A Court of Silver Flames

Out of all the books so far… the love… the adventure… the bonds.. the build up…this is by far the best thing I have read and I can’t wait for more.

My favorite one of the series.The heart of this book lies in Nesta’s journey. Emotionally raw and complex, Nesta is not an easy character to love — and that’s the point. She is portraying her grief, rage, self-loathing, and struggle with PTSD. Her transformation is not linear or neat, but it is honest, and that makes it resonate.Cassian, serves as the perfect foil to Nesta — passionate, loyal, and equally broken in his own way. Their enemies-to-lovers romance is steamy, slow-burning, and packed with intensity.

Absolutely loved reading Nesta's story and seeing her grow. Looking forward to the story continuing!

Im so sad its over!! This was an amazing series!!!! Every book was so well written!!!! I don’t usually read fantasy, I’m so glad my friend pushed me to read these books!!

Holy cow, I love this author and the series. This book gets you hot 🔥 for sure

I loved it! I totally understand the 4 book was a kinda of bridge into everyone’s story, and this is the fruit crossing and absolutely can’t wait for the next one!

Another amazing book from Sarah J. Maas, it definitely made up for book 4. It took me 2 weeks to read the last bit, 5%; because I didn't want it to end. I so enjoyed this series, with a happy ending. I look forward to reading more of her books. It amazes me how writers, Sarah J. Maas come up with these intricate stories and characters. I highly recommend the book, the whole series, even if you are much older than the usual group that books like these are intended for.

This book was the best. It’s all the spice but I thought I was going to get with the first few books in the series. Thank you for releasing this one and opening up all the spices. Please tell me there is another book coming soon. 10 out of 10 recommend

This one was hard to dig into because Nesta was my least favorite character in the series. However, that was what made her transformation throughout this book so memorable. This one was probably my favorite— other than book 2. If you feel like putting it down— keep GOING! It’s spicy, filled with feminine heroism, and sets the ending right where it needed to land.

This was a really great book in the series. I didn’t think I would enjoy jumping over to Nesta’s story but it was strong and held great character development. I really enjoyed this book and I want to learn even more about this world.

Absolutely perfect conclusion to the series. Love that we are given more of Nesta and Cassian’s story. I love the found family that Nesta finds and that she has a redemption arc.Cassian is by far my favorite Bat Boy.As long as it is, I truly did not want it to end.Definitely hope we get another one!

I loved these books, and now some how I will need to carry on. I understand book four and its process of Turing the story over to Cassian and Nesta, but it felt like a Christmas special with snoopy and the Charlie brown gang. Book five again lifted me back to the best imaginable place and I would recommend these book to all who enjoy an exciting and unmistakable read. I really am sad they are over. I felt like family, lover and a fighter!Thank you

Wow, I absolutely loved the book, the storyline, and Nesta’s character development. I can’t forget Cassian and his unwavering determination, devotion, and ROMANCE!!! Bravo, Cassian! You’ve made my poor husband listen to me read your romance out loud to him because it was top-notch. 🥵🥵🥵 It a good teaching lesson. Hehehe 🤭This book was incredibly healing! The level of common ground with Nesta and her trauma is unreal! The friendship and family that was built… ugh! My dam heart! 😭😭😭😭I will be slowly dying of a broken heart that there isn’t another YET (**cough, cough*** SJM get the hell on it already, cauldron save us it’s been years) 🤣So farewell Acotar lovers, I am forever a super fan and now I’m off my wreck my soul with a first time read of SJM’s Throne of Glass seriesTataaaa 👋🏽

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Since I'm new to writing Amazon reviews, I didn’t think to record a video of the book when it first arrived. Just to note: it arrived in pristine condition! Now, after devouring it, my copy looks worn and well-loved — which is honestly the best sign of a good book. In the video I’m attaching, you'll notice all the turned-down page corners. Each one marks either an important plot point or a piece of writing that really resonated with me. Good books have lots of folded corners like this one!As for the story itself: I found the plot incredibly intriguing. Nesta’s journey — being made immortal against her will and taking power from the Cauldron — was absolutely gripping. It was so interesting to explore what her powers might become, especially when compared to Amren and Amren’s deep mythology.This book is often described as “spicy," meaning it has romance and intimacy woven throughout. And while there is definitely a lot of it, the spice had real purpose. It was an important part of watching Nesta’s growth — seeing her learn to trust and open herself little by little. It didn’t feel gratuitous; it added emotional depth.One of my favorite parts was how all the threads of Nesta’s past, the Trove, and her struggle with herself tied together into a powerful and satisfying conclusion.I absolutely loved it and can't wait to see where the series goes next!

Sarah J. Maas, if you read this, please don't feel rushed because I want your best work, but I love your writing, and I need more of it in my life! I can't believe it took me this long to pick up the first ACOTAR book, but now that I know how much I love the fae courts and how my mind lives there (the Night Court/Verlaris is my home away from home), I don't know how I will make it through waiting for the next installment. I thought I loved Feyre and Rhys, but you showed me my heart could open so much more for Nesta and Cassian. I see so much of myself in Nesta, and it broke my heart to see her push love away. I can't wait to see these characters again; I hope Az gets his chance at love soon? Mor needs a beautiful mate as well. Possibly Emerie? Same sex mates should exist. I deem it so. LolAll of this to say: you won me over as a reader, and I will be reading the Throne of Glass series next as you hopefully work on more ACOTAR books.

Honestly, I was really torn when recommended to read this series. I had seen it all over social media and in my experience these types of serious can be overhyped. However, what I can say is, I’ve read this as an audiobook and immediately after finishing this last book, I purchased the entire series to place upon my bookshelf. I only do this when a series is one that I would recommend to another person to read. This series had everything from plot twist to spice to character development and a fantastic storyline. It is what I crave in a fantasy/romance series. One of my top reads for 2024.

There are two things that Sarah J Maas truly excels at writing in my opinion. (Okay, she's pretty stinking good at more than just these two things, but for me these are unique abilities that not all authors are good at.) One of those is characters that have suffered and have to work to overcome trauma to reach their peak potential, and the other is romantic relationships that transition from one character to another more fitting character. A Court of Silver Flames only had one of these so don't go freaking out on me at the mention of a relationship transition.When we start A Court of Silver Flames, Nesta is in quite a bad mental space. She's suffering from PTSD over the war with Hybern, her transition from human to high fae, her being thrown into the cauldron against her will, having new unknown powers, and guilt over her father's death as well as the deaths of the Illyrian warriors she didn't save in order to save Cassian. That's a lot of weight on one's shoulders. And a lot of mental things to work through. Feyre and Rhys cut off her cash flow and give her an ultimatum: train with Cassian and work in the library under the House of Wind or be dumped in the human world where she will never be accepted or find peace. She really has no choice. Reluctantly she begins training and finds that doing so helps her.When I truly sit down to list out the changes that occur in Nesta over the course of this book, I'm blown away at all Sarah J Maas worked in and accomplished. She learns about balance, breathing, mind stilling and meditation. She pushes her body and builds strength. She finds friends and sees that others could benefit from the same training that she's doing to overcome their own trauma. She helps others. She finds purpose and her determination goes beyond what anyone would expect. And really this is only scratching the surface.Cassian is truly the perfect match for Nesta. His character balances her so much. He's cocky and arrogant at times, but he has reason to be since he can mostly back it up with action. He pushes Nesta to grow outside of her comfort zone. He never judges her even during the times when she makes him angry. He keeps offering his hand to help lift her up. He is the only one I believe truly capable of reaching her in this deep pit that she's in. Yet even though he helps her out a ton, the work has to be hers. She's responsible fo her emotions and her recovery from her trauma. His patience with Nesta rivals Rhys's, which makes their story beautiful.I will say that the graphic content seemed to be taken up a notch in A Court of Silver Flames. There for a while, it felt like there was some very descriptive sexual scene every time you turn around. I have more to say about the nature of the content, but I think that gets into too personal territory here for this family-friendly blog. I do think in some ways this was done to show a contrast between where the characters are in their relationship during the earlier parts of the book versus as the storyline moves along how things change between them. Plus it seems to fit the characters' personalities. But for me, it was a bit much.I didn't highlight much, only two times really. But I'll only share one of them with you.-“That’s the key, isn’t it? To know the darkness will always remain, but how you choose to face it, handle it… that’s the important part. To not let it consume. To focus upon the good, the things that fill you with wonder.” She gestured to the stars zooming past. “The struggle with that darkness is worth it, just to see such things.”So, so much happens in A Court of Silver Flames. The big bad hasn't been defeated, but I feel like Nesta and Cassian moved forward enough as characters that another major book from their POVs isn't necessary. I imagine we will be swapping main characters for the next book. I'm personally hoping for Az. This book was so complex that Sarah J Maas is truly a master of weaving it all together. I can't wait to move forward with any other future books. A Court of Silver Flames gets 4.5 Stars from me. (I deducted .5 Stars due to the graphic content.) Have you read A Court of Silver Flames? What did you think? Let me know!

This was ... I am honestly a bit confused over how I feel about it. I loved it at the same time as I hated it, which in turn kind of made me hate that I loved it. I don’t even know how to explain it without making this whole review confusing, but here’s for trying.Let’s start with the plot. I really loved the idea of a redemption plot for Nesta, especially since I did not like her one bit in previous books. I thought it would be interesting to see how it would turn out with such a hateful character and to be honest I was concerned that the turn around for Nesta would become forced or unrealistic considering her less than ideal behaviors. To this book’s credit though it was handled exceptionally well. It wasn’t rushed and had struggles and setbacks in between which made her redemption journey flow naturally and gave a complex development of her character. I am actually kind of amazed how well it was done since I went from hating her to liking her and relate to her pain. This along with her relationship with Cassian was what I loved about this book.With Nesta the way she was, especially in the beginning, and the way she left Cassian in the previous book it was a great formula for a dramatic romance. Just like her redemption there were struggles and a complex development in their romance which kept me glued to the story or the most part. I only wished it had focused a bit more on the emotional bond and a little less on the sexual one. That became a bit overkill at some point, but other than that I really liked their interactions, fights and drama, until I started reaching the end of the story at least.This is the part of the plot where the issues started for me, or actually even before that. Because while Nesta’s redemption was the main plot there were so much else thrown in there that it muddied down what the story really was about and made it tie together so poorly in my opinion. It was trying to be too much at once with the whole Feyre and Rhys shock twist, finding the Troves, the conflict of other courts and then even later on the Blood Rite and Nesta’s sacrifice. It all just came out forced and, I’m sorry to say, ridiculously unrealistic with an ending so rushed and unsatisfying just so everything could get solved and concluded.While I always like seeing previous main character in a spin off, the whole added plot twist with Fayre and Rhys and how much room it took was so unnecessary. They got their HEA already and this book ruined that. Yes, it worked out in the end but I did not like how it worked out one bit. It was just so so ridiculous and forced with magic just solving everything without rhyme or reason or even that much of a sacrifice. And the whole changing the body anatomy just like that ... just no. Sadly that was not even the worst part. Everything Tamlin did and was despised for and belittled over, Rhys did himself to Feyre and no one acknowledged it or even drew any connection to Tamlin over it. At least Tamlin had the decency to feel guilt over it and yet somehow he still was the bad guy while Rhys was this amazing and feminist High Lord still.To be frank though Fayre and the others in the hero group wasn’t much better when it came to their treatment towards Nesta. In the disguise of helping her they basically slut shamed her, forced her to work and fight as well as inprisoned her. They withheld information and talked about her behind her back and yet all the fault and responsibility to fix things was always on Nesta. I get that she wasn’t innocent in all of this but they also had a lot to atone and apologize for towards Nesta, including Cassian. It was so infuriating and unsatisfying that it never happened and yet again was never acknowledged that there were any wrongdoing on their part. The characters that I loved so much in pervious books somehow became so ...I don’t even know the words. Basically they became a much worse version of Tamlin.The saddest part was that this could have so easily been avoided had the story only been focused on Nesta, Cassian and possibly the conflict with the human queen (minus the evil villain monologue she gave). Even the blood Rite felt so unnecessary especially since that also became super unrealistic. You mean to tell me that those three, who had only been training to fight a year (if that) not only could hold their own in battle but also kill the Illyrians who had been trained their entire immortal lives and win the whole thing that only a handful before had managed to do. I mean, I get what the author tried to do with the whole girl power Valkyrie thing, but the odds were so stacked against them that it just made the Illyrians seem super weak and the whole Blood Rite seem like child’s play for them to be able to win. Even worse was that this interrupted what could have been a dramatic and great resolution for Nesta and Cassian especially after what he said to her, but because of the Blood Rite and every other plot twist thrown in, this was skipped co...

I have read every single book SJM has ever released, and even read the bit of the Starkillers Cycle that she published. I had my mom buy the first TOG book when it had just released and I was 15 or 16. So when I say I am a fan, I mean it. I have defended Sarah J. Maas, through rough Tumblr years, and indignantly scrolled through Goodreads, annoyed that the people who disliked her just wouldn't leave the fans alone.That said, I'm not blind to some of the weaknesses I've read. Some of her books are better than others, and the representation has been missing, lacking, or seemingly shoehorned in, at times. But, I would say, she is improving, at least. Which makes this review a bit difficult for me to write. There are three categories that stuck out to me as bothersome: the themes, characterization, and the pacing. (Spoilers below).1) The ThemesIn this book, Nesta Archeron has to atone for the horrible things she has said and done, while overcoming the bad things said and done to her. All this, while facing an external threat from the eastern continent. At least, that's what the audience is told. I wish this had been how the book played out. But, what I thought was something done in her books once, was not an anomaly. Something reared its head again as an unwelcome pattern: retconning, and this time, to the story's detriment. Instead of Nesta having done bad things or been a bad person, she'd merely been misunderstood. So many of Maas' characters aren't truly bad, but *misunderstood*. This works once or twice, but in Nesta's book, this shouldn't have been in here, because it works against the book's favor, badly. Why?Because even if Nesta Archeron herself was never actually bad, then what hope do the audience have of connecting with Maas' characters? Everyone has done and said things they regretted. In reality, most people probably could have related to Nesta's flaws more than Feyre's. Nesta was a pride-filled coward, which she knew and understood, making her hate herself, and then that hate spools from her to the people around her. She was too much of a coward to keep the family alive and hunt, as Feyre had done, too much of a coward to save her sister from Tamlin, too much of a coward to step in on behalf of her father. Again and again and again. But Feyre? She was never a coward, and she found love and acceptance much easier than Nesta ever did; in a way, Nesta's dislike and envy of Feyre are understandable (though hopefully not relatable). Feyre is the perfect, adored sister, and Nesta is the sullen child nobody notices, or outright dislikes. Nesta is Feyre's dark mirror; every choice Nesta chose not to make (overcoming anger, willing herself into action to help the family survive), Feyre chose the opposite and became what Nesta could have become, had Nesta made different choices. And Nesta's words and actions could then be interpreted as a guard against this because she understands and welcomes their dislike of her.Nesta is proud, and controlling. If she only shows people the parts of her that she doesn't really see as herself, then she never runs the risk of being hurt. And, as many people know well the feeling, sometimes families can typecast a person for something that would otherwise be a phase, so even when a person tries to grow out of it, their families only ever see them as the person they were, instead of the person they are trying to become. This is inferred through the third person, though as much of this book deals with internal conflict, I kept wondering why it wasn't in the first person. Especially since much of the story has to deal with Nesta overcoming much of her thought processes and feelings. And Nesta's feelings towards Feyre came across as ill-defined and inexplicable. That theme of jealousy was hinted at here and there, but never fully explored, or realized for what it was (self-hatred). Again, so much of this book would have made a thousand times more sense if done in the first person.Keeping in mind all these flaws, its important to note that most of Nesta's flaws are rationalized away. This is a pity, as this could have been distinguished as a story of redemption, as opposed to a story very similar to Feyre's in dealing with PTSD. One of the big things with redemption, and this is VERY important to understand, not only about characters, but people at large; people WANT to have consequences for awful actions. There's a scene in Breaking Bad where Aaron Paul's character goes to group therapy and tells everyone that he killed a dog for no reason. The therapist tells him that its okay, to accept it, and move on. Forgive. But Paul's character is enraged at this; he wants there to be consequences and he wants people to be disgusted by his actions. This is because, even when people stray from their morals, they want that moral compass to remain, because without it, there's nothing to pull them back. There is no reason to try in society, if there is no guiding principles to work towards...

This book was solidly good and yet something was wrong the entire time I was reading it that I couldn’t place my finger on until the end. And it’s this unfortunate conclusion that I came to:This book was a slightly inferior version of a story that SJM has already told.Spoilers ahead.While several of the ACOTAR fan pages I follow had people ranting for months about how much they hate Nesta and how much they didn’t care about a book featuring Nesta I had 0 problems with this being a Nesta story. For one, we left Rhys and Feyre in a good place at the end of ACOWAR and the novella. We don’t need another Rhys and Feyre book, as much as we truly love them. So that makes what SJM stirred up with them in this book incredibly frustrating. More on that later. I was genuinely happy to have a spin-off book because SJM wrote such incredible supporting characters in the ACOTAR series that -any- of them could have their own book. That is profoundly hard to do and I have only respect for her accomplishing that. And Nesta was an obvious choice to go with in this spin-off series for all the reasons that so many fans were irked to see her chosen. She’s flawed, her personality is prickly and she often seems to be a direct contrast to Feyre, who was so easy to root for. And yet...And yet I’d make the case that, by the end of ACOSF Nesta isn’t that different from Feyre and it’s because SJM followed the same formula for writing Nesta’s story that she did for writing Feyre’s. While Feyre is an unsung hero before Tamlin finds her in ACOTAR- saving her family from starvation and protecting them even as no one is protecting her- the way we find her at the open of ACOMAF is the same way we find Nesta at the start of ACOSF. They both hate themselves and are trying to punish themselves for the things they can’t live with. And while it’s safe to say most of us were shocked by the mate twist in ACOMAF it was no surprise in ACOSF - even to Cassian and Nesta themselves- even though we spend all of ACOSF dancing around what we all know is ultimately the inevitable. Cassian helps Nesta build back her strength- literally and figuratively- all the while he knows Nesta is his mate but he doesn’t want to scare her off with the news of it... sort of like Rhys, but in a less well-executed way if I’m being honest about the way it was written. In the end it’s no surprise to Nesta, who seems to already know they were mates. The thing we were building up to for the entire book sort of deflates with this realization once we get there. It wasn’t awful. Again, if I hadn’t read Rhys and Feyre’s story before this one I’d say it was really good. But we’ve been here. We’ve done this.Aside from the fact that this is not new stuff, Cassian fell flat for me and I honestly expected better from him as a character. While Nesta grows and evolves- learning from her mistakes, her flaws, the way she’s hurt people- Cassian does some things that left a nasty taste in my mouth. For one, Nesta is his mate, but he seems most naturally himself around Feyre. For as little as they interact in this book the relationship he and Feyre have seems incredibly more pleasant and loving than any scene we are tossed between Nesta and Cassian. I’d argue that in several scenes he’s more protective of Feyre than Nesta. Maybe Rhys’s character set the bar too high for my expectations of a mated male, but I also can’t go over this idea that after Nesta and Cassian have their moment of soul-binding he goes off for a week and leaves her. Huh? I thought it was so intense that mated males couldn’t stand someone even looking at their mate sideways, and yet Cassian leaves Nesta for a week?! Either he’s a crappier character than I thought or the writing went off the rails here. Quite frankly, the explanation he gives for this behavior later is incredibly weak and doesn’t fit with what it seemed like we were taught to expect from a “mated male”. And again, there’s just this overall sense that Cassian is a watered-down and less well-executed Rhys formula- the wise male who is incredibly strong, good looking, heroic and yet also selfless person... except that Cass does have moments where he’s just not as great as Rhys was at this.Maybe I’m reading them wrong. Maybe the point of the book is that Cass and Nesta are imperfectly perfect mates who make more mistakes together and come back together again because they are such a great fit. It seems like there has to be a reason this story was written this way, so let’s go with that because I don’t have any other theories.I cannot leave this review without mentioning that we did -not- need the Feyre and Rhysand drama. This story stood on its own without bringing them into it with that. We only got one really incredible scene from this side plot (Nesta revealing the heartbreaking secret to Feyre was truly well-written), and in the meantime, as much as Rhys and Feyre continue to beautifully dominate every single scene they’re...