A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas Series: ACOTAR #4
Published by Bloomsbury Genres: Fantasy
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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Sarah J. Maas's sexy, richly imagined series continues with the journey of Feyre's fiery sister, Nesta.
Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she's struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can't seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.
The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre's Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta's orbit. But her temper isn't the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.
Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.
Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other's arms.
+1
I doubt my rating here is a surprise to anyone. A large population of the book world love Maas and her writing, especially when it comes to this particular series. That said, this rating is not based purely on that fact. No this book earned it purely on its own merit and on the changes A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES makes to the series and the lore.
Had I read this book before I written my reviews of the rest of this series I think my ratings would be much different. Not of this one, but of them. This book is the new standard for this series to be judged on. Where once A COURT OF MISTS AND FURY firmly held the top spot, A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES has easily usurped it for me. It moved the goal post on what this series could be. That’s why I’m giving this book a five nuts plus 1 rating instead of the regular 5 that ACOMAF did. Let me explain.
A COURT OF MISTS AND FURY was a sort of turning point book in the series. It took a lot of what we knew and expected from A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES, turned it on its head, and gleefully ran off with it like an annoying little brother. Like ACOMAF before it, A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES takes something you know, in this case our feelings and opinions of Nesta, turns them upside down, and yanks them away leaving strange new ones in their place.
Not only that but SILVER FLAMES ups the ante and the stakes tenfold in just about every way. You thought the King of Hybern was bad? Let’s raise you a death god. The cauldron? Who needs that, we’ve got the Dread Trove. And if you thought fully powered Feyre was someone on whose bad side you really didn’t want to cross? How about Nesta with the powers of a vengeful goddess and death at her fingertips. And it wasn’t only the story that got a shot in the arm.
When Sarah made the jump from the sort of YA/NA cusp from the earlier books to the pretty solid Adult aged ACOSF it wasn’t just the page count and the intensity of the plot that got enhanced. When people talk about ACOSF what you probably hear about most is the romance. The smut. The steeeeam. If you thought ACOMAF or ACOWAR were steamy, smutty goodness then ACOSF will knock your socks off. Or maybe your panties.
I absolutely love how Nesta changed throughout this book. Or more accurately how our perceptions of her change without the Feyre lens.
RANT AHEAD
This is probably the biggest argument I get into about this book. The differences between the Feyre Lens and the Nesta Lens. Many people feel like some of the characters in this book don’t match their personalities in the earlier books. I beg to differ. Rhys is probably the one I hear the most, followed by Feyre.
So I’m going to ask you to do something. I want you to think about someone you love and how you perceive them. Now think of a stranger. Then think of your boss. Now think of someone close to your sibling that you might not really like. You see how your perceptions of those change? Now imagine you’re one of those people. Imagine how they perceive the rest of the people you’ve thought of. It’s going to be much different. Nesta is going to perceive everything Rhys does different from how Feyre does, and because this book is from her POV instead of Feyre’s that’s how he’s going to come off. Rhys isn’t different, the narrator’s perspective of him is.
END RANT
I hope this is a sign of things to come for Maas’ books. This book really took the series in a different direction and I’m excited to see that continue rather than going back to what we’ve already known and seen.
Stina Neilson narrates this book and she is absolutely fantastic. A bit strange jumping from the old narrator to her at first but once I got adjusted to her style I was happy as a clam. Later on I have excited to discover she also reads the audiobooks for Jennifer L Armentrout’s BLOOD AND ASH series.
So since this book seems to bring out all sorts of feelings and opinions, I would love to know what yours are! Leave them in the comments below.
From my shelf to yours,
Erin
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