Library A ​Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #4)

Read online A ​Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #4).pdf PDF, EPUB, MOBI, TXT, DOC A ​Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #4) I’m on BookTube! =)Read my full and uncut version of this review: here! Or just continue with the short one. ;-)Rhys lifted his head. “This is a bad idea.”Cassian winked. “That should be written on the Night Court crest.”I’m honestly surprised it’s not written there already, because ever since I started to read about the Night Court they made great and horrible decisions. *lol* And yes, hi, it’s me finally writing my review for this book. It only took me a year to get to it, but to be honest the amount of quotes I tabbed in this story were kind of intimidating. Jello and I read this as a buddy read and since it took us an entire year to finish the book it’s okay that it also took me a year to write my review, right? ;-P I promise to improve. Or just not to tab the hell out of my books in future. Haha! Anyway! Let’s talk about “A Court of Silver Flames”!This book wasn’t just different when it came to the title (ACOSF instead of ACOTAR etc.) but also very different in its structure. The focus was clearly on Nesta’s journey and her character/redemption arc but also on the relationships between the characters. Well, and yes, there were a lot of sex scenes. I usually don’t mind them but I think it would have helped the book if Sarah would have focused less on Nesta’s and Cassian’s mind-blowing sexual encounters and more on the storyline instead. The plot really took such a backseat in this story and I don’t know how I feel about it. I mean I was okay with exploring Nesta’s trauma and her redemption arc and with the introduction of so many new characters. It was interesting to see all those various dynamics and how they shaped the people involved but I really missed a stronger focus on the plot and this got even more pronounced near the ending.The ending totally wasn’t my cup of tea. For one thing everything happened way too fast and the revelations were neither surprising nor explored? It’s kind of hard to pinpoint what didn’t work for me but it was just this huge agglomeration of all the plot threads and in the end it was all over and I still craved for more context. I have no idea if that explanation makes any sense but it’s the way I felt and I really hope Sarah J. Maas will get her focus back on the storyline in the next book. For me it felt like she sort of lost her way and once she realized she needed to resolve the plot line as well, she rushed it and everything came together way too conveniently. I think it speaks volumes that everything, literally everything the story worked towards to was solved in the last 50 pages or so. So yeah, the plot felt like an afterthought in ACOSF and I genuinely hope that Sarah will focus more on it in the next book. *fingers crossed* This said let’s go right for my characters section because I have THOUGHTS (as always. *lol*) and I need to get them off my chest. The characters: Welcome to Velaris, the home of the Night Court! We have a lot of amazing sights and places to explore, but we also have lots of spoilers! So if you don’t want to be spoiled you better turn in the other direction and leave our city asap! This is a fair warning and it’s your choice whether you enter or not. As the city’s guard my job here is done. ;-) Nesta:”And the dark eternity around her shuddered. Bucked. Trashed. She laughed as it recoiled. Laughed around the mouthful of raw power she ripped out and swallowed whole; laughed at the fistfuls of eternity she shoved into her heart, her veins.The Cauldron struggled like a bird under a cat’s paw. She refused to relent.” What to say about Nesta? She’s still not my favourite ACOTAR character and probably never will be, but I finally understand where she’s coming from and how she thinks and feels. Sarah did an amazing job with her redemption arc and I think if you still feel bitter towards Nesta after reading this book it might be out of sheer pettiness. It was good to be in her head because it helped to understand her better and even though I still don’t like a lot of the decisions she made I can’t help but respect her. She knows she hurt many people with her behaviour and she really tries to do better which is more than can be said for a lot of other people. Some never realize their failures or just refuse to recognize them, but Nesta? Nesta tackled them head-on and tried to become a better person. It’s never too late to make amends and to try to do better so I admire her for it. Plus her trauma was extremely severe and I genuinely doubt that a lot of people would have been able to deal with a trauma like that. The fact Nesta did and came out of it alive on the other side speaks of her strength and who knows maybe we’ll see more of this strong and stubborn woman in the next books. I really hope so because she’s definitely a person I’d love to be friends with. The way she charmed Eris so much with her dancing he probably would have died of cardiac arrest if the song wouldn’t have ended was amazing and by far one of my favourite dancing scenes in a book ever! It was marvellous! And the fact she and the sentient house bonded over smutty books was more than just relatable. *lol* I kinda love the idea that she might become the leader of the Valkyries in the next books and I’m so ready to see it. Nesta is no longer the victim and she can stand up for herself and her friends now. It was beautiful to see her character growth and even though she isn’t as powerful as she used to be after she saved Feyre and her son, she is still a force to be reckoned with. The mother is on her side too so this is pretty impressive and I’m sure we’ll see more of this in the books to come. =)”Though she had fought back against Tomas, against the Cauldron, against the King of Hybern, they had all happened to her. She had survived, but she had been helpless and afraid.Not today.Today, she would happen to him.””She had been born wrong. Had been born with claws and fangs and had never been able to keep from using them, never been able to quell the part of her that roared at betrayal, that cold hate and love more violently than anyone ever understood. Elain had been the only one who perhaps grasped it, but now her sister loathed her.She didn’t know how to fix it. How to make any of it right. How to stop being this way.”Cassian:”They were wrong.” his eyes glittered fiercely. “What they learned was that we love each other as true brothers. And there was nothing that we wouldn’t do, no one we wouldn’t kill, to reach each other. To save each other. We killed our way across the mountains, and made it through the Breaking – the worst of Ramiel’s three routes to the top – and we won the damn thing.”Ahh Cassian. It was so good to find out more about him and his past and it only made me love him even more. I already loved Cassian in the former books but this time around we got his POV and I was so happy to be able to dive into his mind. He’s really such a beautiful person inside and out and I totally get why Nesta thought that he would be too good for her. He’s such a generous and kind soul and he always tries to make the best decisions for everyone. Plus he’s good at putting himself in the position of someone else and I really loved that about him. While all the others didn’t get Nesta and Lucien and didn’t bother to understand them and their motives, Cassian fought for them and gave them the benefit of the doubt. It was really nice to see him care about Nesta and Lucien and that he acknowledged their pain. That’s more than can be said for all the others. I think if given the time Lucien and he might actually become friends. Also he’s humble and patient! Cassian is so powerful but he never abuses his power and always tries to use it for good instead. I just love this man, okay?! And I was so angry at Eris for making him feel inferior. But at the end when he notices the person Eris truly is he doesn’t make him feel worse, no he tells him that he sees him and hands him an olive branch instead and wow, if that isn’t altruistic and generous then I don’t know. (Yes, he also called him a coward in the same breath but honestly Eris deserved that one.) Cassian is awesome! Period. ”Cassian was good. In his soul, in his warrior’s heart, Cassian was good in a way Nesta knew most people were not. In a way she knew she was not and would never be.He was not a warrior who killed on a whim, but a male who carefully considered every life he had to take. Who’d defend what he loved until death.”The relationships & ships:Nesta & Cassian:”You can keep that sharpness I like so much, that boldness and fearlessness. I don’t want you to ever lose those things, to cage yourself.”“But I still don’t know how to fix myself.”“There’s nothing broken to be fixed,” he said fiercely. “You are helping yourself. Healing the parts of you that hurt too much – and perhaps hurt others, too.”The banter between those two was legit one of the best things about this book. I really liked how they went back and forth and how they were able to hold their ground, but as I already said at the beginning of this review: I think it would have been better if Sarah wouldn’t have focused so much on the sex scenes. I get why she did it, but to be frank, after the 3rd time they said “It’s only sex, no feelings involved.” the reader already got that it’s not just sex and that there are plenty of feelings involved! You didn’t have to add even more “mind-blowing sex scenes” to show this, we already got it after the second time. I mean I’m the last to complain about sex scenes, I love good smut in my books but a couple less steamy scenes and a stronger focus on the plot instead definitely wouldn’t have hurt this book. You feel me? Aside of that I really liked the moments when Nesta and Cassian got closer and opened up to each other. Nesta had a severe trauma from being forced into the Cauldron and becoming fae but Cassian was very patient with her and understood her on a level no one else did. He was nourishing and pushy at the same time. Giving her enough space to grate on him whenever she needed it, but also offering her comfort when she was vulnerable. It was truly beautiful to watch those two find their way together and I think their dynamic was awesome. Nesta had a lot to work through in this book, the grief of losing her humanity and her father, the trauma of being made, the feeling of helplessness, of failing her sisters when they needed her the most, of almost being raped,. It was a whole can of worms to get through and with the help of her friends and Cassian she eventually made it. She’s still far from okay, but she’s on the right way and she can work on getting better now. Did I already mention how much I loved it that Sarah slowly but steadily let Nesta work through her trauma. It was very realistic and I’m glad we got to experience her character growth. And of course Nesta and Cassian are quite the formidable couple. *lol* I can’t wait to see more of them now that they are finally in tune. ;-)”Cassian stood beside her through all of it. Not speaking, not touching. Just there, should she need him. Her friend – whom she’d asked to come her with her not because he was sharing her bed, but because she wanted him here. His steadiness and kindness and understanding.”Elain & Lucien & Az & Gwyn:”Nesta met the shadowsinger’s stare and he gave her a nod. Then his gaze shifted to Elain, and though it was utterly neutral, something charged went through it. Between them. Elain’s breath caught slightly, and she gave him a shallow nod of greeting before brushing past, leading Nesta into the room.”Okay, I’m going to be completely honest here so WHAT THE HELL IS THIS WEIRD LOVE QUADRANGLE?! I don’t get it and I have absolutely no idea where Sarah wants to go with this. Like is there something going on between Az and Elain? In ACOFAS it looked like they were attracted to each other and we got some hints in ACOSF too. (see quote above) But then Gwyn is introduced and there obviously is some chemistry between her and Az too. That quote about him being her new ribbon, her teasing him and him being amused by it. Plus he saved her and is the only man she seems to trust. And let’s not forget about the fact that Elain is actually Lucien’s mate. Uff! So let’s speak some truth here: I would totally board the Gywn/Az ship and I’d ship them both so much you’d never see the end of it. *lol* But that would leave Lucien with Elain and I just CAN’T ship him with her because she’s so damn horrible to him it even hurts Cassian and Az when they see how she treats him. And that says a lot because he isn’t exactly their favourite person either, but at least they seem to have more sympathy for Lucien than Elain ever will. She treats him so badly it always causes me to wince when I read about their interactions. Small as they might be. My Lucien deserves so much better than that and I’ll never ship Elain with Lucien. NEVER! Sarah can try to come up with the most genius character arc for Elain but she won’t be able to save that ship. Period. For a while I actually thought there might be something going on between Lucien and Vassa but as it seems Jurian and Vassa are more likely to end up together? I got the impression Lucien is sort of third-wheeling with those two? I swear if Sarah doesn’t create a worthy love interest for Lucien in her next book I’ll riot! To be honest the only two people I’d ship Lucien with right now are actually Vassa or Az. Yes, you read right. *LOL* I’d ship Lucien with Az because I think they would work well together, but knowing Sarah she won’t go for an m/m couple. Her LGBTQIA+ characters are always side-characters that have a couple of lines. I mean just look at Mor. She made her bi, just to NOT explore her character even more. We’ve known Mor is bi since the third book, but nothing ever happened ever since. No love interest, nothing. Pff... The day has yet to come when Sarah J. Maas actually goes for a queer main character representation in her books. I mean if she doesn’t want to write them, okay, but please don’t lead us on. It’s not fair. Anyway! I really don’t know where Sarah wants to go with this love quadrangle, but I guess we’ll find out one day... ”He and Lucien did not exchange gifts, though the male had brought a gift for Feyre and one for his mate, who barely thanked him after opening the pearl earrings. Cassian’s heart strained at the pain etching deep into Lucien’s face as he tried to hide his disappointment and longing. Elain only shrank further into herself, no trace of that newfound boldness to be seen.”Nesta, Gwyn & Emerie::”I wish for us to have the courage to go out into the world when we are ready, but to always be able to find our way back to each other. No matter what.”The friendship bond between those three was so amazing and I’m very glad we finally have a female counterpart to the Rhys/Cassian/Az trio. It was about time Sarah tackled the topic of a strong crew of girls and I was totally ready to explore their friendship. I’m sure they will bring the Valkyries back to glory and each and every single one of those women is a force to be reckoned with. They are strong and feisty and they will never ever back down again. They all had their own trauma, whether it was Nesta’s Cauldron experience, Emerie’s abuse through her father or Gwyn getting raped after witnessing her sister’s death... I hurt so much with those women, because knowing what they had to go through, what caused them to hide from the world was so heart-breaking and horrible. To see them fight back and make room for themselves, the way they got through their trauma and tackled every challenge head-on, it was truly inspiring and I loved all of them so much. They totally grew on me and them talking about smutty books and men was so much fun. *lol* I really hope Emerie and Gwyn will both find true love one day, because they deserve it and I want nothing but happiness for them. Plus them going through the rite and fighting against all those brutes, actually winning the thing despite all the odds, WOW! Talk about strength! They kicked those men’s butts and I can’t wait to see what they’ll do in the next book. =) They’ve come such a long way and they haven’t reached their limits yet. Also is it just me or did anyone else also catch some queer vibes from Emerie when she spoke about Mor? *lol* Just saying... Anyway! Sarah did well with those three and their character arcs. They fought for their place in the world and I expect great things to happen! There were so many moments I had goose bumps and I’m ready to see them change the world! The Valkyries are back! And they are ready to kick some butts! XD Gwyn whispered, “I am the rock against which the surf crashes.” Nesta straightened at the words, as if they were a prayer and a summons. Gwyn lifted the blade. “Nothing can break me.”Cassian’s throat tightened, and even from across the ring, he could see Nesta’s eyes gleaming with pride and pain. Emerie said, “Nothing can break us.” The world seemed to pause at the words.Conclusion:In some ways “A Court of Silver Flames” was exactly the kind of book I wanted to read, but in other respects it wasn’t. I’m having a hard time to rate this book because there were so many things I loved and enjoyed to read about like for instance Nesta’s character arc, the strong friendships and family bonds, the character growth of Gwyn and Emerie, the Valkyries etc. There were so many good things in this story, but unfortunately there also were some things and situations that didn’t sit well with me. Some character developments are getting more and more detrimental the longer the series continues and sometimes I just can’t help but wonder if the author is aware of what she’s doing to our beloved characters. The fact the plot was as thin as paper and didn’t add a lot to the overall storyline was clearly something I didn’t like as well so I’m feeling a little bit conflicted about how to rate this. I think at the end of the day the good outweighed the bad and I’ll go for 3,5 stars rounded up to 4. I just hope Maas will be able to turn the tide with book five and will focus a little more on the plot again. All told I still enjoyed “A Court of Silver Flames” and I’m ready for the next book. Fingers crossed it will be a good one. by Sarah J. Maas