If you missed my last article on A Court of Frost and Starlight, you can find it here.
I am so sad that I am at the end of the series. Well, at least for now. Leslie and I have been speculating about the next book but more on that later. For now, let’s focus on A Court of Silver Flames. I said in my last article that the series is “like a good chili. The heat builds,” and I couldn’t have been more right. The spice level in this book is so hot. I loved it.
In ACOSF, it is months after ACOFAS and is from Nesta and Cassian’s POV. The switch in POV isn’t abrupt or especially noted by, say, switching chapters and naming it by Cassian or Nesta’s names to signify who we are reading. It is both less jarring and sometimes a little confusing. I ended up needing to reread spots to make sure I understood if I was with Cassian or Nesta because the switch was seamless. Not a bad skill to have. I am impressed with it.
As I said, ACOSF is months after ACOFAS, and Nesta is still behaving like a first-class bitch. She drinks like a fish (how did that saying ever become a thing?), screws her way through the bars, and puts everything on the Night Court’s tab. She doesn’t contribute to the court in a way and has alienated all of them, including her mate, Cassian. After about a year and a half since the war, this is all she is doing. Even Elain, who is soft and gentle, is unhappy with Nesta, which is saying a lot. Feyra and the others of the inner circle have drawn a line in the sand. Nesta will train with Cassian in the morning and work in the library with Clotho and the priestesses in the afternoon. She will live in the House of Wind and not get any wine. Nesta is, of course, outraged and tries to refuse. She was told that if she refused, she would be dropped off at the edge of the human lands and left to figure it out herself. If she went to do the training but refused actually to do anything, the same fate would befall her.
Nesta chose the training but stubbornly refused to train at the Illyrian camp. When brought to the top of the House of Wind, she was more receptive. Working in the library is something she does without trouble. Given her love of reading, it makes sense. Cassian is not only in charge of training Nesta, but he must also help deal with the threat of Briallyn, the human queen that went into the cauldron after Nesta and was taken from a young, lovely mortal and made her into an immortal crone. Briallyn is PISSED. Nevertheless, she is teaming up with Beron, High Lord of the Autumn Court, and Koschei, the Weaver and Bone Carver’s brother, who is also a death god, and they want to destroy the borders and rewrite the map. Briallyn wants not only that but for Nesta to suffer and give her her youth back before she kills her.
We get to see what drives Nesta, but god, she is a bitch. The House, however, takes to her. The House listens to Nesta and offers help, caring, and does not judge, which gives Nesta a sanctuary of sorts. Even as Nesta takes steps forward but falls back hard, I had a hard time not hating her. I could understand, but I wanted to strangle her.
I am thankful that even though this book is about Nesta and Cassian, we see what is happening with Feyra and Rhys. They are going to have a baby! I was excited to learn it. Mor was largely gone from this book, which is probably for the best, as Eris was around Cassian and Nesta quite a bit. Azriel was there but not a big player, and the same could be said of Amren. Elain was, again, mainly absent.
Ms. Maas writes the trauma Nesta experiences surprisingly well. As someone with PTSD, I found the emotional extremes to be on point, as well as the fire trigger, equally well written. I can say I am torn on how Briallyn’s threat was handled at the end. The power it took was awesome, but once that faded, all I could think was, “Now what?”. Not all of the threat was dealt with, which gives us something to look forward to in the next book. Leslie and I have been speculating on who the next book would deal with. Before I read this book, I was saying Elain because it made sense, but now… I mean, Elain has always been much more of a background character, anyway. We are introduced to Gwyn and Emerie in A Court of Silver Flame. It occurred to me it could be Mor, Emerie, or Gwyn too. Somehow though, it will have to do with Azriel, too, I think. Which kind of cuts out Mor, doesn’t it? I desperately want Azriel happy, though.
I am absolutely in love with this series. I am so glad I read it. I stand by my chili statement. The spice in this last one is nice and hot. Yummy! I am happy that even though this book centers around Nesta and Cassian, we know what is going on with Feyra and Rhys. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss that. I missed knowing exactly what Feyra is thinking, and I wish I could have learned from Rhys’s point of view, what he was going through, but we can’t have everything we want, can we? In the end, I sympathize with Nesta and even like her. I fell in love with Gwyn and Emerie too.
What are your thoughts? Who do you think the next book is going to center around? Why do you believe that? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
