A Court of Love and Nightmares

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

He thinks he’ll be remembered as the villain in the story. But I forgot to tell him that the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. He was the one who let me out.

Similar to A Court of Thorns and Roses, it’s hard to write a substantial review for this book without getting into details. If you haven’t read A Court of Mist and Fury yet, I advise you to read the book first because there’s a lot of SPOILERS ahead! You’ve been warned 😉 If you are still reading this, brace yourself for a review full of emotions and fangirling.

Once again, I fell in love with Sarah J. Maas’ writing style. It’s so easy to get into the story, and once you’ve started reading the book, it’s gonna be hard to put it down because all you want to do is spend your time inside the world she created, full of lovely and interesting characters, beautiful places, and a gripping story that keeps on making you want for more. I would have finished this book faster than I did, but I decided to take it slow because I wanted to stay in the story for as long as I could. If this book were a delicious dish, I would savor every bite rather than hastily devour everything on my plate.

After the events Under the Mountain, everyone was trying to get back to their old lives and recover from the trauma brought about by Amarantha’s reign. Feyre, who had been through A LOT during those months of trials, was still haunted by nightmares. My heart broke for her because it seemed impossible to get over the things she had done and sacrificed to free the people of Prythian. She also lost the ability to paint, and as someone who loves to paint, I thought that it was sad.

In ACOTAR, I was unsure whom to ship Feyre with. I liked Tamlin, but there was also something interesting about the mysterious High Lord of Night Court, Rhysand. In this book, the Feylin ship sank into the deepest part of the ocean and would remain there forever. I prefer it that way. Mwahaha. The Feysand ship, on the other hand, proudly sails at 1,000,000 miles per hour.

Let’s first talk about Tamlin. I might have liked him in ACOTAR, but all I felt for him in this book was enmity. He was so controlling and unreasonably overprotective. How could he put Feyre on a leash like a pet and keep her imprisoned, when doing so was a reminder of what she’d been through Under the Mountain! He said that he was just protecting her, but passing the trials that Amarantha gave her was clear proof that she didn’t need any protection. Why couldn’t he just try to put himself in her shoes for a second and try to understand her? Was it so hard? Ugh. I was also disappointed in Lucien for being so loyal to Tamlin even though he could see his friend suffering so much. And then it was revealed in the end that they conspired with the king of Hybern just to get Feyre back even though it was clear that she didn’t want to. What the heck.

“I began shaking my head as if I could unsee it as Lucien and Tamlin stepped into the light.”

I was also shaking my head as if I could unread that line. I couldn’t believe it! Did Tamlin think that he still had a chance to persuade her to get back to him after that?! He’s crazy, I tell you.

Rhysand, on the other hand…*sighs dreamily*. I had my doubts about him in the first book, but I completely fell in love with him in ACOMAF ❤ He’s so selfless, kind, funny, witty, intense…*swoons*. Now I know why he’s so talked about on Bookstagram. Among my endless list of bookish boyfriends, he’s at the top, second only to James Carstairs. Hihi. Anyway, Rhysand was a mystery in ACOTAR, but in this book, I learned more about him. My heart broke for him because he sacrificed a lot for his court and his friends. Rhys let himself become Amarantha’s toy, content with the knowledge that Velaris was safe and still unknown to the outside world. And then I found out that he was Feyre’s mate! It turned out that they had been destined for each other even before they met each other. A lot of people say that their favorite chapter in the book is Chapter 55 (because, ahem…), but my favorite is the chapter before that. We learned about Rhysand’s story: the War, what he’d been through Under the Mountain, his dreams about Feyre, their first meeting at Calanmai, his treatment to her during her trials (which was completely justified), and how he let Tamlin and Feyre be together even though it killed him to do so.

“I heard you were going to marry him, and I told myself you were happy. I should let you be happy, even if it killed me. Even if you were my mate, you’d earned that happiness.”

My heart broke when I read that line. He was willing to give up his own happiness for the sake of others T^T. I was quite annoyed when Feyre got mad because he didn’t tell her that she was his mate. It was completely logical for Rhysand not to tell her because he didn’t want to pressure her when she was still in love with Tamlin! I loved that they still found love without Feyre knowing that she was his mate.

The Inner Circle was the very definition of #squadgoals. I easily fell in love with all of them. Azriel was such an adorable cinnamon roll (even though it didn’t seem like it from the outside). Morrigan reminded me a lot of Isabelle Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments. She was such a badass! If it were a school group, Cassian would be the jester or class clown. Amren was quite scary, but she could grow on you gradually. Along with Rhysand, they became the family that Feyre needed to overcome the trauma and hurt she experienced from Amarantha and Tamlin.

The only thing that I didn’t like that much was the steamy part. I knew that was inevitable, but did it have to be so detailed? It can be quite uncomfortable to read, especially when you’re in a public place. I was quite paranoid while reading it at school because people might take a peek and think that I’m reading fluff. HAHA.

I still want to discuss a lot about this book, but this is already a very lengthy review. The main point is that I love this book so much and it deserves all the stars that can be seen from the Night Court.