Note: this review contains plot spoilers.
In February 2021, Sarah J Maas released the newest instalment of her A Court of Thorns and Roses series, entitled A Court of Silver Flames. Previous books followed the character of Feyre, a human girl brought to Faerie lands who was then turned into a High Fae. Readers watched her escape an abusive relationship only to find her mate, Rhysand, and saw this strong female character fight great dangers to save the Fae Courts. Now, however, in the fifth book of the series, Maas finally gives us what we’ve been waiting for: a chance to understand Feyre’s oldest sister, Nesta.
Nesta is probably the most polarizing character in A Court of Thorns and Roses, with some people loving her and others hating her. She has never been a character who elicited much sympathy. When her family was starving, she didn’t raise a hand to help, despite being the eldest sister. After going through an incredibly traumatic experience, she engages in self-destructive behaviour, drinking excessively on Rhysand’s coin, and sleeping with a different stranger every night. Given these flaws, readers were pretty divided when it came to Nesta. However, A Court of Silver Flames has probably converted even her biggest critics.
In A Court of Silver Flames, Feyre stages an intervention and gives Nesta an ultimatum. She tells her to train with Cassian, a male she resents yet also desires, and work at a library staffed by women who have suffered traumatic experiences at the hands of men, or she will be sent back to the human lands. And while there is a larger plot at work in the book, which continues on from the third book of the series, A Court of Silver Flames is primarily focused on Nesta’s journey of growth and self-acceptance.
In it, we finally get a chance to truly see and understand Nesta. Maas exposes Nesta’s trauma and the darkness within her, and gives us a 751-page story about pain, guilt, rage, grief, and even vulnerability. Nesta becomes a three-dimensional heroine in her own right, and I absolutely loved seeing her slowly grow and become stronger, and learn to live with and embrace her experiences. The raw emotions we see in this book sets it apart from the rest of the series, and it is a very welcome change that signals a shift towards a more Adult, rather than Young Adult, direction for A Court of Thorns and Roses. Maas gracefully and sensitively handles issues of abuse and trauma, and shows that it is possible to grow stronger following hardship.
Especially beautiful to see are the bonds of friendship that Nesta forms over the course of the book. At the start, she is completely isolated, and her family either treat her with pity or judgement. However, over the course of the novel, Nesta begins to befriend women who have suffered through their own trauma, and finds the caring and supportive relationships that she has truly needed. Together, they train and become stronger, so that they will never be helpless again. This is empowering to see. Maas shows the power friendship has in enabling people to heal and recover from the pain they have experienced in a truly powerful way.
While fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses were excited to get to know Nesta a bit better, we were also undeniably excited to see Nesta and Cassian’s relationship develop. Fans have been shipping ‘Nessian’ practically since the two characters first met in the second book of the series. For the last couple of books, the sexual tension between the two characters has been palpable, so we all knew A Court of Silver Flames would be the perfect chance for them to act on their desires. And let me just say, the novel definitely lives up to our expectations.
My main critique is the lack of LGBTQ+ representation in A Court of Silver Flames, which has generally been a problem in most of Maas’ books. Previously, it was revealed that a main character, Mor, was bi-sexual, and we saw the pansexual character of Helion. However, neither of these characters made much of an appearance in this novel, and we aren’t introduced to any new LGBTQ+ characters (that we know of), which is disappointing.
Overall, A Court of Silver Flames exceeded a lot of people’s expectations, and sensitively handles topics of mental health and trauma. As with the rest of the series, there is a very strong feminist message in this book. And while there are some weaker elements to it, I would still definitely recommend it.
Image: Bath Festivals via Flickr
Image is a photograph of author Sarah J Maas