Reader Rayna

Title: A Court of Silver Flames
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #4
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publish Date: February 16, 2021
Genre: Adult Romantasy Fantasy Romance
Pages: 757
Format: Hardcover

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she’s struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can’t seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.

The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre’s Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta’s orbit. But her temper isn’t the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.

Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.

Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other’s arms.

As this is a sequel, there may be spoilers!

This was a long book, for sure, but it was such an incredible journey of self love and learning to love and trust others that I absolutely fell in love with this book and am so glad to have read it.

We follow Nesta in this story from her lowest point several months after the war at the end of ACOWAR. She never expected she’d see war, let alone become a fey, let alone experience all that she experienced, and so her downward spiral was fraught and vast. Her sisters would often reach out their hands to her, and though she got close to Amren at one point, she was so down in her own darkness that that friendship became tarnished as well. Nesta had a lot of mental barriers to work through in this novel, and boy did she work through them.

Cassian was there as the main counterpart to her to train her, to try to get her to focus on something other than drinking, sleeping around, and wasting away her days doing nothing (which she did to stop the roaring in her head of everything she experienced before). He was patient with her at first, losing faith honestly pretty quickly, before being encouraged to continue reaching out his hand to her.

Their dynamic together was filled with reluctance at the beginning, though mostly on the part of Nesta, who was too far down in her depression to see that what others were trying to do was help her. Cassian, on the other hand, though still a bit apprehensive for a few reasons, wanted Nesta to back to herself, at least to baseline, and would do what it would take to get her there – regardless if he was ordered to or not.

As the story progressed and they spent more time together, the romantic and sexual tension between them grew, and, well, this was the spiciest book in the ACOTAR series so far, I will say lol Though their scenes didn’t feel like they were just there to fill a void or anything, but they were meant to propel the story forward, their dynamic forward. It grew more evident the further along it went, the more time passed between them, how the mating bond would form between them finally.

One of the things I loved about that was that yes, though they both intrinsically felt the feel of that tug even when Nesta was human, it didn’t solidify until she was ready to love, herself and him, though she was still afraid – afraid of it being ripped away or taken from her, of losing him, of losing everything and everyone dear to her. A fear that is incredibly relatable, because as Cassian said, “Love is complicated.”

Another big factor of this story is the Valkyrie plotline, where Nesta posts a sign up sheet for the priestesses of the library under the House of Wind to join her in training with Cassian to learn how to defend themselves, so that they can protect themselves from something ever happening to them again. They’re all reluctant at first, never signing up, until one day, Gwyn, Nesta’s first friend, signs up to join. And then Nesta convinces another friend that she makes, Emerie, an Illyrian girl whose father clipped her wings, to join as well. The three of them train so hard and work so incredibly well together as time progresses, studying and researching, practicing even after hours, that they become the Valkyries they looked up to.

That comradery, that female friendship, was beautiful to see blossom for Nesta. It was definitely one of the things that helped to save her from herself, for sure, and I loved seeing the dynamic the girls had with one another – especially when they were thrust into a situation none of them could have imagined. I loved seeing how they each reflected one another, how they each stood for each other, were there for each other, and was just so loving to one another. It was a beautiful friendship to behold.

As for the rest of the overarching plot, there was honestly a lot going on and sometimes it was hard to keep track of. I can, however, see several of these playing bigger roles in upcoming books, so there is that. I felt myself most drawn to the Valkyrie training or the bonding between Nesta and Cassian, but some of the other stuff my interest seemed to wane just a little bit. Though, as the story progressed and everything amped up more and more, the more I became invested in these plots and how they would flesh out.

Overall, I loved this book so much. I saw a lot of myself in Nesta in my own past life scenarios in terms of the mental health downward spiral and bringing myself out of that. I loved the action, the romance, the passion, the drive, and the journey to self love and trust and love in others that was shown in this story. This was a great installment and I definitely recommend it.

4.75 stars