A Court of Silver Flames - by Sarah J. Maas

Title:              A Court of Silver Flames

Author:         Sarah J. Maas

Published:   Feb 16, 2021

Series:           A Court of Thorns and Roses #4

Rating:          4 stars

Synopsis:

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.

I listened to this as an audiobook, but kept up with it in my physical book.

I'm not sure whether it was that it's a different narrator for this book than the previous ones, but something about the other characters didn't quite seem like it used to be; like their attitude and the things that they said sometimes.

Luckily I knew this was going to be from Nesta's point of view, but if you don't know that going into it then you're probably going to be a little confused when you begin reading it. However I did like that this one was from her viewpoint and not another Feyre/Rhys one. The book does tend to sway between both Cassian and Nesta's point of view, but it would have been nice if it was a little clearer at the start of each chapter or section when they switch view points (or maybe that's just my brain not registering the switch, which I'm starting to think is the case.

I loved seeing Nesta and Cassian together and the way that they interacted and grew as characters. I do wish that we'd seen a bit more of Elain, Lucien and Mor though and I do still love those characters. I did love Nesta's character arc though and also loved seeing her deal with the trauma that she'd gone through in constructive ways.

I would have liked to see more of the Trove and maybe have it turned into two books if necessary, but I did still like the story as a whole.

There was also apparently a scene cut from the book as it was essentially too much for the book and I agree that it would have been too... in-depth, I'll call it... and that it would have turned the book into more of a smut book than it already was. Personally, I think that one or two sexy scenes would have been okay, but there were too many for my liking. By about halfway through the book it felt less like they were steamy and more like I was just sitting through them to get to the next part.

One thing I was 100% not prepared for though was the 'C word'. I'm sure that I'm not the only person on the planet who loathes that word, but for it to be published in a book in the fantasy section of a book store? The words "fuck" and "cock" are also mentioned, so I wouldn't really recommend that younger teens read it.

Spoilers!

When Cassian brought the shield up to Feyre the second time I guessed that she was pregnant so I wasn't as shocked/proud/relieved of them when they finally told the Inner Circle the news.

It was also pretty underwhelming about how the Cassian and Nesta mating bond was revealed.

End Spoilers!

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All books in this series:

    1 | A Court of Thorns and Roses

    2 | A Court of Mist and Fury

    3 | A Court of Wings and Ruin

 3.1 | A Court of Frost and Starlight

    4 | A Court of Silver Flames