Spoiler-Free blog for Book 4, but contains spoilers for books 1-3.
Check out my other reviews in this series:
- Book 1: A Court of Thorns and Roses
- Book 2: A Court of Mist and Fury
- Book 3: A Court of War and Ruin
Other Sarah J. Maas:
If you notice the novella, A Court of Frost and Starlight, missing from this list, it’s because I didn’t read it, and also didn’t feel the need to.
Alright, folks – here’s the deal. I loved this book, but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Let’s discuss.
What is book 4 about?
Book four is a standalone about Nesta Archeron, Feyre’s older sister, which takes place after the events of A Court of Wings and Ruin.
Nesta, who is deeply traumatized from the war and failing to adjust to her new life as a High Fae, has been wiling away her time partying. She drinks, dances, and brings home a myriad of lovers to keep her dark thoughts at bay. She’s as harsh as ever, pushing away those who love her most.
The Night Court decides to give Nesta an ultimatum – she can participate in their recovery program or she can return to the human realm. She accepts with what little dignity she has left, and moves to the House of Wind, where she will train daily with Cassian in the mornings and work in the library in the afternoons.
Meanwhile, a potential new war is brewing on the horizon. With Nesta’s power unchecked and dangerous, she finds herself at the center of a dangerous plot.
In this novel, Nesta undergoes a journey of recovery as she grapples with mental illness, trauma, addiction, and interpersonal turmoil.
This is my second favorite book in this series.
ACOSF was a journey. At times, I found it inspiring, exciting, heartwarming, wholesome, and just fun (not to mention spicy, but I digress). Maas really wove an interesting plot, continued the excellent worldbuilding, and gave us some wonderful new characters.
I was rooting for Nesta and she did not disappoint. Her character arc was realistic – her growth wasn’t a perfect straight line, but was nuanced and riddled with regressions alongside the progress.
The last 100 pages were my favorite; everything escalated to a satisfying and exciting culmination that tested everything Nesta learned.
Based on the other books, I knew going in that the writing style itself would be a little repetitive and wordy, and it was. I think I read the word “guttered” or someone “arching a brow” a least once a chapter. But, this book reminded me that writing style is not always the most important part of storytelling when plot, worldbuilding, and character development are strong.
I did find Rhys’s character disappointing in this book. It just didn’t ring true for him. It wasn’t believable, and it felt like his choices here mainly served as convenient plot points, which is unfortunate because it ultimately painted him in a worse light.
But anyway – I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sign me up for Valkyrie training.
Should you read it?
Yes. But please note, this is the spiciest book to date. It’s not full erotica, but it comes close. If open-door sex scenes are not your thing and you’re not willing to just skip over them (which, if you do for this book, you won’t miss anything plot-wise), this may not be for you.
Now, onto the next snag. It’s no secret that Nesta is not a favored character among many ACOTAR readers. If you’d like to read a spoiler discussion blog on this topic, click here.
Check out some of my other recent blogs:
2 responses to “A Court of Silver Flames (Book 4): A new favorite”
Love your review, it gives me enough insight without knowing the story & it helps me to really decide if I want to “dive” into the series. Good job! Can’t wait to read more of your reviews.
Let me know if you read it!