I am going to start off by saying this was by far the best book Maas has ever written. I felt Nesta was truly redeemed by the end of the book and we saw some serious growth in her as the book plays out. I may also add it was extremely spicy so this book is definitely not for young eyes as are any of the other books. I digress though.
The start of the book was probably the hardest and most hard-hitting connection of the book to me. If anyone knows me well they know I am an abuse trauma survivor. This isn't the same as Nesta's. Though trauma survives can cope in similar ways. We both resorted to drinking and find pleasure in the sexual side of life. We took out our anger on those we care about and love. We push away those who want to help us or see the good in us even though we don't see it at all.
I'm still processing the whole thing as an experience. Normally I can move on pretty quickly from a book and start the next, but I am definitely needing more time to really gather my feelings here. The adventure Nesta went through from her self-loathing, coping skills to the self-sacrificing sister was really a transformation. She willingly gave everything up for her sister, Rhys, and Nyx. She saved them with everything she had. She trained hard in order to overcome her trauma and gained some friends along the way. Two friends, who would go on with Nesta to beat the Illyrian Blood Rite. We find out more about another impending war that may be coming their way.
I have this constant question though. We see Tamlin briefly throughout the last couple of books and he is an utter mess. I would definitely like to see a redemption arch for him. Not necessarily a romance redemption arch. Just something. I have this theory that Elaine will end up with Lucien in the end. They will go back to spring and Elain will be this beautiful friend for Tamlin. Not as a lover, but as a genuine and honest friend. Someone who will help him grow and help Elain heal too, maybe while also working on her mating bond with Lucien. Elaine just always struck me as someone who belonged in the spring court. Her gardens were her joy, so where else would fit her best. Especially after reading the Azriel chapter that was included in this book, I definitely started shipping Azriel with someone else. For those of you who have read the book and the extra chapter from Azriel's perspective will know exactly who I am talking about. It seems too obvious for Azriel to end up with Elaine. He actually says something along those lines. It's kind of a, "Why do Rhys and Cassian get a sister, but I don't" kind of thing. Though I think this new development might be better suited to Azriel than Elaine will be.
Sorry, that was a tangent on my own theories and not really a review of the book. I did love that we got a glimpse at more lore from this series. We learned so much more about the past of the world and how dangerous somethings could be. We even saw a revival of an ancient group of female warriors, the Valkyries. I would love to this become the female equivalent of the Illyrians and maybe even something more powerful.
I feel I really can't tough enough on the fact that Sarah presented a realistic trauma coping response. This is great. I feel a lot of the time trauma is presented and it's either not realistic or it's viewed from someone else's perspective and not the actual victim. We don't normally see this raw negative reaction where you see the character fall back from progress and then climb back up. It always seems like they never fail. It's nice to read in stories, but it's refreshing to see a realistic character on the pages of a fantasy book. We really see so many facets of Nesta and see her go through many of the stages of grief when it comes to recovery. We even see her at her final breaking point. This was in chapter 50. She had done something out of spite and eventually beat herself over it. She broke emotionally without anger. She has this moment where Cassian thought she was going to erupt into a burst of anger and instead we see this vulnerable Nesta who needs someone else. She lays herself out bare. She finally met her breaking point and this is where the true healing begins I feel. She's still hesitant about a lot of things. But she starts accepting things and letting things happen.
I know this isn't like a chronological review. But I just felt there were aspects of this I really needed to touch on. To really show to you as readers why I felt this book deserves the amazing review and words I have for it. This book struck a real chord with me as I read. I felt I was Nesta. Sarah really did an amazing job after the bomb of Crescent City. The character depth through these pages really wowed me to the point I literally had to stop at times, process the pain and the reactions I was having as I felt for Nesta and connected on a very intimate level.
On a lighter note, this spicy scenes were fire. I mean literal fire. lol
10 out of 5 stars for A Court of Silver Flames
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