A Court of Silver Flames

[A quick note: I got the Barnes & Noble version of ACOSF because I wanted the bonus chapter with Feyre/Rhysand. I read the ACOTAR series last year over the summer, so the story was pretty fresh, and I didn’t have to wait toooooo long for this next book. It was so fun getting to be a part of the hype this time around, now that I’ve read the series.]

“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.”

When Nesta was forced into the Cauldren, she took something in return, a dark power. It magnified all of the darkness already lurking in her soul. She’s quick to anger, slow to forgive, and far too proud. Moreover, she’s haunted by the war with Hybern. Cassian is the spark that ignites her temper, which only gets worse when they are forced into close quarters with each other. Nesta must face her past if she is to help the Night Court face new impending danger from the treacherous human queens.

There was so much I adored about this book. The spice levels, Nesta’s journey, her new friendships, warrior training, the House, revisiting all my favorite characters in the Night Court. I couldn’t put this one down. Nesta was never a character I cared for in the previous books, but I had no idea she would turn out to be such a warrior goddess badass!! ACOSF is different, but still excellent. It’s a story of mental health and healing, making it highly character driven. The plot lurks in the background this time, but it weaves nicely with Nesta’s journey. Nesta herself is NOT a damsel in distress. This story doesn’t fall into the male-savior stereotype. Thank the gods for that!

I just cannot get over all the small touches SJM added into Nesta’s journey. All the parallels. All the places Nesta was able to grow and change. It was beautifully written. I laughed, snickered, blushed, cried. It made me feel SO MUCH emotion! Even two days after finishing it, I cannot stop thinking about the story. And I miss it. I miss it like I miss good friends or beautiful places.

The spice level was one of my favorite aspects, and part of why I love the ACOTAR series so much. I love romance in a fantasy story and good lord, this book had me blushing! It was definitely SJM’s dirtiest book yet, and I was so happy about that. My naughty heart delighted in all the moments shared between Nesta and Cassian. I appreciated how seamlessly their naughty moments were woven into the growth of the story and Nesta’s journey. Each moment evolved from the last, pushing her closer to her breakthrough.

“𝐒𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟. 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐇𝐚𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟, 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐨𝐨.”

Nesta had an incredible journey. She went from one extreme to the other. In terms of character arc and internal conflict, hers was WOW!! Nesta is a character that benefits from tough love. That’s exactly what she received. The Night Court gave her time alone to heal, and when it became apparent that she was not even trying, they stepped in. They imposed a set of rules, and Nesta was forced to confront her demons. The Night Court was a bit harsh at times, but deservedly so, because Nesta could say some really mean things sometimes. All in all, I felt like I was traveling this journey with her. Each struggle, each small triumph, I was cheering her on. It was so satisfying.

The plot was in the background. Nesta’s power from the cauldren made her ideal in helping the Night Court with its new threat. This gave her something to do in the time she wasn’t training or working in the library beneath the House of Wind. And can we just talk about the House for a moment? It was such a GREAT addition. A place for Nesta to make her home. And her new friends! She was able to find a couple of women who also had their own struggles. They were able to heal together. Looooved that!

And finally, let’s talk about Cassian. We got to see some of the story from his POV. I appreciated that. I liked seeing his constant patience. He knew exactly how to act around Nesta. Yes, he made mistakes here and there, but he was the perfect person to help her through her struggles.

This is a book I could read over and over again. It’s definitely different than the previous books, but still instrumental in the overall story. I loved it in a completely different way than I loved the others. 𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚:𝟱/𝟱⭐️