this. He’s too busy making eyes at Nesta to notice such mistakes these days.”

Azriel laughed. “I’ll give you that.” I sense a lot of compatibility, just, again, not sure it’s romantic.

Gwyn smiled broadly. “Thank you.”

Azriel dipped his head in a sketch of a bow, something restless settling in him. Even his shadows had calmed. As if content to lounge on his shoulders and watch. This is another line that I think offers the most evidence for something significant between Gwyn and Azriel. It’s lovely that she has helped to settle something restless in him with the distraction - and I think it’s important to note that it might not have done the same thing had he encountered Emerie or another trainee on the roof. At the same time, maybe it would have. Also love that his shadows like to watch Gwyn. Lightsinger/Shadowsinger evidence! This all being said, I can’t really think of an SJM romance that is built around a comfort zone. I can think of many friendships that operate that way, but not so much with the romances. There’s usually nervousness and flutters and passion and… restlessness, somewhere in there.

But— sleep. He needed to at least attempt to get some.

“Happy Solstice,” Azriel said before aiming for the archway into the House. “Don’t stay out too much longer. You’ll freeze.”

Gwyn nodded her farewell, again facing the ribbon. A warrior sizing up an opponent, all traces of that charming irreverence gone. I love Gwyn.

Azriel entered the warmth of the stairwell, and as he descended, he could have sworn a faint, beautiful singing followed him. Could have sworn his shadows sang in answer. This feels VERY much like Lightsinger/Shadowsinger evidence. His shadows, as this chapter has demonstrated time and again, operate independently of him, and they react to Gwyn’s song. I also think it’s possible that Gwyn is sort of always singing, even when she’s not. Like she glows with song on some level, and that’s what his shadows are reacting to - because I don’t think she’d necessarily actually sing while attempting to cut the ribbon.

He slept as well as could be expected which means pretty much not at all y’all — he makes it clear he never expects to sleep well, but when Azriel returned to the River House to gather his presents before dawn, he found Elain’s necklace amid the pile. He pocketed it. Spent the rest of his day, even the blasted snowball fight, with every intention of returning it to the shop in the Palace of Thread and Jewels. How did the necklace get there??? Did Elain really put it there??? Seems like even more evidence that he assumes too much about her understanding of his feelings. Also, though, it seems really rude/OOC for Elain to do that. She gave up very quickly after he gave her a really thoughtful gift. SOMETHING’S FISHY.

But when he returned from the cabin in the mountains, he didn’t go to the market square.

Instead, he found himself at the library beneath the House of Wind, standing before Clotho as the clock chimed seven in the evening. Important to remember that this is one of the longest nights of the year, which means dusk is coming on later than it was when Nesta attended the evening service weeks/months prior- a service that started almost exactly when seven bells rang the time. It is very well possible that Azriel finds himself at the library as the evening service is happening. The one in which Gwyn sings. If she does have some kind of Lightsinger power in her, it may be that he was lured by that power instead of returning the necklace. Even if they always start at 7, he still arrives exactly at 7. The only point against this surmising that I’ve done is that Clotho led the service which Nesta attended, and yet she is here to greet Azriel. Either I’m wrong and the service is not happening at or around this time, OR the service can take place without Clotho occasionally, and this served the interest of the plot so that Az could speak with someone.

He slid the small box across her desk. “If you see Gwyn, would you give this to her?”

Clotho angled her hooded head, and her enchanted pen wrote on a piece of paper. A Solstice gift from you?

Azriel shrugged. “Don’t tell her it came from me.” Yes, it really doesn’t seem super romantic to re-gift a necklace to Gwyn. It just feels sour, if this is the start of a romance between them.

Why?

“Does she need to know? Just tell her it was a gift from Rhys.”

That would be a lie.

He avoided the urge to cross his arms, not wanting to look intimidating. He blocked out the memory that flashed— of his mother cringing before his father, the male standing with crossed arms in such a way that made his displeasure known before he opened his hateful mouth. This feels very important. We know VERY LITTLE about Azriel’s story, his past, and his family, and so I want to point out ANY and EVERY nugget we get!

“Look I…” Az searched for the words, his voice becoming quiet. “If there’s another priestess here who might appreciate it, give it to them. But I’m not taking that necklace with me when I leave.” I’m not exactly sure what it means that Azriel says this. It could be that he doesn’t want to make a thing of his potential feelings for Gwyn and so tries to deflect with this statement, both to convince Clotho and himself that it’s not about Gwyn. It could also mean that Azriel needed to be rid of the necklace, and wasn’t in the mood to fight with Clotho over an ultimately secondary (to getting rid of the necklace) impulse to give it to someone who provided him comfort and companionship at a time when he needed it.

He waited for Clotho’s pen to finish writing. Your eyes are sad, Shadowsinger.

He offered her a grim smile. “I lost the snowball fight today.” HE LOST THE FIRST SNOWBALL FIGHT IN 200 YEARS! And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because Gwyn made him feel better the previous night. I think he lost because he is in anguish over the situation with Elain. Again, I understand that anguish shouldn’t necessarily be a romantic thing, but in SJM’s writing it often is. This is a romance series, angst is a thing, stakes are a thing. It’s not necessarily the most healthy, but it’s also not all-the-way unhealthy. He just feels strongly about Elain and there are a lot of obstacles between him and finding a way to resolve those feelings for good or bad.

I am a counselor for folks who have and are dealt/dealing with sexual, gender-based, and interpersonal violence, and if you want me to do an analysis of all of the relationships in SJM’s writing that aren’t wholly healthy, there won’t be any left over. Except for maybe Sartaq and Nesryn. they really do have their shit together. I suspend a fair amount of my disbelief and professional knowledge in reading these books because I love them and they are fictional :) Also, relationships are complicated. It’s pretty rare for me to work with a client that has a cut-and-dry, black-and-white story.

Now, in my PERSONAL NOT PROFESSIONAL experience, shit is messy, and messiness, even in real life, doesn’t always mean something isn’t worth the strife. Though absolutely abuse and assault are a whole other thing. I think it’s really good to think critically about relationship dynamics in fiction, because it’s a safe place to do great learning and reflection. I also think it’s important to consider that the rules of our reality are not necessarily the rules of the reality being written by an author. Maybe you personally find Azriel’s feelings toward Elain (as they have been expressed so far) are beyond redemption, and are unhealthy to a point where the relationship cannot be salvaged. But that is not realistically a reason that the relationship in question won’t happen. Pretty much any negative/toxic assertions that can be leveled against Elriel based on the VERY SMALL amount of first-person perspective we have in the relationship could be leveled against at least a few of SJM’s other endgame couples. Totally happy to get into this more and provide those examples :)

Clotho was smart enough to see through his deflection. She wrote, I’ll give it to Gwyneth. Tell her a friend left it for her.

He wouldn’t go so far as to call Gwyn a friend, but… “Fine. Thank you.” Not sure what this means. Maybe just that it takes Az a while to open up to people and call them friends.

Clotho’s pen moved once more. She deserves something as beautiful as this. I thank you for the joy it shall bring her.

Something sparked in Azriel’s chest, but he only nodded his thanks and left. He could picture it, though, as he ascended the stairs back to the House proper. How Gwyn’s teal eyes might light upon seeing the necklace. For whatever reason… he could see it. And here we have the most romantic evidence for Az and Gwyn as a couple. Maybe he is falling for her and that’s why he can picture her smile. I really don’t know. I think it could also be that he is happy to be able to make her happy, in recognition of the comfort she gave him the previous evening. Maybe he can picture her because of her potential lightsinger status. Thoughts?

But Azriel tucked away the thought, consciously erasing the slight smile it brought to his face. Buried the image down deep, where it glowed quietly. The image glowing, again, lightsinger-supporting language.

A thing of secret, lovely beauty. So now he is referring to Gwyn’s smile here. This is interesting, because Gwyn’s smile wouldn’t necessarily be a secret, but perhaps it is if you think of her as being hidden in the library, or that he’ll know about her smile and her receiving the necklace even though she won’t know that he’s the one who gave it to her. Or maybe he’s drop dead in love with her! Another thing that I don’t think is true given his stony attitude post-Solstice (when Gwyn is very much around) and the fact that he doesn’t seem to react viscerally to Gwyn’s kidnapping until Cassian points out that bad things could be happening to both her AND Emerie, as well as Nesta. He knows Gwyn just as well, if not better at this point, as he knew Elain when he reacted to HER kidnapping in ACOWAR. He was very riled, he was the one who noticed she was gone, he vowed almost immediately to go get her, knowing it might mean certain death (to be fair, he seems to have a bit of a death wish, BUT he’s still a pragmatist and doesn’t try to WASTE his life on things - either they’re essential to the court and/or Prythian’s wellbeing or essential to someone for whom he cares deeply.)

[anjibooks]

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (Book Review and discussion)

"Remember you are a wolf. And you cannot be caged." A Court of Wings and Ruin, the last book in the fantastical A Court of Thorns and Roses Trilogy, and easily my most anticipated book of the year. Last year, I was blown away by the second book, A Court of Mist and Fury. That book captured my heart, so much so that I now consider it my favorite. Saying A Court of Wings and Ruin had a lot to live up to is an understatement. The last book in a series, especially a trilogy, is always hard to write perfectly. I've read very few finale books that I have read and felt completely satisfied with. Then again, I'm the type that will never be satisfied (haha Hamilton, anyone?). I'd like to start this review off saying that I absolutely adored this book. It was a truly transcendent experience. This is not a series I will ever forget, or ever stop rereading. While I did love the book, I'll be the first to admit that it did have its flaws. I'll go into those flaws with detail, and I just really want to express that I did truly love this book. It was amazing, it just wasn't everything I'd hoped for-- which was a lot. Do I still highly recommend this series? Of course, it's still one of my all time favorite series, and has my all time favorite book in it. Do I still love this series with all my heart and soul? YES. Like I said before, it's extremely hard to write a last book in a series, especially a trilogy, that leaves the reader feeling satisfied and happy. For one, it's saying goodbye to that specific cast of characters. Two, the reader always wants more, if it's a truly good series the reader can never get enough. Three, The reader's visions, expectations and hopes are often very different from the author's. Sometimes finale books in trilogies feel rushed, like all the information is crammed in. This is one of the issues I had with A Court of Wings and Ruin. "Do not get distracted. Do not linger. You are a warrior, and warriors know when to pick their fights." Like many books before it, and many books to come, A Court of Wings and Ruin falls into the pit of rushed trilogy endings. I don't see the appeal of trilogies to authors, especially when it seems like the amount of information crammed into the last book always seems like enough to spread out into another, if not two more, books. A Court of Wings and Ruin was strange in the way that the beginning felt a little... slow, while the end? So many things that seemed like they had lead up to a big conclusion were rushed through. And a lot of the BIG SHOCKERS in the end, didn't even have enough time to impact the reader before they were resolved. This book didn't feel as well thought through and edited as its predecessors. My theory on that is that Sarah is writing A LOT these days. She's been banging out these gigantic books, and has less time to go over them, which is unfortunate. There were a lot less moments in this book where you just go "OH that's what all those subtle little foreshadowing bits that I barely even noticed lead up to." That was something Sarah's previous books had been so good at-- dropping random little things that you don't even notice, until you see the outcome and it seems OBVIOUS and just feels right because of all the hints towards it. Instead, this book had rushed scenes that didn't seem to fit correctly, and then also scenes that had big lead ups and then lasted for only a few paragraphs. The pacing of this book just felt off. "They took what is ours. And we do not allow those crimes to do unpunished." While I absotleuly love the first person narrative, it's the one that I chose to write in, it didn't exactly work for this book. While it worked brilliantly in the previous two books, that was because those two tracked the internal progress of Feyre growing into her own self. In this book, Feyre has found herself and the character building arcs are really supposed to be concentrated on others. But it felt... awkward trying to show these huge character arcs through only Feyre's eyes. Not that I'm saying I think the book should'be switched to third person, because that would be weird and out of tone for the series, but I just wasn't a big fan of how the other character arcs were portrayed through Feyre's eyes. Sometimes scenes were just stuffed in to be there, and I don't know. It just felt off and weird. There were certain, very important characters, that just disappeared for a really long time (yeah, a character I love just dropped off the face of the book for a good half before turning up randomly again-- it didn't feel like the good, smooth transitions Sarah usually writes.) And then there were just other characters, doing really important things in the background, but we have no insight into it because Feyre has no insight into it. And then they just pop back up after having done this really big task, that causes disconnect between the reader and the character. I didn't see what they were up to, so their big reveal at their great deeds doesn't seem quite as important. For instance, there's a character that we haven't seen since the first book that just turns up with this big surprise and I couldn't exactly bring myself to care when they were put into danger. Why? I don't know them, I don't know what they'd been up to. I had no real connection to them. "You do not fear. You do not falter. You do not yield." The plot itself was pretty interesting, there were just some holes that I was really expecting to be filled in before the end of the book... And they weren't. YES I am aware that there are more books coming set in this world. But this was marketed as the conclusion to this specific story, to Feyre's story and the issues going on with her.... It really didn't feel like the end. I think Sarah might've been trying to set up too many things in a book that was supposed to feel like a conclusion. There were just so MANY things that she set up that it didn't feel like a conclusion at all because of all the holes, and questions unanswered, not to mention that all the time spent setting up other books didn't leave quite enough time for a big, satisfying ending. "There are many types of strength beyond the ability to wield a blade and end lives." Now to talk about the characters. Feyre, her storyline was not, this will sound weird, but not the main one of the book. She was a bit of a bystander to the main characters arcs going on. A Court of Mist and Fury had been Feyre's big story arc of finding herself, now she gets to watch others do the same. Sure, Feyre was involved, but her storyline was not nearly as BIG as others, because she didn't change at all. I loved Feyre in this book, but she just wasn't quite as interesting in comparison to the other big changes happening in other characters. "But this is war. We don't have the luxury of good ideas-- only picking between the bad ones." Rhys, one out of the many of my favorite characters from this book, seemed to be a bit of a disappointment. I was excited to see my lovely, sassy most powerful high lord again. Instead, similar to Aelin in Empire of Storms, he's burdened and has very few quips. Sure, war is a very big burden and can do a lot to serious a person up... But this Rhys didn't even feel like the Rhys I'd come to know and love. He almost felt like a supporting or background character instead of the male lead of the story. Like I said before, he's one of my many favorites and still is, I just wasn't convinced by his portrayal in this book. He felt rather out of character. And then there's the fact that he kind of let Feyre walk over him a bit. I get that Sarah's trying to hammer in that Rhys is not like Tamlin, he lets Feyre do as she wants, even if it puts her in danger. In previous books though, he walked the line of letting her do as she wants, but if it put her in too much danger, he wouldn't let her go alone or would do what he could to protect her. In this book? Feyre basically just goes off and does whatever and Rhys is just eh. There, I guess. It's hard to explain. You'll see what I mean when you read the book. "I figure it's time for the world to know who really has the largest wingspan." I really did love seeing more of the inner circle, even with them falling apart from each other a bit. Or should I say especially? They couldn't have been stuck together for 500 years with those different personalities and not argue at all. Cassian, always a favorite, played a lovely role in the story. I think we all know who I ship him with, and his interaction with that character was perfect. It was anything but instalove. And seeing as I hate instalove... Anyway, I loved seeing more of Cassian, especially as we get to see how he felt about the events at the end of the last book. You really get to see how loyal he is, and how much he cares for his family. UGH. I can't express how much I love Cassian. Then there's Azriel and Mor. Azriel, we get to see more of him in this book. And it was really cute seeing another side of the brooding shadow singer. Though, people have started a new ship with Azriel and I AM NOT ON BOARD. Sorry to all you people on that ship, it's just not going to happen. I ship that person with someone else. Mor, her part in this book felt somewhat lacking. She kind of faded in and out of the narrative, being there but not really doing much. And then there's this big reveal about her, and I just didn't really feel convinced about it. Like... yeah sure, but the way it was portrayed/ how it was described didn't feel convincing to me. Nesta and Elain. It was really interesting to see how each handled the transition. Well, at first I was kind of along the lines of NESTA STOP BEING SUCH A COLASSAL BITCH, but then as she mellowed out (as much as mellowed out as Nesta can get), I started to like her again. Especially with her dynamic with Cassian. That was just *sighs* absolutely perfect. As mentioned in the previous book, the Cauldron made Nesta something new, something powerful. I was really disappointed with the route Sarah took with that, I just didn't feel like we got enough of it. If I had to stand to guess, I'd say we'd go deeper into it in the next books, still though, it was important to the storyline and we didn't really get to see much of it in action, or even understand what her power really, truly was. Then there's Elain, wonderful sweet Elain. Lucien's mate. Wow, these two deserve the world. I enjoyed the sweetness and innocence of her character, and yet I could not become fully attached to her. While she was a vital player in the story, she herself didn't really have much of a big part in it. Since I mentioned my love, I might as well get into my thoughts on his portrayal in this book. Lucien. I was really looking forward to seeing more of him, especially since we barely saw him in the previous book. Lucien was easily my favorite character in A Court of Thorns and Roses, and I was excited to be reunited with him. While Feyre was in the Spring Court, I enjoyed the progression of his and her relationship, but after she left the Spring Court, I wish Feyre still remained involved (not in a romantic way) with Lucien. Despite having new friends, Lucien was her first friend in this world, and he... He just deserves the world. And I really hope he gets it one day. If I had to guess who the next (or at least one of the next) book was about, I'd have to say Lucien. Why? So much was revealed about him in this book, and so much was left unresolved. One of those really unsatisying plot holes left in the story. Now that we've mentioned Lucien, I can no longer avoid Tamlin. Where do I stand on him? Well, I think we can call him a tool, after all he proved that he actually does have some use. He did have a bit of a redemption arc, though, there was an action after that that still proved him a tool. *slight spoiler* I wished there was a scene where he and Feyre sat down and talked, but it never happened... *spoiler over* There were a plethora of new characters introduced, and I have to say, I am interested to see more of these characters in the coming books. I am especially interested in seeing more of the high lords, they all have been hinted to having a complicated back story. Then there's Eris, Lucien's older brother... I saw a hint of redemption in him, and I want to see more of him. Then there's a new character named Vassa, whose description is extremely detailed... A little too detailed for her part in the story actually. Like for me it was another one of those "set ups" that just took up too much space when there wasn't enough space for actual important plot points. I didn't really care much for her, I have a feeling when the book comes out about her, I'll be very into her (she was Celaena reminiscent). ​ Not to be super repetitive, but I really need to hammer in the point that I ACTUALLY DID REALLY LIKE THIS BOOK. It's just a whole lot easier to pick out the criticisms over the amazing perks, I guess. I think once we get into the spoilery discussion, you'll see that yeah, I actually really did love this book and was fingerling 99.99% of the time whilst reading it. Hopefully my score of the book will also hammer in the point that it was really good, despite its flaws-- 9/10 stars. Yeah it was that good. Sure, not perfect, but really there are few books that are. Anyway, I hope you read the book and tell me what you think! Do you agree or disagree with my points? I, like so many of these characters, am a dreamer, and these books will stay with me forever. (And I'll be forever be rereading them as well.) Synopsis: Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places. In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all. ​Now for the discussion... (SPOILERS BELOW FOR A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN) By far, the best scene in the entire book for me was when Cassian and Azriel showed up to save Feyre from Eris & the other Autumn Court Princes. Just... That had to be the best scene ever. I'll never forget my excitement. Seriously, just thinking about it has me squealing in excitement. Cassian flying down from the sky, and smashing into the ice looking all dark and warrior like with a burning anger in his eyes? Swoon and faint because OMG I was so excited. A little disappointed Rhys wasn't involved, but hey, the scene was still phenomenal. I'm not really sure how I feel about the whole Spring Court take down. It wasn't what I'd expected-- I'd expected to see her take them down from the inside and then reveal herself before Rhys comes swooping in and they just winnow off together or something. That would've been brilliant, but what actually happened was pretty brilliant as well, the subtle take down. I was a little disappointed there was no big reveal, but whatever I guess. Tamlin really did show how much of a bad partner he is through his jealousy to an extreme when Feyre was with Lucien. Another thing I'm not really sure how I feel about-- the way Feyre treated Lucien while they were in the Spring Court. She was using him, when he really didn't deserve that. It was really obvious that he felt remorseful for not standing up for her more, and even though he suspected her story wasn't true (my clever baby), he still protected her. Then Feyre still uses him... I liked that they kind of grew closer, but still she was using him and I didn't like that. I loved when they got the Bogge to go after Brannagh and Dagdan, though, it was fantastic. I was laughing so hard when Tamlin was freaking out at them and they were both like eh, they deserved it. Then there's Brannagh and Dagdan... These guys were one of those instances where the idea was introduced, and it was intriguing, but there wasn't quite enough time for them. This seemed to happen a lot in this book-- like with the other high lords, but that's getting a little off topic. Save that for later. I was actually really interested in these twins, their relationship, their powers etc. It seemed like there was a whole gigantic storyline that they were going to be involved in, but no... They actually got killed off pretty quick, before you even really got to know them well. A good villain is one you understand and can almost sympathsize with... I'll be the first to admit that this series doesn't have the best big villains. I was also surprised that they were able to be killed off by Lucien and Feyre-- babies compared to them. I dunno, guess I'm just a little disappointed that they weren't used for more when they had so much potentional. As soon as Feyre and Lucien left the bodies behind I was like OMG don't do that, they're just going to be brought back through the cauldron and be blood thirsty. Yep, nope. They were gone for good. When Feyre was sneaking off and she caught Ianthe with Lucien, I was just. ANGER. I mean seriously, we already all hate Ianthe, but this book just magnifies that hatred times two million. I didn't even know that was possible. Like the way she... on Lucien... NO. JUST NO. No one gets to do that to my baby and get away with it-- and she didn't. *laughs evilly*. I'm so morbid, I enjoyed that hand smashing wayyyy too much. But then when Lucien wanted to come with her, I didn't entirely believe it. I guess his and Tamlin's relationship was strained, but I didn't believe that he would just leave, no message, no nothing. I get it, the mate thing is strong, but still... Lucien knew that would ruin his relationship with Tamlin and still left. And yet, I loved this slight bonding time for Feyre and Lucien, when they had to huddle together and he put his cloak over her *squeals* he's so cute. And that is exactly why I ship Elain and Lucien and NOT Elain and Azriel. I'm sorry, I see a growing group of people shipping Elain and Azriel and I just... can't. I know not all mating pairs are right and it actually extremely worries me that they talked about that A LOT in this book, but... I've been shipping Lucien and Elain ever since A Court of Mist and Fury, and I'm not about to let that go. I can just see it, Lucien's gone through so much, Elain could be the light in his life, kind of like how Feyre is the light for Rhys. They're just... AH perfect. I can see Sarah starting to create a love triangle, and NO! I'm not feeling love triangles, especially not here. Elain and Azriel can be really good friends... but Elain and Lucien forever. And for all y'all shipping Lucien with Vassa... How? How has this ship come about? They've been shown talking for like five seconds and suddenly there's a ship for them... Ha.. It's almost like we're all back in middle school or something (or my high school). I felt a little bit weird about the way Feyre and Rhys were reunited... Like first off, it's very Rhys style to have a big entrance, and he doesn't exactly have that. And secondly, the first thing they do is have sex. Like that seemed really forced, they haven't seen each other in a long time, and they just go at it. I don't know, that left me feeling weird. A lot of the sex scenes actually felt kind of forced to me in this book, while in a Court of Mist and Fury it was perfect. There was so much buildup, there were just sex scenes splattered randomly around the book which left me feeling like... what was the point? Once Feyre gets back to the Night Court, she just basically drops Lucien, I get it, her other family is there, but that doesn't really give her the right to forget about Lucien, who really does care for her and is a good friend. Then Lucien just disappears for the second half of the book and reappears at the very end... That felt choppy and weird. Like I don't know, it didn't seem right to have him disappear completely-- that's an example of how the first person was a bit of a disadvantage in this book. You don't get to see what's going on with Lucien, which is actually kind of vital to the story of the war, and you don't get to see anything happening with Tamlin. Yeah, guys don't murder me, but I kind of need a story from TAMLIN'S POV through this book, when he realizes Feyre has betrayed him, and then still deciding to turn on Hybern and then deciding to bring Rhys back.... I need Tamlin's views on it. Like when he saves Feyre at the camp, too. There's just so much open space there, I need to see what was going on in Tam's mind. While he actually had a redemption arc that I enjoyed, it was a bit erased when he didn't forgive Lucien at the end because Lucien was wearing Illyrian fighting gear. LIKE LUCIEN HAS BEEN YOUR COMPANION FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS YOU DICKWAD. I'm expecting to see a scene between Lucien and Tamlin at some point. Especially since I'm expecting at least some of these spin off books to be about Lucien-- you can't just reveal his father is Hellion and do nothing with it. While some of the tension between the inner circle did feel a little forced, most of it I appreciated. Like I said before, it shows their flaws which makes everything feel all the more realistic. Though, I know there's a ton of controversy about Mor coming out, and here's my stance on it. I totally accept that Mor's bi, I have nothing against that. What I'm a little bothered by with is the way she came out with it. There's just something about it that feels weird to me (if you haven't noticed, I'm having trouble putting a lot of my feelings about this book into words.) I guess it felt like it was thrown in as kind of a hasty afterthought. It didn't feel carefully worded and thought through like a lot of Maas' other works. I'm also kind of upset that Mor and Azriel are never going to be a thing now... Especailly since that makes Azriel open to Elain. Cassian and Nesta. *Sighs* now that was fantastic. I love how he constantly teased her with Nesta just angrily snapping back, but you could feel it. The tension there. And then when Nesta was constantly worried about him, but not willing to admit it, after he'd been fainting. *Cries* those two deserve the world. "Why should I be scared of an oversized bat who likes to throw temper tantrums?" HOW CAN YOU NOT SHIP THIS? IF YOU DON'T YOU'RE LYING TO YOURSELF. "I'm a warrior. I've walked beside Death my entire life. I would be more afraid for her to have that power. But not afraid of her." LOVE GUYS, LOVE. Just, I don't understand how everyone can't be absolutely in love with Cassian. Like he's just... perfect. It killed me when he was talking to Feyre about how he felt with her sacrificing herself. “Because … because as his mate, you were still … his to protect. Oh, don’t get that look. He’s yours to protect, too. I would have laid my life down for you as his mate—and as your friend. But you were still … his.” “And as High Lady?” Cassian loosed a rough breath. “As High Lady, you are mine. And Azriel’s, and Mor’s and Amren’s. You belong to all of us, and we belong to you. We would not have … put you in so much danger.” ___ “This is between you and me. And trust me, Rhys and I had … words about this.” ___ “You didn’t think you were essential. You saved our asses, yes, but … you didn’t think you were essential here.” ___ “I’ll never forget it, you know,” he said, blowing out a breath. “The moment when he spoke to us all, mind to mind. When I realized what was happening, and that … he’d saved us. Trapped us here and tied our hands, but …” He scratched at his temple. “It went quiet—in my head. In a way it hadn’t been before. Not since …” Cassian squinted at the cloudless sky. “Even with utter hell unleashing here, across our territory, I just went … quiet.” He tapped the side of his head with a finger, and frowned. “After Hybern, the healer kept me asleep while she worked on my wings. So when I woke up two weeks later … that’s when I heard. And when Mor told me what happened to you … It went quiet again.” AHHH Cassian... just my perfect baby. The whole tension waiting to see who would die... Ah it killed me. I was entirely convinced Cassian would die, so every battle I was just crying inside, waiting for the killings blow to take my darling out. And then I knew Rhys would die, because he said a ton of things like "we'll both survive this" and like "I'm gonna live" and then the whole stay with the high lord.. .Yeah. His death was obvious. Though, I knew he was going to be brought back. I don't know how, I guess it was from the suddenness of the death, that I knew there was no way he was dead for good. I like the whole full circle idea of Feyre getting the other high lords to bring him to life after he got all the other high lords to bring her to life, but that ending felt SO rushed. Like I didn't even have time to mourn Rhys before he was alive again. Same with Amren. The scene that actually impacted me the most during the final battle was Cassian and Nesta against Hybern. Just AW. He knew he would die but was willing to die protecting her... What? I'm not crying. I just have a book in my eye... Then when he told her to run and she stayed with him? AH. They kissed and I just died. Cassian and Nesta are just about the most shipable ship in this book. Rhys and Feyre? Of course I ship them, but they're already together so... CASSIAN AND NESTA FOR THE WIN. I was actually a little disappointed by Ianthe's death... Like, could we get an extra scene of her dying in detail? Haha. But seriously though. She killed the Suriel... After that I was sooo ready for her to have the absolute worst, most painful death ever. The Weaver's death also felt a bit rushed to me... Like she's an immortal GOD and she dies from getting her neck snapped and then her body being eaten by dogs... Okay then. The mirror, sorry this review is so choppy, I'm just bringing things up as I think of them. I was so disappointed by everything with the mirror, like that was one of the best RUSHED examples. There was so much lead up to that mirror, and then only a few paragraphs were actually dedicated to looking into it. I actually really liked that Jurian was actually good. Like that was a great twist and I actually ended up wanting to see more of him. I didn't really get why Miryam and Drakon still disliked him after they found out he was on the good side... like why? It's not like he actually wanted to hunt y'all down and kill you. Vassa, I'm sure some of the spin off books are going to be on her. I mean, she was described in too much detail for them not to be. The big BAD keeping her though, that has to be the Weaver and the Carver's brother, right? I'm pretty sure... Anyway, thanks for reading! I'm always up for more discussion so feel free to comment. I love talking books! Love y'all... Anj