Oh now THIS is the ACOTAR book I’ve been waiting for! A Court of Silver Flames is BY FAR the best book in the series, in my humble opinion. I delayed picking up this fifth instalment due to the very lacklustre affair that was book four, A Court of Frost and Starlight. BUT I am pleased to say I was surprised and delighted by A Court of Silver Flames.
Opening sentence: The black water nipping at her thrashing heels was freezing.
Thank goodness for Nesta and Cassian
A Court of Silver Flames is better all round in terms of pacing, plot and spice levels but its biggest winning point is that it is not narrated by Feyre and Rhysand, but by the far more interesting, Nesta and Cassian.
I know Nesta isn’t everyone’s favourite character, but she’s definitely mine! She is layered and has depth and yes, is a bit guarded and bitchy and is bad at communicating her true emotions, but she loves reading spicy books (love the self-reference there), loves dancing, goes out of her way to help those she cares about, has determination and courage and an insane level of untapped dark power. How can you not love that combo in a character?
Cassian was good. In his soul, in his warrior’s heart, Cassian was good in a way Nesta knew most people were not. In a way she knew she was not and would never be.
I also find Cassian to be a far more engaging narrator than Rhysand, he has heart and we learn a lot about him as he can’t always fall back on being ‘the greatest High Lord who ever lived’.
Plot-wise, A Court of Silver Flames pretty much follows the fantasy book rules of going on mission to retrieve things in order to save kingdoms. Although I did find myself enjoying this version most out of all the books in the series.
The Dread Trove. She had to find the Dread Trove. The Mask, the Harp, the Crown.
However, the absolute core and brilliance of A Court of Silver Flames lies in Nesta’s personal character development and the enticing way her relationship with Cassian was drawn out through these pages.
Nesta is a wolf who has been locked in a cage her whole life.
But why…
I feel in all the books in this series there are always things I find strange, plot wise, for example: Mor – a key member of the group in previous books was just written out of this one on some random mission and I did think it was an unusual take to give Feyre and Rhysand arguably their most interesting storyline in all five books (and reveal something pretty key about their relationship) and not give them one POV chapter to explain in any detail their thoughts and feelings.
Also – Elaine has the gift of foresight yet NOT ONCE does anyone ask her to help or does she do anything with it.
It’s a weird position to be in: to say that out of the five books in a series you have read, so far you only really enjoyed three of them, this one, A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Wings and Ruin.
While I’m not totally into ACOTAR as much as I know so many other people are, A Court of Silver Flames has sparked my interest and yes, I will read the next book in the series when it’s published. Fingers crossed it’s a Bryaxis POV story.
- Get your copy of A Court of Silver Flames here;
- Published by Bloomsbury 2021;
- 768 pages;
- Book review rating:
Books on the 7:47 