There is a darkness that frightens, the darkness that soothes, the darkness that is restful. There is the darkness of lovers and the darkness of assassins. It becomes what the bearer wishes it to be, needs to be. It is not wholly good or bad.
I understand all the excitement now. After reading A Court of Thorns and Roses, I certainly liked it and was excited to read A Court of Mist and Fury. But I hadn't understood yet why I saw it all over bookstagram. ACOMAF got me to understand.
After the traumatic months Under the Mountain, Feyre sets herself and the rest of Prythian free from Amarantha. She returns to the Spring Court with Tamlin as they embark on the rebuilding of their region, and the start of their lives together. But being torn between her new immortal Fae body, and her hurting mortal heart, Feyre loses the peace she had found for the first time in Tamlin's court. High Lord of the Night Court Rhysand eventually makes good on his bargain with Feytre and steals her away to the esoteric northernmost court where Feyre learns that Amarantha was not the final hurdle for peace in Prythian, and that her journey with the Fae is far from over.
If you have seen any fan art or posts about this series, you likely will have caught some debate over Feyre/Tamlin/Rhys. Without going into too much detail, about a third of the way into ACOMAF I finally got why there was so much fanfare for Rhys. I ended the previous book mostly disgusted with him, but now I begrudgingly admit he is one of my favorite characters.
This, though, plays into one of my qualms about the book. I completely admire development in character relationships, especially as Feyre was going through so many weighty events and changes. But the changes between her and Tamlin seemed to happen really abruptly. I felt like we as readers lost some significant things in the months between when the two books take place. The end result was well done and made sense, but the middle I felt could have used some reinforcement. As someone who loves to see relationships lasting through a series and not used as a subplot line, I can get behind Feyre’s reasons for the changes with Tamlin.
Feyre became a lot more realistic to me in this book. She was constantly striving for information about what was going on around her and really began to hold her own in this world that had been totally foreign to her a year ago. Through the healing, and then breaking in ACOTAR, the reader gets to see a much more raw and better established Feyre, and then continue to grow with her. I loved seeing her say “I am no one’s pet… I’ll be the person that decides that” – the fact that even after all she went through at the end of her mortal life, that she could come back with such self-assurance was beautiful to see. Maas fully embraced how the first book affected Feyre, making a seamless bridge between the two installments.
Additionally, the way Maas told this war-time story was really well done. I have trouble with battles and fighting, the reason I struggle to get through many superhero movies and books that turn to revolution. But this one focused much more on the strategies behind the decisions, and how the characters forwarded their lives during the time. There were fighting scenes, but they were well-balanced and kept up with the narrative.
As a rare event, I actually enjoyed this one a bit more than the first book of the series. It showed us more of the gorgeous world, expanded the entrancing cast of characters, and continued the plot in a reasonable and engaging way. For fans of fantasy, adventure, and romance, this is certainly one I would recommend to others.
To the people who look at the stars and wish… to the stars who listen – and for the dreams that are answered
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