Book: A Court Of Frost And Starlight by Sarah J Maas

Published May 2018 by Bloomsbury YA|272 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: A Court Of Thorns & Roses #3.1

Genre: YA Fantasy

Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can’t keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated–scars that will have far-reaching impact on the future of their Court. 

As much as I love this series, I didn’t really love this one as much as I thought I would.  I was so excited for a new book in this series, but this one didn’t work for me.

I think part of it is that I didn’t re-read the series before reading this one, and I had a hard time getting back into this world.  It’s been almost a year since I read the last book in the series and even longer for the first and second books, so of course I don’t remember much of what happened.  It is funny, though, because her novellas are an average length book for most everyone else.

I was confused, too, because I was expecting more of a plot, and I felt like it actually took a while for it to show up. For most of the book, I felt like I was reading random scenes that didn’t really connect to each other.  Especially at first.  Also, while we see a lot between Feyre and Rhys, we also see some of the other characters.

In a way, it felt like it was setting things up for the rest of the series.  ACOMAF felt pretty resolved, and I wondered where the series was headed.  I have the feeling the rest of the books will focus on some of the other characters (Nesta and Cassian, anyone?) and it seems like something else is going to come up.  Hopefully our merry band of awesome people are going to deal with it together.

I did like that Feyre was out and about, and that she was getting back in her art.  I also have two words: drunk decorating.  That was fun to read.  I love her and Rhysand together, and as far as some of the other pairings go…let’s just say that some of them need to get it together.

Tamlin is still Tamlin, and while what he did wasn’t okay, he did seem to lose everything, and that part…it was a little hard to see.  I almost felt bad for him.  Almost.

Oh, and Elain!  Everyone seems to be pushing her towards a relationship.  It was clear to me that she didn’t want a relationship and/or wasn’t ready, and I just wanted her to be left alone about it.

Even though this is bridging books 1-3 and 4-6…I kind of feel like she could have added parts of this book to either ACOMAF or book 4.  I did like seeing the aftermath of the war, and I am curious to see what’s going to happen next.

3 stars.  I liked it, but I didn’t love it.  I wanted to, but I think I would have been just as fine not reading it.