A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses Book 4)

A Court of Frost and Starlight was exactly what it was advertised as: a fun, short, and festive novella about the Inner Circle celebrating the Winter Solstice and Feyre’s birthday. Besides the festivities, we get to see the characters rebuilding Prythian and supporting each other in the aftermath of the war. This book is everything that I was expecting and more. I specifically saved it to read during the winter, instead of when it published, like everyone else. I’m glad I made that decision because I can imagine Velaris during the holidays so vividly while experiencing the cold weather myself. ACOFAS is a lovely, sweet, and lighthearted story with holiday cheer. However, it still has a dark, melancholy feel to it because of the scars that the war left in its wake. It warms my heart to read about the Court of Dreams feeling happy, festive, relaxed, and peaceful. After the distress and heartache in ACOWAR, they deserved to have a happy holiday. Especially since every character is still dealing with the impact. It’s awesome to have new content about my favorite characters, even if it’s just a novella. I would’ve been disappointed if Feyre’s narrative finished with ACOWAR. It was a good ending but it was too open for me to be completely satisfied with it. I love ACOFAS so much and I’m so happy that Sarah J. Maas wrote this book!! ——- Below, I mention what I love and dislike about ACOFAS, with specific spoilers and concluding thoughts. If you haven’t read ACOFAS and don’t want to be spoiled, do NOT read past this. If you want to be spoiled so you can decide to read this book, then be my guest. If you have read ACOFAS and are interested in hearing my opinions, then go ahead. Overall, thank you for reading my review!! ______ What I loved about ACOFAS: - The Inner Circle doing normal, fun things like shopping!! This isn’t something that’s seen often in a Fantasy world. - Multiple points of view!!! I enjoy reading books like this. Especially when there’s a large number of characters that I love. I want to know everyone’s thinking!! I think books written this way are more open minded, instead of viewing everything from one perspective. - CHAPTER 13. Feyre goes shopping with Elain in a weaver’s shop and asks about a tapestry. The weavers response about her grief and needing to create is powerful. This scene was so emotionally moving for me. I reacted the same way as Feyre while reading the chapter!! - Feyre beginning to paint again!! Also, her feeling weaver’s words in her heart and soul. I always love when characters have artistic hobbies. It was really motivating to see Feyre remember the Suriel and using those last words to make a change in Velaris. Feyre and Ressina (side character) starting free art therapy classes for children and parents was so inspiring!! I really enjoyed Feyre’s character in this book. The theme of using art to express emotions/trauma and to heal is the best part of this story!! - NESTA. I loved her character in ACOWAR and she was fabulous in that book. Although it was short, I’m glad that we got to read in her view. Nesta admitting that she feels nothing is sad, depressing, and concerning. I still love her character though. I like that Nesta has found somewhat of a friend in Amren. I strongly believe that Nesta deserves a happy ending! Yes, I’m extremely excited about the Nesta and Cassian spin-off book!!! - AMREN. She’s hilarious and such an entertaining character. Her reactions to the gifts she received is amazing. I love what Amren said about Nesta. I share the same thoughts about her. We got to see more of Amren & Varian, which I enjoyed. - ELAIN. She’s has a cute, kind, and gentle personality. It was nice to see her recovery from ACOWAR and busying herself with helping Nuala & Cerridwen. I can personally relate to Elain a lot in this book. - Feyre and Rhysand are relationship goals!! It’s so endearing the way that these cuties love and support each other through everything. I think everyone deserves a relationship like Rhys & Feyre! - The snowball fight Solstice tradition that Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel do at the cabin. This Illyrian bat trio is so adorable!! - Rhysand, Feyre, Amren, Mor, Cassian, Azriel, Elain, even Nesta and Varian spending time together!! The Court of Dreams laughter and giving gifts. I live for the banter between them!! They are my favorite fictional group characters and ACOFAS made me love the Inner Circle even more. ———- What I didn’t like about ACOFAS: - The wall scene. I wasn’t excited about it and I don’t care about this scene at all. I didn’t mind these scenes in the other books because they full length. It bothered me in ACOFAS because the book is shorter than the others. I’m over Maas sex scenes now though. Honestly, I would’ve preferred Azriel or Elain to get a chapter in their point of view than a full chapter about Feyre & Rhys making love (in such a short book). - Rhys going to the Spring Court and saying those negative things to Tamlin. I understand that Tamlin can’t be forgiven for his actions, but Rhysand’s words were unnecessary. As Lucien said: “Your mate should’ve known better than to kick a downed male” (page 165). However, I was relieved to see that Rhysand was self aware and knew he behaved poorly. - Elain and Azriel being the only two without a chapters in their points of view. I love their characters and I personally relate to them for different reasons. I really hope Sarah writes a spin-off book or novella to make up for this!! These dislikes are why I gave ACOFAS four stars instead of five. ——— ACOFAS didn’t really have much of a plot which I was completely fine with!! I was anticipating this because it’s just a novella to update us on the characters before the spin-off novels. For this reason, I can somewhat understand why the general consensus about ACOFAS is that it’s disappointing. Especially since most people in the book reading world read Fantasy books. ACOFAS is much more character oriented and not plot friendly. As I said above, I think this is something that’s not usually seen in a book set in a Fantasy world. I primarily read YA Contemporary books, so I’m accustomed to reading character oriented stories. ACOFAS didn’t disappoint me at all! What disappoints me is the mixed and negative comments about it. I wasn’t expecting so many low reviews for a Sarah J. Maas book because most of them well received. As usual, I have an unpopular opinion about a Sarah J. Maas book or character(s)!! In conclusion, I throughly enjoyed reading A Court of Frost of Starlight. I think it’s a wonderful, amazing, and positive story that’s worth reading, especially if you’re like me: a die hard ACOTAR fan. This book is now one of my favorites!!

*Spoilers OK, first of all I do love these books, but the excessive melodrama and vomiting nearly made me put each of the previous books down for good because it was so mentally exhausting. Even now, I'm not sure I can pick up book 5 and face Nesta's vitriol. I could understand if she was going through something causing her to be that way but she started nasty and just got worse for no apparent reason. At this point I'm not sure if she can be redeemed and I don't want to escape reality by listening to her throw everyone around her in the trash again and again (poor Cassian!). Also, it was disappointing how little Feyre used her powers. I thought I'd get to see her powers grow, maybe close to the level of Rhys' and help decimate the Hybern army. OK, OK. Having gotten all that off my chest, I still stuck through all these books and gave four stars (I wish I could rate series instead of individual books). This is because the storyline, the romance, and the detailed characters (including their distinct personalities) really kept me powering through. I couldn't put the books down because I wanted to hear more about how this inner circle of friends beat everything and how much Feyre and Rhys loved each other. On top of that the writing technique was excellently vivid. P.S. For those of you who do not like competitive love triangles (which is hinted at in the first book and half the second book) the author makes a satisfying transition to Feyre and Rhys being together. So, you'll thank me if you keep going.

I logged in to Goodreads to give this novella a 3 star rating...then dropped it to 2 stars when writing this review...then pulled it back up to 3 later just because of how much I love the overall series. I just went in to this 100% down to read sappy, pointless, fanfiction novella of ACOTAR, loving the characters and thrilled to see Feyre again and happy to just read about the Inner Circle having fun—I was EXPECTING it to be pointless and a little tacky! I’m so surprised at how disappointed I still am. Somehow, this novella is a whole different genre than ACOTAR. This is a contemporary book, not a fantasy. Pluck these characters from their world and plop them in ours, and you’d hardly blink an eye. That sucks. This starts one year after the last, and the timing is real weird because it seems like Feyre has lived there much longer. No one is more surprised than I when I say Feyre and Rhysand have lived their happily ever after and need to leave. They’re retiring—WE GET IT. I am happy, and they earned it, but Please don’t make retired folks the MCs? I was peering around the edges of pages trying to glimpse more Cassian, Az, and Mor interactions because page after page of Feyre/Rhys sex is just agony. The characters just regressed back to their pre-ACOTAR lives, except for when they were written entirely different from any previous representation. For a hunk of the novel, we get thoughtful, sharp-witted, snarky Feyre, but then out of nowhere she’s a jerk to Lucien. Why? Why does she disparage his experience when she never has before, yell at him for making friends, and essentially tell him he should be grateful to spend time with them? In fact, she says much the same to Nesta and Elain too. But when people talk back to her, she shuts up and cowers instead of pressing her point. That is not the Feyre from the books—that’s like 2nd book Feyre, bored in the castle and waiting for her man to return from his political shindigs. I wanted more from Mor than her “giving bad gifts” and still wondering if she’s tough enough to overcome her past—wasn’t that what the last couple books were about? Mor is sidestepping her sexuality, seemingly more worried about it than she even was in the last book, and there’s just no tension because there’s been ZERO homophobia this whole series. There was no growth for her character here. And I wanted that new growth for Amren too. I’m not talking about her personality changing, but she does LIKE her friends, right? Amren is mortal now, but all that changes her is that she's now… somewhat disgusting? (view spoiler). Was she this way in the last couple books and I’m just misremembering? Nesta took back all the sisterly growth she had accumulated in the last book, but I couldn’t care less about that character. Really, I know people are digging her and I’m really trying, but she is so awful to everyone that at some point mental health cannot atone for being a dick. I’ve read reviews saying this book alienated some readers from Nesta, and I encourage you to seek out more reviews if you care about that. Cassian’s backstory was the highlight of this novella. But this character, too, has changed from the novels. He’s occasionally silly, but mostly sad and serious. Even in the first books, when Cassian came back to the Illyrian Camps, he was still pretend-jovial and not so self-pitying. He knew his worth and he owned it—he didn’t hesitate to speak to the leader or weasel away from him friends to avoid conversation. Does he deserve to mourn his dumpster fire childhood and less-than-awesome mate? ABSOLUTELY YES. But he never has before, so why is he publicly letting others see it? (and, more importantly, why didn’t we SEE why he’s changed? Why must we guess?) Why is no one helping him through this or even acknowledging it? You’ll notice I didn’t include Azriel here. Where was Azriel? I don’t know. The whole novel, he’s just this side character noticed peripherally by characters when he quips a great line to break the tension. I would have loved to see a bit on his backstory like we’d glimpse Cassian’s, or even just an actual conversation with him that’s not intelligence gathering. This poor guy. There is one scene with Az, Cassian, and Rhys that is just so sweet, and if you haven’t read the book, stop reading this paragraph here. For real….the snowball scene was lighthearted and really highlighted the bond these characters supposedly have with each other, and I wish we could have seen even more of that carelessness. Unfortunately, my brain was a bit tainted with wondering why Feyre wasn’t invited to any of the activities (except to offer to sex it up in the steam room?? So much sex) and Mor’s “that’s a GUY activity so I usually sit inside instead” response. I’ve never got sexist vibes from any other ACOTAR book—why this one? There are a thousand reviews here that sum up the sexism better than I can, but let me concur that yes, Feyre is treated as a housewife, doesn’t do anything brave or High Lady-ish, and is propositioned by Rhys every page of this book. SMJ, bless her heart, cannot write smut. There’s no tension because everyone’s turned on 24/7, 95% of the sex scene is a metaphor or abstract, and it’s just...gross? I can’t tell you if it’s too vivid or not vivid enough, but if you read the other ACOTAR books, I’m sorry to say her smut writing does not get better. I ADORED the scenes of Feyre interacting with the city. They were beautifully done and expanded the world. These moments brought me back to what I loved about the ACOTAR series: Maas’ ability to bring characters to life. THAT’s what’s missing in this novel! Maas is character driven, and there’s no characters to drive here. Everyone is stagnant. This sounds harsh, but let me sum up? - Lots of sex talk and scenes - No action at all - A little bit sexist - Great worldbuilding and periphery characters - Out of character main characters - Cassian backstory - Surprisingly little gift giving and celebration for that being the buildup in the first 30% of the novel - Nesta kinda tainting every group moment - Elain’s doing better! - Multiple POVs (Feyre and Rhys in 1st person, everyone else in 3rd) There’s no growth in this book, but it does at least give you the world again, and that’s nice, right? Also, this is not completely reflective of SJM's writing. As others noted, the writing style is completely different, but SJM explained in the afterword that this was a very personally stressful time for her. She had to make a deadline when she didn't want to. That does not influence my enjoyment of the book, unfortunately, but this shouldn't make anyone think less of Maas.

Another great addition to the story and this world! - Sorry this is long and thoughts are random. First, I have to say if you went into this novella thinking it was going to be a serious plot and similar to the books then I can totally understand the negative review. But SJM did say this was her fangirling her own work! I honestly liked the light-heartedness and no-anxiety events and just wanted to live with these characters a little longer. So, with that being said here are all my thoughts I had to get on paper after reading and sorry but there may be some *spoilers* ACOFAS really showed how much SJM loves these characters! It was so nice to get to live with these characters and see them interact and live without the stress and anxiety of impeding terror, war, conflict or just the angst and impeding “will they/won’t they” of love. Even though it was a novella I am grateful we got another book from not only Feyre’s POV but Rhys, Nesta, Mor and Cassian’s as well. This made it especially wonderful to get into their heads and a nice segway into the next set of books. I like the path Elain is starting to head down – she seems to have accepted her situation and trying to live this new life. I’m also liking this possibility of Elain and Az becoming an item with their little interactions and flirting. This also lent to some very funny situations in the book during Solstice. As much as I love Lucien, I like the idea of Elain not settling for her mate at face value and doing her own thing. Though part of me is kind of not thrilled with all 3 sisters being with the Illyrians. But I think Lucien is more suited for Vassa, in my opinion. Tamlin – My perspective of Tamlin has changed. After ACOWAR was released I took a step back from this whole, read a bunch of books and really distanced myself knowing this novella was coming out in May. I wanted to reread the whole series trying to recreate reading for the first time and honestly this time around I saw Tamlin in a different light. Don’t get me wrong, I think Tamlin did some really horrible things and I’m interested to see where he goes from here after reading ACOFAS, but I feel bad for the guy now. Loved he got what he deserved but in the same breath I hate that is had to get so bad for him too FINALLY realize what he had done. This guys just can’t get a handle on doing things without going to the extremes. Also, I need to give my boy, Rhys, a high five for finally saying what he did but also to go back and be the better person and almost apologize. Tamlin is a flawed character I think by circumstance, he is prideful, set in the old ways (though he says he wants change) and even though he tried to do what he thought was right. I think he cared too much and just didn’t have the right people around him to guide and advise. Rhys has mentioned prior that if it wasn’t for Amren, Mor, As & Cassian he could have turned out just like his father but he had a circle of friends that weren’t afraid of him. Tamlin truly never learned how to properly communicate, he let his beast rule on action & emotion and that was very evident on how he treated Feyre and would react to situations. I’ll be curious to see how his situation and actions evolve in the next books. Parts of this book had me out right bursting with laughter! Can’t believe I’m saying this but I don’t think I can love Rhys more – this book was amazing to see him without the mask – he is such a dork! Loved the cocky, snarky banter and sarcasm along with his undying love/affection for Feyre. Also, how the Inner Circle was just as sarcastic and open right back at him. So sad this could be the last from his POV. I was left in a good place with Feyre – it was nice to see her struggle and journey to healing. I feel she never really had much time to do anything with all the events of the previous books. Not only with healing herself but her ability to recognized and see that there are others that she could help by sharing her story and using her artwork. I liked that in the end she’s more open and accepting of herself and title, is now happy. Fingers crossed for baby Feysand! Nesta – Not sure I’m 100% with her. Too many questions here and love that Cassian is going to keep trying to push her. The next book should be interesting! I just feel like Nesta needs to get her head out of her butt and is just being too much of a b-word. I totally understand she had some tramatic stuff happen to her but Feyre and Elain did as well, you can even pull Mor and Az into that has other people have suffered at the hands of others and they are all able to lean on each other and learn to cope, accept, hope, dream and laugh and I feel Nesta is just needing to stop being so prideful and admit she needs helps. She doesn’t even need to openly say “I need help” just be around the people that want to help her and live life. We shall see….. Such a great way to bring together Feyre & Rhys’s story to show you can truly survive, find love and laughter after experiencing such darkness, torment, abuse and loneliness. I love how we got to see these characters rise above and desire such hope for the future after such trials. Not to let themselves be victims, broken and drown in it (like Tamlin’s doing) but to use it as strength. Lean on family/friends – give space when needed, but knowing when and how to push. Such great strong messages in such an amazing series. • Not sure I like no more townhouse ☹ • Wall scene! Rhys’s chapter after was so great! • Finally know where the clothes came from! Loved how SJM snuck in answers to some of the random thoughts and questions sprinkled throughout the books and added in some new characters. I did kind of want Mor to say she was leaving to join the Winter Court, though still curious to see what she will be up too. New unanswered questions 1. What are Keir and Eris up too 2. Are we going to see anymore of Miryam and Drakon or are they gone again 3. What’s going on with the “Band of Exiles” / The Mortal Queens / Vassa’s curse – could there be another conflict on the rise 4. Bryaxis

5⭐️ | 1.5🌶️ Okie, time for my review for A Court of Frost and Starlight! So, as I typically do, I finish a book and let myself stew in my thoughts for a few days before gathering my thoughts about a book for a review. It has been two days since I finished this wonderful little book and it is time to spew my thoughts into a review. I've been itching to get all these words down. There aren't any spoilers as of yet, but I will have some very particular thoughts towards the bottom of my review. In which I will warn you of beforehand. First and foremost, I did like this little journey from what we are all used to. It was a nice vacation from death and destruction and literally fighting for lives every second. I know that a lot of people have very strong opinions about how unnecessary this book is to the relevance of the series as a whole, but I truly think that it was a perfect breather, a palette cleanser if you will. That helps us transfer over from Feyre's story and into Nesta's story. Plus, it was just really nice and comforting to see everyone just hanging out and acting as normal as they can as a family and how they are adjusting to the aftermath of the war. It's books like these that give us enough background information, so that when going into a new idea and experience, we don't have to waste time on pleasantries and can jump right into it. (At least that is how it feels) I loved when they were celebrating Winter Solstice and Feyre's birthday. I thought that was extremely wholesome and made my heart happy. And it was also nice to get perspectives from more people that just Feyre and Rhys. And maybe I'm a sucker for sappy reads, but I was just kicking my feet and giggling while reading this whole book. However, I will say, that some parts of the book did seem a little out of place at moments. Those moments were very short lived, which was good. Just meaning that they did what they needed and didn't stay around too long. I really don't have too many bad things to say about it as a whole though. It was such a short and sweet book that had me continuously falling for the characters all over again. For all the reasons listed above and more, I decided to continue and rate the books and series as a 5/5 stars. (there are so many reasons why I rate this series a 5/5 stars and this book in particular isn't an exception!). The reasons in which I gave it a 1.5 chili peppers is going to be mentioned down below in the spoiler area. !!SPOILERS AHEAD!! !!WARNING, YOU ARE GETTING INTO DANGEROUS TERRITORY!! I first want to say how emotional and giddy I got when Feyre decided that she was ready to try for children. I don't know why, but the way that it played out in my head, it was so beautiful and intimate that it got me all mushy. And then the mood switched like that and they were all over each other. XD Which leads me to my last section of this review. So, I rated this book a 1.5/5 chili peppers because this book didn't have a lot of spicy. Which makes sense for how short this book is. However, there are at least two places in the book that got me doing a little happy dance for Feyre and Rhys. WHICH included the little mention of them having sex in the SKY, while Rhys was flying them down from the House of Wind. That seriously took me by surprise and made me chuckle at the thought of that. Just so kinky and dirty but I loved it. And of course, how can anyone forget how Rhys mindfucked Feyre whilst in the midst of having sex with her in the cabin. GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY. Got me going feral over here. No, but for real, those two instances were literally the only smexy times but they delivered in my opinion. !!SPOILERS END!! Again, my overall review of this book was overwhelmingly positive and I implore everyone to read it and at least experience it once before moving onto Silver Flames. With that being said, I can't wait to dig into A Court of Silver Flames as soon as possible! I've heard it's one hell of a ride. <3

I would give this book 5 stars but it arrived damaged. Still readable but half the pages are crinkled. This an amazing series! Very hard for me to put down.

I honestly didn’t realize how much I needed this "bridge" story until I started reading it. After all the chaos and heartbreak of the war, seeing Feyre, Rhys, and the rest of the family just... exist and find peace was so incredibly healing. This book is pure joy and atmosphere. I loved the focus on rebuilding Velaris and the beautiful descriptions of the Winter Solstice—it felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket. It was so heart-filling to see the characters navigating their new normal, exchanging gifts, and finding small moments of happiness amidst their scars. It’s a gorgeous reminder that even after the darkest battles, there is light, laughter, and a future worth celebrating. If you love this found family as much as I do, this novella is a total gift! On to the final book in the series. Well done, SJM.

I'm going to preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of Sarah J. Maas. Her writing is great. Her stories are intriguing and filled with adventure and danger and secrets and magic and friendship and love. They're highly entertaining, emotional, and grapple with big ideas. Are they without flaw? No. But I never thought I'd give a piece of her writing less than four stars. But here we are. I really wanted to love Frost & Starlight with the same boundless vigor that I give the original trilogy. But I just...didn't. To be honest, I'm weirded out. This is new territory for me. A Court of Frost and Starlight is a novella, clocking in at 229 pages, with a 20 page sneak peek at the next full-length book of the Court series, which has no set publication date at this time. From the beginning, it has been marketed as a bridge between the original trilogy and the spinoff series. Set in the Night Court over the Winter Solstice, it is, according to the jacket copy, a "tale of hope and promise" crammed with character development that will have a "far-reaching impact on the future of [the] court." I'm aware of this. I know there's only so much a writer can accomplish in 229 pages. I did not expect anything on the same level of her full-length novels. Part of me likes the domestic fanfiction-y vibe a majority of the book embraces. Emotionally-driven characters have been a staple and a strength of this series from the beginning. It's not a bad read. It's just not...a necessary read. Are there important plot elements introduced that lay groundwork for the spinoff series? Sure! Did they require an entire novella to set them up? Nope! I think my reaction is so lackluster because, to me, there wasn't anything major to react to. The most exciting part was the 20 page sneak peek, which made me shriek and hug things and wonder when the first spinoff novel would actually come out, because I want that book. That book is going to shake me up. But honestly? I was happy with where A Court of Wings & Ruin left everyone. I don't think I needed Frost & Starlight to hold my hand and lead me towards the next trilogy. Honestly, Frost & Starlight felt kind of like fan service. It gave us the highly anticipated wall scene (which my asexual ass skimmed through) but other than that? I acknowledge that there's no way to properly judge the success and relevance of Frost & Starlight as a bridge between series until we have Spinoff #1 in our hands. But I have this feeling that, down the road when both Court trilogies are on my shelf, Frost & Starlight will join Crown of Midnight in the "books that I skip over during rereads" category. Now, I still respect Sarah J. Maas, madly and wildly. She's a grown-ass writer who can make her own grown-ass choices about what she writes and what she chooses to publish. Am I mad that she published it? No. Am I judging other fans who really loved it? Hell no! It's not policy for me to shame anyone for liking what they like. But I would be doing myself and my brand a disservice by not reviewing honestly, so here we are. A Court of Frost & Starlight simmers with promises, but foreshadowed more than it actually delivered.