Then I reached A Court of Mist and Fury. At this point, I pretty much expected to loathe ACOMAF. I heard it was even more smutty than the first book (like, how was that even possible?) and assumed that was the primary reason others enjoyed it. Well, I was wrong. Not about the smut, there was plenty of it towards the end of the book, but about the content being pointless. This was where my opinions waver.
He rescues Feyre from her abusive relationship and helps her work through PTSD and severe anxiety due to what she encountered in the first book
Rather than finding myself angry with Feyre and even more frustrated with Tamlin and Rhysand, we got some serious character development in this book. It’s confirmed that Tamlin really is horrible in every way, shape, and form. However, Rhysand was apparently faking his jackass/playboy lifestyle and he’s actually a “decent person.” (There’s a reason for those quotations). What completely baffled me was how we were just supposed to move on from the fact that he sexually and emotionally abused her for an extended period of time! Yes, I get that he “isn’t really a bad guy” but it still didn’t give him a single right to treat Feyre in that way – no matter how important his cover was. It gives the impression that it’s alright for someone to be abusive if they’re doing it for a “good reason.” This is hands down the number one reason I will never recommend this series https://lovingwomen.org/tr/filipina-gelin/ – even if I did enjoy one book out of five.
Ultimately, Feyre grows to be a stronger woman and by the end of the book, she became a character I didn’t hate. She maintains her newfound strength through the following book, A Court of Wings and Ruin. Some may find it frustrating that a lot of her character progression is due to Rhys holding her up. However, from the standpoint of someone who has severe anxiety and PTSD (along with several other mental health challenges and a past in sexual abuse), having someone by your side, boosting you up, but also not coddling you, is super important.
If we’re looking past my previous marks against the story, there is one thing to note about Rhysand and Feyre’s relationship that most people dislike and I actually appreciated
As we moved on to A Court of Wings and Ruin, we get more time with the secondary characters. Up until this point, they really were just that: secondary. In this e necessary. I will say that while this book moved at a bit of a slower pace, it did a good job working its way up to an emotional climax with a too-perfect ending.
Now I need to be brutally honest: I hate Nesta. She’s Feyre’s sister who was turned Fae against her will. She’s bitter and resentful and absolutely horrible to Feyre and literally everyone else . She always has been, even prior to being changed without permission (which is often why she’s given a free pass on being a completely abusive b*tch). She treats everyone terribly, and honestly, she has zero excuses (Feyre could have been just as cruel, after everything she went through). Nesta carries this attitude on into the novella, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and I truly cannot stand her.
In fact, for those who have experienced familial or emotional abuse, I want to extend a warning: She is the main character in this new extension of the series and while I hoped she would have a great character arc at some point, after reading A Court of Silver Flames I can confirm that I still hate Nesta and that, if anything, I became entirely more frustrated with this series after finishing the newest novel. She’s truly wicked and the writing makes it appear as though we should be sorry for her, rather than finding her behavior abhorrent.