A ​Court of Silver Flames

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: A Court of Silver Flames

Forced to become high fey, Nesta loathes her very existence. She never asked for the immense power inside of her and the nightmares. Nesta no longer feels like she even fits into her own skin, let alone being able to find a place to call home. She would rather drown herself in alcohol than come to terms with her new reality. But Feyre is done providing her sister an easy escape and forces her to train with Cassien. Nesta loathes the male and seethes as she is given the choice to move into the House of Wind and begin training, or else be thrown into the human lands. Lands where the human queens have begun to plot against the fey. Aligning themselves with powerful allies and chasing old legends to gain power. The queens quickly become a new threat that must be dealt with.

Nesta did not immediately grab my attention when she was first introduced to the series. Her personality was too cruel for me, but after seeing a peek inside of her head during A Court of Frost and Starlight I wanted to give her story a try. Watching Nesta come to terms with her new reality and the mistakes of her past was an intense journey. Once I was able to piece together who Nesta was, I understood her better and though I still didn't like her personality I was curious to see where the story would take her.

Nesta has an internal battle plaguing her as she also deals with complications from PTSD. Unwilling to show her weakness to others, she would rather lash out and keep people at arm's length. She is a character who spares no one mercy. As the story progresses people continue to chip away at the ice surrounding Nesta, and she fights tooth and nail against them. When the story focused on Nesta's development it was brutal and intense. I enjoyed every moment of seeing Nesta learn how to communicate and form emotional ties to people once again. But unfortunately, the majority of A Court of Silver Flames is sex.

The previous installments in this series did have sex, but they also had beautiful storytelling. They had world-building that slowly expanded with each new addition, battles, magic and so much more outside of romantic relationships. There was a balance between the romance and the plot development. However, readers will barely hear about the queens. If anything, the growing unrest is the background plot. I wanted to know more about the queens, the ancient powers and see Nesta more involved with what was happening. If Sarah J. Maas would develop her entire plot like she did the last portion of A Court of Silver Flames. I would have enjoyed it so much more.

This series has steered away from telling a story to writing about adult fantasies which are not my cup of tea. This happened when I read Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, where the plot ceased to even exist. And I'm not sure I want to stand by and continue to watch such a wonderful series deteriorate. Sorry, my fellow bookish friends, I know many of you love this series, but I believe this is where my journey ends.