#sjm opinions

[ginwalt]

So does anyone else find how humans are treated in acotar weird? like she always talks about how humans are so prejudiced and hateful towards the fae. Which is a super strange take considering humans were:

1) literally enslaved for hundreds of years minimum thousands max

2) fae to this day view them as property or pests to be wiped off the face of the planet…

3) to this day are trying to take what scrap of impoverished land the humans have left

idk i always felt like the humans were literally correct to hate the fae? and the only reason the fae were defended in the books was because they were the main characters. idk imo the oppressed aren’t prejudiced against the oppressors because… that’s just not how power dynamics work?

[autumnshighlady]

i feel like stirring the pot so….

SEND IN YOUR UNPOPULAR SJM OPINIONS THAT’LL HAVE YOU LIKE THIS

[the-darkestminds]

You know what I wanna see in Azriel’s book? A major emotional breakdown in which he openly cries his heart out. This man is stoic and angry and so closed off, even among friends. I’m begging him to show us even a sliver of vulnerability. Azriel, my guy, you can cry if you need to.

[1800naveen]

Unpopular opinion

Tamlin is morally grey, not Rhysand. Hell, he's the definition of morally grey in the Acotar universe.

He's good at heart but at times, he executed them poorly.

He truly cares for his court and lets in refugees or anyone who needs a place that they can call home. He will protect the people he loves, even if it means sacrificing his life. He's actually making a difference.

Tamlin may love someone but no one is enough to push him away from the path of fighting against tyranny (that's iconic as hell like yes. If I had two choices: my lover or fight against tyranny, I'm fighting every time. Tyrants will make sure that almost everyone suffers and I'm not down with that. No offense but get the hell out of my way, I got tyrants to kill).

His moral compass is like a diamond and it's unbreakable.

But one of the few actions where he did wrong is held over his head unlike Rhysand who has done numerous amounts of bad stuff but most people don't get mad at him for it.

"It's because he's morally grey!" Nah, he's just a bad guy and that's completely fine, I like a good villain. But sjm keeps defending him and his actions which is just annoying.

IF TAMLIN WASN'T BLONDE, PEOPLE WOULD LIKE HIM MORE. THEY CAN'T HANDLE A BLONDE MAN WHO SERVES JUST AS MUCH OR MORE THAN THEIR DARK HAIRED RIVAL😔

On another note, what's up with the Tamlin would sacrifice you to save the world but Rhysand would sacrifice the world to save you?? Girl, I don't ever want a man to do that just for me, nobody is going to have a place to live anymore. What's more important, a singular person's life or the lives of millions? Fuck the villains, heroes on top.

(also he reminds me of a golden tiger, I can't hate him when he looks like this to me)

(I love this animal so much, I would adopt one if I could. You can't tell me that this is not Tamlin.)

[littlefeltsparrow]

No please, tell us more about how unpopular you supposedly are for hating Nesta. I’d love to hear about how unique that opinion is and how brave you are for speaking up about it. Damn we really live in a society where people are punished for simply speaking their mind…2024? More like 1984…can’t even be an indulgent hypocrite in peace these days.

These poor Nesta haters are SILENCED! SILENCED I SAY! Won’t somebody please consider their brave attempts to regurgitate the same idiotic, popular, fandom talking points? The people are dying to hear about how Nesta somehow wasn’t punished enough for being a bad sister and needs to be thrown into the dungeon for 1000 years.

[nestasminiaturepegasus]

My harsh SJM opinions

-- I disappeared for a minute, but I'm back and ready to shit talk sjm books again. --

Rowan vs. Chaol: 

If you can forgive Rowan for punching Aelin and being vile towards her, you can forgive Chaol too.

Nesta's New Family: 

Hating Nesta for finding a family that understands her more than her biological family is weird. She hasn’t disowned her existing family; she’s added to it.

Valkyries and the Rite: 

Claiming the Valkyries shouldn't have won the Rite because it's unrealistic makes me laugh. THAT is where you draw the line? Really?

Character Behavior vs. Plot: 

SJM writes weird, shitty plots, but that doesn’t excuse the characters’ behavior. Rhys fingering Feyre in a place for SA victims was, yes, a weird plot written by SJM, and it still makes him WEIRD.

Rhys and Hypocrisy: 

If you claim Rhys couldn’t have sa’d Feyre because he was sa’d himself but then say Nesta’s abuse doesn’t excuse her ‘abuse’ towards Feyre, go sit in the corner and think about your hypocrisy.

Rhys in ACOSF: 

“Rhys only looked bad in ACOSF because it was in Nesta’s POV." Rhys looked better in Nesta’s POV than in Cassian’s. He is the problem.

Nesta and responsibility

Nesta did not neglect Feyre. You cannot neglect something that is not your responsibility.

Nesta antis

Nesta antis who bash her and bring her up in any circumstance are weird as hell (especially in vids talking about how ACOSF helped someone’s mental health).

Valkyrie Hate: 

Hating on the Valkyries is weird. Emerie and Gwyn are LITERALLY the least problematic characters in the entire SJM universe. 

If you don’t like Gwyn because you ship Elriel, try respecting women for more than their potential partners. And then going and fucking urself :)

Amren Sucks: 

Amren sucks as a character.

That’s it. That’s the opinion.

If I hear ‘girl’ one more time, I’m burning the book.

Feyre and SA: 

Saying Feyre wasn’t sa’d because it saved her life is WEIRD.

sa is sa regardless of the circumstance. Are we forgetting that Rhys admitted in ACOMAF that he kissed her because he was jealous, and in ACOTAR when he said the only reason he didn’t take advantage of her was so Tamlin wouldn’t kill him?

Minimizing SA so you can love on an attractive man is problematic and gross. Please don’t talk to me if you do that because, EW BRO UR GROSS.

[amaltheas-garden]

people still shocked that in the year of our lord 2024 some of us don't want to see Dany get her 'happy ending' by becoming the white savior who was promised

[angel-maybe-alive]

More things I hate about modern literature because today is a bad day and I need to be a dick online to feel better:

How much sex there is in everything

And again I am not a prude, erotica has existed for decades and it's okay but every popular YA or adventure book nowadays is a bad erotica with some low stakes adventure in the background

And somehow they are able to be both bad porn and bad adventure

And also people will promote those books as " yes the plot kinda sucks but there's good sex scenes"

The word Mary sue

The misuse of the word Mary sue

Any attempt to make a "LOTR inspired" book made by a man

Because usually the things that made LOTR good go just over the authors head and we end with basically a vin diesel movie set in the middle ages

This is not just about modern literature but books about or set in horrible moments for a oppressed minority(like holocaust or slavery) written by people who aren't part of said minority

Coleen hoover

She did for feminist literature what Seth MacFarlane did for adult animation

The harry Potter/Percy Jacksonification of children's literature

The magical choose one trope being taken to a magical world did irremediable damage to children's literature

The mean girl trope

Books set in fictional middle ages but the protagonist go to balls in fashion show modern runaway style dresses

You know the tacky Pinterest glittery showing shoulders back and leg

Those official arts of the same exactly white women and the same white guy in slightly different clothes with the same 2016 style eyebrows and the sharp jawline and the nothing expression

Characters being described as "golden skin" so depending if the author needs some representation points they can be interpreted as people of color but if no one says nothing they stay as just tan white

Comparing dark skin color to any food

How many authors try to make at the same time "this is brainless wish fulfilment fantasy about being desired by a hot dominating guy" and " this is a profound take about the horrors of abuse"

Usually by having the second love interest to abuse the protag

In the end the message that stays is any abuse is forgivable if the abuser is hot enough

The "I'm skinny but not hot super model skinny I am ugly skinny my bones show because of malnourishment"

"yet I don't feel any other effect of starvation like being weak and I can carry five times my body weight in whatever animal the author needs me to hunt in the beginning of the book because making me a farmer wouldn't be cool"

"I am ugly" cried the skinny girl with locks of auburn hair porcelain white skin and eyes of emerald green.

The jk Rowling stupid name school (she named the werewolf Wolfy mcwolf in Latin and people though it was smart now we have a girl who fights on a island named island and the archer who marries a fae named fae archer )

And again faes because fuck faes

[browneyedartist01]

I just saw somebody saying that Tamlin was using Freye as a sex toy.

Tamlin haters are really something else...

[claws-and-all]

Unpopular opinions

Today’s been one of those days where all my least favorite theories regarding Tamlin have been popping up, so I thought I’d share some of my unpopular opinions in case anyone else feels the same.

1. Tamlin should not get his own book

From all the male povs we've seen thus far, it's evident that sjm struggles to write male characters with complex feelings. They tend to lack depth, have the libido of a teenager, and the romance aspect is nonexistent. This coupled with the way she handled Nesta's "healing" journey (a character she supposedly loves) - suffice to say, she will not do justice to Tamlin's journey nor his inner monolog.

On top of that, we don't need a Chaol 2.0 book. The only people I've seen enjoy Chaol's book are the haters who became slightly lenient towards him. I feel like that book was not meant for the fans who actually loved Chaol from the get-go (like me). It was yet another "healing" journey that did not heal him 😒 (it's been 7 years since it's release and I'm still mad at it 🙈).

Also, just like Tam, Chaol is another character that is hated by 90% of the fandom. His book had the worst timing. In-between a high stakes book where you NEEDED to know what happened next and instead, you're forced to read a book that took you completely out of the action. It garnered more negativity towards a character that was already so heavily hated upon. It was such an unfair thing that occurred, and his fans were the ones that had to deal with the backlash of our favorite character being torn apart by the fandom. I truly hope history does not repeat itself with Tamlin. The fandom is waiting for the elriel/elucien confirmation, and I can just see the hate pouring in if it's a book about Tamlin instead. He deserves infinitely better!

2. Tamlin and Lucien should never be friends again

I'm sorry, I know a lot of you love Lucien, I'm rather 50/50 on him. If elucien happens, it will mean Lucien is now a part of the NC family, bil to Rhys, friendly with the ic, uncle to Nyx, already friends with Nesta and Feyre. That's not the kind of energy Tamlin needs in his life nor the constant reminder of everything that he lost (Rhys is doing a fabulous job of that already).

I liked Lucien and Tamlin's relationship in book 1, but I was not a fan of how he kind of abandoned Tamlin for Feyre. It's like he became more her friend than Tams as the series progressed. I think Tamlin deserves a better friend - someone who will have his back and not his partners back. And someone not so heavily intertwined with a court that has caused so much pain to him. I can almost see Lucien slowly trying to convince Tam that the nc guys are actually "the good guys". Who knows, maybe he'll also pull a Feyre and compare Springs food to ash since nothing can come close to precious NC food, you know.

That being said, I have no idea where such friends will come from because every character we've met thus far automatically dislikes Tamlin and are fans of nc guys (still waiting for the explanation as to why Jurian, Vassa, Eris, and even Nuan are Tam haters?? Make it make sense, Sarah!).

Alternatively, I do love angst. I would love a storyline of Tamlin moving on with his life without Lucien. As in his future wife/mate/partner doesn't even know who Lucien is. Whilst Elucien is also thriving in the human lands/NC/DC/AC. Yet the entire time, they both feel like there's a missing piece in their life. They would see each other at HL meetings or balls. Yet they're too stubborn to speak to each other. Until decades later when one of them finally breaks the ice. The yearning and the hurt, love that shit lol

3. Tamlin x Briar?

Let’s keep that in the dark where it belongs. - nuff said!

4. Elain should not even look in the direction of Spring

Just because she likes gardening doesn't mean she should be spring queen 😑 I'm sure she can follow in the footsteps of her sister and brother in law and trespass into Spring if she needs to see flowers in abundance. It is afterall, nc tradition to lecture Tamlin in his own court and kick him in the shins. I really don't want to see her becoming friends with Tamlin, helping him rebuild Spring, making it her second home, etc etc etc. Like the point above, she and Lucien have enough homes to go back to. They don't need an extra one in Spring. And Tamlin doesn't need any more nc "friends".

[romanticatheartt]

To the people who say Feyre is young and was illiterate a few months before she became High Lady:

[gwandas]

One thing about me is that you're not gonna catch me telling people to "get some reading comprehension" or telling people to "go reread the book" because as someone who did read the words on the page and references them quite often, ACOTAR is insanely contradictory and it all depends on what the reader chooses to latch onto.

[autumnshighlady]

SJM unpopular opinion...

Feyre is not only the worst protagonist SJM has written, she's one of THE worst modern day YA female protagonists PERIOD. I'd seriously place her in the top 3.

Everything her fans love about her is how badly she treats people they feel deserve it and her flexing power she did NOTHING to earn, and everything her neutrals/antis love about her happened in book one when she was still terrible even though she was at her best there. Just terrible all around, an idiot (which has nothing to do with her ability to read), bad decisions every single time she was presented with a choice...I literally can think of nothing positive about her that makes people go insane. As a character, she's bad period.

agreed to most of that! i thinks she’s a very mary-sue pick me character. i didn’t mind her at first but once she and rhys’ mating bond was revealed she lost all agency and immediately became less likeable. she’s the kind of character i might have written on wattpad at age 11 bahahah

i understand why people find comfort in her and i totally respect that! im so happy to those who do, she’s just not my cup of tea at all and it really bugs me how she’s done nothing to earn the title of High Lady, meanwhile Viviane is still only the lady of winter / the high lord’s wife. feyre is an awful high lady and that’s not me being sexist — she can barely read, doesn’t really know or understand anything about the cultures, and lives a very sheltered life away from all her citizens. she’s so unsuited for the job and the fact rhys is painted as a feminist king for it while he let’s illyrian females be clipped and women in the CoN sold like cattle makes my blood BROIL

“nEsTa WaS aWfUL tO FeYrE” feyre literally said she was awful to Nesta too…. then she proceeded to pull a tamlin and lock her up “for her own good”

[ofbreathandflame-archive]

“Nesta is so real” for threatening her little sister is a stupid hill to die on

Her little sister who also so happens to be her High Lady. Her little sister who promised that her sisters would not be harmed after demanding they send all of their sentries away. Their little sister who compromised their home and their safety multiple times.

We can't continually uphold the idea that Feyre is a powerful High Lady, and then deny that the power imbalance does not exist between Feyre and her sisters. Feyre and Rhysand, regardless of intention, fundamentally broke their promise to the sisters. They’ve historically not kept the sisters safe. It’s so disingenuous to continually ask the sisters to walk into a situation that they are wary of and then ask your sisters to take that trauma and use it. It’s extra weird to keep making these promises of safety when they cannot follow through. That moment is the only moment Nesta has agency. It’s the only moment where she justifiably tells Feyre to piss off. Feyre got her best friend killed, and she got her entire life completely changed. It’s absolutely valid that Nesta tells Feyre enough.

Feyre is asking her sisters to walk into a situation where (1) at least three of High Lords are hostile, active enemies of the NC (2) to tell their trauma in front of those four more High Lords who potentially want to experiment on them. (3) Feyre literally freezes up when Tamlin says something to her; she can barely even look at him, or even have sex in the same vicinity just knowing he's there. At this point in the story, Nesta is the one who is primarily taking care of Elain, who is catatonic. After Nesta makes the threat, everyone backs down. There asking them to essentially sell their assault story to a group of potentially hostile people after placing them in that situation to begin with. Whether or not you blame Feysand or not...they have not kept their promises and have not kept the sisters safe - which was literally the only stipulation of their help. And Nesta, even in that scene, agrees to help them in every other way but that one. She literally says ill help you with the wall, but she's not going to sell her assault story. How this scene is misinterpreted and compared is so weird IMO.

[1800naveen]

Here's an unpopular opinion. Don't get mad.

The high lord meeting was one of the most dumbest shit I've read.

Almost everybody and their momma were acting immature and bitching about personal drama.

Like, shut your ass up. War is on the horizon and y'all complaining about shit that shouldn't be brought up in the first place.

And enough with the slutshaming because half of the characters got BODIES ON BODIES. No shame in the game. They get down and they don't play.

Tamlin and Beron were out of pocket but they were putting out the info. Mostly Tamlin but yeah.

And why was Azriel getting treated like a dog by Feyre? "Come sit next to me." That's a grown man.

It was entertaining but stupid.

So called high lords but you can't even do a political meeting correctly?

The way Tamlin and Rhysand were acting? The entire inner circle? Fatherless behavior.

[ataraxiasflame]

what was your least favorite part of acosf

Good question, anon! And my answer is probably going to be an unpopular one. There are several scenes that I can point out as contenders for least favorite but there are actually two characters that made ACOSF very difficult for me.

The first was Amren. Amren’s agenda to put Rhysand on the throne despite his insistence that he doesn’t want to conquer Prythian. Amren’s suggestion that Nesta use the mask and the weapons that she made with her power to make Rhys King (when at this point, there was every indication that the mask could kill Nesta). And then when Nesta went down on her knees to beg forgiveness from Amren who had previously called Nesta a pathetic waste of life, I literally threw my book at the wall.

The narrative that Nesta hurt so many (see: Feyre) and needed to earn their forgiveness still pisses me off to this day especially when every single member of the inner circle is still given the luxury to behave in other destructive manners, and none of them are held accountable or had their lives threatened if they didn’t toe the line.

My second issue with ACOSF was Feyre. I don’t tend to discuss it much given that she’s a pretty popular character. Feyre was my least favourite character in the original trilogy, and she remained my least favourite after ACOSF but for different reasons.

I take major issue with the fact that she was handed a (pretty powerful) title which can only be passed on through magic, but that’s something I’d need a whole other post for…in ACOSF, her character did nothing with that power. Yes, the plot was focused on Nesta, but we saw enough of Feyre because of the baby plot, and she was watered down to a pregnant trophy wife who was given a title so that she can feel important. She could have done so much for the females of the Night Court (the Hewn City females; and the Illyrian females which she frequently likes to take the form of so she can fly around and screw Rhys with the wings that they cannot use)…I just feel SJM really took a massive misstep by not making Feyre at least earn the respect of a High Lady with the people of her court through her actions, not because Rhys told them to respect her because they are mates.

Instead, she was decorating mansions and painting portraits. She was being a trophy wife, pregnant or not. And this was further confirmed by the fact that not a single member of her found family (who Feyre places on a pedestal over her own sisters) defended her when the time came.

I can still handle the minor issues I had with Nessian and the so-called ‘intervention and Rehab’ for the sake of the plot but I did not enjoy Amren and Feyre in this book, unfortunately.