I know, I know. It’s already fall and I’m just now getting to what I read over the summer. In my defense, I started a new job where I’m required to go into the office every single day and it’s been nothing short of a major life adjustment. More on that later.
Most of my summer reads ended up being rereads because I decided to reread the ACOTAR books through A Court of Frost and Starlight. I didn’t have it in me to read back through A Court of Silver Flames, forgive me. However, since I never wrote about the books here the first time I read them, I figured I would give my impression of each that have been published so far.
But, firstā
I did read two books outside of ACOTAR before I began rereading the series: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld.
Also, just…before you go any further…um, I might write some things that could be considered mild spoilers. So, read ahead at your own discretion.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Read: 7/1/24 thru 7/22/24
Rating: 4 stars
So, I really liked BLLāboth the book and the HBO limited series. After I finished reading it and perused some of the other reviews on Goodreads it definitely seemed like other readers had mixed feelings, a love it or hate it perspective. I wouldn’t say I LOVED it, but I certainly didn’t hate it. Some people thought the humor overlapping dark scenes of domestic violence and sexual assault was bad form. When I was reading it, I found myself appreciating the humor laced into the novel simply because the themes of violence were so dark. Usually, the humor came in the form of Madeleine’s character, which seemed to be done on purpose to illustrate how people in daily life can overlook other’s struggles, as if to say you never really know what’s going on in someone’s inner/personal life, even when you believe you know them very well. You think everything is fine and dandy until they unveil their inner turmoil.
For me, personally, if the book was in bad taste it was because life is often in bad taste and we can debate for hours how well or poorly Moriarty stuck the landing, but that was how I perceived her intention with the interwoven storylines. It was slow getting into the story, but after a certain point I didn’t want to put it down and overall, really liked the book.
The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
Read: 7/24/24 thru 8/12/24
Rating: 5 stars
Now, this book I LOVED. I read Denfeld’s debut novel, The Enchanted, years ago when it first came out and had lost track of her until I saw this book as a NOOK daily deal in my email one day. Of course, I had to buy it because I remembered loving, if not being slightly traumatized by, her writing previously. What struck me with this book was that it was a very different kind of mystery/thriller. It focuses on missing persons, but specifically missing children. The main character, Naomi Cottle, who was also a missing child, becomes a private investigator who specializes in finding missing children like herself and is a highly sought after investigator who regularly works with local police. I was excited to see that the book was the first in a new series and there is a second book, The Butterfly Girl, that I think is supposed to focus on Naomi’s case from when she was younger. I could be wrong about that, though, as I haven’t read it yet.
The Child Finder, however, focuses on Madison Culver, a missing girl from Naomi’s hometown and introduces flashbacks from Naomi’s past interwoven with her present investigation and Madison’s own gut-wrenching narrative. This is another book with dark and violent themes and, I think because it focuses on people (some devastatingly young) grappling with their trauma, is intensely psychological. I don’t think just any writer could’ve handled some of the scenes in this book with as much delicate and careful attention as Denfeld. That’s what makes her such a special writer and puts her right up there with my other favorite authors. I look forward to reading more from her in the future, especially the next book in this series.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Read: 9/26/23 thru 9/30/23 & 8/13/24 thru 8/19/24
Rating: 5 stars
I have a special appreciation for this book, even though it’s not my favorite in the series, simply because I love a good teen fantasy origin story. I loved that the beginning of this book gave me hardcore Katniss Everdeen vibes; I loved the notes of Beauty and the Beast themes; I loved the Loki trickster character (cough, cough, Rhysand); I loved how stupidly, brazenly brave Feyre was to fight for creatures she had grown up being taught to despise and fear; I loved the themes of redemption and victory over evil. It was all just so good. I think I especially loved how you think the book is going in one direction because of the way it ends, and it’s all happily ever after, until you get to book two and you realize it’s very much NOT HEA.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Read: 10/5/23 thru 10/9/23 & 8/20/24 thru 8/23/24
Rating: 5 stars
Okay, I hate to be typical but this is absolutely my favorite book in the series and is the whole reason I decided to reread the books this year. I had tried rereading this book as a standalone and it just didn’t feel right. I needed to reread the first book for context before I could comfortably move on to ACOMAF. So it ended up being this whole project. Anyway… THIS is my favorite book in the series because of how you are shamelessly hoodwinked by SJM as a reader. I won’t get into it because it’s a cannon experience and must be read organically, in case there are any readers here who want to read the books and haven’t yet. But I will say that this is an extension of Feyre’s origin story, and if you really like romance then this book will absolutely drive you wild. It is the slowest of slow burns and it is teased out SO WELL. That’s all I’m going to say, other than it completely ruined my life the first time I read it. And, you know, I blame my friend, Ashley, for that, who recommended this series to me.
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Read: 10/10/23 thru 10/13/23 & 8/24/24 thru 9/17/24
Rating: 5 stars
I loved this book the first time I read it and thought it was a great follow-up from ACOMAF. I thought Feyre really came into her own during this book, though I would’ve wished to see more from her and her abilities. I think you’re given a good idea but I thought it could’ve been taken further, but that’s just me. I will say the second time I read it, though, it dragged. I think the first time I was just in a crazed fog because the series had me in a chokehold, but with time and distance from the initial read, some of the bigger flaws of the book were more noticeable. Also, SJM’s writing in this book went slightly south for me during my reread. After the High Lord’s meeting, it became much more tedious for me to read the second time.
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
Read: 10/13/23 & 9/18/24 thru 9/30/24
Rating: 4 stars
There’s not a whole lot to say about this book other than it was a nice breather novella after the intensity of ACOWAR. It’s often referred to as the Christmas Special of the series because it’s set during the Winter Solstice season, and I think that’s an apt description. There’s some drama for sure, but mostly it’s a warm and cozy reprieve before the next installment. I almost didn’t reread this one because ACOWAR felt so tiresome and I was ready to move on to other books, but I caved and decided to go ahead and include it in my reread. One thing I liked about this book that you don’t get in the others is the varying POVs (other than Rhysand’s a couple times, and honestly I thought the books would start to feature more of Feysand’s alternating POVs as the series progressed). I thought it worked well for the purposes of the story and it was interesting getting an inside look at other characters you only get to see through Feyre’s POV in the first three books.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
Read: 10/14/23 thru 10/18/23
Rating: 4 stars
With that being said…I was not a fan of the change in narrative for Silver Flames. In fact, I hated that SJM told the next book from the alternating narratives of Nesta and Cassian. I appreciated she wanted to tell Nesta’s story, but I felt like that could’ve been a spinoff or a novella following the next installment from Feyre’s POV, as Silver Flames is even longer than Wings and Ruin, if you can believe it. I had a huge issue with this inconsistency and it still mildly bugs me to this day. However. I feel a little less forgiving about it after rereading all of the books recently. Subjectively, I hated this decision. Objectively, I understood why she made this choice and how it added another layer to events leading up to Silver Flames, even if it felt like this book didn’t move the broader plot along very much. (Also, I understood that the changing POVs in ACOFAS was meant to transition readers into the change of POVs for Silver Flames.)
But I don’t know that it was meant to carry the plot forward now that I’ve read the other books again recently. I think SJM just really wanted to tell Nesta’s story and that influenced the way she planned the rest of the series. I could be wrong about that, but that was my interpretation based on what I read about her writing experience. Maybe she always planned to change the POV at some point. At any rate, this was the hardest book for me to read of the series and my least favorite as a result. I never really cared for Nesta. I thought she was horrible and SJM did such a good job of writing her that way it was hard for me to feel empathy for her during Silver Flames. The last 200 or so pages of the book did pick up for me, of course, and by the end I felt like I was pretty much forced to forgive Nesta’s previous behavior because it seemed like that’s what SJM wanted from me as the reader. I’ll be honest, though, I still struggle with her character, but appreciate the redemption arc.
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Lauren Michelle Brock 