A Court of Silver Flames

A ​Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I admit to not being super excited about getting into Nesta's head. After all the interactions between her, Feyre, and Cassian, I was not a big fan of hers. Lucky for me, I've got a bunch of folks who read ahead in book club and they assured me that once you get through the first part and get "used to" Nesta, it's a good read.

Cassian and Nesta have obviously been fated since the first introduction. We saw breadcrumbs of attraction and fun sparring but it took a horrible turn after Nesta seemingly admitted her feelings on the battlefield and lost her father. Nest is also very obviously broken right now, to the point where Feyre and the rest of the gang need to perform an intervention. Given little to no choice in the matter, Nesta takes a job at the secluded library and agrees to train with Cassian every morning. It goes just about how you'd expect, including the hissy fit she throws at the start. We do, however, get to meet and learn a lot more about the folks we have met in previously books only in passing. The priestesses, the shop owner with the clipped wings - they both end up playing key roles in Nesta's transformation.

Cassian knows this will be a huge challenge, "wrangling" Nesta, trying to reign in his feelings, and also perform the duties Rhysand newly assigned him. The bigger story here is that the sorcerer at the lake and our least favorite (maybe?) fae lord in autumn are teaming up with the ex-human queen/crone to find three magical objects that do terrible things. Having been made by the cauldron, Nesta (of course) has the ability to find these things, too. Thus begins the big quest/adventure/almost war!

The more important storyline is about Cassian and Nesta's relationship and the recreation of Valkyries in this world. The sexy times were good here, but even more satisfying is the parallel story arcs of the women that usher in a new generation of female warriors. It felt very hunger games meets harry potter at times, but I'm not mad about it. I do, however, want a book to end without magical lifesaving because of love or whatever.

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