Lionhearted girl

Hear me roar

[hergurlc]

Appreciation for the slow-mo zoom in frames✨

[acourtdelaluna]

"They say, 'I don't want to read about Valkyrie training.'

What I hear is: 'I don't want to read about women who refused to let their trauma define them. Women who chose healing, chose each other, and chose to keep showing up. Women who are preparing for a mission that will test their strength, courage, and growth.'

But if we're being really honest, that's not really the issue.

What some people actually mean is that every page spent with the Valkyries is a page not spent on their favorites.

And that's what should be said outright.

The Valkyries aren't the problem. Their story, their healing, and their journey aren't the problem. The frustration comes from not getting the ship they some readers want.

So let's stop pretending this is about the Valkyries and call it what it is.

Because you're being fucking stupid if you genuinely think the Valkyrie storyline begins and ends with training.

Training in fantasy stories exists for a reason, it leads to action, missions, challenges, and real-world application. We watched Feyre train, and then we watched her put those skills to use. That's how character arcs work.

So if you read ACOSF and thought the Valkyries completing their training was the final destination rather than the foundation for what's coming next, I don't know what to tell you.

SJM didn't spend an entire book building up Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie, have them revive the Valkyrie legacy, survive the Blood Rite, and include a scene where even Fate seemed to be watching them with significance, just for there to be no meaningful payoff afterward.

The Valkyries were presented as something world-changing, not as a side plot meant to disappear the moment ACOSF ended.

Sorry if you can't envision the Valkyries functioning as an actual unit beyond training sequences, but that's a failure of imagination, not evidence that their story is over.

And if every mention of the Valkyries is immediately dismissed as "more training," that says less about the books and more about the reader's inability to recognize setup when it's right in front of them.

[quelmdn]

"I long to be that complete"

[ladyelain]

Friendly reminder Cassian and Az didn’t appear in acotar, became side characters in acomaf, and turned into main characters in acowar.

Friendly reminder we have 3 more books to go in this series.

The argument that side characters can’t possibly become main characters is incredibly weak. Come up with something better.

SJM is more likely to introduce entirely new MCs than limit herself to the the concept of three brothers x three sisters.

[sadiegirl2021]

Walk with me!

Let's look at the timeline of events:

HOFAS ends with Bryce giving Nesta Gwydion and telling her to go find out what the 8-point star means. 30 Jan 2024

SJM goes to the mountains to write in April 2024

ACOTEN promo happens. May 2025

Giant ACOTAR book opened to Chapter 21 appears in bookstores (Chapter 21 corresponds to the Valkyrie chapter in the book Merril wrote)

Also had pink bags, Joy bookmarks and the Mask on display

Emily from the marketing department at BB dreams up the Valkyrie event (safe to assume that they have had Sarah's pitch for the new books and a vague idea who will be in them at this point). May/June 2025

Sarah J Maas posts that she's finished the first draft in July 2025

Her friends, who are in a chat group called the Valkyries, fly out to celebrate with her. July 2025

Long, quiet gap where we all lost our minds.

CHD podcast happens. Sarah finally tells us there are two books, and that she couldn't tell us the POV and that was surprising (because people were assuming it's Elain). Sarah also tells us the importance of friendship and says she hates when people put down things that bring women joy. March 2026

Bloomsbury Hard Launch ACOTAR 6 & 7 with a Valkyrie Promo event! June 2026

More to come!

[hergurlc]

“My body feels warmer than usual, and I become aware of the sweetest smell. Strawberries maybe? No, cherries. Definitely cherries. And something tickles the bottom of my chin, something soft and hard at the same time. A head? Yup, there's a head nestled in the crook of my neck.

My eyes open gradually and I find Hannah snuggled up against me. I'm on my back with both my arms wrapped around her, holding her tight to my body.”

-Garrett [The Deal - Chapter 12]

[snowwhitewithanxiety]

What a great day to remember SJM confirmed Elain finds Lucien hot and it’s causing a crisis for her.

Love a good ole classic “Stupid sexy man that I DEFINITELY don’t want to climb like a tree” set up for a romance story. 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

[house-towers-westfall]

something something Elain "no matter how much she claimed to be part of this court" Archeron & Lucien "fit into the Spring Court as little as I did" Vanserra both having to uproot their lives in the courts they call home to achieve their true potential somewhere - and with someone - else

[gwynrieldefenseatty]

But I thought the Valkyries weren’t important?!

[acourtdelaluna]

Just dumping my marketing thoughts, I love that the first activation is heavily Valkyrie-focused.

Now, that doesn't automatically mean the next book is a Valkyrie book, nor does it confirm any specific POV. Marketing activations are rarely one-to-one reflections of a story's protagonist. But they are usually designed to highlight themes, groups, and concepts the publisher believes will resonate with readers and generate engagement.

The Valkyries are arguably one of the biggest additions to the ACOTAR world since the original trilogy.

What's especially worth noting, is how interconnected they are to several ongoing storylines. Nesta is obviously central to the group, but Gwyn was the first a Valkyrie. Emerie is the first Illyrian Valkyrie. Azriel has direct ties to Valkyrie training and development. Cassian helped rebuild the order. Even the wider themes of female empowerment, healing, found family, and reclaiming lost history are embodied through the Valkyries.

From a marketing perspective, they're also an easy win. They appeal to longtime readers who loved ACOSF while remaining accessible to newer readers. You don't need give a shit about war ships to understand the appeal of warrior women rebuilding a legendary order. (only pick me's and women haters would say otherwise)

What makes me think this could connect to the larger plot is that the Valkyries feel less like a completed storyline and more like a foundation that has been laid for future books. Their story never truly ended in ACOSF, it began there and we now this because of HOFAS, and Nesta's involvement and Bryce telling her to find out the meaning of her tattoo.

If the next book is truly moving toward a larger ensemble structure, as many suspect, the Valkyries are one of the few elements that naturally connect multiple characters and plotlines. They can tie Nesta to the narrative without requiring her to remain the sole focus. They connect to Gwyn, Emerie, Cassian, and Azriel. They potentially connect to the Illyrian conflict. They represent a growing power structure within Prythian itself.

That's why I don't necessarily view a Valkyrie-focused activation as evidence of one specific character leading the next book. Instead, I see it as evidence that the Valkyries themselves remain important to the future of the series. Just as Elain and Lucien do. If this is the first major piece of activations we're seeing, it may be because the Valkyries have become part of the backbone of the world moving forward.

Now, I also will not be surprised to see other activations focused on Elain (a garden tea party would be so cute) Feysand, maybe some court themed activations, really there is a lot for BB and SJM to tap into if they have a smart marketing and PR team!

So whether the next book centers one couple, or a multi-POV structure, it's actually difficult to imagine a future ACOTAR story that doesn't involve the Valkyries in some meaningful way, especially knowing these characters were inspired by SJM's friends. The groundwork has already been laid.

[meowriimo]

the completely opposite day they've had... 😭

[sparklejamesysparkle]

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in costume as Josephine and Daphne in the United Artists/Billy Wilder comedy Some Like It Hot, 1959. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2006, Curtis shared the following recollections about making the movie: EW: You weren’t happy with the dresses they initially gave you. TC: Oh, horrible! They put Debbie Reynolds’ clothes on me from a costume company. Her waist was up around my armpits! And they tried some Loretta Young outfits. But all her clothes wanted to do was spin around. So Billy said let Orry-Kelly make them for you. Boy, did we get excited! We had custom garter belts and brassieres, shoes that fit us properly, and nice cloche hats and those high collars that Olivia de Havilland used to wear in those early movies. Oh, did I love them! EW: You look like Eve Arden. TC: And a little bit of Grace Kelly and my mother. EW: How long did it take for you and Jack to become Josephine and Daphne? TC: About 30 minutes for makeup. Then we’d put on our hair and the costumes. We’d be ready in about an hour and 15 minutes. EW: That’s pretty fast. TC: Yeah, we wanted to get that behind us. Neither Jack nor I liked sitting in a makeup chair too long. So we’d lie back in those chairs and reach across and hold each other’s hand. We’d just hang on to each other.

[elains]

Cannot wait for Nesta Archeron along with the valkyries to do exactly what Bryce suggested and find out why she had that eight-pointed star as a tattoo ✨️

[sadiegirl2021]

How it feels to be a Gwynriel who loves the Valkyries today

[darklove9314-blog]

So are we going to talk about how it takes two of Lucien’s brothers to subdue him or-

[angeliccurlss]

the self restraint it took for mack not to snatch that ipad right out of sid’s hands but the manners and canadian reverence for sidney crosby prevailed

[tragediegh]

Fool's Errand is a rlly good book