A Court of Frost and Starlight Review

Hello Again!
Two posts in two days, sometimes I can get my act together and get things done. So here's another book review! This time it's A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas (ACOFAS). This is the latest installment in the A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series by Maas in the form of a novella that takes place immediately after A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOWAR). This is one of my very favorite young adult series (in fact, it's probably my very favorite series) and I preordered this book a while back so it would arrive as soon as it was released. It is by far the shortest book in the series at 229 pages (like I said, definitely a novella) and is narrated by Rhysand and Feyre surrounding their first winter solstice in the Night Court following the conclusion of the war with Hybern. I read it in just 24 hours and started it immediately after I finished Caraval. I finished it on May 3rd and gave it (like all the ACOTAR books) a 5/5 stars on goodreads. Without further ado here's my review of ACOFAS.

Caution! Spoilers are past this point!

So ACOFAS starts with Feyre leading up to the solstice, talking about her duties as High Lady of the Night Court: of the rebuilding of Velaris and healing of herself and her friends/family and her lands, caring for her sisters, and other mundane duties that keep her and Rhys apart more than either would like. She stresses about Nesta's drinking and her isolation from the others, Elain's healing, and buying gifts for everyone. She is also trying to find a way to live with what happened during the war and the brokenness inside herself. Rhys is dealing with the dissent in the ranks of the Illyrians, of the impending forced visits from Mor's family and the court of Nightmares in Velaris, and trying to keep the peace with his family and friends. You get private moments between Rhys and his 'brothers': Cassian and Azriel. You find out that Azriel goes to visit someone the day after the solstice, probably his mother from the context. You also learn that Cassian is pretending not to be concerned with Nesta following the war and everything that happened between them while trying to keep the peace with the Illyrian war bands. Feyre meets new friends in the rainbow (the art district in Velaris) and goes back to painting again in a deserted shop that belonged to an artist who died in the attack in Velaris by Hybern. When the solstice finally comes everyone is there and you find out that the three greatest Illyrian warriors in history (Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel) have a snowball fight in the morning. They all dress in their finery and have dinner and exchange presents, including birthday presents for Feyre. Rhys's gift to Feyre is property on the river where they will build a huge house of her design that has room for all their friends and family. After the solstice Feyre buys the studio space in the rainbow where she'd been painting an enlists her new friend to open a studio to teach art classes for children in Velaris for free, to teach them to express their feelings, to give them an outlet for everything that's happened. It ends on a hopeful and peaceful note and I was very satisfied by it.

I loved this book, it still had some tension and foreboding but it was mostly a lighter story of healing in the aftermath of war and a nice holiday tale about family and friends. Maas has said that ACOFAS is the conclusion of Rhys and Feyre's story but the series will continue around them in the same universe and setting. The exert from the next book (untitled still) in the back reveals that at least part of it will revolve around Nesta and Cassian and will be told from their perspectives. I love Cassian and Nesta's budding relationship (despite the fact that they're barely speaking in ACOFAS) and I'm looking forward to seeing how their story continues to develop and evolve in the future. Definitely a 5/5 and I continue to love this series and can't wait for the next book in the series.

Happy Reading!
Richelle and Emma