Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: May 3, 2016
Pages: 624
Format: Hardcover/Own
Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world torn apart.
*Review does contain some spoilers, some not so nice wording towards a certain character, and some sensitive topics*
Review: Omg! This book was just pure amazing! I read the entirety of it in less than a day. I even tried putting it down multiple times so I could get some apartment cleaning done and I couldn't part with the story for more than half hour increments. I just love this story line so much!
Ok, time to gush. The Night Court! Velaris! OMG. Velaris sounds so beautiful. I love the detail used to describe it, the story behind its standing. It just sounds so amazing. I love that Rhysand is so protective over his people and this city. I can truly see why he calls it home. I also loved how holidays in the Night Court were spectacular. Who wouldn't want to experience Starfall? It just sounded so beautiful with the spirits flying through the sky and the fun stardust scene with Feyre and Rhys.
I truly loved Feyre's growth in this book. She started out preparing to be married to Tamlin, but she witnesses a brutal change in him after being Under The Mountain that makes him into an awful awful person. She second guesses being with him and lets Rhysand take her away to the Night Court for their bargain. Feyre struggles so much in this book to deal with everything. She has constant nightmares after what happened in ACOTAR. She's constantly second guessing herself. She struggles to learn what powers she has and to learn to manifest them because of the PTSD she is constantly experiencing. She has to make hard decisions after what Tamlin did to her. She chooses on her own free will to stay with Rhysand in the Night Court, but she's constantly calling herself a traitor because of it. She knows deep down that its the right decision for her sanity and well being, but it still nags at her. And she doesn't just jump on Rhys either after leaving Tamlin. Despite that fact that she does find him incredibly attractive, she doesn't even think about any type of romantic relationship with him until well over half the book (which is a lot of time since its over 600 pages). However, I loved seeing her open herself up to Rhys. Talking about what happened Under The Mountain, whats happened to them previously in their lives to make them the way they are. She needed that to help her heal and gain some trust and confidence in herself. I really loved how she fought against being locked up and left in the dark. And even more, I love how she fought for the new people she grew to love and even for those she didn't have to fight for.
Tamlin. Sorry folks, your gonna get some nasty words out of me right here. This evil, conniving, abusive, traitorous snake! I see absolutely nothing good about him. I said that he made he feel a little off in ACOTAR and that was proved 100% right. Classic abusive behavior. We're introduced to a nice, sweet Tamlin in ACOTAR and he becomes a different person entirely in ACOMAF. After all Feyre went through to save him and his court and he treats her the awful way he does. He says he wants Feyre to stay inside all the time to protect her. To not let her discover her abilities to protect her. To not let her learn to defend herself to protect her. Um. No. There is a difference between trying to protect someone and controlling their entire life. Tamlin does not know the difference. His actions are inexcusable. He literally locks Feyre in the manor while he goes gallivanting off. He prevents her from even going out and exploring the Spring Court because "danger." He won't let her do anything outside the manor, and the rare occasion he does, it has to be with Lucien. He gets angry and destroys an entire room. And his anger comes out over and over again. He thinks its perfectly ok to have rage fits and then act like nothing happened. Not to mention there's clearly the fact he seemed to be having sex with Feyre when she did not seem to want to after his rage fits. He seemed to think sex would make up for his actions. No offense but when it seems like Feyre was just laying there, taking it, because she couldn't get out or away from it, that doesn't seem like she wanted it. She seemed to be doing it to not make him rage anymore. Moving on to after Feyre leaves him. He then proceeds to ignore Feyre's letter to him entirely that said she was not coming back to him and she was fine and to stop it! Instead, he continues trying to find her and even trying to get his lackeys to force her back to the Spring Court despite her repeatedly telling them NO. NO means freaking NO. And this scene repeats in the end when she tells him NO and he still refuses to accept it. And he had the nerve to act like she is his property. Saying in a nutshell, I don't give two shits what bond you think you have to anyone else "you're mine." No, she's not. Every single one of his actions was 100% him being an abuser. An abuser claiming to do everything in the name of love and protection. Classic abuser. My blood is boiling while writing about his actions. What Rhys did in ACOTAR is nothing compared to Tamlin's actions in this. He intentionally did every thing he did in this book with no after thought about what it would do to Feyre. Tamlin can burn in hell for all I care. There is no redemption for him in my book. And then the fact he is literally a traitor to everyone. Ugh. Blood boiling.
Rhys. People don't understand how people can defend Rhys because of what he does in ACOTAR. No, what he did was not great. But he did every single thing was the ulterior motive of protecting Feyre from Amarantha and trying to protect his people as well. He's absolutely nowhere as bad as Tamlin. We learn so much about what Rhysand had to endure being Amarantha's whore. He was abused by her, raped, tortured. But yet he still did whatever he had to to protect others. He did the things necessary to ensure most others safety. Rhysand is completely broken after all thats happened. He tries to hide it, but he's broken. Just as broken as Feyre. And that is why these two fit well together. They help each other heal from the horrors they experienced. They work together to better themselves. Rhys hides behind this dark evil act when he's really such a good hearted person outside of what we see Under The Mountain. He actually includes Feyre in stuff and tells her whats going on. He lets her train to protect herself, and find her abilities. He shows her Velaris and includes her in his family despite the fact she wasn't a part of his court yet. He even told her that if she wanted to go back to Tamlin, he wouldn't fight in. Their relationship was always her choice. Not his. What makes this even more serious, is the fact they are mates! And Rhys knew the entire time. Feyre is his mate, and he was still willing to let her go back to Tamlin if she chose to. He gave Feyre the choices Tamlin NEVER allowed her to have. And that alone is worth his redemption for what he had to do Under The Mountain. I also loved seeing how much Rhys cared for his inner circle, which he called his family. Not to mention on top of everything, he took it upon himself and his inner circle to try and protect Prythian from the king of Hybern when none of the other courts were willing to get over themselves and look into the threat. Rhys is really not the awful person people like to paint him as.
I loved the new characters. Morrigan, Az, Cassian, Amren. I loved learning about them and their relationships with Rhys. I definitely want to get more of them in ACOWAR. I however, wasn't super enthusiastic about Feyre's family in this book. Especially Nesta's attitude. I guess we'll see how I feel about them in ACOWAR. I was also incredibly surprised by the ending. I was seriously about the cry over Feyre's and Rhys's bond until their little plan was revealed. And the title Feyre gets! I just can't even with the feels for that! I'm definitely interested in seeing where this plan takes things in ACOWAR though I AM NOT pleased with the fact we have to deal with Tamlin a bunch again. Ugh! But overall, I loved this book! It's definitely a favorite for me!
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