After graduating high school, my reading habits took a serious hit. I went off to college, enrolled in intense courses, and double majored. After I graduated last May, I began to read for my own enjoyment again. I couldn’t get my hands on new books fast enough – I had a to-be-read list four years in the making, after all. One of the series at the top of my list was the Throne of Glass novels by Sarah J. Maas. I quickly found myself falling in love with the characters and the storyline, and was – ahem – burning through the books. When I finished, I knew I had to look into other books by Maas, which led me to A Court of Thorns and Roses. Again, I quickly became addicted to the series and Maas’s ability to hide her plot intentions in plain sight, leaving me completely mind-blown when I finally figured out the connections and innuendos.
When I learned that the ACOTAR series would not end with A Court of Frost and Starlight, I was thrilled. I would once again be able to dive into the world of High Fae and Illyrians. I would get to see my favorite characters continue to grow and develop, facing daunting challenges and emerging victorious. However, now that A Court of Silver Flames is in my hands, I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed.
While I still love Maas’s writing style and imagination, ACOSF leaves something to be desired. Although I have not yet finished the book, I am more than halfway through and can’t help feeling that Nesta’s story is just a repeat of Feyre’s journey in the first three books. Yes, there are obviously differences, but I find the main themes to be strikingly similar – a tortured past, trauma at the hands of a former love interest, being unwittingly pulled into the world of the Fae, acquiring unique and unknown powers, using those powers to find ancient and powerful objects needed to battle a mysterious foe… It’s still interesting, but the more I think about it, the more overplayed it seems.
I also feel that I must address the explicit nature of the book. If you are a fan of Maas, you are well aware that adult content is present in her novels and that she is by no means subtle. While these were never my favorite scenes in her books, I always felt like they were relatively well placed and purposeful to the plot. I am not finding this to be the case in ACOSF. The sexual nature of this book is off the charts and exceedingly crude. In her previous books, I was more accepting of these types of scenes because I felt like they added substance to the relationships between the characters and emerged as a natural progression of the plot. In ACOSF, I almost feel like I am reading fanfiction. Even non-sexual scenes are filled with the characters’ internal fantasies, and I am of the opinion that it is detrimental to the storyline. It makes the writing seem cheap, and I don’t think I will be alone in saying that some of the language used is extremely discomforting.
All of this being said, am I still enjoying the book? Yes, if even just for the simple fact that I am getting to live inside the world of Prythian once more. I am happy for the chance to reconnect with the characters, and I have definitely read and loved novels more poorly executed than this one. To be frank, I simply expected more from Maas. I plan to finish the book, hopeful that the conclusion will leave me anticipating the next book in the series the way that I anxiously awaited this one.
Happy Reading!
Kayla
Literary Obsessions 