A Court of Wings and Ruin
It took a re-read of A Court of Wings and Ruin to go from a 3 star read to a 4 star for me. I think I was underwhelmed by it the first time around because it was really hard to follow the masterpiece that is A Court of Mist and Fury. This one had less twists and turns and more of a smooth ride and then an ending that was a bit eye-rolly. But I am not someone who loves combat, and this book is all about a war. As much as I love fantasy, I am the least interested in the epic battles and more interested in the character building, relationships, and suspenseful tension. I also really struggle with epic battles with centuries old big bads and then everyone is just fine afterwards. For example, WandaVision is one of my favorite shows because of the exploration of grief and forgiveness. I was the least interested when Wanda was battling people in the sky and flying around.
I want to clarify, I am SO HAPPY Rhysand is still here (and I guess Amren too) but it just feels like we’re just getting through the battles just because and there’s no stakes to make it that exciting.
There are many things I enjoyed about this book. Feyre and Lucien teaming up and escaping the spring court was really interesting. I am here for a Lucien redemption arc! I think he has been surrounded by people who have mistreated and disposed of him his whole life and Feyre is the first real friend he’s ever had. I think he gets too much flack for not helping her when Tamlin was a monster. I do wish he stepped in, but I also think he gets an unfair amount of blame when Tamlin was the actual abuser.
I am also all for ElLucien. Being in the spring court makes sense for Elain! In Silver Flames, I don’t think it was an oversight that Nesta didn’t think to give Elain a new birth canal for wings, because I don’t think she and Azriel are endgame! I’m wondering if she and Lucien will wind up leading the spring court or maybe even the autumn court. I do find it funny that mated pairs are supposedly super rare and yet most everyone in this story has a mate. I also can’t think too much about how these two centuries old fae males are getting mated with these 20 years olds or I’ll get grossed out.
LOL @ Lucien blurting out that Elain was his mate after she underwent one of the biggest traumatic events of her life was most certainly ill timed, but I’m hoping they get a chance to fall for each other. Good on Cassian for keeping his bond with Nesta to himself until it was appropriate. That was one of things I enjoyed most about this book, the romantic tension between Cassian and Nesta was so fun!
It was so much fun getting to have all Archeron sisters in this book! We got a little bit in the first book but this one gave us more insight into their personalities. One of my favorite reveals is that Elain is a seer. We haven’t seen anything like that in this series! Really interested to see how that plays out later on. I also really felt for her when her fiance was extremely cruel to her for no longer being human and cast her out. Poor thing had so much happening all at once. Everyone is always saying how hot she is though so I’m really hoping she owns that eventually and steps into herself with confidence.
Another thing I loved was getting to see Rhysand and Feyre as a couple. There’s no more angst or unresolved feelings towards Tamlin, they are a full-on couple. I love the trust between them and the way they are equals.
A huge highlight for me was getting to know more about Mor! I love that she opened up to Feyre about her sexuality and really hope she is able to be fully herself soon and get her own happy ending! Maybe with Emerie. Mor is such a badass and fun character and I really hope we get a book centered on her. It was also heartbreaking learning more about her back story, the brutal abuse she endured was awful.
