I've seen the ACOTAR series compared to Lord of the Rings in another post, but I want to dive into comparing it to an old YA series: Shatter Me. Because I think Shatter Me succeeds at what ACOTAR does not - at least character-wise.
The Shatter Me series is a very stylized series, especially the first three books. And whether you like it or not, I think the strongest feature of the series is the characters and their development. I don't think it's a perfect series, but I still enjoy it for the characters alone. They all have such strong voices and personalities, it's always fun to watch them interact.
And the two characters I want to compare first are, of course, Rhysand and Aaron Warner.
Can these two be compared beat for beat? Probably not. One series is high fantasy. The other is a YA dystopian. The plots are different - let's win the war against the big bad vs let's take down the oppressive regime. The tones and themes are different. Rhysand is an immortal, 500 year old fae. Warner is a 19-20 year old young man and very human. But they have similar character plots that I think are worth talking about.
Warning: Spoilers for ACOTAR and Shatter Me series and some scattered thoughts
Both series, at least the first three in each, use the following structure: final romance interest of the protagonist is a morally gray, powerful person who later explains their poor treatment of the protagonist with more context.
I won't lie - Warner in book 1 of Shatter Me is the worst Warner. And Juliette rightfully shoots him at the end. Good for her.
But post-book 1 Warner is pretty consistent. I find him pretty distinct from book 1 Warner. Whether that's because he's simply out of the environment where he's forced to be Commander of Sector 45, or because he genuinely changes, it can be hard to tell. Maybe a little of both.
Post-book 1 Warner helps Juliette take down the Reestablishment, allies with a group of rebels to do so, houses said rebels in his own home, and works with them at Juliette's behest.
Rhysand is unfortunately subject to the whims of the plot, so it's harder to pin down his character. However, he continues to do a lot of underhanded things throughout the series after book 1 (steals from Tarquin, puts Feyre's life at risk for a ring that she did not know the context of, uses Feyre as bait for the Attor, etc.).
Both apologize later to the protagonist for their actions, and depending on if you think Rhysand really did apologize. The thing is, the apologies come at different times in their respective books.
Warner's apology and explanation come at the start of the third book. Juliette doesn't immediately jump into his arms. She takes time to process the information. She even says to him later that she needs time to learn who he is again, even though Warner insists he's always been the same. They get together when Juliette realizes she has a choice in who she can be with, that it's not limited by her powers.
Rhysand's apology and explanation comes at the end of the second book, upon which he and Feyre immediately get together. It's not the worst on first read, but then you think about it for a second and it's like, maybe she should take some time to process all that before they start having sex?
Both characters explain the context of their behavior in the prior books. However, I think Warner has a bit more leg to stand on than Rhysand. First, he's only 19 and clearly under direct pressure by his father to act a certain way. Every interaction with them, it's clear that Anderson has all the power, and Warner does not.
Rhysand, while under Amarantha's threat, still somehow has a considerable amount of power that he probably could have used a lot better. He makes an effort to make Feyre perceive him as an enemy so he can keep Amarantha's trust. But he's shown to be good at duplicity, so maybe use that here, too? He's trying to play a double agent, but from what we can tell, all he does is crush any attempts at rebellion under the assumption that it will fail (maybe it wouldn't have if you, the most powerful high lord in history, joined it), terrorizes Tamlin, does Amarantha's bidding in a way that slightly lessens the damage but really not by much.
Both have trauma - Rhysand from his family's death and UtM, Warner from his father and a very explicitly abusive childhood.
The big difference is that Warner's father is still alive, actively a part of the Reestablishment, aka the oppressive regime, and tries to make his son's life a living hell every time they're in a room together. Rhysand's family is dead, and we barely know what these people were like.
We don't actually know what Rhysand's relationship with his father was like. His father split up Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel because he feared the power they had together, but nothing to the degree of Anderson, who actively tortured his son in hopes of making him better.
Speaking of the IC, Rhysand has a group of people he can rely on, and has for centuries. In contrast, Warner has no friends. In the continuation trilogy, we learn he grew up with other children of the supreme leaders, but he never considered them friends. He's generally socially isolated, and he doesn't even like being around people. It's only until the continuation that he starts opening up to Kenji.
Now, we enter the petty portion of this post, where I say Warner is a better character than Rhysand.
For one, I believe Warner would do anything for Juliette. From book 2 and up, he's consistent in how much he cares about her. He saves her life at the end of Unravel Me, even though she had romantically rejected him earlier. In Ignite Me, he hides her in his living quarters, gives her the option to have her live somewhere safe, albeit isolated, and hides her friends in his living quarters so they can take down the Reestablishment and helps her do that, too. I'd also like to add, he's pretty doubtful of Juliette's friends from Omega Point, particularly Kenji.
In the trilogy's continuation, the miscommunication and things unsaid are because Warner's insecure about revealing them to Juliette. He's never really had to say these things to anyone. In his pov, he says he doesn't want Juliette to know how bad his life was and the terrible things he did because he doesn't want her to see him as the monster she once did. But at least you can get where he's coming from because he's literally only 19 as opposed to a 500 year old magical being.
Warner's secret keeping also doesn't threaten Juliette's life or survival, unlike Rhysand's.
And most of those terrible things he did were either orders from his father or he genuinely thought he was helping (ex. killing Seamus Fletcher because he was abusive to his family).
In this case, having Warner's pov helps the story, because we get another perspective and internal thoughts. We only got a few chapters of Rhysand in ACOFAS and it's mostly surface level writing of things a 500 year old being should have more thoughts about. Ironically, Warner feels older and more mature because of the writing and the way he thinks.
In Believe Me, he works to get people out of the asylum because he knows it's what Juliette wants, and she tells him how grateful she is because it means so much to her.
Heck, in The New Republic books, Juliette also goes through a complicated pregnancy, but she is 100% aware of it and so is Warner - unlike in ACOSF where Rhysand hid the risks of Feyre's pregnancy to her.
Rhysand and Warner also have the ability to sense people's emotions, to some degree. Rhysand is a daemati, so he can look into and manipulate the mind, and Warner can sense emotions. Even what they do with their powers is telling.
Some have pointed out if Rhysand has enough of his daemati powers, why didn't he choose to use them to comfort Feyre or help her more UtM or afterwards. While Warner has powers, he doesn't even realize he has them until the second book and learns to understand them. Once he does, he's very in tune with Juliette's feelings and comforts her when she's upset.
This is also where writing skill comes in. Rhysand's powers have no drawbacks or cons, so half the time it's a question of why don't you use these more often? The only thing stopping him is himself and any insistence of not mind reading "allies." Warner, on the other hand, cannot turn his power to sense emotions on or off. It's something that's just constantly happening to him, and even his own emotions or anxiety can override what he senses.
In conclusion: Shatter Me's Warner accomplishes what ACOTAR's Rhysand does not - having an angsty, complicated character as a love interest - with better set up, payoff, and writing.
SJM does a lot of copy and paste regarding names of historic things and folklore in her works. Normally, this would not be such a big deal if this was a different books series (if it had more whimsy, or didn't take itself so seriously, didn't simplify those references to racist and misogynistic charictatures, or bothered to do something with these references like use them to make commentary or support themes, etc.) but this is the series we have. So -
Let's play a drinking game. Doesn't have to be alcoholic (I recommend it's not). It's summer, so get your hydration on!
The game: How many references to other things are in ACOTAR?
(Disclaimer: I definitely miss some, but it's the thought that counts. I will also get my references from Wiki, so you know, a grain of salt. This is just a super amateur criticism and a lot of pettiness in post form.)
Prythian - derived from Prydein, which is what the Romans called the today's Britain (Prydein > Brittania > Britain)
Hybern - derived from Hybernia, what the Romans called the isle of Ireland
So it's literally just the UK and Ireland. And it's not the UK or even England who's the bad guys. (I could write a whole post about why this is wrong, but for the sake of time, I won't).
Illyrians - not sure if she somehow made this name up or if she found it, but they were a real tribe of people who lived in the Balkans, now reduced to misogynistic barbarians. Double drink.
Naga - creatures half human half snake found in many Asian mythologies. Pretty chill, considered divine beings, with rich lore depending on the region. Just scary creatures in the woods that like human blood. So - the snake version of wolves.
Bogge - probably a play on a normal bog, which in folklore contain willow o' wisps. In ACOTAR, it's a big, blobby fog that you have to not acknowledge to survive. So, sentient fog. Not the worst, but it's just there to be scary. Maybe also derived from boggart, an English house spirit that's generally malevolent.
Suriel - possibly derived from Sariel, an angel from Judaic tradition. Not much on the Wiki page, so for now I can give it a pass.
Stryga - a female demon in Slavic mythology, often comparable to a vampire. Okay, kind of makes sense with the Weaver in the Cottage - and then she dies very quickly in battle. She is beheaded, I believe, which is how to kill a strzyga or striga, but still requires some extra steps, which I'm pretty sure no one in battle took.
Koschei - a villain in Russian folklore, whose death is hidden in an egg (also hidden). Well, we don't know much about ACOTAR Koschei, but he'll probably have no personality and will be defeated easily after being off page for 90% of the book, so - eh.
High lords names, like 80% of them, and most of them are of Greek or Roman descent
Tarquin - probably picked up from the Tarquins family, notable members including Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (5th king of Rome) and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (7th king of Rome)
Kallias - likely derived from Calaïs, son of the north wind deity, Boreas. Although he could also be derived from Callias II, an ancient Greek statesman, though given the association to winter, I'm thinking the former
Eris - the Greek goddess of strife
Thesan - Etruscan goddess of dawn
Helios - derived from Helion, Greek Titan and personification of the sun
Tamlin - from the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin, originally a human living in the fae realm, who is rescued by a human woman from the Queen of Faeries
(Don't get me started on a rant about naming conventions - that's also for another day).
Mor or Morrigan - an Irish deity, "associated with war and fate especially with foretelling doom, death, or victory in battle." Yeah, she already sounds 100% cooler than ACOTAR Mor, who does... nothing particularly significant.
(Odd that Rhysand's name is just a common Welsh name, of all things.)
That's all I have for now, but feel free to point out anything I missed.
I like the Valkyries as a concept - as an all female warrior group who fights for no one but justice.
But this is about the execution - which I don't like.
The Lost History
Really, this is just an excuse to build the Valkyries the way SJM wants them to be for ACOSF. A clean slate. Aside from the mind stilling and them being all women, there's nothing particularly unique about them.
You couldn't have taken inspiration from any other band of warriors, all women or not? The Fianna, an ancient Gaelic group of warriors, memorized books of poetry as part of their training.
These women work in a library - a repository of knowledge at their fingertips. They have the power and weapon of knowledge. Let me see them dive into the lore of Prythian, have opinions on politics, enact strategy to help those in need. They're from different parts of Prythian, or at least the Night Court, right? Let them compare their stories, what life was like before coming to the Library.
Of course, there's the inspiration from the Hunters or Artemis and Amazons in Greek mythology. From what I gather, they didn't have a purpose to anyone but themselves, as an alternative for women who didn't want to live in society or wanted another option than marriage.
There's the Norse Valkyrie, who guide souls to the afterlife, but there's not a lot of guiding souls to anywhere in ACOTAR.
All to say, aside from the fighting and the mind stilling, I wished the Valkyries in ACOTAR/ACOSF had made their own purpose. But I fear that it will be to fight for the Night Court, more than anything.
The Mind Stilling
So, you're telling me there's not a single other band of warriors or soldiers who use a form of meditation? No one else? Meditation doesn't exist in any other context, either?
This was a big point in ACOSF because it was meant to help Nesta heal her trauma, but as most other readers critical of SJM's work point out, there were literally hundreds of other options that could have happened, it's just the book takes the worst path for the sake of this plot.
Becoming the Valkyries
Half of forming the Valkyries is mostly just getting the women in the Library to learn to fight - and it's Cassian and Azriel who are doing it.
On the one hand, I get that this new version of the Valkyries will be somewhat Illyrian derived (the leathers, the fighting, etc.), but it would also have been cool if they could have somehow learned other fighting techniques. Especially since all the Illyrian warriors are men and the Valkyries are women. The way they move, the center of balance, the weapons they might use, will likely be different from the Illyrians.
And there's gotta be at least one Valkyrie who has actual magic, right? Nothing about honing magic to help them?
Also, since I'm confessing: I hate the fan art of the Valkyries. Not because they're not good. There's so much fan art where the lines are clean, the lighting is exquisite, the colors are gorgeous, and the forms are impeccable. The skills of fan artists are not the problem.
My problem is the general concept of female warriors in form fitting to tight looking all black leather with a white ribbon around their foreheads. To me, they look like slightly upgraded ninjas.
I get that in context, they're borrowing a lot from Illyrian warriors, because it's Cassian and Azriel who are teaching them to fight, but I feel like after hundreds of pages (757 according to Goodreads), they should have been able to form their own identity.
Why are we basing their abilities on whether or not they can manage an obstacle course as a qualifier for the Blood Rite? Sure, there's the whole, ribbon cutting thing, but I need more than this.
I know we're still early in the formation of the Valkyries as a group, but it's not like we haven't read a handful of books where we still don't know much about several characters. I fear the Valkyries will just be another plot device in the ACOTAR world rather than its own unique entity.
No, really, think about it. The entire ACOTAR series is a printed game of "yes and" with no rules except the ones you make up on the spot - or also take away on the spot.
Feyre was once a traumatized young woman who had some compassion for others? Well, now she's traumatized and entitled to everything and everyone around her.
Shouldn't Rhysand and the IC make a more diplomatic approach to Tarquin to get the Book of Breathings? Nope, theft it is.
Should Rhysand and the IC really rely on a glass orb that shows you stuff without context or sound to human queens who have no reason to trust them? Eh, it works out mostly.
Mates are likely just the universe trying to get the next powerful child out of a couple, but that won't stop people from hoping the partners they're with will be mated to them.
Hey, cool, a new antagonist! I wonder what they'll do? What are their motives? Oh, they're killed off pretty quickly.
ACOTAR is what happens when you're playing imagination with other kids and everyone just adds on whatever they want with no logic or explanation. Fun for a game of imagination, but it makes a terrible book series when you know for a fact there are other series that do it 10x better.
With the lack of anything coming out about ACOTAR 6, I feel like an employee at a casino:
"Place your bets now people! Will it be about Elain and Azriel getting, together? Elain and Lucien? How about Azriel and Gwyn? Spin the wheel for the next baddie! Over or under for if Feyre and Rhysand will take over the narrative."
"Will the cover be pink and purple? Will it feature a flower? Flames? Vague wisps of shadow?"
"What nouns will the title include? Dawn and dusk? Day and Shadow? Petals and rivers?"
I wish I didn't have to think like this, but following the train wreck that was ACOSF, it's hard not to.
(I know this is a belabored point, but why not belabor it some more?)
Seriously, why? It doesn't really serve the story in any way, and actually makes the IC look worse as characters because they act like 20-year-olds. As I'm saying this, I think they were a prototype for the men in the CC series, with the whole frat-bro vibes. But the worlds are supposed to be different.
CC is an urban fantasy where the dudes are actually in their 20's and have little responsibility when the story starts. The IC are supposed to run a court and actually make sure things don't fall apart. They should have some levels of wisdom and intelligence, but at every turn it suddenly drops into the negatives.
The only real distinction that the 500 years puts on the IC is that Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel served in the first war we hear about. Other than that, everything in their backstories could have been a mere 100 years ago. That's a more manageable age for fae.
It would also make their personal losses and traumas more fresh, so them reacting badly to something feels more sensible. Not that trauma is just something that goes away, but I feel like we're toeing the line of disbelief for 500 year old fae.
Heck, I don't even think Lorcan in Throne of Glass had any real hang ups from his past, and he's 500 years old. (Actually, come to think of it, we know very little about his past, just that he's demi-fae and serves Maeve, which becomes a recent point of conflict.)
In Throne of Glass, I think it made sense for Lorcan to be 500 years old because he was jaded and cynical. Again, we don't know much about his past, but we get the sense that he's seen it all and nothing really surprises him. Nothing brings him any real joy, until Elide.
So with that being said, why aren't the IC more jaded and cynical? Why aren't they more emotionally distant? Why don't they treat things more objectively? Why are they so invested in Feyre's human sisters, who will die very quickly in their perspectives?
What makes Lorcan and the IC so different? They're roughly the same age and live/have lived in a world of fae.
Elide, human and young and magically powerless as she is (no, I don't count the whole goddess watching over her thing), manages to surprise Lorcan and be right about the way to get desired results (tricking the troupe to take them in, etc.).
Making the IC centuries younger would give them more to prove. It would make sense if that's why others don't take them seriously, because they're new to their positions. They'd make mistakes because they don't know what they're doing. They're younger, so they make more impulsive choices.
With this in mind, I wonder if Tamlin and Lucien should remain older than the IC, or make them relatively the same age.
*Sigh* the possibilities for a story that makes some sense. And all you have to do is change the ages.
Trying To Predict the Writing of Future ACOTAR Relationships by Looking at Past Ones
I've see a few posts comment on their fear of their favorite ship being poorly written. Do I care who ends up with who? No. But I get it.
I don't think it matters which side of the ship you're on, but after ACOSF, I think fans' doubts are valid.
ACOSF was such a cliff dive into "what the hell" territory in every conceivable way. It felt like SJM was trying to fit Nesta and Cassian into a Feyre and Rhysand romance box while simultaneously making both relationships terrible. Feyre and Rhysand are basically cartoon villains with a coat of hero paint. Cassian is embodying all his worst qualities - some of them I didn't even think he had before this book. Nesta is the only one who feels sympathetic to anything happening around her.
Elain, Lucien, Azriel, and Gwyn are very different characters from Feyre and Rhysand and ACOSF Cassian. Well. I think Azriel's different from Rhysand and the IC, it's hard to tell at this point. That one short in CC3 also felt like what ACOFAS was to ACOSF.
But Elain, Lucien, and Gwyn definitely are. They (and Nesta) feel like people whose first instinct isn't to reach for violence but to try diplomacy in some form, which is the opposite tactics of the IC.
I don't want any of these ships - no matter the combination - to be a copy and paste of Feyre and Rhysand. The thing about romance is that there are all kinds of romance, and SJM knows this. Think of the Bridgerton series, which encompasses different kinds of romances - fake dating, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, a rags to riches story.
Part of me even wonders if she cares about the romance if she's so fixated on Rhysand. In that case, the story should have just been about Feyre and Rhysand.
But she has written other romances before - I think - so let's take a look at them. Granted, Throne of Glass was definitely more plot driven than character driven, and while the romantic relationships existed, they weren't the main point of the story. They were like an extra bonus.
Disclaimer: I only read Heir of Fire and up in the Throne of Glass series, because I just wanted to jump to the romantic interest Aelin was going to stay with. I also haven't read Crescent City, because I wasn't interested in an urban fantasy. But I have heard things.
Aelin and Rowan - Admittedly, early Aelin and Rowan's dynamic looked a lot like Feyre and Rhysand's, and ACOSF Nesta and Cassian's, almost a prototype of them. A relatively mortal human/fae with a really old fae and they trade snark. I liked their dynamic in Queen of Shadows, where they had a sort of BFF relationship, and Rowan supported Aelin in her efforts to forward the plot. But then, Rowan sort of takes a backseat. He's only there to support Aelin, and he had 2 paragraphs of angst over the truth of why Lyria was killed in Kingdom of Ash.
Lysandra and Aedion - Were a fairly steady couple up until Lysandra impersonated Aelin, who did not tell Aedion, and he rejected her, and then they made up because death is imminent.
Dorian and Manon - They were fine. I know a lot of people like them, but I didn't really think much about them. Actually, I preferred Dorian and Sorcha, the servant who was secretly a rebel, an everyday person who was compassionate but had a will of iron as she was willing to spy.
Elide and Lorcan - This was the couple I rooted for the most, because they had more dynamics between the two. Elide is probably the only mortal with no powers, but she uses her wits and observation skills to survive. Lorcan, a 500 year old demi-fae with powers, gains respect and admiration for her, and they gradually grow closer. Every other couple is equally matched in combat/magic/healing/etc.
Their personalities also complemented each other. Though she had suffered, Elide was still generally hopefully, while Lorcan was generally jaded and cynical. They work off of each other. Sometimes diplomacy and social manipulation work (Elide's speciality) and sometimes brute strength and violence work (Lorcan's speciality).
And it was all going well. Until the near end when Elide sort of told Lorcan he could just die because she was still angry at him for calling Maeve. And then they make up.
But you see a pattern? Someone does something and it's honestly a pretty terrible thing to do (Lysandra/Aedion, Elide/Lorcan), and they make up because war and death are coming. The relationship trucks along until it takes a sharp left turn into "why" territory. I heard the same thing happened in CC with Bryce and Hunt.
And yes, I know there's Chaol and Yrene, and Nesryn and Sartaq, but I never really understood Chaol or Nesryn's personalities, so I'm putting them in the "eh, they're fine" category. Yrene only hated Chaol at the start by virtue of being an Adarlan solider and then they got to know each other, and Nesryn and Sartaq always had mutual respect.
All to say, SJM did technically do romance but then had to throw a weird problematic thing in the cogs for the sake of drama. And does anyone ever talk about this in depth? No.
I know it's only been 2/3 romances (just focusing on the Archeron sisters), but we're getting to the last one, and we still don't know anything about this multi-part story.
Uh, so, in conclusion... I probably missed a bunch of stuff, but at best, whatever ships sail will be fine. At worst, they'll have pointless drama that will be glossed over.
I'm remembering that scene in ACOWAR where Mor and Vivienne reunite. At the time, I was like, okay, cool, friends together again. But now that I think about it -
The scene plays out in a way that makes it seem like they haven't seen each other in years. Okay. Fine.
But if you really cared that much, wouldn't you have written each other? What, Mor didn't eventually make contact with Vivienne after Amarantha died and the dust settled? It's been months since the end of ACOTAR and the middle of ACOWAR. You didn't bother to check in with a close friend?
Communication between courts is an established thing. Otherwise, how would you all get together for a high lord meeting? You're getting ready for a war that effects multiple courts. Of course you should be able to contact each other!
Mor can also winnow! Why wouldn't she just pop into the Winter Court for a quick visit?
So there's no reason for you to be this giddy about not seeing each other or at least hearing from each other after you had months to check in!
All the characters are pretty much at the whims of the plot, but especially the Archeron patriarch. Disclaimer: there's much rambling ahead, mostly about inconsistent writing.
I've seen fanfics that give the sisters' father a form of dementia or Alzheimer's, and while I can see it, I only see it up to a point. It makes sense if he's suffering from dementia when he made bad investments/poor merchant choices and was stuck in the cottage, but then Tamlin puts a glamour on him and gives him back his wealth.
If he did actually have dementia, I personally don't think a faery glamour would be enough to sustain him. The glamour was just a reset button, a sort of way to erase the last several years of poverty. It doesn't stop him from making bad decisions, and I don't think it would act as a cure for something like dementia or Alzheimer's. All it does is make it easier to explain's Feyre's absence and why he has money again.
It would help if we knew what human society was actually like, but since we really don't, most of the fans have to assume it's strictly patriarchal (despite the fact that it's ruled by queens, presumably?) and rigid social norms.
It would at least explain why the sisters' mother and grandmother was able to get away with abusing Nesta for so long, because he probably saw it as "women's business."
There's hints that he cares: when he makes sure Nesta doesn't marry a duke at age 14, I think it's mentioned that he would talk about the merchant business with Feyre when she was young, and he eventually came at the end of ACOWAR to help Feyre and Co. But, again, it's not consistent.
Especially when you have to wonder - who told him about anything that was happening? As in, the entire plot of the series? I know he meets Vassa at some point, but, like, how'd that conversation go? "Oh, by the way, your daughters are now fae, the very things you fear - don't ask how - and there's a giant fae war happening that could kill everyone. We need your help. Also, I'm cursed, so don't freak out if you see a flaming bird."
Additionally, if we're operating under a strict patriarchal society, and, say, women have to have a male relative around to be safe, why the hell is Papa Archeron away on business, leaving Nesta and Elain alone? Narratively, it's a convenient way to get him out of the picture while Feyre, Rhysand, Azriel, and Cassian visit, but in this context it puts the two sisters in a vulnerable position if something were to happen.
If I had to characterize him, I'd say he was an extremely prideful man who only let himself care when it was convenient for him or when he had the luxury to do so. He didn't make Nesta marry at 14 because he didn't need her to, but he did nothing in the cottage because his pride was broken. And even though he wasn't able to do physical work (what with the injured leg), he could theoretically still do paperwork - you know, the thing he was good at before the losing everything.
If I remember correctly, he also didn't call for a doctor when his wife got sick, but I could be wrong.
I know people dunk on Nesta and Elain for doing nothing, but Papa Archeron (and Mama Archeron and Grandmother Archeron) is right there. Aside from the Lady of Autumn (and I'm sure there are details about her backstory that don't make sense, either), the support group for terrible parents is well-attended.
More Proof that SJM Just Picked Random Numbers for Ages
Cassian being 3 or 4 at most when he was thrown into training camp. How is he possibly surviving? Does he know how to live off the land? Did he just get by stealing food and clothing? Even for a fae, this feels like you're dangling disbelief from the moon.
It would probably make sense if one of the older boys took him under his wing (pun not intended), helped him get food, shelter, clothing, etc. and that's how he survived. But then we wouldn't have poor, sad little orphan Cassian whom Rhysand's mother (seriously, pick a name SJM!) would take under her wing and whom later becomes Rhysand's general and friend/family member.
Which, come to think of it, would be a great internal conflict for Cassian. If he'd had someone who took care of him when he was younger, but then seemingly abandoned him when he got taken in by the high lord's mate/wife. Imagine: the jealousy, resentment, and bitterness from the older Illyrian that makes it seem like Cassian turned his back on him.
Maybe Cassian tried to get Rhysand's mother to take the other boy in, but she refused due to Illyrian politics or something. Which makes it really hurt when she takes in Azriel. Which also makes me wonder if she ever tried to help other bastard and orphaned children in Illyria, because she at least had some power, but if there were obstacles or other people stopping her or she just chose not to for some reason.
The conflict Cassian has for trying to make Illyria better but constantly failing and having his failure be thrown in his face by this other boy, feeding into his feelings of inadequacy not out of being a bastard, but because he's not enough to help or fix Illyria the way he wants. Because he found himself caught between two worlds (Velaris and Illyria), and he no longer fits into either.
Emerie’s mouth curled upward. “I live alone, up in the mountains. I have nothing to do with my spare time except work in my garden and read whatever books I order through the mail service. And in the winter, I don’t even have the distraction of my gardening. So, yes. I like to read. I cannot survive without reading.”
ACOSF, Ch. 28
So... Windhaven does not have roads but they do have a mail service? Where are these books coming from? Who is the carrier? How does Emerie put in her orders? "Dear Ms. Drake, please send copy of latest book, enclosed are some monies I assume you take because currency beyond gold & jewels has never been addressed. Please & thanks. Emerie from Windhaven, Illyria."?
Dammit! How dare you bring up another excellent point of critique!
But seriously, the throwing spaghetti at a wall technique for world building is just painful by now. This is the only scenario where owls as a mail delivery system make sense.
It also doesn't make sense to a degree that Emerie's allowed to have books. I feel like someone would have done their level best to ensure she had no education or the ability to read, because, you know Illyria is barbaric and misogynist, etc. I think she's the only one we know for sure can read and has access to actual books (war maps and strategies don't count).
I'm still trying to figure out who she sources her store goods from. Other Illyrian women? But why wouldn't they just make things for their own families, or use a bartering system instead? These people are living in tents half the time.
Illyria is also so isolated, it does bring up a point of how she gets these books at all. Velaris? That was a secret from even the rest of the Night Court. Maybe some other small town in between the total of 3 locations of the NC? Maybe Sellyn Drake has a really good publicist and publishing deal. Maybe that should be the focus of the next book. Forget shipping wars. Give me the fae publishing wars!
You know, for a guy who grew up thinking mating bonds were sacred and that losing a mate was one of the most awful feelings in the world, Cassian sure doesn't have much of a reaction when Rhysand threatens to kill Nesta. By this point, he definitely suspected she was his mate, and theoretically he cared about her, so between those two things, he should have been at Rhysand's throat.
I can kind of rationalize Rhysand's crappy treatment of Feyre in ACOMAF (the whole "let's put her in danger multiple times") by thinking he's just too arrogant to assume he would "let" anything bad happen to her.
But Cassian was supposed to be the emotionally intelligent guy. The guy who stands up for anyone who's being mistreated. Instead, we got Rhysand 2.0 and Rhysand 1.0 on steroids. My only comfort is fanfic, where everyone gets a personality adjustment.
I'm sure there are crossovers out there, but I'd love to see a crossover with ACOTAR and a more traditional fae realm type of book series (think Cruel Prince, Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters and the Fae Realm, Iron Fey series, etc.).
I think it would be hilarious for the IC to have to deal with a wacky fae world. What do you mean I have to wear clothes inside out? Wdym I shouldn't be telling people my "true name"? Wdym I need to give offerings and carry sweets on my at all times? Wdym I have to speak even more carefully than usual? Wdym the food might actually force us to stay here forever? Wdym iron is deadly? Wdym there's just two courts, the hell is Seelie and Unseelie?
What's this about weird time rules?
I imagine Nesta going off on her own journey and realizing her self-worth in the span in takes the IC to blink. She gets what she needs, and peaces out while the rest of the IC have to rely on Feyre's faulty memory of what humans thought fae were like in their world.
No matter what I'm talking about in regards to ACOTAR, these are gonna be the phrases/concepts that I keep coming back to that I think encompass everything wrong with the books. As in, you could apply it to every aspect of the ACOTAR series:
If this was written better...
This could have been so much better (in general)
There was so much potential (that was wasted)
The characters center around a plot that has no direction
Everything is so empty
In this other book/media series, (insert character/plot/world building here) works better
There might be more, but this is all I can think of for now. Who knows. Maybe the next book will create more bullet points.
Guys, I found a way to solve the ship wars between Elain, Lucien, Azriel, and Gwyn - let the next books be a choose your own adventure type of story!
Will this happen? Absolutely not. I am delusional.
Is SJM capable of writing a choose your own adventure style story? Probably not, though considering how long these books tend to be, there's plenty of space to make it work.
But will it make the ships that people want canon? Yes. Let all ships be canon!
Also, as I was putting in these tags, I realize 3/4 of the mentioned characters have last names. So... as a request for the next books, can Azriel get a last name, too? Not his father's last name, or even Rhysand's family name, but something he chose himself?
Aside from SJM writing the Illyrians as misogynistic barbarians, there are somehow even more ways that the lack of thought and world building shows.
Cassian states that Illyrian males have killing power, which I guess just means they can throw out an eldritch blast or something.
Okay, what about the females? They don't have any powers - at all? This is like the whole high lord situation again, where there's no high ladies. Why does one half of a subset of a group of people have magic, and the other half doesn't?
Also, the only places we see in Illyria with people are the war camps. But what about the other parts? Like farms, or weavers, or tanners, or something? Emerie runs a shop that sells goods. Where are the goods coming from? Who are her suppliers? Where do they work?
Especially the farms, because I don't get the sense that these people are hunter gatherers. They're not nomadic; the camps are fixed in one place. Heck, if they had been nomadic, that probably would have solved the issue of them living in tents to some degree.
Where are they getting the material for their weapons? Are there mines someplace or are they just reusing old swords and weapons? They live near the mountains, there has to be a mine in the vicinity. What about a quarry for more elite Illyrians, like Azriel's father, who live in a home made of stone? Same logic goes for their siphons that direct their magic.
Who makes their special Illyrian armor? What's that made out of? Regular leather or something else? If it's just regular leather, there have got to be cowherds somewhere. If it's something else, do the creatures just live in the mountains or something?
For 1 of 3 places we see in the Night Court, there's so little about it. Granted, there's little about Hewn City and Velaris when you think about it, too, but the point still stands.
I've been thinking about ACOTAR 6 and 7, and I think I can pinpoint some of the frustration (besides the obvious of having a preorder without knowing the title, cover, or general blurb, etc.).
Presumably, this book will at least include Elain and Lucien, and maybe Azriel and Gwyn (please don't @ me, I'm just going off canon vibes for now, I don't care about shipping, guys).
For the sake of argument, let's say the big bad is Koschei, because he's still out there, unless SJM decides to add another bad guy.
It's one thing to shift the story onto different characters. But the biggest uncertainty is how much the other protagonists of the story will play. Story-wise, Feyre and Rhysand should have only made sporadic appearances in ACOSF. There should have been no pregnancy plot that just barged in to Nesta's story.
SJM favors Feyre and Rhysand, with an emphasis on Rhysand. Most of the time, that should be fine. You can have a favorite character appear in your other works and not have them steal the story.
In the Game Changers novels, Ilya makes an appearance in other characters' stories, but it's never to take over the narrative. It's to help the protagonists with their internal conflict or emotional journey. He gives them a push or after they've resolved their conflict, he appears as a bonus.
I'm concerned that SJM will pull another ACOSF and Rhysand will overshadow (no pun intended) other characters' stories.
Because of this possibility, it messes with the marketing. SJM already has her ToG and CC series, which at least had the decency to be separate series, even if they share the same universe. ACOTAR 6 is coming out with us knowing that the worlds have crossed over in a big way regarding the world building. Everything is slowly merging.
But I think the next 4 books should have been its own series within the ACOTAR world. They should only focus on their protagonists (whoever they will be, ugh, why don't we know this?!), with the other characters making minor appearances. This way, the series could have a name, and the marketing can be less confusing. Again, other authors have done this.
Cassandra Clare has her Shadowhunters universe. She has the 6 Mortal Instruments, the Infernal Devices prequels and their sequels the Last Hours, the Dark Artifice series, and the upcoming Wicked Powers. Each series is sectioned off from the others, and while older characters make cameos, they never steal the spotlight.
Rick Riordan did this, too. Last Olympian series, Heroes of Olympus, and then Trials of Apollo. I especially like what he did in Trials of Apollo where he lets one or two old characters appear in a book and just interact with the protagonists for that entire book. It lets readers get to know the characters and see their development, but the focus is always on the protagonists.
Come to think of it, I think the structure of the ACOTAR series should have been this:
Feyre - books 1-3
Nesta - books 4-6
Elain - books 7-9
Why not make a trilogy structure about 3 sisters in the fae world? Nesta is far from healed, and ACOSF was just a lot and somehow too little at the same time. It makes so much more sense (too much sense, at this point).
SJM has other authors to take inspiration from in terms of structure for her story, but the way it is now, it's just a really long run-on sentence in the form of several books with constant additions and no end in sight.
Conclusion: This entire post summarizes a lot of problems with ACOTAR. Readers and fans are working off of nothing, and while we have successfully done this before with ships, we actually need more to have expectations for the next book. As of now, we have no main characters (and only ones we suspect because of process of elimination), no plot, and no set up. We are riding on the unfinished threads of the previous books, and there are too many to get through, leaving us in this tangle.
