#poor Tamlin needs a healing arc

[wallflowers-in-the-wind]

Tamlin: Feyre I need to take care of something can you please-

Feyre: NO! I do what I want!

Tamlin: Feyre please…

Feyre: You can’t stop me I’m going for a walk!

Tamlin: Feyre enough! It’s not safe and there’s something bad happening soon that I’m trying to prevent so you can get better and our people will be safe so just stay here please.

Feyre: How could you?! *collapses onto fainting couch* I can’t live in these horrible conditions.

Rhysand: *breaks down the door* Did someone say abuse?

[merwgue]

Sarah J. Maas: The Queen of Broken Women and Savior Men — A Deep Dive into Internalized Misogyny and Bad Writing

Sarah J. Maas is often hailed as one of the most popular fantasy writers of our time. Her series A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) and Throne of Glass have millions of devoted fans, and it's not uncommon to see her name thrown around in discussions of "strong female characters." But when you take a closer look, a disturbing pattern emerges: almost every female character in her books is traumatized, broken, or impoverished, and it’s always the men who swoop in to fix them. There’s an underlying current of internalized misogyny that not only seeps into her stories but actively shapes the narrative. What’s worse? She can’t seem to write a truly independent woman character. Let’s break down why Maas’s writing is, at its core, problematic, unoriginal, and deeply flawed.

The Argument: Internalized Misogyny Wrapped in Fantasy

First, let’s address the root of the problem: Maas seems to believe that a woman can’t be strong unless she’s been torn apart by life in the most brutal ways. In her books, trauma is a prerequisite for strength, but only if a man is there to help the heroine overcome it. This trope is not only tired but also harmful. Maas constantly reinforces the idea that women need to be broken down to their lowest points in order to be "worthy" of a male savior.

When you strip away the fantasy elements, what you're left with is a pattern that closely resembles an old-fashioned, patriarchal narrative where women must endure suffering before being saved by a knight in shining armor. The "knight" might take the form of a High Lord, a warrior, or an assassin, but at the end of the day, Maas's female characters can never truly save themselves.

Feyre Archeron: The Poster Child of Trauma and Savior Worship

Let’s begin with Feyre Archeron from ACOTAR. She starts as a poor, broken young woman who sacrifices everything for her family, only to be thrust into a world of fae politics and violence. Feyre's trauma begins with the infamous “beast” Tamlin, and continues under the thumb of Amarantha, who tortures her in unimaginably brutal ways. But as if that weren’t enough, Maas ensures that Feyre's psychological scars run deep, so that Rhysand can swoop in and heal her. Oh, and let's not forget her trauma-induced depression after being trapped under the Mountain and made into High Fae against her will.

Sure, Feyre finds strength eventually, but only after Rhysand pulls her from the brink of despair. He doesn’t just help her heal—he remakes her. Feyre's arc quickly becomes about how Rhysand’s love, protection, and endless patience help her find herself. It’s through his intervention that she becomes powerful. Where is the agency? Where is the true independence? Feyre is never allowed to rise on her own—her entire arc is built on the shoulders of a man’s intervention.

Her “strength” is conditional, tethered to a man’s support. Without Rhysand, who is Feyre? Apparently, no one of consequence.

Nesta Archeron: The Angry, Broken Woman Who Needs a Man to Save Her

If Feyre’s story wasn’t enough, let’s talk about Nesta Archeron, who is possibly the most obvious example of Maas’s inability to write a truly independent woman. Nesta starts off as angry, bitter, and deeply traumatized by her experiences. She’s lashing out at everyone, and in A Court of Silver Flames, we see her spiraling into self-destructive behavior.

So how does Maas handle this? By sending Nesta off to be “fixed.” Cassian—ever-patient, ever-ready to rescue the broken woman—steps in as her savior. He helps her train, helps her heal, and becomes the crutch she needs to finally face her demons. The message here is clear: Nesta cannot save herself. She needs a man, a warrior, a male who can handle her anger and tame it.

What’s infuriating is that Nesta is never allowed to be strong on her own terms. Instead, Maas reduces her arc to one of forced rehabilitation, where male intervention (and sex) is the ultimate cure for all her pain. Cassian’s constant hovering, watching her every move, isn’t empowering—it's infantilizing. Once again, Maas reinforces the tired trope of the broken woman who needs a man to show her the way.

Aelin Galathynius: The Assassin Queen Who Still Needs Saving

Now, let’s shift to Throne of Glass. Aelin Galathynius is arguably Maas’s most “powerful” female character. She’s a queen, an assassin, and one of the most skilled fighters in the realm. And yet… Maas can’t seem to let her be powerful on her own. Aelin spends much of her time in Queen of Shadows and Empire of Storms either being captured, tortured, or emotionally crippled by the weight of her destiny. For all her strength, she’s constantly needing Rowan—her male savior—to guide her, protect her, or just plain save her from herself.

In Kingdom of Ash, Aelin is literally chained and tortured for months. And while this is meant to be a testament to her resilience, it’s just another example of Maas putting her female characters through hell so that men can come to their rescue. Rowan is once again her knight, her protector, the one who will fight to free her. Even when Aelin saves herself, it’s with the help of a man or because of the love a man has for her.

What happened to the assassin queen who was capable of taking down armies? Oh, right—she’s been reduced to a woman who can only triumph if a man is at her side.

Bryce Quinlan: Party Girl Turned… You Guessed It, Traumatized Heroine

Bryce from Crescent City is another classic Maas creation. She’s a party girl, carefree and wild, until trauma strikes, and she’s forever changed. Cue the entrance of Hunt, her male protector who steps in to help her navigate her grief, her trauma, and the dangerous world she now inhabits. Bryce may have a sharp tongue and fierce attitude, but Maas makes sure that she is broken enough to need a man to save her.

Hunt becomes the anchor in Bryce’s life, and once again, the pattern repeats itself: Bryce cannot face her demons alone. She cannot be strong without a man by her side. Her trauma is the driving force behind her character development, and Maas wastes no time in ensuring that Hunt is always there to steady her when she falters.

Villainous Women: The Ones with Power Get Punished

Let’s also talk about the women in Maas’s books who do have power—Amarantha, Maeve, Ianthe, the list goes on. These women are almost always villains, and what makes them villainous? They’re powerful, independent, and don’t need men to define them. Amarantha, for all her cruelty, is a ruler in her own right. Maeve, a queen, is feared and respected. And what does Maas do to them? She tears them down, punishing them for their independence, for daring to claim power in a world where only men are allowed to hold it without consequence.

These villainous women are never given depth beyond their cruelty, and they’re almost always defeated by men. Maas’s treatment of powerful women in her books reinforces the idea that a woman’s strength, when unchecked by a man, is dangerous and unnatural. It’s not just lazy writing—it’s deeply misogynistic.

Conclusion: Sarah J. Maas, the Fantasy Author Who Can’t Write Women

So, what’s the takeaway? Sarah J. Maas is a writer who consistently undermines her female characters’ independence and autonomy. Her female leads are traumatized, broken, and only find true strength when a man steps in to save them. The pattern is clear, and it’s damaging. Maas’s world is one where women are only allowed to rise if they have a male savior by their side, and any woman who seeks power independently is punished for it.

This is not empowerment. This is not feminism. This is internalized misogyny at its finest, wrapped up in a pretty package of fae magic and romance.

Maas’s inability to write an independent woman character is a glaring flaw in her work, and it’s time we stop praising her for perpetuating harmful, outdated tropes. If she ever wants to write truly strong female characters, she needs to stop leaning on trauma as a crutch and allow women to find their own strength—without a man’s help.

Until then, Maas’s writing will remain a problematic ode to broken women and their savior men, with little room for genuine female empowerment.

Inspired by @extremely-judgemental , I loved their post!!! Please check it out meringues❤️❤️

[gwandas]

Imagine with me this impossible scenario in which we roughly reverse some of the situations with the sisters— Imagine an alternate version after acotar book one in which Fey.re somehow ends up having to be forced to get better from UtM trauma at the behest of Nesta— yes let’s assume somehow Nesta knows all about everything that happened to Fey.re during and after UtM— but only after Nesta explicitly states she’s embarrassed of watching Fey.re have Tamlin neglect her. But it’s okay because Nesta is a *queen without a throne* so to her this would be absolutely unacceptable! She only wants Fey.re to do better! Because this is the equivalent of apparently Nesta’s healing needing to start off by shaming her but it’s okay because Fey.re has been *giving and giving* right so jot that down into the story. oh yea Nesta also happened to have found a family of her own and, let me reiterate this is for the sake of the comparison despite how this doesn’t make sense, let’s say it’s Clare Beddors human family who somehow don’t hate fae, they happen to be the only ones in the entire human country to not have prejudice against fae so their automatically seen as like wonderful characters— because that is the equivalent of the IC who we must remember are just always in the right simply because they’re so modern in their thinking, feminist kings, dreamers who never do anything wrong. Well let’s say these amazing people take Fey.re in who is now basically displaced without a home because Nesta is forcing her to flee from her abusive relationship, (because remember Nesta is also displaced because of the war). There’s really no Rhysand in this alternate story who pulls Fey.re out of her depression because everyone hates Fey.re for giving Clares name and having her end up being killed UtM. The story heavily implies her trauma response is actually her being highly insensitive compared to how much she has hurt Clare’s family. Yikes right. Since they also know nothing else about Fey.re how are they suppose to not hate her ammiright they just assume she’s a coward who gives innocent girls names in place of her, I mean is that not the equivalent of what IC does with Nesta over the whole oh so sad Fey.re and her abusive sister thing? Oh and they’re the ones who set up the plan for Fey.re’s trauma healing not Nesta! So nice of them. As a cherry on top they only develop this idea because they really only want to see Nesta happy. Also let’s throw in how the story does insist that Fey.re is trying to help her awful sister be happy allowing for Nesta’s ‘healing’ arc to be owed to the IC, so let’s make sure we don’t forget to give the credit to Nesta here in this switch up btw!! oh yea and there happens to be this One Guy in the family who took a liking to Fey.re who’s nice to basically everyone but her so what a steal!! BUT at the end the story does insist Fey.re is better simply because she’s no longer in Spring getting neglected by Tamlin and she’s training with that One Guy who loves her despite how awful she was for having Clare die a hideous death (sarcasm) see where this is going 🎉 but she IS forced to feel guilty for it all the time and the story does insist that she should as well. All that Fey.re did UtM like freeing Prythian is just never mentioned again in favor of that one event in which she had to kill those innocent fae, those poor fae, who didn’t deserve to die, and also how she gave Clare’s name. And as a result of this some readers are like yea Fey.re should feel bad and be repenting. I mean a crime is a crime!! Regardless of the reason!! And she got better!! Of course Clare’s family would hate her! Fey.re should be grateful they even cared enough to help her heal. If you don’t accept her healing journey then you must’ve wanted her to stay in that abusive relationship with Tamlin I mean didn’t you read the books. If you don’t like her healing journey why even read the books at all! Are you even a real fan?

Isn’t it mind boggling! It’s a rough concept but it’s what was done to Nesta and also many Nesta anti ideals.

I had to read this like five times but I think I understand now hahaha

Yeah I guess what you’re getting at is narrative framing. We hear so often that “Nesta stans don’t want to hold Nesta accountable and ignore all the bad shit she’s done.” Well… we can’t “hold her accountable” because she’s not real 💀 Only the story she gets can hold her accountable.

Certain IC stans defend ACOSF because they know it is a punishment for Nesta. It’s cathartic to read about the IC treating her like shit to get justice for Feyre.

I think what you outlined is basically just “what if the book put so much focus on one bad thing that Feyre did.” Since there was all this buildup surrounding Nesta’s “crimes,” a large part of the fanbase went into ACOSF expecting her to be “held accountable.”

The divisiveness is interesting. The people who hated Nesta pre-ACOSF but liked her after usually see it as a genuine healing journey. The people who hated Nesta both before and after are the ones who see it as a punishment OR were expecting a “redemption arc” and don’t think she redeemed herself. Those two groups expected her to be “held accountable.”

I would say anyone who always liked Nesta probably sees it as abuse. It’s not that Nesta did nothing wrong, but her mistakes are just that! Mistakes, not crimes. We don’t lock people up for having bad relationships with their siblings. Whatever she needed to atone for did not warrant the severity of what was done to her in ACOSF. This group of people rejects the narrative framing while the other two very much buy into it.

[bookishfeylin]

What about ACOMAF!Feyre (pre-Rhysand)?

Mixed feelings on her. I see the appeal in theory, and in theory it's a powerful story about breaking yourself for a man, realizing he ain't worth it, leaving said abusive man, coming into your power, healing through your trauma and finding a new family and deciding you deserve better than what your abuser gave you. I see why so many people find her a powerful and poignant character in ACOMAF.

BUT

it takes a TON of retcons to even make that arc happen, including Tamlin literally going from belittled and mocked by Rhysand for not enforcing rank and being cruel... to Tamlin becoming a cruel, tyrannical DICTATOR. And I DESPISE retcons. It also requires that Tamlin suddenly not care about Feyre's emotional state (definitely a contrast with his book one behavior, and a retcon imma address soon), suddenly have no control over the magic he had no issues with in book one, and that he suddenly turn on Lucien out of the blue. The fandom and most Feyre stans happily ignore this.

And it requires that Feyre become... oddly selfish? Like yes, post trauma of that magnitude you're going to be self-centered, but that's not the problem I have. It's the way she gets mad at people of the Spring Court for... not wanting her help? Being upset that they worship her? It's so weird and petty and so, so ooc that it's clearly written so we can compare how ~amazing~ the Velaris citizens are for not worshipping Feyre and for treating her like a normal person. Like yeah. The people you saved from being stuck in concentration camps UTM forever are going to revere you. Sorry that makes you upset! And she's not looking after Tamlin's emotional state either? So she's mad at him for not checking on her feelings (valid!) when she's doing the same and ignoring his? And then, over and over in the beginning of ACOMAF, she doesn't tell him 90% of what she feels until it's wayyyyyy too late and they're in a tense situation when he's busy and then she decides to talk when he's. You know. Preoccupied. And when he naturally does not handle it well? Because it's a BAD TIME AND HE'S BUSY???? Feyre gets mad? Or it triggers her trauma???????? And it's written off as him being abusive rather than her bringing something up at a bad time??? And if it were discussed earlier half of the problems they had never would've happened????? UGHHHHHH

And yes, Tamlin is ABUSIVE, and I stand by that. But his abuse is awfully... I don't want to say manufactured, but as an abuse survivor it doesn't feel real to me because a lot of the abusive things that he does happen... almost circumstantially, if that makes sense? Like he locks Feyre in the manor because she decides to declare what she wants... as he's literally leaving to deal with a problem at the border. So yes, he takes away her choice and doesn't do what she wants because he literally has seconds to respond to her???

The abuse feels, again, almost manufactured to me because a lot of it seemingly could have been avoided if they'd had a long, deep talk about their feelings and wants and needs and paranoias early on. If Tamlin knew from the beginning that his protectiveness was making Feyre suicidal, and not just the trauma in and of itself, he likely would have backed off, because say what you will about him, but Tamlin's ONLY consistent characterization in this series is him not wanting Feyre to die. If Feyre knew that her risk taking was worsening Tamlin's trauma, she probably wouldn't have tried to throw herself into every single dangerous situation she comes across. Because that's what adults and couples do? They talk and compromise? But again, the fandom ignores that the relationship's breakdown was weirdly reliant on poor communication and that a lot of trouble could have been avoided by a long talk early on, so this fandom is flooded by a lot of bad takes about ACOMAF and it ignores Feyre's own role in the communication breakdown.

Like it's just bad writing all around from the retcons that are required to give Feyre the arc she undergoes in ACOMAF to Feyre suddenly hating the Spring Court citizens for worshipping her to Tamlin's abuse being very... contingent on him and Feyre not communicating. To the point where it's up for debate if the abuse would have happened had they both developed proper communication skills.

And so while I can see the appeal of ACOMAF Feyre in theory, in reality... I'm simply too distracted by the bad writing plaguing the book, and I don't trust what 90% of the fandom has to say about her.

Additionally, a smaller nitpick I have with her writing is that it makes no sense to go through trauma that severe and not be, idk, more careful? More wary of danger? It seems very unrealistic to me that after completing three deadly tasks and dying what triggers Feyre is being... protected and what helps her with her trauma is being dropped into random dangerous situations and going on missions. Like that seems very weird. Very convenient.

Also... I only meant to type a few sentences I did not mean for this to become a whole essay unto itself whoops.

[supesnaturally]

Tamlin's redemption arc : why it's needed.

Tamlin is a victim of sexual assault and deserves his healing too ...

Tamlin and Feyre were meant to break apart horribly because their love was born of a curse. The foundation of the feud and damage caused by Feylin is brought about by Amarantha's curse on Tamlin, cursed because he would not sleep with her. Tamlin was cursed to fall in love with someone not for love itself, but as a punishment, and it continues to punish. Magically, Feyre and Tamlin's love was poisoned and in reality it was desperate. They were brought together by the evil intentions of another, and that is sad. I'm glad Feyre escaped it and found love, home, family, fulfillment, and healing.

But Tamlin.

Tamlin is a victim of sexual assault and abuse. He was pursued, coerced, kidnapped, threatened, and hurt by Amarantha, when he of all most despised her. When he said no, she harassed him, punished him, harming his people and his friends (poor Lucien), ultimately placing him on a throne next to her to have them "all watch her break him". He'd given up his love, and been imprisoned by the woman who was breaking him. This is non-consensual. This is assault. In the end she killed his love over this. That is traumatic.

When he killed Amarantha, when her curse was broken, so was the love he and Feyre had. Feyre attributed it to the changes she went through, emotionally and physically, and that counted. But what really changed was that the curse that birthed their love died with the one who made it, and their love with it. Feyre did not deserve what happened to her, and neither did Tamlin, prior to UTM, and after it. Their cursed love brought out the worst in each of them. They both deserve a love that is true and good, and brings out the true and best in them. Feyre found it. Tamlin should be allowed to as well.

Tamlin deserves to find his mate, true love, who Amarantha may have already killed UTM. Tamlin was clearly terrified, was lost in despair that there was no escaping her but death, that she would torment and kill anyone she discovered he loved, would make him do it himself as she made him hurt Lucien to spare his friend's life, was now facing the thing that had terrified him most, so much that he condemned himself and everyone else to UTM forever to avoid it, and it still happened - Feyre in Amarantha's clutches and he powerless to save her. Despite the rage, terror and panic he felt, he turned himself into emotionless stone to hide it as much as Rhysand turned himself into AW to hide from Amarantha what he loved.

Amarantha buried Tamlin in a pit he sees no way to escape. She created a curse that would punish him in ways he never imagined, that would punish him long after he thought he was free. He thought he had escaped that monster but it's worse than he ever dreamed. He can't escape because he now sees himself as the monster - he cannot escape that.

Realistic, flawed, morally grey characters are captivating and frustrating. It's hard when those we love make bad, evil choices. Rhysand was wrong to make Feyre dance and drink UTM. Feyre was wrong to violate Tarquin's mind, and trust, to steal. Nesta and Elain were wrong in how they treated Feyre in the human lands. And so on... Using the ends to justify the means is problematic. Tamlin was wrong in what he did to imprison Feyre, controlling his trauma and fear by controlling everything. Feyre was wrong in manipulating his anger to traumatize him, in manipulating Lucien, manipulating everyone to destroy The Spring Court to get revenge for what was done to her sisters by Hybern. Every SJM main character has done both wonderful and terrible things, and that is realistic. I don't forget the good, I don't excuse away the bad.

I judge Tamlin for his wrongs and I also feel compassion for how much Amarantha actually did break him, how he lost control to her over his own life, love and safety. Tamlin is still UTM, alone, with Amarantha, in his mind and since he knows he was wrong - wrong in his actions, wrong to feel loved by the one he loved, wrong to feel she loved him back - he nows feels he deserves this, failed to protect his court, failed Feyre, failed Lucien and everyone and everything, hates himself, and that's not the whole truth. He loved many people very deeply, and their echoes must haunt him....of even how bad things were then, they are now even worse, and even his happy memories have turned to poison.

Amarantha's curse was to punish him for not obeying and sleeping with her, for telling her no, it used love as a means to curse and to break him, and it did, and still is. Completely. He did not deserve that. He deserved better. He deserved his true love, not a curse to fulfill.

In summary, the only truly B&W evil tool is Amarantha. Also Ianthe. And Hybern. Plus Dagdan and Brannagh.... anyone Hybern-ish, really....

[echotzzz]

Elain were sold to Hybern and her humanity were taken way that made her feel traumatised

Them:

I ship Elain with Tamlin because you see Elain love flower and guess who is the lord of Spring?? Thats right Tamlin. I know Tamlin had abuse Feyre but thats all in the past and Tamlin deserve to be happy and get his redemption arc. If Tamlin end up with Elain, Feyre will forgive him right? I dont really care about Elain but if she end up with Tamlin imagine the ✨aesthetics✨

Elain is Uncomfortable, shrank further and obviously show how uninterested she is towards Lucien. She even clearly mentioned to Feyre that she doesn’t want a mate.

Them:

Elain should be with Lucien because they are mate and Lucien deserve to be given a chance. Why does Elain flirt with other male when she already have a mate? Poor Lucien feel hurt and longing, i hope he found happiness.

Elain want Azriel, Azriel want her. They both long and need to stay away from each other because of the mating bond

Them:

Elain doesn’t deserve Azriel. How can Elain help him to heal when even his shadows hate her!! Elain is boring and Azriel should be with someone that could challenge him.

It will always “ Azriel deserve better”, “Lucien should be happy” and “ Tamlin deserve a second chance”

but never “ Elain deserve happiness with the person she wants to be with”

[belle-keys]

Incoherent thoughts about A Court of Silver Flames (2021) by SJM

Do not expect this to be a critical, unbiased review at all. Eet just ease what eet ease. Spoilers ahead laddies. 

*unwanted preface* 

Okay, so like, you know those things that are neither objectively perfect nor unproblematic yet you love them and are attached to them anyway? Yeah, this is me with SJM’s writing. See, I been with Sarah and Throne of Glass since March of 2015 and with ACOTAR since the summer of 2015 when I was 13 and honestly, ACOTAR in particular occupied a decent portion of my formative teen years. Eventually, when I was about 16 I sort of ended up getting distracted from YA books and went into my thot and kpop era. A main reason for this is that I found ACOFAS particularly disenchanting. This ain’t about that book (sigh) but let’s just say as much as I was still attached to and in love with the ACOTAR world, I was still able to get very annoyed by the decreased quality of the writing and also the evident projecting Sarah was doing onto Feyre with regards to her own life and experiences (ahem). No, the lack of developed POC in the book had nothing to do with it ironically. 

So basically, since the spring of 2018 I haven’t read any SJM yet I never fell out of love with the books either. I’ve sworn off TOG after whatever the hell EOS was, but ACOTAR was always more special and close to my heart by tenfold, honestly. See, the best day of my 2016 was the day I found out ACOTAR was getting the extra 3 novels and 2 novellas. ACOFAS was a dumpster fire but I was actually surprised to really, really enjoy A Court of Silver Flames while it obviously has a couple (multiple) sus facets to it. The susness aside, I thoroughly felt at home reading Nesta’s book despite how irrational that might sound. No, I’m not here to say the book was objectively good but I’m here to say I still enjoyed it despite my love-hate relationship with SJM and her writing. :( :( :( 

That being said imma still roast tf out of a couple aspects of it. :)

*the susness*

Aight wbk that SJM like, projects a lot onto feyrhys right. I’m not even gonna deny it. Like as horrible as it sounds, when feyrhys were, like, struggling as a couple and shit in ACOMAF, that’s when I loved them the most but then the shitstorm that was ACOWAR hit and they couldn’t go without boning every two seconds or calling each other mates and shit and basically every character in the book started kissing their asses (except Nesta) to the point where they were infallibly good and powerful and everyone’s heads were lodged up their asses... I got PISSED OFF then, right.

Now, in ACOSF (is that correct?), they were side characters and, gratefully, that romance between them was toned down. But here are some things concerning feyrhys and the Court of Dreams that irked tf out of me, and the implications that they had for Nesta (who is perhaps one of the baddest bitches ever) had me feeling homicidal towards the IC:

Every single time Nesta said shit about Rhys and then Cassian got mad I wanted to SCREAM like yooo let her roast tf out of him like yeah I get Rhys lowkey did a lot for her both directly and indirectly but cmoooooon not everyone needs to be riding his dick like the man HATED Nesta from the get-go. I loved the idea that someone in the book lowkey abhors Rhys just for the TEA it gave me. Like yeah, okay Cassian, I get that he’s your bro but he can SUCK NESTA’S DICK also like my girl is a DEATH GOD.

Here me out: the Inner Circle completely dehumanized Nesta, they completely disregarded her personal autonomy and caged her in which is ironically the very behavior that was villainized when Tamlin did it to Feyre. First of all they restricted her movement, they made decisions FOR her, they withheld from her knowledge about her own powers, they decided what’s best for her and acted like she was a rabid dog the entire time. Only Cassian and Azriel seem more blameless in this regard, but the level of scorn and abohorence and moralizing Feyre, Elain, Rhys, Amren and Mor did towards Nes made my blood boil. At the end of the day, the Inner Circle did the VERY THING they hated being done to Feyre. Whatever happened to the freedom they professed? The autonomy they decided all members of their court deserved? That was all bullshit, or was this switch-up SJM’s way of creating justifiable conflict between Nesta and the Inner Circle... either way, there was no closure about this and the way they dictated Nesta’s behavior whilst completely mistreating her imo.

More on Nesta’s treatment - okay listen the way the narrative had every character acting like Nesta was fricking scum and for WHAT??? Okay, she didn’t hunt when Feyre and they were poor, she was bitchy, she hates the Fae... okay, why is Nesta still being punished for her mistakes like this by the Court? Does their forgiveness only apply to those in their clique? They’re acting like her drinking and sleeping around and her general bitchy behavior is sooooo toxic when they ALL coped with their respective trauma in questionable ways in their centuries of living. And the narrative never condemned them for this behavior either... like cmon they had an “intervention” about Nesta like if she needed to reach a certain moral standing to be lovable or something. Seems to me that only Cassian was willing to love her, bruises and all... “There’s nothing broken to be fixed. You are helping yourself. Healing the parts of you that hurt too much - and perhaps hurt others too”. But as beautiful as that it, it seems the IC see Nesta’s healing as her “redemption arc” when I never saw her as a villain or monster to begin with. They acted like she had to become deserving of their acceptance. Bullshit.

No cus more on this... Cassian is the only person who defended Nesta, the only person that wanted to help her heal and grow when everyone else wanted to fix her. He was the only person who was kind to her from the original trilogy (i.e. not counting Emerie and Gwyn). He stood up for her and I’ll gush about them in the next section, but the dynamic between Nesta and the IC was the least enjoyable aspect of the book for me. It was clear SJM wanted to spur Nesta towards the path to healing yet only figured out how to do so whilst only keeping feyrhys as the nucleus of this arc, and so she had them force Nesta into her “special journey” (because she loves them so much, cus they’re sooooo perfect right *rolls eye*), yet, the narrative didn’t quite condemn them for their toxicity towards Nesta at ALL, even towards the end. The good thing is that Nesta did not become an ass-kisser throughout the story and laud them for “helping her” every waking second. Only Cassian didn’t shun her for her inner negativity but embraced her. And Az was pretty cool too, can’t hate him.

Ahem, the ending: okay, I’m not even capping, but I hated that Nesta lost her power for feyrhys. I get that she genuinely did it out of love and shit and I’m not even gonna lie, the thought of feyrhys dying had me on the verge of tears cus as much as I hate them, I also love those bitches. Yet, the culmination of Nesta’s power was, what?, to save feyrhys. This way, the narrative put Feyre at the center of Nesta’s narrative towards the end. And Nesta lost that Death God power that she basically EARNED in that Cauldron. This is the biggest flaw of the story. She fought against her own power to give it up... for Feyre. Like??? What??? Why was that baby arc even necessary????? Why was Nesta giving up her power necessary to fulfil her healing arc which was the POINT of the book??? Like what?????? It left a sour taste in my mouth. No- an abhorrent acidic bitter taste in my mouth. 

Elain. I CANNOT STAND THIS GIRL. She completely abandoned Nesta and for WHAT??? For Feyre??? This only served to reiterate from the narrative’s POV that Nesta was scum and again, idk WHY. And also, why tf does this girl mistreat Lucien like this??? LUCIEN AKA MY FAVORITE CHARACTER???

I just don’t get how the narrative reiterated that Tamlin is the worst of the worst when you got Rhys hiding shit from Feyre, hiding knowledge of Nesta’s power from Nesta, all of that. Like, was the entire point of ACOMAF not for Feyre to embrace her power and become her best self? Rhys never for one second tolerated withholding Feyre’s power from her. So why tf does this apply to Nesta? Cus she’s unhealthy? Okay... so what??? Why villainize her like this and imply she’s undeserving of her power and a waste of life??? I’M LAUGHING SO HARD RN LIKE WHERE DID THIS EVEN COME FROM??? What did my girl do that was sooooo bad that yall needed to treat her like this. Tell me why feyre and amren and varian and rhys all acted like Tamlin in this book. Cardi voice WHAT WAS THE REASON. I AM SO MAD ABOUT THIS CUS THEY ACTED LIKE THE FRICKING MORALISING SYCHOPHANTS THEY CLAIM TO HATE.

Like bitch??? They’re like those youth pastors that reiterate how broken and messed up people with mental illness are? Acted like Nesta screwing guys was the worst thing ever when they should have embraced her? Like I get she would push them away but really??? “Waste of life”??? 

So we gon gloss over how Amren was insisting Nesta shut up about the baby business to Feyre (aka hiding shit from her)? How she was implying that Rhys should conquer all of Prythian? Hear me out, even as someone from a Caribbean country that was colonized by the whites, it actually doesn’t bother me when the theme of conquest comes up, like, this is a fantasy novel and colonization does not exist within the same context for me. That being said, like, it felt as if the narrative telling me lil Rhysie is just sooooo perfect that he needs to be High King. Like, I respect the fact that Rhys has no wish to do so. Homeboy never seemed to care for conquest beyond ensuring his Court’s prowess and safety so WHAT WAS THE REASON AMREN??? Like? What kinda crack was Amren on this entire book???

The worldbuilding... listen, the politics and history felt all over the place, felt incoherent and flat honestly. Didn’t bother me as much as it did in ACOWAR but it was just *meh*, not good. Not horrible, but not great. I preferred the world when it was directly the result of Beauty and the Beat and East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

The Fae have lost their *magic*: no cus what I loved about the first book was that the Fae were one with the Courts and felt very fleshed out in terms of their powers and shit, but now only Eric and Lucien and Tamlin and sometimes Rhys have that same magic for me. Like... the sensuality of the Fae in terms of their actual Celtic roots, that which felt whimsical and immersive in the first book, feels lost to me. I can’t explain it but I feel less nuance and orthodoxy in their portrayal. However, I DID love this one line featuring none other than the loml : “Amid the pink and white blossoms, the cold-faced Autumn Court heir looked truly faerie - as if he’d stepped out of the tree, and his one and only master was the earth itself”. LIKE I SALIVATED THAT IS MY MAN.

*good stuffs*

Okay let’s talk about the smut like I didn’t like the word choice as usual like quit with the euphemisms and say cock and goooooo. That being said like, okay, I like how she set up the physical dynamic between Nesta and Cassian cus the sex wasn’t some big romantic climactic build-up like how it was in acomaf like they were being NASTY from the get-go and I respect that drip. Like she did not cap on how porny the smut was and thank God it wasn’t some cliche romantic honeymoon type shit, like it was almost on the ao3 level of smutty goodness. All it was was missing was coarse language and hard kinks but in general, I liked the Nessian smut in this book more than the feyrhys smut in particularly ACOWAR and ACOFAS, like Nessian just do not cap.

Listen... you see that whole part when Nesta was like imagining how awesome it would be to dance Lucifer’s Bachata with Az and Cassian? Yeah, my girl just let her thoughts run wild. Like Nesta makes Feyre look naïve. Like you know how Tumblr porn in 2016 used to be with the aesthetic type shit? That’s Feyre, but Nesta is like on Pornhub level and it’s so fitting I was YELLIN lowkey. I feel like less importance was placed on how meaningful the sex and shit should be in the book and I respect that.

YOU SEE WHEN NESTA TOLD FEYRE ABOUT THE BABY!!! I WAS CHEERING HER ON. No cause they were being so nasty to Nesta especially Amren and then Feyre entered with all of her moralising shit like honey you KNOW damn well what you’re doing to Nesta is what you hate being done to you. Like damn right tell her, cus I could not STAND the double standard.

The whole training the women thing was a nice touch. It was kinda corny but also sweet. That being said, I laughed so hard when I realized how this entire book was Nesta’s quarter-life hippie rebirth where she learns to meditate and work out and read romance books and face her inner demons like this is some real New York college shit. All that was missing was a Starbucks.

Cassian. Man I love this man so much. No like he displayed peak dilf behavior. I think his attractiveness isn’t based on his bravery or his hotness but his humility man. Like he’s not a thot, he’s respectful, yet tough, yet contemplative. He’s contented with his life station yet wants to always be a better person yet is such a strong rock who really loves Nesta not despite her flaws but because they are part of her. I love the way he stood up to Rhys a lot, he didn’t shame her when she was awful to him, and he is protective (annoyingly so sometimes) but he really wanted her to empower herself. Their relationship isn’t perfect (I’m not in the mood to dissect the problematic aspects rn) but they were so sweet together and I didn’t expect to like them as much as I did back when they were lowkey a thing in ACOMAF.

The mates thing didn’t bother me cus I saw this shit coming since 2016. Yes, it’s cliche and annoying but the mates status also, like, has no meaning to me so it is what it is. Didn’t think they NEEDED to be mates but I was happy that them being mates wasn’t the core of the novel and it was secondary to Nesta’s individual healing journey.

Prepare for me to get sappy but another reason why I loved this novel was because it was a story of healing. :( :( :( The road to healing and growth in the emotional sense is always beautiful to me despite how flawed it often is when SJM writes it. I just felt really immersed in the emotional woes and eventual growth of Nesta despite my issues with the book and this is perhaps one of the main reasons that I found it beautiful, because healing as a theme is always beautiful and raw.

More of Nessian but like their relationship feels so real and raw too. No, cus like, it wasn’t tinged in as much fictitious idealism as feyrhys’ relationship was. They weren’t all stupidly in love and seeing each other in the universe and shit, like they just made each other happy and weren’t portrayed as the perfect soulmates who were each other’s yin and yang and whatever thank the LORD. Them having each other’s back was enough and ughhhh Cassian was just so sweet and such a good trainer and so aloof yet passionate like I been waiting to see more of him since ACOMAF so yayyy.

Okay... that scene where Rhys kneels to Nesta and she embraces him. yes. YES YES YES YES YES that shit was the shit that made my year like I want this man to be in her debt for the end of time like this hoe saved yall like big strong high lord better bow to the “witch” like I could hear angelic choirs at that scene like Rhys doesn’t just yield to people so easily so like, it was just kinda epic okay. Little bitchass Rhys with his perfect little river house and emo boi clothes stfu hoe.

No cus I love how Nesta told Cassian she didn’t wanna hear about Feyre’s special journey or Rhys’s special journey or Mor’s like I got fed up of people acting like they epitomized “good” and the “good path” to self-discovery when they can choke on a baguette as far as I am concerned.

*shit no one except me probs cares about*

Eris. So here is the thing. Since 2015 in ACOTAR when Eris was Under the Mountain being all red-headed and cunning and sexy and evil I have been obsessed with him... well, the idea of him I had in my head and how delectably abhorrent he seems (I like villains and side-characters okay). Maybe it was just his name (Eris is a hot name shut up) or the idea of a rich, cunning fox-faced prince in the same universe appealed to me. Either way, I actually never expected by favorite cameo-character to become... important. I’ll die on the hill of loving him. Here is the thing... I don’t want him to be good, in the same way I did not want Rhys to be a good guy in ACOTAR either. I don’t need him to be a secret angel, I don’t need him to be sweet and good like Rhys always was apparently. Honestly, I want him corrupt but likeable and pertinent to the story. That being said, I really want him as the main character for one of the upcoming novels sooo bad like please PLEASE let me see the autumn court and it’s two-facedness please like if not Eris then Lucien as the main character please.

Lucien... aka my fave character since the first book man. Mannn, SJM does homeboy so dirty like I have always loved Russian fables and hence, I am so ready for Lucien x Vassa x Jurian in the Vasilisa retelling with the firebird trope and Koshei. NO CUS in 2018 I was finna write a 100k word fic about this but then I forgot about it no cap, I still have the story plan in my Onenote actually but let us not reminisce. See, my ao3-loving ass wants an angsty poly relationship and also a hot Koshei I have been waiting YEARS for this you hoes, ever since Elain got the premonition of Vassa as a firebird in ACOWAR like God please please please give it to me and make it feyrhys-less as well yasss.

I lowkey wanna suspect Eris is gay and Mor, also gay, knows and that’s why she lowkey kinda tolerates him now. Yet, I cannot be sure and yeah I just wanna say that I kinda want that arc lmfaooo (my ao3-self is showing shut up).

No cus I was TEASED by only seeing a glimpse of Vassa and Jurian but THEY SHALL HAVE THEIR TIME I KNOW IT.

Tamlin living as a beast is so interesting to me. He’s a side-character now but ughhhh he was so mystical and interesting as our good ole Beauty and the Beast beastie like it’s sooooo mysterious and alluring how he’s becoming his own villainous legend like I still care about Tamlin’s blond ass self despite everything. 

Give us the snowball fight scene you coward.

I just gotta say Nessian could outsmut Feyrhys any day and that makes me proud.

FRICKING AZRIEL like first of all Mor doesn’t NEED to come out until she’s ready but she gotta let the man down nicely some other way so he can move on. I do not like Elain. Never did. I still do not. I do not, frankly, want a whole novel where she and Azriel fall in love and she rejects Lucien like... okay, I DO want her to reject Lucien so he can be with Vassa at the very least but also I am not interested in Elain’s POV rn. BUT I WANT AZ’S POV AND LIKE WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO I WANT MY EMO BOI TO BE HAPPY. This is so frustrating cus Az is a walking DILF right and so, what am I supposed to do now.

I kinda miss the Spring Court just a little. It’s pretty shut up. It got that Zuhair Murad fashion too. 

Umm like, what the hell is up with that business with Helion being Lucien’s dad? We need more on this which is why I want a Lucien POV book goddammit.

Yoooooooo yall remember that bitch from ACOWAR who hybern was finna kill and she had a name and everything and then there was some foreshadowing and shit? What’s up with her? Like I can’t even remember her name lowkey but yeah what’s up with that. Was it something like Briar or Briannon or somthing???

Is Mor getting a book? Like deadass I need the Lucien and Vassa book, I need the Eris book, I need the Mor book and I need the Azriel book. Damn. Been waiting 6 years for some of this shit.

Okay that is all for now. Yes, this book has problematic elements at every level but I still loved it yet also hated some things about it. I won’t read House of Blood and Earth nor will I finish the TOG series but I guess I’ll stick with this series which remains near and dear to my soul despite what people gotta say about it. It made me happy and that’s what matters. Nesta is a huge ass inspiration to me as a character and I still wanna see her make the Inner Circle’s life a living hell uwu. I admittedly got HELLA emotional reading this story because it’s nonetheless super meaningful to me even at age 19 and it’s really powerful for me as a comfort book, and I look forward (a little) to what this woman put out next... sort of.

Signing off! Don’t @ me (okay you CAN @ me but idc).

[propshophannah]

Hey, I'm the Anon that was talking about Bryce and Hunt as endgame or not. My only reservations about Aidas is that I feel like she already pulled that move with Rhys, the old prince of hell bit, otherwise I'd definitely see them being a thing. And Maas also keeps referring to these books as Bryce and Hunt's story, not just Bryce, so that pushes me towards them being endgame. I kinda wanna reread ACOTAR and do some detective work to compare Hunt with Tamlin, lol.

Hi! And I 100% agree that they could be endgame! I’m not against that at all. I just think Hunt needs to figure out who he is before being able to commit to a relationship ship. So if they broke up and or spent time apart or Hunt went to therapy and went on a journey of self discovery to decide who he is and what he wants outside of Bryce or anyone, then I could see it working out for a solid HEA.

And I never considered Hunt to be like Tamlin, character-wise. I guess I can see *some* similarities. (I see more with Chaol.... if i HAD to pick someone.) But mostly if Hunt and Bryce broke up i don’t think it would be for reasons similar to Tamlin and Feyre. If they broke up/took time apart, I think it would be so that Hunt could leave to figure out what he wants in life and who he wants to be. Although.... i can see how his, like, “super devotion” came off as a little obsessive. So maybe he could be more like Tamlin. I just don’t know! It could go so many ways. But that poor boy needs to heal and learn who he is outside of who he has always been told/allowed to be.

TLDR: I read a lot of romance books by people like Alisha Rai, so I am TRASH for a romance with a healing arc. Like people going to therapy and actively using techniques they learned in real life situations. I would devour a book where Hunt goes to therapy and then we see him learning and progressing and stuff. AND not asking Bryce it women to do the emotional labor for him. Like GIVE ME RUHN AND HUNT DISCUSSING THEIR BAGGAGE AND ISSUES AND HELPING ONE ANOTHER.

[mrspettyferr]

Taking a leap with this: to write a story centering on a character everyone hates, to write a redemption arc: Challenge Accepted

Title: A Court of Claws and Dreams

Summary: As Tamlin struggles to rebuild his ruined court, a Child of the Blessed tries to find her place in a world so different than everything she had believed in. When the two collide, old debts force them to become allies as the High Lord’s prepare for the looming threat of the mortal queens.

Prologue

Briar Snow had believed in the Word of the Blessed, believed in the good and purity of the Fae, that Prythian was a land of peace and plenty.

But now…she did not know what she believed anymore.

It had been months since the battle in Prythian, yet Briar could still hear the screams. Could still her own screams as she and her sisters had been chained to that rack for the entertainment of the Hybern soldiers. Only some deep rooted, primal instinct kept her alive. Kept her heart beating. The scars still lingered on her pale body—down her back, across her stomach, around her arms. Her wounds had been so severe that even the Fae healer could not completely heal them.

She had not known such cruelty, such violence. The Word of the Blessed did not reveal the this nature of the Fae. The wickedness and power and brutality.

No, perhaps that was not entirely true. The female—the High Lady. Her winged friend and the young girl that clung to him. The roaring beast. The human soldier. They had all played a role in saving her life. A debt she could never possibly repay. And the Lady of the Winter Court…Viviane, she had called herself, had given her a tent. Clothed and bathed her, and gave her a tonic that put her to sleep.

Briar did not see the battle. She had woken with a jolt, in a foreign bed, surrounded by a healer and two guards. The healer—Katya—had calmly explained that they were in the Winter Court, safe, that her wounds had been tended to, and the battle was over. They had won.

Had they? Briar thought of the night she had been ripped from her bed, when her caravan had been burned to the ground and she and her sisters taken. Of the way the soldiers leered at her, stripped away her dignity and pride. Beaten her and how they had laughed.

A victory, perhaps, but not without a cost.

When the Lady of the Winter Court had visited her here, she had asked what part of the mortal lands Briar was from—where they should take her.

She had spent years traveling the mortal towns and villages with her Sisters. She had never really had a home, not really. But it had felt like it sometimes, when they gathered around the fire at night and huddled together in the caravan. There was nothing left of that now.

Briar had told her she had no one. Nowhere to go.

She did not think they knew what to do with her. So she would stay here, for now. A distant dream, to be permitted to enter the prospering lands of Prythian and live amongst the Fae. It was all she had ever wanted.

Once. Before everything had changed.

The world was reshaping, rebuilding, and Briar was the least of the High Lord of Winter’s concern. She did not wish to return to the mortal lands, not if rumor was to be believed. She could not wander into the mountains and forests in the Winter Court, else she could freeze or get lost or encounter creatures that were less than friendly to humans.

So for the time being, she was given a small cottage near the border of  the Summer and Winter Courts. The cottage was stocked with books, clothes, and some light food. Three meals magically arrived on her doorstep every day, and there was a ward on the cottage to keep out unwanted visitors. Katya examined her once a week, and after a month Briar had asked for the meals to be baskets of ingredients instead. Not that the meals prepared for her were poor—in fact they were delicious—but Briar needed something to keep her mind from traveling back to those torturous days she had spent chained to that rack. She had little desire to leave the cottage, not at all feeling trapped, but…she needed something. Cooking had always soothed her, the way flavors and ingredients came together—how food brought people together.

Briar leaned over the stove, smelling the rich, savory stew of cooked rabbit and vegetables.

“You know, I could have made that in a blink,” said Katya. Like most Fae of the Winter Court, Katya was pale as moonlight with long, gleaming silver hair. She was idly braiding it into a loose plait while watching Briar with a frown.

“Yes, but where is the satisfaction in that? You won’t have put any heart or effort into it.”

Katya just shook her head. “You mortals are so very strange.”

Briar stirred the stew one last time before ladling it into a bowl. It smelled divine, steaming and hot. “Will you try it?” she asked, turning to Katya.

Katya wrinkled her thin nose. “I would rather not.”

“Suit yourself.” Briar shrugged and carried her bowl to the table. She took a spoonful and blew before taking a bite. It was so hot she cringed. “What news of the wall and the mortal lands?”

“Not much, I’m afraid,” said Katya. A lie, most likely. Briar was a mere human, not trusted with Fae politics. “The High Lord is focused on the upcoming Winter Solstice. Trying to bring some normalcy and joy back to our people, I suspect.”

Briar had learned of the celebrations amongst the Prythian courts from Sister Margery. She had learned a great deal from the old woman. But Sister Margery had never set foot in Prythian, and now that Briar had, she was finding so many of those stories to be fabrications.

So she asked, “What is the Winter Solstice?”

“It marks midwinter, when our magic regenerates across our lands. Festivities last for a week. All the High Lord’s and their retinues are invited. A first since…” She let the word drop and suddenly looked uncomfortable. She shook her head and went on, “There is a ball, and a festival, and a parade with polar bears the size of small castles, and endless dancing and drinking.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

Katya turned to her, her light grey eyes now focusing and her face shifting into what Briar thought of as her “healer” face. “How are you, Briar? When I examined you earlier, I could see your improvement of strength. But…”

“I’m…still healing. I think. But the nightmares are less frequent now.” Briar forced a smile. Katya did not look convinced, but Briar added, “Will you attend the festivities?”

“As much as I can. There are still so many soldiers that require attention. The war was not kind to our people.”

Briar nodded and looked down at her stew. The color reminded her of the mud she had trekked through at the war camp. The memories started to return to her and she felt herself tensing and locking up.

Smile for me, you pretty little mortal whore. Scream for me.

“Speaking of such,” said Katya, standing up, “I ought to return to the infirmary.” She strode for the door and paused with her hand on the knob. “Would you like to attend the Winter Solstice, Briar? Not all of it, of course. But perhaps see the parade?”

Briar blinked. She glanced at the door and felt as if she could see through the thick oak. See the vast mountains and valleys and world that went on and on. A world she had wanted to see so dearly. But she felt a sudden pang of uncertainty, of what waited beyond the protective wards. This cottage…she was safe here. There was no screaming here.

And yet…

“Perhaps,” she offered.

Katya smiled, only a tinge of sadness to her eyes, and told her she’d see her again next week.

Briar just nodded. She caught a glimpse of the snowy wood as the door closed and wondered if she could be brave enough to see for herself if polar bears could truly grow to the size of small castles.

[merwgue]

Rhysand: The King of Gaslighting and Why FeySand is the Worst Thing to Happen to the Universe

Alright, let’s settle in, grab some popcorn, and talk about the most overrated, gaslit relationship in all of Prythian: FeySand. That’s right, I said it. This whole “star-crossed, night-and-day, perfect-bonded-mates” charade is a masterclass in manipulation. Rhysand, with his smug smile and "feminist" persona, is one of the most toxic characters, and Feyre? Poor Feyre is out here living her best gaslit life, completely delusional and convinced that she’s found her one true love. Honey, no. Let’s break it down.

Feyre, Honey, You Loved Tamlin—Not Rhysand

Let’s start at the beginning. In ACOTAR, Feyre is literally crawling on her knees for Tamlin. She’s breaking herself—body, mind, and soul—to save the beast of the Spring Court. She goes through hell for him: riddle-solving, bone-breaking, soul-shattering hell. And all this, might I add, while Rhysand is busy drugging her, dressing her up like a Vegas showgirl, and parading her in front of Amarantha for his own benefit. So, can someone please explain to me how, by ACOFAS, Feyre suddenly claims she’s been in love with Rhysand since Under the Mountain?

I’m sorry, but what? Is this girl experiencing memory loss? The last time I checked, Feyre was dying for Tamlin. Not Rhys. Not the guy who was playing games and making her dance in skimpy outfits. So when she comes out with this "I’ve loved Rhysand all along" nonsense, I can’t help but scream, "GIRL, WHAT?" There’s some serious revisionist history going on here, and I’m not buying it. Rhysand gaslit her into forgetting her entire arc in the first book. Who does that? Oh, right—a toxic narcissist who needs to be the center of attention.

Rhysand swooped in during Feyre’s post-traumatic breakdown and took advantage of her emotional vulnerability. He didn’t let her heal, he didn’t give her space to process anything. Instead, he inserted himself into her life, spinning this grand tale of "we’re mates, babe, it was destiny all along." Uh, no, it wasn’t. Destiny doesn’t gaslight you into forgetting your entire past relationship.

Who Really Killed Amarantha? (Hint: Not Rhysand)

Oh, and don’t even get me started on this insane claim that Feyre and Rhysand together killed Amarantha. Like, excuse me? Did we all just forget that Tamlin is the one who literally stabbed her? It wasn’t Rhys, standing in the corner looking broody with his shadowy vibes, and it wasn’t Feyre, who was busy dying at the time.

But somehow, in Rhysand’s rewritten narrative, they both killed Amarantha together, hand in hand, like some Bonnie and Clyde fantasy. This is not their victory. This is Tamlin’s victory—yes, the same Tamlin Feyre is suddenly pretending never existed. Rhysand has fully convinced her that he was the hero of the story. What kind of manipulative mind games are we playing here?

If Rhysand were a real person, he’d be out here taking credit for the moon landing and convincing you that he invented electricity. The man loves to gaslight, and Feyre is drinking that Kool-Aid like there’s no tomorrow.

Rhysand: "Feminist" in the Streets, Manipulator in the Sheets

Let’s talk about Rhysand’s whole "I’m a feminist" shtick, shall we? I love a man who respects women as much as the next person, but Rhysand is no feminist icon. This is a dude who spent months controlling Feyre’s every move, drugging her for his own gain, and parading her around like a trophy while making sure she knew he held all the power.

"Oh, but he was saving her!" Was he, though? Or was he just manipulating her into believing he was the only one who could save her? There’s a fine line between protecting someone and making them completely dependent on you, and Rhysand is walking that line with all the grace of a snake in stilettos.

And the real kicker? Rhysand convinces Feyre that everything Tamlin did was wrong, but when he does the exact same thing, it’s suddenly romantic and protective. Tamlin locking Feyre up? Abusive. Rhysand stalking her, tracking her every move, and controlling her entire existence? Oh, that’s love, babe. Gotta keep her safe, you know?

The Mate Bond: Love or Just More Gaslighting?

Now let’s get to the mate bond. Oh, the glorious mate bond that’s supposed to be this undeniable force of nature. But if you actually look closely, it’s just another tool Rhysand uses to control Feyre. He literally withholds the information about the bond for months, letting her spiral into depression and chaos, before revealing it in this dramatic, theatrical way. Because of course, Rhysand has to control the narrative. He couldn’t possibly tell her about the bond when she was still making her own choices—nope, he had to wait until she was at her weakest, so he could swoop in and be the savior.

And then, when Feyre finally accepts the bond, it’s like she’s completely forgotten that she’s been manipulated the whole time. "Oh, Rhysand didn’t tell me about this life-altering bond that ties us together forever? No big deal, I love him now." I’m sorry, what? If that’s not a red flag the size of Prythian, I don’t know what is.

FeySand: The Worst Love Story Ever Told

So here we are, with this allegedly epic love story between Feyre and Rhysand, built on a foundation of gaslighting, manipulation, and rewritten history. Feyre, once a strong, independent woman who sacrificed herself for her loved ones, has been reduced to a puppet in Rhysand’s game. She’s forgotten her love for Tamlin, rewritten her trauma Under the Mountain, and swallowed Rhysand’s lies whole.

And yet, we’re supposed to root for this couple? I think not. FeySand is the most toxic relationship in the series, and yet somehow, everyone’s convinced it’s #goals. In reality, Feyre has been gaslit into oblivion, Rhysand is a master manipulator masquerading as a hero, and the entire plotline feels like it’s just one big exercise in seeing how far Rhys can push Feyre before she loses all sense of self.

Conclusion: Feyre, Please Wake Up

If I could sit Feyre down for a heart-to-heart, I’d tell her this: Girl, you’re living in a delusion. You loved Tamlin, you fought for Tamlin, and Rhysand gaslit you into believing otherwise. He’s rewritten your memories, twisted your experiences, and convinced you that this toxic relationship is some grand love story. It’s not. It’s manipulation at its finest.

So please, Feyre, for the love of all things sacred, take a step back, look at the facts, and realize that Rhysand has been gaslighting you since day one. You deserve better than this puppet-master of a High Lord.

[sapphireorison]

Hokay. So. ACOTAR, ACOMAF, and ACOWAR. I finished them. A bit ago. And then I forgot to actual finish this write-up.

I enjoyed them! I have a great many thoughts and it will take a while to unpack them. Fair warning: I’m an editor and some of this is critique. These books hit a good number of my buttons and I legit cried in several different places, so they receive a rec from me. Just--I love to interrogate what I read as well as enjoy it. 

Spoilers to follow. :) 

:rubs hands together: 

Just in case my readers have read some but not all of the books, I’m going to be trying to split thinguses all up. This is difficult b/c I read them mostly back to back and I have a hard time splicing out storylines when I do that. Thank goodness for book summaries. 

Book 1: A Court of Thorns and Roses.

I loved the concept of eternal Spring at the Court, and I love the fact that Feyre is so driven. She makes shit happen, throws herself head-first into...not the best plans, let’s be real, but she’s sympathetic and we get a really deep glimpse into her head with the first person PoV. Her crap plans are also very interesting from a character growth standpoint, because she’s flailing around trying to figure out how things work and still willing to dive into the shit half-prepared because she thinks she needs to. I respect that in a protagonist. The supporting characters, Lucien and Alis, are also a lot of fun. I also thought the worldbuilding was fun in that the fae actually use their glamour for pretty much everything, and that there are festivals and rhythms to life. The estate feels very empty on purpose, but the life of the characters seems to extend beyond the page and I quite like that. 

One thing I found very interesting was that, as the book goes on, Maas slowly finds her stride. The end of the book is better than the beginning (and the second book better than the first, but that’s getting ahead of myself). Maas’ strength is in interaction person v. person and person v. environment, but until the environment is established, her people can’t properly interact with it. We’re missing too much and the clues aren’t actually clues that a reader can put together--or even recognizes as clues. ‘Ah yes this is a mystery’ isn’t...isn’t helpful. The world doesn’t *quite* exist before it’s explained, which is a bit rough when it’s explained at the rate of ‘clueless newbie in an information-averse environment.’ I speculate that a reason why her series are so popular is that she does very well with cumulative worldbuilding. Or, rather, working within established worldbuilding. When she’s establishing it herself, it’s a little wonky until it takes hold.

I mean, I enjoyed the whole ‘masque masks stuck to everyone’s faces’ thing but it wasn’t incorporated emotionally and then they just pop off. The resolution of that arc factored into the climax but the focus had shifted away almost completely at that point. That’s partially because we get three or four character anchors, and not a lot of secondary and tertiary characters to populate the emotional background of the story, so there are precisely two people she knows/interacts with from Spring Court there Under the Mountain and they’re narratively busy. Plus, masks are a major, ridiculously romantic imagery thing. The decadence. The finery. The masks hiding everyone’s true intentions. But without keeping them important, they don’t have the impact I think was intended.

When Maas DOES incorporate something emotionally, she’s good, imho. See anything she does with tattoos. It’s personal, a body transgression with a dab of body horror, it’s visible and has a major impact on her day-to-day attitudes and the images she strikes in this book and for the rest of the series. I ended up caring very much about that damned tattoo. 

On another note, I was /deeply confused/ at the totally blasé attitude the Spring Court had most of the book towards the fact that Feyre had murdered the fuck out of that fae. Like. I didn’t get the vibe that 'something must be going on for everyone to not be beyond pissed off at me.’ I got the the ‘wow, things are moving really fast and everyone’s reactions are a little weird because the main characters need to be together’ vibe. Which turned out not to be the case in, like, any sense, but it was still very distracting. Also, I’m just like, “There is a lot of emphasis on love in this book, but I’m not actually feelin’ it anywhere.” Maybe it’s my aromantic ass talking, but there was a lot of emphasis on the sustaining power of love that didn’t really...okay. I think it’s fair to say that I don’t *get* why love was a driving force for most of the tail end of the book when there were other perfectly valid reasons to take action and/or survive. The main character spent most of the end of the book in an altered state of mind and fixated on an emotion that wasn’t being actionably reciprocated, so that when she won things I was very excited, but when she was floundering in between I stopped being able to quite access the character.

It’s a bit of a left turn at the end into sexy villainess territory, and the altered state of mind thing--like I get why it was done on a narrative level (tho I consider it a bit of a narrative cheat), but it’s also sort of extremely iffy on a ‘future romantic interest’ level.  

Overall, though, I liked a lot of the interpersonal play between characters and how the edges don’t always meet. And I like the sense of ‘no, don’t do it! why are you doing this?!’ and ‘yes, do the thing!’ that I as a reader felt depending on the decision that Feyre had to make, and most of the time those character choices were nicely in character. 

Book 2: A Court of Mist and Fury

Well. I was spoiled by tumblr for this one, so I knew it was coming, but EVEN SO I was still a little ??? that Tamlin was straight-up the villain. On the one hand, the first book WAS a riff on a Beauty and the Beast narrative, so this is the ‘Beast’ subversion book that digs into the abuse and depression narrative. Which--I actually didn’t mind. The oddest thing was Tamlin going from a very poor fit for a boyfriend to legitimately abusive, which I take to mean (as is alluded to in later bits) that his experience Under The Mountain just...broke him. I was actually watching in the first book for ‘abusive’ cues, and they were little red flags that seemed to have been incorporated into the fabric of the story in the traditional-love-story sense that only in contrast and context analysis appear as big red flags. 

So...that’s interesting. Because it was very much a sense of exacerbated personality, without necessarily the seeds of the abusive relationship being developed as such. Even though :waves vaguely at Rhys: that dude’s presence was at least planned, and the mating bond was present at the end of the first book. So yes, it seems abrupt, and I can’t decide if it’s an abrupt that fits or not.

And just as an addendum, I’m not actually interesting in redemption stories (as I know there’s all sorts of discourse surrounding Talmin on tumblr), so I didn’t mind him being the villain and staying that way. 

The strength of this book, imho, is its tight focus on healing from abuse. It’s a very specific narrative, very in-depth, and very personal. Feyre is such an emotionally-driven character, and it’s her emotions--conflicting a lot of the times--that are cracked open and chewed-upon. And, actually, it’s her emotions that, well, it’s not that they provide /continuity/ but they actually carry the book. Whatever she’s feeling at that particular moment is encompassing, and it eclipses a lot of the book’s continuity errors and world-building...holes. At least for me, it did, and that’s part of why I enjoyed the story as much as I did. Worldbuilding is my /jam/, so the emotional resonance has to be engaging for me to enjoy a book without a solid foundation.

But part of the recovery-from-abuse narrative is that there’s a lot of emphasis on consent--or at least there’s an attempt at it. Everything at Feyre’s pace as much as possible (a convention broken only for plot, if I recall correctly.) Even if, most practically, there is a lot of organizing Feyre’s life and she doesn’t have a lot of actual control over it, she feels like she does. She is able to accomplish things again and accomplishing those things isn’t a panacea for her depression, but it certainly helps. 

What boggles my mind, with respect to the consent thing, is that Feyre very much has no control over her emotions at the best of times, not when she’s vulnerable. But that Maas adds the mating bond/soulbond nonsense. 

Okay. FULL DISCLOSURE. I...read soulbond fic. I *enjoy* soulbond fic. But I’m very picky about my soulbond fic. For the most part, I consider it to be a good part manipulative drek where people are attracted to one another for no apparent reason with an automatic love that spans lifetimes. 

Which, you know, romantic. (Says the aro lady) But my point is, that the soulbond fics that I really enjoy are the ones that really grapple with the idea that, okay, you didn’t /pick/ the soulbond. You were destined, and that destiny means you had little-to-no free will, consent, or agency in that choice. You feel encompassing...something for a person. Is it love? Is it healthy? And I understand that some people really, deeply enjoy the idea of destiny and the idea that this bond to someone in your soul means you are inherently lovable no matter where you came from or what you’ve done. I, however, resent even the hint of fate, so exploring how people deal with that (beloved) + (fate) thing is simply deliciously fascinating. 

However, in context of a recovery-from-abuse narrative it’s, uh...wow. Feyre doesn’t have a choice but to fall in love with this man. For a healing narrative making an attempt to be about giving her choice once more, a soulbond inherently removes that consent *especially* because it’s kept a secret. Feyre doesn’t know what’s going on and can’t make an informed decision about. 

But I think what completely flummoxed me was the fact that Feyre’s emotional response to finding out that she had a soulbond was *relief*. ‘Oh, it’s not actually me moving on from the abuser I sacrificed so much for and forming this crazy-strong attachment to this man in what I consider a betrayal of my former love for my abuser.’ She’s happy it’s not her fault. With one soulbond, her conflict over moving on is wiped away and resolved, even when moving on and forming a strong emotional attachment/falling in love with another man is, uh, perfectly natural. especially for someone who runs so much on her emotions as Feyre, even if maybe there’s a bit of concern that Rhys might be a rebound because he’s helping her heal (as not everyone can handle both healing-phase relationships and then the transition to stable-established). I mean, it’s an understandable response for her to be like ‘oh, thank fuck,’ but, um, that’s the end of it. She’s done feeling any conflict because she has cosmic permission to move on. 

And tbh, that’s...not an issue with character responses imho. It’s an issue with how the world is built and what function the soulbond serves within a narrative that attempts to emphasize consent...by resolving part of the conflict by make it fate. 

So that’s a thing. XD

Anyways, I am definitely of the opinion that this second book was stronger than the first, both emotionally and world-buildingly. And just...the visuals are wonderful. I think out of everything, I loved the visuals the most. 

Book 3: A Court of Wings and Ruin

The most recent (last?) book in the series, a Court of Wings and Ruin is by far and away the most solidly established book with respect to the worldbuilding and pre-established character. At this point, the world has accumulated enough that there are repercussions, politics, and things moving and shaking. The narrative expands from tight-focus on specific relationships to an epic continent-spanning conflict with multiple cooperating factions. 

It’s, uh, quite a jump. 

But first let me just...bang my fists on the table and chant: High Lady Feyre. High Lady Feyre. High Lady Feyre. The simple fact that we get to see her be High Lady and that she embraces it. No matter how the execution of her being High Lady falters, it’s viscerally pleasing that the intent is for her to be a partner. She has a powerful position, a seat at the table, and (although her inexperience is, er, a liability, uh) the ability to change the tide of the epic shenanigans going on all over the place. 

Also. Nesta. My love. She shines in this book. I just. I think it says a lot about what your favorite character in any particular book is, and for me, it’s hands down 100-percent Nesta. She’s just so angry and complicated and she lashes out and hurts people and even in the previous books when she’s being stubborn or antagonistic-y and Freyre is pissed off and hurt by her...I just kept thinking to myself: is she supposed to be my favorite? Because she’s absolutely my favorite. 

Like, she’s reserved as fuck and ready to cut into people and eat their hearts, and was dragged into Feyre’s bullshit literally kicking and screaming and basically sinking into the Cauldron while flipping the world off. And then she rips part of the Cauldron’s power out with her teeth. Plus, she develops a thing for the one who is clearly the hottest boy character (sorry Rhys, I have a type). I mean, she couldn’t be set up any more perfectly as my favorite character. 

Like. I like Feyre, but to be quite honest, I don’t GET Feyre. (I don’t recall if I said that in part one, but whatever, this is part three and a whole different book.) I just...Feyre is emotional to the point where I lose hold of her, because I’m not the same personality type. I can feel what she feels because that’s Maas’ forte as a writer, but that’s about as far as my sympathy goes. I /feel/, but I don’t understand why she acts the way she does on those feelings. 

What I do find interesting is the trope evolution of the soulbond thing. It’s like Maas walks it back. It’s a mating bond and it’s physical. It’s not necessarily a ‘meeting of souls’ or ‘one true love’ thing, because there have been crap soulbonds in the past, but a signifier that elf-y genetics decicded they’d create good bebs. Which...holy het, batman, for one, the implication being that only reproducing couples will ever matebond. And two--that’s...a marked difference from the second book. There’s also some confusion as to whether the mating bond is destiny or a result of love. Because more than once it’s referred to wanting the mating bond to snap into place (implying that love can come first), and more often it’s shown that the mating bond is destiny. It’s never clarified if it’s both, or Feyre’s mistaken, or what. Or if it can actually be cancelled, or if it becomes only cancelled for one because it’s ventured by one? Or if there’s an attempt to snap it into place and...

Basically, book three just confuses the shit out of the issue of the soulbond from the straightforward trope-dancing of the second book to attempting to address edge cases without actually clarifying anything. 

There is one point, though, where I’m sort of...the series started as one thing and has morphed into somthing entirely different, and the style it’s written in can’t quite support it yet. Namely, there’s a scene where Feyre does a bit of psychic eavesdropping to relive a scene we would not otherwise have gotten to see and just...

That, my friend, is cheating the first-person narrative. It’s invasive, and debatably out of character, and is handle with a ‘sometimes we suck, and we just have to get over it’ conversation, and the invasion is never elsewise addressed. It’s just, like. An errant scene. It’s worked into things, but in such a way that the value of the scene is debatable for as much damage as it causes the narrative. 

Which flows into the fact that the narrative can’t sustain the epic battle thing. There’s a deus ex machina at the end, even though it’s not the thing that wins the day. Like, there’s an entirely character PoV and narrative thread that’s just...left out. For three books. Which is a limitation of first person without careful plotting. But the whole end with reinforcements and Lucien and the firebird Queen? Not out of the blue, but like...a whole different book. 

And the last thing that I think is interesting that *doesn’t* touch on the Black Jewels trilogy, is part of the inspiration for some of the fae mythology, namely the Black Cauldron. 

Or, more rather, the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, upon which the Disney movie the Black Cauldron was based. The Chronicles themselves are based on Welsh Mythology, notably the Mabinogion. But the Chronicles have the three witches in the swamp (the three death gods?), the fair folk, the land of death with its control of the Cauldron with the power to create an unstoppable army. Of a living sacrifice jumping into the cauldron of their own will being the only thing to shatter it.

(And, hilariously, I did a search for what Maas herself said about Prydain since I was gonna ramble on about it, and it really does seem like they were a major inspiration for her. I found a twitter thread where she laments that he used all the really cool antiquated names for all the places she wants to use. If you wanna see what she says about it, pairing the author names will give you direct quotes from her saying how much inspiration she drew from them.)

It’s just that even though Eyrian and Illyrian are very similar, Illyria is the name of a Baltic country back in antiquity. And her naming conventions for the races aren’t complicated. The angel-people are Seraphim. The falcon-people are Peregryn. She uses a lot of possibly-Greek-inspired words for her mythological faerie people. So while I wouldn’t say Illyrian is a coincidence, it does fit with her rampage through her favorite things, pulling in disparate (and sometimes clashing) elements and knitting them together as she slowly builds her world the best she can.

To me, this feels like a hodgepodge of inspiration, though I know that a lot of people knock the books for tasting very strongly of Bishop’s work. I’d argue that, Prydain and the aforementioned Welsh mythology and Greek references are as much an influence on Prythian as Kaeleer and Terrielle are, at least in the worldbuilding aspects. She even says in interviews that they’re her inspiration. She’s enthusiastic about them in a charming way (I say as an editor of new, baby authors who have this sort of love for their inspiration, too.)

But ‘what is inexpert but honest homage and what is are you sure this isn’t fic’ is a discussion for...later. That I’m half done with. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish and post it sometime soon. :) 

[sanborg]

ACOWAR Spoilers here

I know I said I would, but I need to talk about some of all these feels ACOWAR gave me, so my heart will remain in one piece. Soo...

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!

Seriously, don’t read these if you haven’t read the book. I am being kinda vague some places, and dropping bombs that I think are far more impactful if you read it first. Come back, and nod furiously instead.

Okay, so first of all. Feyre, you’re a fucking badass. Even if what you’re doing is a giant fucking mistake. But it was still pretty rad and satisfying.  Flawless execution. 10/10

Jurian is... not how I imagined him. That’s a good thing, btw.

SWEET SWEET REVENGE TO IANTHE (and even sweeter later hahaha. Oh god that was satisfying.)

Road trip with Lucien <3 

I have never felt such utter relief as when Cassian and Azriel came in.

Feyre and Rhys reunion made my knees buckle too (good thing I was already sitting) especially what follows.

Lucien’s utter surprise there are children laughing in the Night Court. xD

Oh Elain, my sweet, sweet Elain. :’( Someone hug the poor girl!

Also, Nesta and Cassian interactions is my lifeblood.

I’m in full support of Elain and Lucien having a future together some day down the line, but right now... Elain and Azriel is just so, so, so sweet.

Cassian can’t stay away from Nesta oooooh. Because Nesta is death and Cassian is the Lord of Bloodshed. Oh my heart. (or, at least... that’s what the Bone Carver implied.)

The Bone Carver appears as Rhys and Feyre’s son, and it knows it too. Rhys’ utter shock when he realized Feyre wasn’t just seeing any black-haired, blue-eyed boy. *wipes tear from eye*

Dunno why everyone thought Azriel was going to be the one to die. After the Bone Carver scene, my bet is on Amren, pretty sure she wanted a way home. Perhaps the only way would be to die.

Friendly reminder that Cassian thinks Nesta is beautiful.

I love Helion, he’s great. He’s like the Day version of Rhys, albeit much gayer haha.

That Lucien twist tho. Holy frigging shit. Or like Rhys said... Holy burning hell.

I’m not sure what to think of Eris anymore. He’s better than Beron, that’s for sure. But it’s hard to forgive for all the shit he’s done.

Azriel is far, far, faaaar more terrifying than Rhys in his mask. It’s always the quiet nice guys, huh. Also the sass is real in this one.

The Suriel meant Rhys when it told Feyre to stay with the High Lord in ACOTAR. I freaking knew it. 

MOR IS GAY (well... bisexual, but homoromantic) I no longer feel guilty for shipping Elain and Azriel. Well... maybe a little.

Cassian wants to spend a lifetime with Nesta, and he was willing to wait beyond death to be with her. Just kill me already, this is too many feels..!

Nesta’s character development was better than I hoped. It was great to see her grow, to start extending her caring nature for Elain towards the rest of the world. In her own cold way.

Also, what’s with SJM and evil Kings? Does she have something against Kings? And why do they never have a name?

Probably going to be an unpopular opinion but... I don’t like the ending. I mean, it summed up everything great, and the epilogue is better than I hoped. But I’m not a fan of killing a character just to bring them back. To me, it’s a very delicate hit-or-miss action. I will always hope the character can come back, but make me feel anxious at the race of time, that it might not work.  That something could go very, very wrong. That is far more powerful than letting me mourn and then just go “haha, he’s ok.” The impact of the death is lost on me because I knew it would work, knew they’d come back, because it happened before, because of where it happened.  But that’s just my opinion, and I’m very picky about these things.

Last words, I really, really hope Tamlin will find happiness. I really hope he will find a way to better himself, to move on after Feyre.. I hope he will find his mate, and I hope she is as strong as him, perhaps stronger. I disliked what Tamlin did in ACOMAF, but I pitied him in ACOTAR. I felt sorry for him, and ACOWAR only made me do so more. I would wholeheartedly read a post-ACOWAR Tamlin novel, if only to see him fully finish that character arc, and heal. And grow. In the end, Feyre taught him something he’s likely never, ever going to forget.

[luciensfox]

Lucien’s ARC in ACOWAR (spoilers under the cut).

I’ve been seeing a lot of emotional reactions to the commencement of ACOWAR and it’s a little intimidating for me because, while I did finish it two days ago, I’m still in that numb mind-set where I’ll have to reread the book a few more times to properly formulate a good enough review. But since I’ve noticed a lot of commentary already floating around, I thought it might help me to express my feelings towards a particular character and what I found troubling/ or positive. In any case, here’s the Lucien ACOWAR meta that nobody asked for. (I’ll write meta for the other characters later, perhaps?)

Okay. First things first. Whether you were as obsessed with the little fox prince as I was, if you wanted to see his arc, or if you just didn’t care much about him either way… everyone seemed to be cheering on his development for the third book. It almost fit such a nice, clean progression: dealing with the abuser and feeling conflicting emotions about him, the self loathing slowly beginning to lighten up, him realizing he is powerful but he just doesn’t know what to do with himself because he feels trapped…. and then book three is where he should have abandoned his abuser and recognized his inner strengths to which in a later novella we could have explored further. But it didn't really happen like that, did it.

I know some people think that we will see his true and final arc in the novella about him… but here’s the thing. We don’t even know if we will be getting a Lucien novella. Of course it might seem obvious to some, but until SJM or Bloomsbury announces it… who knows? And while I would be ecstatic for it, I’m bitter because this is the official trilogy and I feel as though he should have had an official ending full of peace where we could all just take a deep breath and think “fuck yeah, Lucien got what he rightly deserved!” I wished with all my heart that he would have had at least a decent enough arc that would have made me cry, but all I felt was numb. My favorite character— and he pretty much got shoved aside at the end of the book.

That being said, when I was reading the initial chapters of this book I was SO FUCKING HAPPY TO SEE ALL OF THAT LUCIEN. He was literally more invested in this story than in the other two combined! Or at least, I had thought so. Once he departed midway through the story, we don’t see him until the very last pages of the book. And maybe I would have been okay with that… had he gotten the development he deserved before leaving.

While I did love the few arcs that were included for him in this story— like how he was snarky to Tamlin again in the beginning (like old Lucien from ACOTAR that I’ve missed dearly), and how he is infatuated with Elain but also respects her enough not to push the bond on her while also realizing that it’s not the end of the world if she doesn't reciprocate the emotion, how he and the Illyrians started an uneasy bond that led into a small friendship/ alliance… but then it ends there. That’s it. There’s not definite “Lucien and (Azriel or Cassian or Rhysand etc) were good friends after blah blah” or “Lucien was happy to just travel the realm knowing he was safe to wander again without running into his abusers.” He was just brimming the initial phases of a wondrous developmental state when he was sent into the mortal realm, only to be seen one other time throughout the entire book.

Where did he go? What did he see? What is his relationship to the tinker from Dawn? Or with Queen Vassa? Will he be included in that russian folkloric retelling between Koschei the death-god and the mortal queen? Will he ever confront his “family” in the Autumn Court? What about his mother? WHAT ABOUT THE HIGH LADY OF AUTUMN? What about Helion? Do either of them even know what they are to one another?

Look, if this Chaol novella is 500 pages long, then I expect the Lucien one to be a thousand.

But what really got under my skin was this.

But Tamlin’s attention had gone to the clothes Lucien now wore. The Illyrian leathers.

He might as well have been wearing Night Court black.

It was an effort to keep my mouth shut, to not explain that Lucien didn't have any other clothes with him, and that they weren't a sign of his allegiance—

Tamlin just shook his head, loathing simmering in his green eyes, and walked past. Not a word.

I looked at Lucien in time to see the guilt, the devastation, flicker in that russet eye. Rhys had indeed told Lucien everything about Tamlin’s covert assistance. His help in dragging Beron here. Saving me at the camp. But Lucien remained standing with us as Tamlin found his place in the sitting room to our right. Did not glance at his friend even once.

Lucien wasn't foolish enough to beg for forgiveness.

What the FUCK.

How did we go from theorizing that Lucien would get rid of his toxic relationship with Tamlin to him wanting his abusers forgiveness? That’s pretty much like Stockholm Syndrome. Lucien doesn't need to apologize for shit, and the fact that we saw him slowly, so very slowly, making this wonderful character development… only to have these as his final thoughts… it made me livid, then terrified, and now I’m just numb. Novella issue aside, that whole paragraph shouldn't have existed. Or it should have been written differently, wherein SJM could have described that Lucien felt remorse for leaving his ex-friend even though Tamlin pulled through in the end, however he knows he’s better off without him.

We have all of this information about Lucien now….yet the issues at stake from book one were never really resolved, even now that the official series is over. That’s why I’m so cranky.

The fact that Beron is still alive is ridiculous (Keir as well for that matter). Neither of them had any positive input for the whole series and they were both abusers who should have died regardless of their alliances. Especially considering a hundred pages of this book was made up of this mighty war were thousands of people supposedly died! Cauldron forbid we kill off a character that other MCs have ties to?

In regards to the Lady of Autumn, she didn't even speak a word. She was harmed by Feyre (accidentally, but still), and then she wasn’t seen ever again. She was outright used for shock value. All we know is that she is such a tragic character who has the potential for an incredible arc (much like Lucien) but the chances of us seeing that fall through are pretty slim. At this rate, I just want Lucien and his parents (his REAL parents) to reunite together and have a long, comforting talk while probably crying and expressing some terse feelings towards one another… but resulting in them being happy and at peace.

Where Lucien’s romantic relationships are in regards to this story, I actually couldn’t give that much of a shit. He was robbed of his character development, and I’d really rather not see him start any romantic connections while he is still trying to figure out himself. I will say that I adore Elucien, just from what the fandom has created for them alone, and that I was shocked and upset by the awkward love…. square that formed? Between Elain, Azriel, Grayson, and Lucien… I think Elain and Lucien both need to focus on healing themselves (hence why later on they would probably make the best pairing), Azriel should decide what he wants to do with his infatuation with Mor even though he basically knows it’ll never occur (poor bat baby needs some self confidence of his own and to just spend more time with his brothers), and Grayson… he can just jump right off a cliff while holding Tamlin’s hand.

Let me also say that I DID thoroughly enjoy ACOWAR, despite how bitter I am with certain things. I thought it was great. In regards to SJM stepping up her diversity, I was really happy to see that change. But I’m not quite sure I can say I loved it more than ACOMAF. Maybe it’s due to Lucien and the little Nessian scenes we got in the third book that might push me to love it more, but overall I just thought I would have felt something….stronger? Something a bit more relieving and empowering than what we got? Novellas are great, but authors shouldn't use them as scapegoats for leaving out character developments in the official series.

Overall: I’m sad for my fox son.