Like people really act like these books materialized out of thin air when someone made choices and wrote them into the story.
Feyre being High Lady doesn’t mean shit if the land didn’t choose her. Author Lady could've just...written the land choosing her the second she decided to stay in the Night Court. She chose not to.
Feyre being perceived as being bad at art would never have happened in fandom if it were a large enough part of her story and was given extra attention. Author Lady could've just...written a training montage or had some scenes where being Fae heightened her senses and made her pick up the craft so much easier. She chose not to.
Main Ship would've had a lot less haters if literally everything UtM had never happened. Author Lady could've just...written something, anything, way less druggy and rapey. She chose not to.
You see where I'm going with this?
Feyre stealing the book, Feyre toppling the Spring Court, everything with ACOMAF and beyond Tamlin, everything with Nesta, the Bat King being pushed to become colonizer, the baby plot...we're reading the result of someone else's conscious choices. It doesn't matter how these characters feel and act. At this point, with how disjointed and badly written they are, you cannot discuss anything in these books without asking why Author Lady chose to write it like that. If the Bat King loves Feyre so much and respects her right to choose etc etc, why did Author Lady write him as willing to let his mate die in such a gruesome fashion without her knowledge? If he hates the thought of being High King so much, why is the story setting him up to be just that? If Feyre is so kind and benevolent and not at all selfish, why would Author Lady write her as a thief and someone who doesn't care if an enemy displaces and wipes out thousands of people?
Like, there are questions here that only "antis" are asking. I've never in my life seen a fandom where stans were more upset at other people for reacting to bad writing than they were at the actual creator for publishing the bad writing.
Rising from my fandom grave to say that if the next ACOTAR book has Nesta in any way supporting or fighting for Rice pilaf to be High King I will start burning books with the zeal of a fundamentalist in Texas.
i'm sorry but the fact that nessian's most romantic moment is the one they had at the end of acowar when there's literally a whole book on them is a fucking crime
Besides the "love" story that read like a quiet descent into domestic horror, ACOSF has one element that keeps me from being able to pick it up even just to sift through for Nesta gems: sex.
Here me out, I'm not a prude and I think we could have gotten a smutty romance but...
At her core, Nesta has always been a proud and modest person.
To be clear, with pride, I mean that her sense of self - her famous steel spine - has kept her together and unbroken even during harrowing circumstances. It's vital to her. It's so ingrained in her that - given we have no other explanation - we can assume it's what shields her mind from literal magic. However, like any trait, her pride can also be a thing that comes off as negative in the wrong situations.
With modesty, she was raised to keep a certain ideology that based her value on sex, beauty, marriage etc but it's important to understand that Nesta applied those standards inwards, at herself. (Eg In acotar, she brings up Feyre and Isaac in defence of her and Tomas, in acomaf, she is mostly upset about not hearing from Feyre or being notified that Feyre has switched courts - not about Feyre sleeping with Tamlin and then Rhys)
Now, I don't think Nesta's modesty makes her better than Feyre, in fact I was happy to get the representation of two different types of views on sex
But what I didn't consider at the time was that SJM was painting this out to be a negative trait.
In retrospect it seems obvious even though Nesta has defied her narrative destiny and become a sort of icon, at the end of the day she was still supposed to be written in a negative contrast to Feyre.
It seems funny but imagine you consumed the book the way Sarah intended, the way so many in the fandom have. The old Sarah Says rule, for my long time mutuals.
For example:
The dinner in acomaf - it's obvious Nesta is upset that she hasn't heard from Feyre only to have her come through not only as a whole Fae but bringing others and endangering their entire family.
But imagine it as a one dimensional reading and suddenly the "I fuck" dialogue is a girlboss moment of feminism giving a fuck you to the strict patriarchy of the "mortal lands" let's ignore how the Fae are actually more patriarchal and the Illyrians even more so than that
So understand that Nesta's modesty is being directly contrasted with Feyre's sexual freedom. The reader - at least from sjm's perspective - is supposed to agree with Feyre and disagree with Nesta in a sort of win/lose, yes/no, black/white dichotomy.
And because sjm is consistent and boring and a self-inset author, this dynamic doesn't change even when the protagonist does.
Only now sjm and her feminism has changed from fuck-whoever-I-want girlboss to kinky-but-only-with-my-husband tradwife
So Nesta can't be prudish and cut off because 1) it's not as conducive to the breakdown of self and buildup of a dependent and abusive relationship and 2) it's not in direct contrast with Feyre's current monogamous, traditional family values character.
So Nesta starts drinking and sleeping around and it's not because we're going to explore the unraveling of the pride and modesty at the core of the character as part of her transformation or as a result of her trauma
But because it's supposed to be a bad look, degrading, it shows she's failed, it makes her a loser
All of that is already insane. And even more so when taken with the context of her assault by Tomas and the sex centred relationship she has with Cassian
Now add to that the fact that in the book, Nesta is an object of desire for 2 villains and undergoes assault and drowning AGAIN
Sjm literally gives less than 2 fucks about SA, that much is obvious even from the way she inflicts and then disregards the experience of both Feyre and Rhysand respectively. It's a tool for her, a quirky story element
But to have Nesta experience such a similar thing - especially when the experience of being Made can be read as a sort of rape allegory on its own - and all for the sake of "romance" fantasy??
Even Nesta's reading habits are sexualised, to be clear I don't think there's anything wrong with reading smut, but the scope of her intellect and reading is narrowed down when we're suddenly made to believe most of the books she reads are smut.
This is someone who likely taught herself economics and investment within months in order to not just pay off the debt, upgrade her whole family's way of life but also rebuild the family fortune. Someone who, having stopped schooling at around 14/15, did the math needed to calculate the feasibility of the evacuation of a small country.
Someone who's verbally stated life goal was to see what a woman could make of herself in the world.
Even her love of reading is used as a stepping stone for how horny she is, instead of it being a result of her deeply ingrained need for escapism
She reads smut because the only thing she has in common with Cassian and the IC is sex. Because sjm thought one of the core elements of a friendship between 2 SA survivors and a disabled woman from a culture that mutilated her for being born a woman would be their desire to fantasise about men.
All the while the male love interest treats her like garbage.
We could have had a smutty book filled with sex where each scene could have been the growth of Nesta's trust and love of Cassian through intimacy. It could have been a sexual relationship that involved and explored kink - which explored vulnerability and the negative impact of how Nesta's pride became a source of stress and strain.
It could have been an exploration about the complicated relationship with desire and oppressors that many survivors have. But it isn't.
It's hahaha horny, so RELATABLE
Even when it comes to the abusive situation Nesta grew up in, it's just hung up like decoration on the character. Not explored, let alone healed. I don't wanna hear that sjm explained or explored Nesta's abuse when we don't even get her mother or her grandmother's names
We don't get
The complexity of being a trapped and abused woman who came from a trapped and abused woman who came from a trapped and abused woman
Or the complexity of a dysfunctional family
Or even the journey of recovery from addiction and self-harming behaviour
Now, not every aspect of Nesta or any survivors lives have to boil down to how it relates to their experiences but SJM is praised for her "recovery" and so much of this book is about sex and abuse but has no depth
It could have been a less-deep, fun experience of sex and desire and kink. But no
Nesta has sex with many faceless men because sjm is condemning her as a failure. Sex is her punishment, it makes her dirty and unworthy and cheap.
Then, through her "healing", she becomes a sex doll for the right guy. Sex is her reward, it makes her hot and useful and appealing.
Sjm writes not just like a man but like a particularly talented misogynist so it's the way sex is used that really puts me off
Edit: ultimately I think the sex and romance should have interacted with and evolved her pride, modesty and past experiences, rather than those things being demolished to turn her into a sex doll
“Became a wolf” But didn’t do sh*t till the very end of the 5th book..😂 We all know SJM just did some Feyre copy pasting with that wolf reference, with absolutely nothing to back it up. Calling a character a Wolf or Queen when they’ve barely ever done sh*t for YEARS till the last few chapters of their book 🤭 A grade A loser who mooches off her little sister and her baby daddy lmfao.
Keep whining about everything you’re so Anti about because Nestles will always be despised or made the butt of the joke, won’t ever change either.
Buddy I’m actually embarrassed for you 🥴 such ínstense anger towards Nesta I mean what’s wrong sweetheart jealous much? Intimidated? Wolf Nesta 👑 Queen Nesta 👑 sorry hon 👑 it is what it is 👑
the reason why nesta haters embarrass themselves every time they open their mouths is because they don’t actually talk about CANON things that happen. they have to make stuff up!
‘didn’t do shit until the very last book’ let’s see. in the first book, when they were poor she wrote letters to her distant relatives asking for help, she was dating tomas to eventually get herself and elain off feyre’s shoulders, she went to try rescue feyre from prythian. this is the book in which she exists to give feyre a sob story so she’s done way more than any evil sister archetype already. this isn’t even everything btw.
in the second book, she allows feyre and the inner circle a place to stay when they come to the human lands. even though she’d been taught to hate and fear fae her entire life. she helps her sister with the human queens. even though, again, she was taught to hate and fear fae her entire life. and on top of that if humans were caught interacting with or harbouring fae, they’d be killed. she helps with the human queens to also make sure the humans will be safe. so she’s already doing more than most of the other acotar side characters in her first appearance. then ofc an iconic nesta moment where instead of giving in and accepting her fate in the cauldron, she turns around, fights it, beats it’s ass and takes a shit ton of its powers. and becomes death herself. right, nesta does nothing u guys!
then in the third book, we have nesta watching over elain to make sure she doesn’t jump out of a window. we’ve got nesta, who’s still horribly traumatised after the cauldron, going to the high lords meeting and telling them what happened to her. because she wants to help. and securing a high lords eventual help in the war. she trains with amren, even though she’s terrified of her powers, to try fix the wall. she’s being hunted by hybern, she’s being hunted by the human queen that turned old in the cauldron. and in the war, she helps the injured. she literally comes up with the plan that gets hybern killed and allows feysand time to repair the cauldron. so i don’t actually know how much more a side character can do!
im sure i dont have to explain everything that nesta did in acosf! starting with helping the library girls finally take control over their lives and help them overcome their fears and ending with being the reason ur faves and their child are still alive.
a character being called a wolf isn’t rocket science to understand. nesta archeron becoming a ‘wolf’ after her childhood could literally just mean she became tough, intimidating and fierce. and nesta archeron wasn’t just called a queen. she was called the queen of queens bec she’s just that bitch. on top of every iconic nesta moment. but i think you already know that if you have to go on anons and write hate pieces about her 🤭
‘a grade a loser who mooches off her sister and baby daddy’ this one is funny to me bec nesta spent acosf working for free. she literally did not get a pay check from them when she was emissary. then they paid her rent and drinking spendings. then she worked for free doing the literal most for them. so if u think ricecakes paying nesta’s expenses for her after what she did for them in acowar and acosf is nesta ‘mooching off them’ then idk what to tell u! she’s doing ‘the most powerful high lord to ever exist’ own job and collecting the troves when he couldn’t even go himself! a 500 year old weirdo sending an untrained girl (who btw they locked up to apparently protect her) on dangerous missions … where she was most certainly not protected. and anyway, feyrug found a husband and lives off of him. nesta did the same. nothing wrong w princesses not working 🤭
u can’t even get off anon and stand by your opinion! this anon probably won’t read all of this bec she clearly didn’t even read the books properly however all these ‘points’ that she made are ridiculous and made up in their head so i couldn’t help myself
Seeing multiple men on tiktok (because of course) praising Cassian for being “such a good guy” and saying “Nesta doesn’t deserve him” is scary. But unfortunately not surprising in the the least bit.
How can you read about Cassian
locking Nesta in a house house she can’t escape without his help
laughing at Nesta physically harming herself
telling Nesta everybody hates her
Throwing a temper tantrum and yelling at Nesta in public when Nesta doesn’t want to accept the mating bond
Taking advantage of Nesta and using her for sex when he knows she is in a bad mental state and using sex as a coping mechanism
Not to mention Cassian locking her in a house making him her only option for sex which he knows that’s her only coping mechanism now that he’s taken alcohol away from her.
And not come to the conclusion that he is an abusive piece of shit. Like I said it’s scary men see Cassian as “good person”
I’ve been reading Sarah’s books for about 7 years now. There are things I genuinely love about them. I’m not going to sit here and trash every single thing about them or shit all over her as an author. Her books have brought me a lot enjoyment and credit is due where it’s due.
However, if you asked me, point blank, “What do you think of Sarah as an author?” I’d probably sit there on the verge of an aneurysm because I genuinely don’t know how to answer this question.
As much as I enjoy reading her books and genuinely love parts of them, I’ve been growing more frustrated with them over time. This kind of all came to a head in reading ACOFAS and ACOSF. I used to think that these were mostly isolated little incidents involving random different characters. I used to think it was about Chaol, or Tamlin, or Lucien, or Nesta. I’ve come to realize that it’s really not. It’s about Sarah herself and the bizarre way she has chosen to portray her characters.
Every single one of Sarah’s characters do bad things. ALL OF THEM. There is not a single significant character she has written in any book who has not done something shady, or morally gray, or wrong, or hurtful, or whatever. I seriously challenge you to try and find me a character who has not. This is completely normal and understandable!!! No one wants to read about a perfect and utterly flawless character. It makes them uninteresting and unrelatable. ALL good books should feature nuanced characters.
The issue I have is this: while every single character in her writing does bad things, only SOME characters are DEFINED by these bad things. No matter what else they do or say, they are deemed an irredeemable piece of shit who will never deserve anything good. Even if other characters aren’t openly hostile towards them anymore, the narrative will always find a way to subtly remind us all that these are “bad” people who did bad things to others. Any criticism they receive is justified and right. It does not matter how many good and/or heroic deeds are carried out by these characters. Often times these very characters will end up expressing how awful and unworthy they are, either internally or to other characters.
At the same time, there are other characters who do equally bad things (if not worse or significantly worse!!!!!) and have every single one blatantly ignored or explained and justified by the narrative or other characters. They are treated in the exact OPPOSITE way. No matter what they do, they are right. No matter how hypocritical, cruel, or just plain wrong they are, it will never ever be acknowledged by anyone. They will never be made to hold an ounce of responsibility for any of it. Other characters, themselves, and the narrative will turn an absolute blind eye to any wrongdoing and will gush and fawn over them instead.
This would be enough to be incredibly frustrating. But it doesn’t end here!!
Not only will these special select characters have every single blatant wrongdoing ignored, they will also walk around smugly judging the characters who are less fortunate (aka less favored by the author). Despite the majorly shady acts of their own, they will walk around highlighting all the bad things others have done while self-righteously proclaiming their own moral superiority. The narrative and the thoughts and words of other characters will support this. Sarah will beat you over the head with it. An opportunity will never be lost to tell us (not necessarily SHOW us) what a morally good person they are in comparison to someone else.
It honestly makes me feel kind of insane when I’m reading it. It makes me stop and sit there and wrack my brain going, “Does Sarah know she is doing this????” Does she realize she is a giant hypocrite of a writer?? Does she know she makes giant hypocrites of her characters?? It’s honestly hilarious to me because in writing the way she does, she takes the characters who she clearly wants me to adore and favor and makes me end up hating them and makes me end up rooting for the characters who she clearly wants me to dislike. I never liked Chaol until I read Queen of Shadows, when he is irrationally blamed for every one of Aelin’s problems. I was never really that invested in Lucien until he started to get shit on by absolutely everyone in the Inner Circle. I was never a Nesta stan until I read ACOSF, where she is bullied and mistreated by her “family” and gaslighted into thinking that they are right and she is deserving of all they say and do to her. I never had any true passionate feelings about Tamlin until he became a personal punching bag for every single character in ACOTAR, despite the majorly important good things he does that everyone ignores. It blows my mind how Sarah seems to fail to realize that the people walking around with a Holier-Than-Thou Attitude toward these people have a laundry list of majorly questionable actions of their own that never gets addressed.
In short, Sarah essentially self-sabotages as an author and I don’t understand it. You wouldn’t see me and tons of other people posting essays with word counts in the thousands defending the actions of certain characters so strongly and passionately if her little favorites were made to hold even the tiniest bit of accountability over their own wrongdoings and weren’t crapping all over the less favored. It makes her faves come across as the stereotypical “favorite child” in a family who everyone secretly resents and rolls their eyes at. If you’re going to have characters who constantly judge and scorn others for their perceived wrongdoings, it would be smart to give them a spotless and crystal clear record themselves. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
No one enjoys reading about hypocrites, Sarah. Gain some self awareness and start holding ALL characters to the same standards and accountability.
‘Everything in her life, from the moment she was born, had been controlled by other people. Things happened to her; anytime she tried to exert control, she’d been thwarted at every turn—and she hated that even more than the King of Hybern.’
so sjm is gonna write this paragraph. and then have nesta end up in an environment where her life is under constant control. end up around people who do nothing but control her. end up with a man who feels more than comfortable controlling her.
she doesn’t have a job. she doesn’t get paid. sjm never gave her financial independence even though i (personally) believe it’s one of the MOST important things nesta needed in her life. she’s been controlled through finances her entire life. she’s depended on others for finances her entire life. you’re telling me she’s just okay with depending on c*ssian for it now? i just don’t understand how silver flames was a book dedicated to healing and nesta finding herself. i really don’t.
she can’t even leave her house easily? she needs to either ask someone to get her out or TAKE 10,000 STEPS! how does nesta not despise living there. how does she not despise having her weapons taken from her and controlled by others. how does she not despise waking up every morning to train just because c*ssian told her to! when she was literally threatened into it!
how are you supposed to take nesta’s ‘healing arc’ seriously when she’s ended up in a position that old her would’ve despised. every time i reread this nightmare i find more quotes that make no sense even being in the book when you know how it ends and it makes me just as mad as i was when this book was released.
The 10,000 stairs was symbolic though. When the intervention happens, Nesta is in a bad place—she’s depressed, alcoholic, and pushing away all of her friends and family. She loses control of her life because she’s unable to provide for herself, financially or emotionally. Feyre and Elain gave her space to process and heal emotionally, but they realized that she didn’t need space—Nesta had always pushed others away and locked them out, with disastrous results. Here’s my analysis of Nesta’s development in Silver Flame that no one asked for…
Feyre says earlier in the series that Nesta seems uncaring but she thinks it’s a mask to hide the fact that Nesta cares more deeply than most. SF is where we see that idea play out. When Feyre confronts her about her behavior earlier in the series, Nesta points out that there’s no reason for her to change because she’s always been able to manipulate others into doing what she needs them to do.
There’s some romantic tension between Nesta and Cassian from the moment they meet, but Nesta doesn’t know how to handle genuinely liking someone. She was raised by her mother to look at relationships as a business transaction, and she was SA in the human world when she attempted to marry for safety. After she’s in Velaris, she starts taking people home for casual sex—because she’s terrified. She’s terrified of being assaulted, she’s terrified of falling in love and finding pleasure, she’s terrified of changing. Her random hookups are a coping mechanism for her unresolved romantic trauma. If she chooses her partners and throws them away, it means she has power over them. It also helps her feel less terrified of intimacy—which she craves, given her favorite genre for reading. Her “healing arc” with Cassian is about Nesta allowing herself to choose her partner. Her mother raised her to make an advantageous political match, so she’s been brainwashed not to fall in love. We know that she truly took this duty to heart because she was prepared to marry an abusive human in ACOTAR for a little protection. Nesta has the opportunity to carry out her warped views of marriage with Eris, but she chooses Cassian for herself. There’s no moment where the mating bond “snaps” in place like it did for other characters. It doesn’t happen until Nesta permits it to happen. She doesn’t lose her autonomy, she gains the power to choose. The fact that she ends up choosing the person she was fated to be with is poetic, confirming for Nesta that she made the right choice.
In ACOTAR, Nesta is introduced by demanding that Feyre spend some of the money from her hunt to buy her new boots. Elain also asks for a new cloak. At that time, it’s supposed to make them seem selfish. When Feyre confronts her about it later in the series, Nesta says that she knew Feyre could always go hunting again and find more money. She never admits or considers that she was valuing herself and her needs over the life of her youngest sister. Feyre is literally risking her life to go hunting, and Nesta admits that she expected Feyre to do it constantly to keep the family fed and clothed. She was very bitter when their father stopped providing for them—so bitter that she was willing to let the whole family starve to prove a point about his faults. Her gambling at the beginning of SF is a continuation of that flawed line of thought. That’s why Feyre breaks down and cries—it has nothing to do with the actual money (and we know from FS that Feyre is still anxious about spending, even though she and Rhys are very wealthy). Feyre sees the bar tab as proof that Nesta still isn’t able to see how her actions effect others—or clearly doesn’t care.
She’s still struggling with that mentality at the beginning of SF. Nesta is very hurt by their father’s death—because the moment that he returned to help them in their war again Hybern, it proved that he’d finally done what she wanted him to do all along. He’d gone out of his way to protect his daughters…and it got him killed. That’s why she’s so traumatized by the fire crackling. She’s not directly responsible for his actions, of course, but she feels responsible because she wanted him to step up for so long. Nesta’s expectations of others have always been too high. She knows Feyre will keep risking her life for their family because it’s what Nesta would have done (they’re “two sides of the same coin,” and that’s why Nesta goes after Feyre when Tamlin takes her to Prythian). She expects the priestesses to sign up for training because she knows Cassian can help them recover some of their strength. That’s the moment that she realizes she’s expecting too much of others—she becomes aware that the priestesses don’t trust Cassian like she does, so she stages the demonstration. It’s a personal breakthrough on so many levels, because she realizes that she has to help people reach the potential she expects of them. That’s something she never did for their father. What if Nesta, Elain, and Feyre had all come together to protect their father when thugs broke his knees? One child crying wasn’t going to do anything, but potentially three? And especially when Nesta’s death point even rattled the King of Hybern… she has always had the capacity to help others, but she’s chosen not to. Her mother raised her to remain aloof. Cassian continually reaching out to her helped her to make the important realization that she’s able to intervene and improve things for other people. He becomes an example of the positive effect that intervention can have, as Nesta sees herself growing and recognizes that he might be able to help some of the priestesses too.
The intervention of placing her in the House and ordering it not to provide her with wine is exactly what it sounds like…an intervention. Anyone struggling with unresolved trauma or depression knows how tempting it is to reach for some substances that will take your mind off things for a while. Nesta’s drinking reaches a new level in SF, as her apartment reeks and she doesn’t remember details about the person she just hooked up with. Cassian, Feyre, and Amren see that she is self-destructing. Amren tries some tough love and tells Nesta off, withholding her friendship, which has a profound impact on Nesta but doesn’t spur her into changing. When she hits some low points in the House, her mind turns to drinking. Being unable to get down the stairs is a symbol of her depression—she’s unable to literally get herself out of the house. Ultimately this issue is resolved when Nesta invites her friends over for a sleepover. Instead of trying to leave and get some wine, she has fun with her friends and makes homing beacon bracelets. AND, the one time that she does get herself out of the house, she immediately runs to her sister and emotionally wounds her. Nesta realizes then that she’s gone too far, and she runs back to the House. It’s all metaphorical for her social life. Alone, she’s self-destructive and causes pain to the people around her. With friends, she’s able to find fulfillment and doesn’t need alcohol to do it.
Her loss of autonomy when she went into the cauldron explains the whole Valkyrie storyline. Nesta says several times in SF that she’s weak. She learned how weak she was when Elain was kidnapped by Hybern, and that truly traumatized her. As they hunt for the Dread Trove items, she realizes that she wants to be stronger. To protect Elain, to protect Cassian, and to protect herself. She offers to scry for the Dread Trove to protect Elain, who snaps that she doesn’t need protection. Nesta’s issues with Elain are still unresolved by the end of SF, but I think that’s a setup for the next book. Cassian is supposed to be this super warrior, but Nesta has seen him practically defeated twice now (when she went into the cauldron and when they faced off with Hybern). Nesta decides that she wants to be stronger for herself. After seeing what her expectations of others did to her father, she’s realizing that she needs to take action. She pushes that very far on Ramiel during the Blood Rite, resolving her trauma at being unable to protect her loved ones. Nesta immediately goes to help Emerie and Gwyn, rather than assuming that they will be able to protect themselves. The old Nesta, who pushed Feyre to take extra risks, is gone. Nesta even sacrifices herself by remaining at the pass as Emerie and Gwyn finish the Rite. It’s an act of selflessness and demonstrates everything she’s realized about teamwork.
As far as the money goes, Rhys and Feyre offer Nesta jobs. They say at the beginning of SF that she refuses all of them. She doesn’t have financial independence because she hasn’t earned it. As a member of their family, Nesta is given access to the High Lord/Lady’s credit around town and she’s able to bill things to their accounts. Nesta says at the beginning of SF that she does this because there’s no reason for her to work. She ultimately does a lot of things in SF that prove her value—finding the Dread Trove, saving Feyre, etc. But Feyre always found Nesta valuable, which is why she was recognized as part of their family and provided for initially. Nesta’s “job” after the intervention is shelving library books. In a magical house. That moves books all the time. Clearly, she’s given this task so that she has something to do. Her job in the library leads to her forming some important relationships and friendships. It’s another metaphor for overcoming depression—just forming a routine and getting “out” helps Nesta begin her process of recovery.
Now, if Nesta fulfilled a role in the court where she was leading the Valkyries, she would be carrying out a more lucrative job. If she got named as an advisor, like Amren or Mor, she’d be carrying out a more lucrative job. There are many ways that Nesta can have financial independence by the conclusion of SF, and all it would take is a sentence or two. I don’t think this was intentionally left out. The ending suggests that Nesta has adjusted and she’s looking for ways to help others. She rejected working initially because she felt like there was no point, and she had nothing to give to others. By the end of SF, she’s got a new perspective of herself and she’s able to make more meaningful connections. Also, before leaving the topic of financial independence, Nesta likely won’t achieve that for a long time. Feyre and Rhysand are essentially royalty. Cassian, Amren, Azriel, and Morrigan all receive a paycheck for their roles in the court. They’re all several hundred years old at least, so they’ve had plenty of time to save. Even once Nesta starts receiving a salary after SF, it will take her time to gain enough wealth to be financially independent of her sister. Rhysand paid Feyre a salary when she arrived in the Night Court and agreed to work with them against Hybern. The implication is that Nesta never got paid because she spent everything she would have been paid in taverns. When he’s showering her with gifts at the end of the novel, it seems likely that he would re-establish a salary and account for her. I strongly doubt that Nesta is expected to start spending Cassian’s money, when Feyre and Rhys have been financing her all along.
Hell, even the dancing is a resolution of Nesta’s trauma. Her grandmother physically abused her when she was little, and her mother emotionally abused her by training her to use others for her benefit (and likewise using Nesta for herself). Dancing was the one thing that she enjoyed, and in SF she regains the ability to enjoy dancing for herself. Feyre and Rhys ask her to dance with Eris because of a political maneuver. Cassian had just noted that Nesta was making progress, but she needed to find something that brought her joy. Beyond the whole mate thing, he sees her dancing and he realizes that it’s a passion she’s never shared. It’s her thing, like Feyre’s painting or Elain’s gardening. Cassian’s solstice gift helps her resolve this issue because she can now dance any time she wants. Yet again, it’s another big tip on recovering from depression. Finding a hobby that brings joy can help to relieve some of those negative thoughts, especially when one is avoiding substance abuse.
Every trauma and unresolved issue that Nesta had is addressed by the end of the book. Her issues with her parents are issues that Elain and Feyre struggle with too, and now that both parents are dead they won’t get any further closure. But that’s life, and perhaps they can now find some support in each other.
Nesta at the end of the book would look back at the way she was previously and cringe. Nesta was:
Traumatized emotionally and sexually, unable to find fulfillment in intimate relationships
Using people for her benefit regardless of their cost or risk
Only willing to help Elain
An alcoholic who refused to participate in family gatherings and lashed out to hurt others emotionally
Unable to protect herself or anyone she cared about
Alone, feeling like she failed her father, failed Elain, and failed herself
Unwilling to do any sort of work or contribute to the goals of the Night Court, while benefiting from their protection and funding
Unhappy
She’s still a powerful woman who doesn’t take any shit. But Nesta now:
Has allowed herself to fall in love and enjoy it
Values others and supports them
Helps people when they need her
Has recovered from alcoholism and depression
Is no longer “weak” in any way
Values herself
Is able to do meaningful work
Finds joy in life
The ending scene where she visits her father’s grave takes it full circle. Nesta finally allows herself to admit the truth and stops punishing herself for his death.
What’s the message here? People are social. We’re pack animals—that’s why solitary confinement is so inhumane, and has such terrible effects on people. Nesta is independent and allowed to live her own life, but her friends and family can see that she’s hurting. Instead of turning their backs on her and letting her continue to self-destruct, they stage an intervention. It’s important that Nesta finds healing by reforming the Valkyries. She doesn’t suddenly become best friends with Feyre, or recover her relationship with Elain. Things are still rocky with Amren. Nesta chooses her own people on her journey. This doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s forgiven the Night Court, but it does mean that she’s better able to coexist with them. Since they’re all immortal now, it makes sense that the Night Court tries so hard to help her. They can’t just let Nesta wander off like a loose cannon, not when her powers could potentially threaten them. This isn’t just about the relationship between Nesta and her sisters, it’s also a matter of keeping Velaris safe. If anything, it’s more realistic that it takes a lot of time for Nesta to find a reason to connect with Velaris and keep it safe. Feyre takes a walk for 10 minutes and decides that she wants to live there forever. Nesta takes several months to make friends with a few people and find some value in staying in the city.
When we’re depressed and traumatized, we tend to pull away from others. Nesta’s journey in this book follows some pretty standard recommendations for recovery: establishing a routine, avoiding substance abuse, resolving financial issues, addressing emotional trauma, forming meaningful relationships, etc. Even her motto “I am the rock” is pretty standard meditation/recovery fare. The nature hike with Cassian is another big cheesy nod to recovery in real life—fresh air, exercise, and a connection with nature. Nesta’s healing arc is believable for her character and necessary for the progress of the series. If anything, it’s a little cliche. Don’t forget that by the end of the book, Nesta is in control of three items in the Dread Trove. Despite the wards, she summons them to save Feyre. She knows that she could summon them at any time. The Mother allows her to keep some of the power she stole, so Nesta certainly isn’t powerless. Individually, she’s powerful—and with the harp, mask, and crown she’s almost a god. Nesta ends the book more powerful than she was before.
There’s also strong implications that she’s going to become even more powerful as she explores the idea of being a “witch.” Witches exist in other SJM books, but they’re hardly explored in ACOTAR. Since it’s all part of the same big universe, I anticipate that we can expect this to come into play in some way for Nesta. Cryptically, the only thing anyone has to say about witches in ACOTAR is that they live in the Middle and feast on innocents to fill the void that magic left within them. Metaphorically, that’s exactly what Nesta was doing at the start of SF. So perhaps she’s a witch after all.
i don’t know where to even start replying to you, honestly.
the 10,000 steps were symbolic to nesta’s journey. they were not symbolic enough that she needs to remain living there. she’s locked away from society, it’s extremely difficult for her to leave the house. you said that all her traumas were addressed and resolved. i completely disagree. this is a quote from nesta around 85% through the book.
‘Having him kiss her and realizing that soon she’d have to return to this world humming around them, and leave the House, and she didn’t know what she would do then. What it would mean for them. If she would plunge back into that dark place she’d occupied before. Drag him down with her.’
her fears are never addressed and resolved. nesta remaining in that house isn’t having her trauma resolved. nesta staying in that house isn’t a positive thing, she’s afraid to leave her house and rejoin actual society. in her current mental state she’d rather lock herself away than actually go face the world again. i can’t say where she’ll be in the next book, but imo it doesn’t matter because we won’t know her thoughts and feelings. this is how her book ends, and as far as we know it’s the only book she’s getting. i know it takes a while to overcome such fears, but it’s also a fantasy book and it should’ve been resolved by the end. especially if the main theme of this book is healing.
and about the financial independence, it’s not a satisfying ending to hear that rhys will probably continue to finance her. financial dependence on others has controlled her life, it’s the reason why people were even able to lock her up in a house in the first place. she’s not going to be training or running the valkyries any time soon as she has just began training herself, she’s clearly not going to go into any type of political job either as sjm has made it quite clear she wants nesta to be a warrior. so i disagree that it’s something that can be addressed in the next book in a sentence or two. and i completely disagree that her financial issues have been in any way resolved.
i don’t have much to say on nesta finding her strength because i don’t agree w the approach sjm took, or better the direction sjm took. nesta lost her autonomy in the cauldron, and then throughout the next few books realised that she was completely helpless to help or save anyone. it’s great that she’s now physically stronger thanks to her training but imo it was the wrong way for nesta to find her strength. it doesn’t really make any sense to me. nesta is smart, she’s seen cassian (who is widely thought to be one of the strongest warriors ever) be taken down to almost death MULTIPLE times. so i can’t understand why sjm would write that nesta would feel comforted knowing she can fight. it’s great that she can now, every woman should be able to defend themselves, but it doesn’t make sense when she has seen that fighting isn’t all that effective. and it makes no sense to me when she had all that power at her fingertips. every single instance in the books where nesta is doing something positive, or saving herself—she’s using her powers. she saved cassian in acowar thanks to her powers, she uses her powers to distract the king, uses her powers to save herself in the bog, uses her powers fo save herself and cassian from lanthys, uses her powers to kill briallyn and then uses her powers to save feyre. majority of the positive things she’s done has been because of her powers. and i know she hates them because they’re cauldron given, and the cauldron is a source of serious trauma to her. but she eventually came around to accept the mating bond, which is cauldron given. and if you remember she initially hated the idea of training too, and she came around to that. it’s amazing she can fight now, but to me personally it wasn’t the most satisfying way for nesta to be able to defend herself and those she loves.
in regards to the bullet points showing the differences in old nesta and new nesta, i agree with some. she’s definitely addressed her emotional trauma. and her sexual trauma, to an extent. she’s allowed herself to love cassian now. but i disagree that she was only willing to help elain, and i disagree that she wasn’t willing to do work for the inner circle. in book 1, she goes to try save feyre from prythian. in book 2, she helps feyre with the human queens. in book 3, she accepts a job as emissary, trains w amren to help rebuild the wall, helps by telling her story to the high lords, helps hurt soldiers in the war and eventually is ready to sacrifice herself to by feysand time to rebuild the cauldron. so imo she’s always been willing to help others, she might not have always been enthusiastic about it but she helped when was asked.
you also said she values herself now. which i agree with, again to an extent. her self worth has definitely improved but she still has a lot of unhealthy feelings. a lot of nesta’s healing arc falls extremely flat. and nesta’s self worth is another thing that just falls flat to me. this is one of the very last paragraphs in the book
‘Her father had died for her, with love in his heart, and though she might not have deserved it then … She would do all she could now to earn it. To deserve not just his love, but that of those around her. Of Cassian.’
her self worth and value is still pretty low. nesta never becomes objective with herself. she never actually understands that sometimes she’s just too hard on herself, and her failings aren’t actually completely her fault. she doesn’t realise that her father showing up for once doesn’t excuse how neglectful and borderline abusive he was in her life. nesta thinking that she wasn’t deserving of her neglectful fathers love but being determined to do all she can to be worthy of it now is honestly just disturbing to me. why is nesta still carrying his failings on her shoulders. and i also don’t agree with the message that you need to work to be worthy of anyone’s love, especially when those around nesta are not perfect saints by any means. she still feels unworthy, still has cassian on a pedestal where she can’t see any of HIS mistakes and just blames herself for everything. which leads into a whole other topic of whether or not nesta even should be in a relationship right now.
also i don’t agree that there are a lot of implications that nesta will be even more powerful the next book or explore being a witch. i feel like the only thing clear is that she’s going to be a general like cassian.
maybe my expectations were too high for this book, maybe i’m applying too much reality to a fantasy book but i think if sjm wants to write books about mental health then i think it’s reasonable to be discussing whether or not nesta’s healing fell flat, which to me it did. some of the approaches to situations and messages sjm wants to send just don’t sit right w me.
not everything about acosf was bad. the friendships nesta found were honestly so beautiful and meaningful, some of nesta’s inner thoughts on her trauma were so beautifully written too. but since plot was basically non existent, all the loose threads and very very rushed writing falls flat. because there isn’t much else to the book. ie the sisters relationship being rushed towards the end, no meaningful conversations between the three of them, nesta and rhysands relationship being rushed at the end, nesta and mor being undeveloped and then rushed, nesta and amrens relationship not being touched upon much as well. if there was some intricate plot, it would be ok. but since there isn’t, and all these relationships were not well written, a lot of nesta’s own issues not being properly resolved and even nessian not having proper development, nesta’s healing arc, again, just falls flat to me. obviously you clearly have a completely different opinion which i respect, but this is just my take on it.
there’s a lot of other points you made but if i responded to each one i’d be writing for days. anyways i love hearing other people’s opinions on this stuff so i really appreciate the analysis on nesta!
‘Everything in her life, from the moment she was born, had been controlled by other people. Things happened to her; anytime she tried to exert control, she’d been thwarted at every turn—and she hated that even more than the King of Hybern.’
so sjm is gonna write this paragraph. and then have nesta end up in an environment where her life is under constant control. end up around people who do nothing but control her. end up with a man who feels more than comfortable controlling her.
she doesn’t have a job. she doesn’t get paid. sjm never gave her financial independence even though i (personally) believe it’s one of the MOST important things nesta needed in her life. she’s been controlled through finances her entire life. she’s depended on others for finances her entire life. you’re telling me she’s just okay with depending on c*ssian for it now? i just don’t understand how silver flames was a book dedicated to healing and nesta finding herself. i really don’t.
she can’t even leave her house easily? she needs to either ask someone to get her out or TAKE 10,000 STEPS! how does nesta not despise living there. how does she not despise having her weapons taken from her and controlled by others. how does she not despise waking up every morning to train just because c*ssian told her to! when she was literally threatened into it!
how are you supposed to take nesta’s ‘healing arc’ seriously when she’s ended up in a position that old her would’ve despised. every time i reread this nightmare i find more quotes that make no sense even being in the book when you know how it ends and it makes me just as mad as i was when this book was released.
Need further proof of SJM’s reductive view of womanhood?
Nesta is finally worthy of being accepted into the cool kids club once she stops drinking and whoring and settles down with a man and the possibility of babies in her future. She’s a good lil’ contrite breeder now, and worthy of her man and Rhysand’s respect.
The issue here is not that pregnancy is bad and anti-feminist. It’s that SJM has a track record of portraying it as the CORRECT choice.
If you’re dim-witted enough to imply otherwise, then continuing to read these books isn’t going to do much to help your mental acuity.
i feel like cassian is more sinister than 'guy who uses woman for sex' even though it would be just as evil. because it's not just sex that he wants to get his way in it's her entire personhood. like the way when she doesn't agree with him and has an opinion he is always like 'that's bullshit'. and then how to make him go away she has to use a magical bargain or repeat herself 6 times. he's not interested in nesta the woman he only wants nesta on his terms. the picture in his head. and he is willing to hurt nesta to make real nesta line up with the nesta in his head
exactly. nessian only works when nesta gives up her personhood and adapts to what cassian wants and adapts to the way cassian lives. and adheres to the image he has in his head.
i think the scene that best describes nessian is their mate reveal scene on the sidra. cassian is throwing a tantrum because nesta has issues with accepting the fact that they are mates, keep in mind she promised to be with him forever like a week ago. any normal person at his grand old age would see that nesta had her humanity ripped away, she wants to be with him (considering her promise of forever) but the mating bond still scares her. a man that truly loved you would say ‘you don’t want to be my mate? then marry me.’ instead cassian insults her and their conflict is only resolved when NESTA feels guilt and responsibility over their fight and concedes and just accepts the mating bond. it’s so frustrating.
as you said, he’s not interested in loving nesta as she is, on her terms. accepting that she’s not going to feel comfortable with every fae custom. he’s only interested in nesta on his terms, if she does as he wants and lives up to the ideal mate from the picture in his head.
In this post we are going to discuss the various and stricking similaries between Sarah J Maas series TOG/ACOTAR with original books she admited to consume, as well as the use of direct lines from movies, books and tv shows in her books, and where do we draw the line in what we consider to be inspiration vs plagiarism.
As some people know, SJM is a big fan of Anne Bishop's work, especifically her Black Jewels trilogy. Some people already noticed similarities between the two series (and in her TOG books as well) in terms of storyline, races and characters, but it's not nearly talked about enough.
It's good to make clear that the first book of "the black jewels" was published in 1998 and the last one of the trilogy was published in 2000, over 12 years before acotar and TOG was even launched. So Bishop's work was around a long time before sjm started to publish her books.
That being said, let's start with the fact that the beginning of her first series TOG is pratically the same as the beginning of the second book of The Black Jewels, Heir to the Shadows, but with a different character:
"After a year of slavery in the Salt Mines of Endovier, Celaena Sardothien was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point. Most of the thousands of slaves in Endovier received similar treatment—though an extra half-dozen guards always walked Celaena to and from the mines. That was expected by Adarlan’s most notorious assassin. What she did not usually expect, however, was a hooded man in black at her side—as there was now" (TOG, 2012)
"Surrounded by guards, Lucivar Yaslana, the half-breed Eyrien Warlord Prince, walked into the courtyard, fully expecting to hear the order for his execution. There was no other reason for a salt mine slave to be brought to this courtyard, and Zuultah, the Queen of Pruul, had good reason to want him dead. Prythian, the High Priestess of Askavi, still wanted him alive, still hoped to turn him to stud. But Prythian wasn't standing in the courtyard with Zuultah." (Heir to the Shadows, 1999).
So, Sarah's first work begins with a paragraph that is already really really similar to the first one in Bishop's second novel.
Now, let's then move on to the part that shocked me the most and made me sure of doing this post: The extreme and undeniable resemblance between the Illyrians with the Eyriens, a race portrayed in Bishop's Black Jewels books, who one of the main characters, Lucivar (coincidentally or not, Sarah's favorite one) is a part of.
The Eyriens are described to be warriors with tanned skin, gold eyes, and "batlike wings". Eyrien males are trained in hunting camps as children, and the females are forbidden to touch weapons. They are often found in a mountainous territory called "Askavi Terreille", and carry prejudice against half-eyriens. Does all that sounds familiar?
The Illyrians are so much like the Eyriens, it's not even funny. They have bat-like wings, the males are trained in camps, live by the mountains, have their own personalized weapons, and the females are usually mistreated and not allowed to fight. And what does Rhysand suffer from them? Prejudice, because he's half illyrian. Even their physical characteristics are the same: golden brown skin, hazel eyes, black hair. What mainly sets on them apart is their names (which still sound pretty similar) and the fact that the illyrians have tattoos.
"He spread his dark, membranous wings, trying to ease the ache in his back." ( Daughter of the blood, page 12)
"Indeed, it was still Rhysand’s face, his powerful male body, but flaring out behind him were massive black membranous wings—like a bat’s, like the Attor’s" (ACOTAR, page 348)
"Still, it was home, and centuries of enslaved exile had left him aching for the smell of clean mountain air, the taste of a sweet, cold stream, the silence of the woods, and, most of all, the mountains where the Eyrien race soare" (Daughter of the blood, page 16)
"The Illyrians … We love our people, and our traditions, but they dwell in clans and camps deep in the mountains of the North" (ACOMAF, page 165)
"He had never felt this weary, this beaten. Not as a half-breed boy in the Eyrien hunting camps, not in the countless courts he'd served in over the centuries since" (Heir to the darkness, page 13)
“When I turned eight, my mother brought me to one of the Illyrian war- camps . To be trained, as all Illyrian males were trained" ( ACOMAF, page 168)
”She kept resisting because Eyrien females traditionally didn’t touch a warrior’s weapons" (Queen of the darkness, page 151).
“Some camps issued decrees that if a female was caught training, she was to be deemed unmarriageable. I can’t fight against things like that, not without slaughtering the leaders of each camp and personally raising each and every one of their offspring.” (ACOMAF, page 434)
”There are reasons why Eyrien males are the warriors— Lucivar said, his eyes skimming over the women as he paced slowly down the line and back again.— We’re bigger, stronger, and we have the temperament for killing. You have other strengths and other skills. Most of the time, that works out well." (Queen of Darkness, page 156)
“The Illyrians— Rhys smoothly cut in, that light finally returning to his gaze — Are unparalleled warriors, and are rich with stories and traditions. But they are also brutal and backward, particularly in regard to how they treat their females.” (ACOMAF, page 166)
"She wanted to cut the wings off, raise the boy as Dhemlan maybe. But he said no, in his soul the boy was Eyrien, and it would be kinder to kill him in the cradle than to cut his wings" (Daughter Of The Blood, page 138)
“I banned wing-clipping a long, long time ago, but … at the more zealous camps, deep within the mountains, they do it." (ACOMAF, page 434).
"But they’re good boys, and they’ll carry their weight. And they are full-blooded Eyriens — he added.
— So they don’t carry the stigma of being half-breeds? — Lucivar asked with deadly control." (Queen of the Darkness, page 39)
"He gave Rhys command of a legion of Illyrians who hated him for being a half-breed" (ACOMAF, page 136)
"Then he called in his Ebon-gray Jewels and the wide leather belt that held his hunting knife and his Eyrien war blade" (Heir to the shadows, page 257)
"I went from physical defense to learning to wield an Illyrian blade, the weapon so fine, I’d nearly taken Cassian’s arm off." (ACOMAF, page 367)
Some people can look at this as simple inspiration, but others consider the races to be almost identical. Their prejudices, the place they live, the place where they train and how they train being the same, with only a few minor key points being changed.
In Bishop's work men and women are adressed and divided as "males" and "females". Their society is based the existence of jewels, where the darker someone's jewel is, the more powerful that person becomes.
The jewels are close to what SJM called siphons, used by the illyrians. They are a representation of the powers of members of the blood, serve as containers, and vary in colors. Siphons, however, are literally jewels who filter Illyrians powers, manipulating magic. Members of the blood can have more than one jewel, and illyrians can have more than one siphon.
"An uncut Jewel is a rare thing, little Sister — Titian said, removing something from the box. — Wait until you know who you are before you have it set. Then it will be more than a receptacle for the power your body can't hold; it will be a statement of what you are." (Daughter of the blood, page 71)
"He held up his hands, the backs to me so both jewels were on full display.— They’re called Siphons . They concentrate and focus our power in battle.” (ACOMAF, page 162)
"The Black-Jeweled ring on his right hand glittered with an inner fire." (Daughter of the blood, page 39)
"Siphons atop his scarred hands flickered like rippling blue fire as he reached for the Attor." (ACOMAF, page 262)
" Your fingers clenched around that Jewel. There was a flash of Red light, and the guards were flung backward." ( Daughter of the blood, page 136)
"Cassian lifted his hand into the air. Red light exploded from his Siphon, blasting up and away" (ACOMAF, page 543)
"Her strength was gone. The Jewel hungaround her neck, dark and empty" (Daughter of the blood, page 399)
"Azriel’s blue Siphons were dull, muted. Utterly empty." (ACOMAF, page 554)
The Blood possess some ability to sense and mask their psychic scent. The conception of "scent" not only acts as a way for them to recognize each other, but also sense their emotions, and seems to be highlighted between couples, with Daemon for using it in order to fantasize or look for Jaenelle. That matches perfectly SJM's universe where the Fae are able to feel each others scents, sensing their emotions through it, it being stronger between mated couples:
"The psychic scent was almost gone, but he recognized it. A dark scent. A powerful, terrifying, wonderful scent. He breathed deeply, and the lifetime hunger in him became intense".(Daughter of the blood, page 178).
"Like the body that housed it, a witch's psychic scent had a muskiness that a Blood male could find as arousing as the body—if not more so" (Daughter of the blood, page 184)
His scent drifted to her, darker, muskier than usual. She’d bet all the money she didn’t have that it was the scent of his arousal. (ACOSF, page 235)
"A room where she had slept would still be strong with her psychic scent, even if it had been cleaned" (Daughter of the blood, page 182)
"Cassian had flown back up to the House. And found the oak door to the stairs open, Nesta’s scent lingering." (ACOSF, page 99)
"No psychic scent of emotions for the guards to play with as they put the sobbing man into the old, one-man boat." (Daughter of the blood, page 149)
"He didn’t need to use a psychic probe to know who was on the other side of the door. The scent of her fear was sufficient." (Queen of the darkness, page 120)
"Their faces were vacant. Not a trace of fear in them, or in their scents." (ACOSF, page 344)
"Those of us who have would notice the similarities in your psychic scents and reach the correct conclusion" ( Queen of Darkness, page 114)
"He didn’t believe me. So he grabbed Catrin, because our scents were nearly identical, you see" (ACOSF, page 652)
The basic unit of Blood society and government is a Queen and her Court. To create a Court, she must be at the age of majority and have twelve males who agree to be in her First Circle. Jaenelle creates hers in the second book, who is denominated as the "dark court". How is Rhysan's court called? The night court. How is his unity of power named? "the inne circle". Rhysand's court is also referred as "the court of dreams", and Jaenelle is called "dreams made flesh".
"He hoped she'd be pleased to have the use of this place. He hoped he'd be invited when she established her own court. He wanted to see whom she selected for her First Circle" (Daughter of the Blood page 92)
"They’re Rhysand’s Inner Circle.The ones I’d heard mentioned that day at the Night Court—who Rhys kept going to meet." (ACOMAF, page 135)
"The living myth— Saetan whispered.— Dreams made flesh— His throat tightened. He closed his eyes." (Heir to the shadows, page 459)
“And what is this court? — I asked, gesturing to them. The most important question.
It was Cassian, eyes clear and bright as his Siphon, who said — The Court of Dreams.”
Remember Lucivar? The main Eyrien character? Well, it doesn't help sjm's case that he's incredibly similar to Cassian:
Because he's an eyrien, Lucivar was raised as a warrior and has bat wings, together with gold eyes and tanned skin. He also has long black hair and is considered to be well-built. Initially his jewels are birthright red, and later they descent into being ebon grey. Just like his father, he is known as having an explosive temper who often lead him to trouble. Thanks to him not being recognized by Saetan initially, Lucivar is seen as a bastard. This is not at all far from how Cassian is written.
Let's also keep in mind: Lucivar is also responsable for recruting and training Eyrien warriors in the Dark Court, later training the women who live in Ebon Askavi (which, as I will show later, is almost identical to the House of Wind).
Cassian's tragetory is marked by him being underlooked as a "bastard" and not being able to control his temper, and that is further developed in acosf. His appereance is carbon-copy of Lucivar (the only difference being that his eyes are hazel), and his siphons are red. He also happens to train illyrian warriors, and later Feyre, Nesta and the other priestesses from the library. Like Lucivar has a brotherly bond with Jaenelle and waits for her to be his queen, Cassian has a brotherly love for Feyre and respects her as his high lady:
"Unlike the other slaves who couldn't contain their misery or fear, there was no expression in Lucivar's gold eyes" (Daughter of the Blood, page 13)
"Like their High Lord, the males—warriors—were dark-haired, tan-skinned. But unlike Rhys, their eyes were hazel and fixed on me as I at last stepped close" (ACOMAF, page 155)
"She looked so pale against his light-brown skin, and he knew it wasn't simply because she was fair-skinned" (Daughter of the blood, page 19)
"She watched his light brown fingers play against her pale skin" (ACOSF, page 367)
"The man wore a leather vest and the black, skintight trousers favored by Eyrien warriors. His black hair fell to his shoulders, which was unusual for an Eyrien male. [..] A wild joy filled Daemon, even as his heart clogged his throat and tears stung his gold eyes. Lucivar." (Queen of the Darkness, page 45)
"Cassian surveyed Rhys from head to foot, his shoulder-length black hair shifting with the movement" (ACOMAF, page 155)
"Because he was a half-breed bastard, he had no hope of attaining a position of authority within a court, despite the rank of his jewels" (Daughter of the Blood, page 17)
"I can tell you how I hear Eris and Devlon and the others talk and, deep down, I still believe that I am a worthless bastard brute. That it doesn’t matter how many Siphons I have or how many battles I’ve won" (ACOSF, page 434)
"Tears stung Lucivar's eyes. Why, Daemon? What did she do to deserve being hurt like that? His voice rose. He couldn't stop it. She was the Queen we had dreamed of serving. We had waited for her for so long. You butchering whore, why did you have to kill her?" (Heir to the shadows, page 31)
"He’d thought about that painting a great deal in the days afterward—how it had made him feel, how close they’d all come to losing their High Lady before they’d ever met her." (ACOSF, page 43)
"Because he was a trained Eyrien warrior and had a temper that was explosive even for a Warlord Prince" (Daughter of the blood, page 16)
"Cassian was lounging in his chair, a glass of wine in his hand, staring at nothing. A brooding warrior-prince, contemplating the death of his enemies." (ACOSF, page 275)
"He could have caught him on the first pass. The young one will have to concede the battle, but it’ll stay in his mind that he put up a good fight. No, Lucivar understands how to train an Eyrien warrior.” (Queen of Darkness, page 103)
"Cassian prayed that the gods were watching over him as Rhys sipped from his tea and said,
—You’re ready?
He leaned back in his seat. — I’ve gotten young warriors in line before." (ACOSF, page 43)
There's even a line when Lucivar is training the women in ebon askavi that hits very close to one used when Cassian is training the priestesses:
”If you can become half as proficient with this as she is, you’ll be able to take down any male except an Eyrien warrior — Falonar said slowly. — And you’ll be able to take down half of them as well.” (Queen of the darkness, page 158)
"Cassian continued to train Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn. The rain didn’t let up, and they were all soaked, but the exertion kept the bite of the cold away.— So this can really down a male in one move? [...] He concentrated on the females in front of him. — This move will knock anyone unconscious if you hit the right spot.” (ACOSF, page 385)
Daemon, his brother, is too very similar to Rhysand. He has the reputation of a sadist, after being tortured and used as slave in the hands of Dorotothea, close to how Rhys was known as a cruel fae who had to serve Amarantha (the way they a called is also pretty much the same, as well, being referred as their "pet" or "whore"). Daemon believes to be destined to Jaenelle, even before meeting her, sometimes feeling her touch, and dreaming or her, just like Rhysand talks about knowing Feyre was his mate, and dreaming of her before they met. He, like Saetan, Jaenelle, and Lucivar, is a black widow: which means he can access people's minds and thoughts, as well as communicate telephatically, exactly how daemanti in acotar have the ability to do.
"His face was a gift of his mysterious heritage, aristocratic and too beautifully shaped to be called merely handsome. He was tall and broad-shouldered. He kept his body well toned and muscular enough to please. His voice was deep and cultured, with a husky, seductive edge to it that made women go all misty-eyed. His gold eyes and thick black hair were typical of all three of Terreille's long-lived races, but his warm, golden-brown skin was a little lighter than the Hayllian aristos—more like the Dhemlan race." (Daughter of the blood, page 24)
"I stepped out of the shelter of my savior’s arm and turned to thank him. Standing before me was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. Everything about the stranger radiated sensual grace and ease. High Fae, no doubt. His short black hair gleamed like a raven’s feathers" (ACOTAR, page 193)
"I had no answer to that—to the tenor in his rich, deep voice. So I examined the tattoos on his chest and arms, the glow of his tan skin , so golden now that he was no longer caged inside that mountain." (ACOMAF, page 289)
"Daemon smiled that cold, cruel smile. "Now you know what it's like to get into bed with Hayll's Whore." (Daughter of the blood, page 77)
"Lucien interrupted — What do you know about anything? You’re just Amarantha’s whore.
— Her whore I might be, but not without my reasons.” (ACOTAR, page 239)
"In his soul, he knew her. In his dreams, he saw her. He never envisioned a face. It always blurred if he tried to focus on it. But he could see her dressed in a robe made of dark, transparent spidersilk, a robe that slid from her shoulders as she moved, a robe that opened and closed as she walked, revealing bare, night-cool skin. And there would be a scent in the room that was her, a scent he would wake to, burying his face in her pillow after she was up and attending her own concerns." (Daughter of the Blood, page 27)
“Three years ago, he said quietly, — I began to have these … dreams [...] The images were foggy, like looking through cloudy glass. They were brief—a flash here and there, every few months. I thought nothing of them, until one of the images was of a hand … This beautiful, human hand. Holding a brush. Painting—flowers on a table.” (ACOMAF, page 504)
“I saw you through your dreams—and I hoarded the images [...] I’d wake up with your scent in my nose, and it would haunt me all day, every step." (ACOMAF, page 505)
"There was a bitter taste in Daemon's mouth. The ashes of dreams. After all, he was Hayll's Whore, a pleasure slave, an amusement for the ladies no matter what their age, a way to pass the time" (Daughter of the blood, page 267)
"And he would be at that table in the town house, roaring with laughter—never again cold and cruel and solemn. Never again anyone’s slave or whore" (ACOMAF, page 497)
"You're my Queen,he thought fiercely. His body ached. She was his Queen. But with her family surrounding them, watching, there was nothing he could say or do to help her" (Daughter of the blood, page 360)
"My equal in every way; she would wear my crown, sit on a throne beside mine. Never sidelined, never designated to breeding and parties and child-rearing. My queen." (ACOMAF, 598)
"He caught her wrists, holding her off with an ease that made her scream. He hit the Black shields on her inner barriers hard enough to make her work to keep them intact, but they wouldn't keep him out for long." (Daughter of the blood, page 302)
"My innate talents allow me to slip through the mental shields of anyone I wish, with or without that bridge—unless they’re very, very strong, or have trained extensively to keep those shields tight." (ACOMAF, page 59)
At some point Daemon is even called Jaenelle's mate:
"He’s here! Jaenelle’s mate is finally here! Daemon felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him" (Heir to the shadows, page 117)
His position and title of highlord is parallelled a lot by how Saetan is decribed:
"High Lord of Hell, the Prince of the Darkness, the most powerful and dangerous Warlord Prince in the history of the Blood" (Daughter of the darkness, page 266)
"For what it’s worth, I’m the most powerful High Lord in Prythian’s history" (ACOMAF, page 145)
Moving on to other similarities, Ebon Askavi, known as the black mountain or "the keep", who is put as a sanctuary, keeping a library containing the history of the blood, matches the form in which the house of wind is developed in sjm's books, with the palace also being embedded into a mountain. The Keep is a safe place where the high lord of hell reserves for the demon dead to rest, same as Rhysand turning the library into a home for the priestesses. And the whole Bryaxis situation? A creature who lives in the pit of the library? Well, Ebon askavi used to be the home of the prince of dragons: Lorn, who guess what? Used to reside beneath it. Finally, Bishop literally describes the palace as the place where "The winds meet".
"Saetan limped across the empty courtyard to the huge, open-metal doors embedded into the mountain itself, rang the bell, and waited to enter the Keep, the Black Mountain, Ebon Askavi, where the Winds meet. It was the repository for the Blood's history as well as a sanctuary for the darkest-Jeweled Blood. It was also the private lair of Witch" (Daughter of the blood, page 59)
"Draca led him through the corridors of Ebon Askavi toward a large stairwell that descended into the heart of the mountain." ( Daughter of the blood, page 431)
“Her throat closed at the surge of memories and at the sprawling view—the glimmering ribbon of the Sidra far below, the red-stoned palace built into the side of the flat-topped mountain itself." (ACOSF, page 49).
“I made this library into a refuge for them. Some come to heal, work as acolytes, and then leave; some take the oaths to the Cauldron and Mother to become priestesses and remain here forever" (ACOWAR, page 212)
"She still served the Keep itself, looking after the comfort of the scholars who came to study, of the Queens who needed a dark place to rest" (Daughter of the Blood, page 61)
"— Who was here before them?
— A few cranky old scholars, who cursed me soundly when I relocated them to other libraries in the city. They still get access, but when and where is always approved by the priestesses.” (ACOWAR, page 213)
“There is a creature beneath the library. Do you know it?
Amren shut the book.
— Its name is Bryaxis.
— What is it.
— You do not want to know, girl.” (ACOWAR, page 452).
"Mother Night, Saetan — Geoffrey said, his breathing ragged. — The Keep is his lair.
He's been here all the time.
He hadn't expected Lorn to be so big. "(Heir to the shadows, page 476)
As for Amren being a unknown creature who was tuned into a faerie and lived centuries before everyone else? Same thing as Draca. She lived by the time Dragons ruled the world and was later turned into something "human", assisting the high lord of hell:
"When only the Queen and her Prince, Lorn, were left, the Queen bid her Consort farewell [...] When the last scale fell from her, she vanished. Some stories say her body was transformed into some other shape, though it still contained a dragon's soul" (Heir to the shadows, page 375).
"— Why won’t Amren go in here?
— Because she was once a prisoner.
— Not in that body, I take it.
A cruel smile.
— No. Not at all.” (ACOMAF, page 185)
"Spiraling? — Geoffrey thought for a moment and shook his head. — No, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. Ask Draca. Compared to her, you're still in the nursery and I'm just a stripling." (Daughter of the blood, page 243)
"In the countless millennia they had existed here in Prythian, Rhys—Rhys with his smirking and sarcasm and bedroom eyes ...And Amren was worse. And older than five thousand years." (ACOMAF, page 145)
"When they had first arrived at the Keep, Lucivar had given him a cryptic warning: Draca is a dragon in human form.The moment he’d seen the Seneschal, he’d understood what Lucivar meant. Her looks, combined with the feel of great age and old, deep power, had fascinated him." (Queen of the darkness, page 252)
"Because even though the short, delicate woman looked like High Fae … as Rhys had warned me, every instinct was roaring to run. To hide. [...] But Amren’s eyes …Her silver eyes were unlike anything I’d ever seen; a glimpse into the creature that I knew in my bones wasn’t High Fae. Or hadn’t been born that way." (ACOMAF, page 158)
"Draca asked. Her unblinking reptilian eyes revealed nothing" (Daughter of the blood, page 431)
You can also find some of the names of characters and places of Anne Bishop's books in Sarah J Mass ones. For instance: Sarah admited Prythian was a trick on Pryddain from the chronicles of Pryddain but that she couldn't put the original name because it belonged to Phillip Alexander, so she choose Prythian. But one of the high priestesses in Bishop's trilogy is indeed named Prythian.
"Prythian, Askavi's High Priestess, couldn't leash his temper enough to serve witches he despised" (Daughter of the blood, page 16)
If you look at the titles of some of the TOGs books, you realize they are alike Anne Bishop's as well:
The thing is: where do we draw the line when it comes to inspiration in books? It's common to have some similarities between author's works, however, to have that many in lines, places, plots, on top of races and characters who are nearly identical to the ones someone created fourteen years before you? I don't know.
I don't appreciate Bishop's work, in fact, I suffered a lot to go through the trilogy, for problems like: explicit sexual violence, mutilation, and worst of all grooming (Daemon meets his so called soulmate when she's a child, and he kisses her when she's 12), which literally made feel sick, but, is clear Bishop came up with a lot of things a long time before SJM did.
Because her series of books came out by the 2000, most of sjm's target audience doesn't know Bishop's work, making it very easy to avoid comparison. This is one of the reasons why this situation becomes a big problem, because most of her fans think SJM work is totally original, and that she came up with 99% of the concepts by herself.
Besides the black jewels, Sarah was said to have taking scenes, plots and quotes from other original productions/books, like the lord of the rings (which she's also a huge fan):
For example, The White Tree of Gondor and Kingsflame.
The White Tree of Gordon only blooms when the rightful ruler sits on the throne. Coming to later bloom in Aragorn's coronation:
"And so the kingdom of Gondor sank into ruin, the line of kings failed, the white tree withered and the rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men."
Kingsflame, however, it’s a magical flower that first bloomed when Brannon arrived, proof that was a good king:
"since those ancient days, only single blossoms had been spotted, so rare in their appearance that their appearance was deemed a sign that the land had blessed whatever ruler sat on Terrasen’s throne. (KOA 686)"
Similarly, the flower also blooms after Aelin’s Coronation:
Across every mountain, spread across the green canopy of Oakwald, carpeting the entire Plain of Theralis, the kingsflame was blooming. (KOA 984)
We also have the scene when Haldir arrives at helms deep:
"I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell. An alliance once existed between Elves and men. Long ago we fought and died together. We come to honor that allegiance."
While Manon says this in KOA:
"Long ago the Crochans fought beside Terrasen, to honor the great debt we owed the Fae King Brannon for granting us a homeland."(KOA, page 693)
And don't forget, Aragorn saying:
"My friends, you bow to no one"
While Rhysand says this in ACOWAR:
"You bow to no one, was all he replied"
Don't forget, the conversation between Theoden and Gamling in the Two Towers movie:
"Theoden: Who am I, Gamling?
Gamling : You are our king, sire.
Theoden : And do you trust your king?
Gamling : Your men, my Lord, will follow you to whatever end.
Theoden : To whatever end... "
Followed by this conversation between Rowan and Aelin:
“—To whatever end? — she breathed.
Rowan followed her, as he had his entire life, long before they had ever met, before their souls had sparked into existence. —“To whatever end, Fireheart.”
We also have other examples, like treasure island:
"Look at you! Glowing like a solar fire. You're something special, Jim. You're gonna rattle the stars, you are!" (Treasure Island-2003)
"You could rattle the stars," she whispered. "You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most. "( TOG page 385, chapter 54)
ASOIAF:
A quite similar phrase to "Queen that was promised" was used in GRRM’s ASOIAF, where an ancient prophecy talked about a "Prince who was promised", later it being reveleaded that they expected a boy, but the title was said to fall to Daenarys Targaryen (a queen). This is mentioned in " A dance of dragons" which was published in 2011. This prince is also mentioned as being “the Heir of Fire”.
"Westeros must unite beneath her one true king, the prince that was promised, Lord of Dragonstone and chosen of R'hllor" ( A dance with dragons, 2011)
"Perhaps it had all been for nothing. The Queen Who Was Promised" (KOA, page 121, 2018)
"He is fire made flesh, she thought, and so am I." (A dance with dragons, page 949, 2011)
"Fire - he reminded her of fire made flesh." (ACOWAR, 2017)
Harry Potter is added to list, as well:
Dumbledore: Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love. (HP and the deathly hallows, page 705, 1997).
Rhysand: Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don’t feel anything at all. (ACOTAR, page 418, 2012).
"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." (Harry Potter and the prisioner of Azkaban, 2004)
“Light can be found even in the darkest of hells” (ACOWAR, page 577, 2017)
The movie spirit:
Little Creek: Take care of her, Spirit-who-could-not-be-broken (Spirit, 2002)
Nehemia: I name you Elentiya, ‘Spirit That Cannot Be Broken.' (TOG, page 44)
Shadow and Bone:
The quote "like calls to like" explains one of the most important plot points in shadow and bone, the first book was published in 2012, and Sarah was mentioned in Leigh's acknowledgments as the person who gave her first review. She had used "magic calls to magic" before in throne of glass in 2012, yet the book was published in august, while Shadow and Bone came out before, in june. The principle of "like calls to like" in her books was mentioned by the time ACOMAF came out, in 2016, four years later. It was also used to describe attraction to objects of power, which follows Bardugo's concept.
Shadow and Bone: The grounding principle of the Small Science was “like calls to like" (page 113)
ACOMAF: The box—the Book—was silent. Then it said, Like calls to like (page 350)
“The Grisha claims the amplifier, but the amplifier claims the Grisha, as well. Once it is done, there can be no other. Like calls to like, and the bond is made.” (page 130)
The movie troy:
"Menelaus : Prince? What prince? What son of a king would accept a man's hospitality, eat his food, drink his wine, embrace him in friendship, and then steal his wife in the middle of the night?
Paris : The sun was shining when your wife left you." (Troy, 2004)
“If you hadn’t stolen my bride away in the night, Rhysand, I would not have been forced to take such drastic measures to get her back.
I said quietly, The sun was shining when I left you.” (ACOWAR, page 396, 2017)
The Land before Time:
"Some things you see with your eyes. Other things you see with your heart." ( The Land before Time 1988)
"Some things you hear with your eyes. Other things you hear with your heart."( Crown of Midgnight, page 168, 2011)
Mulan:
"Shan Yu: How many men does it take to deliver a message?
The other Hun: One.
The Hun proceeds to shoot one of the imperial soldiers with an arrow." (Mulan, 1998)
“But it seems like tonight isn’t really your night, Elide said to the ilken, lifting the hatchet again over a shoulder. The ilken might have been whimpering as she smiled grimly.—Because it only takes one to deliver a message. And your companions are already on their way.
The axe fell.
Flesh and bone and blood spilled onto the stones.” (Empire of Storms, page 455, 2016)
There's more to show about the black jewels, but this posts is already huge, so I'm going to finish by talking a little bit about her new series: Crescent city, which people already pointed out to be similar to another series she also talked about before: The Fever series by Karn Marie Moning, published in 2007. Now, I don't think is the same case as the black jewels, because crescent city does follow a much more different story, but is still have matching characters and main storyline.
Darkfever tells the story of MacKayla, a girl who seemingly had a perfect life. After the murder of her sister, she sees herself obligated to make an alliance with the mysterious Jericho in order find her killer, whilst exploring her sidhe-seer powers. Crescent city, on the other hand, is also about a girl losing people close to her: her best friend and her crush, then deciding to solve their deaths by teaming up with the fallen angel Hunt.
Mackayla is a sidhe seer, a person who can see fae, and ends up in the book series as their queen, while Bryce is half fae. They are both extremely attractive girls, who love to party and take good care of their appereance. Jericho, however, is a handsome, tough supernatural being who resources to Mac in order to find answers, ending up getting involved with her. Lastly, Hunt is a fallen angel, who needs to make sure Bryce cooperates with the investigation, and develops feelings for her.
"My sister's whole body had holes in it, Inspector! Not just her arms! The coroner said they looked like teeth marks! — Not of any person or animal he'd been able to identify, though.— And parts of her were just fora!— I was shaking. I hated the memory. It made me sick to my stomach" (Dark Fever, page 71)
"She knew in her bones it was not a hallucination, what lay on that bed, knew in her bones that what bled out inside her chest was her heart. Danika lay there. In pieces" (Crescent City, page 74)
"Grieving wasn't going to bring her back, and it sure wasn't going to make me feel better about whoever'd killed her walking around alive out there somewhere, happy in their sick little psychotic way, while my sister lay icy and white beneath six feet of dirt" (Dark Fever, page 10)
"Briggs planned to hurt people, and he deserved to be in jail, but—he’d been wrongly accused of the murder.Danika’s killer was still out there" (Crescent City, page 145)
"I think I just finally expelled the last drop of moisture from my body that wasn't absolutely necessary to keep me alive. And rage watered my parched soul. I wanted answers. I wanted justice.I wanted revenge." (Dark fever, page 11)
"She didn’t know where to start.But she’d do it. Find whoever had done this.[...] She ground her teeth. She’d find whoever had done this and make them regret ever being born." (Crescent City, page 164)
Once again, Hunt has the exact same appeareance as Jericho, and their personalities are also pretty much alike.
"He studied me with his predator's gaze, assessing me from head to toe. I studied him back. He didn't just occupy space; he saturated it.The room had been full of books before, now it was full of him. About thirty, six foot two or three, he had dark hair, golden skin, and dark eyes. His features were strong, chiseled." (Dark Fever, page 36)
"An angel who reason and history reminded him was an ally, though every instinct roared the opposite.Predator. Killer. Monster. Hunt Athalar’s angular dark eyes, however, remained fixed on the window. On Bryce Quinlan." (House of earth and blood, page 80)
"Hunt nodded once, his golden-brown face betraying nothing." (House of earth and blood, page 81)
"Then the male leafed through Quinlan’s thin file, his shoulder-length black hair slipping over his unreadable face." (House of earth and blood, page 81)
Darkfever presentd V'lane as a third character, an attractive seelie prince, who rules the Tuatha Dé Dannan, and happens to go after Mackayla as revenge against Jericho. In crescent city, there third main character is Ruhn, Bryce's half brother, and who is he? A crowned prince of the fae. And what is his last name? Danaan.
"Even today, after all that I've seen, I couldn't begin to describe V'lane, prince of the Tuatha Dé Danaan." (Dark Fever, page 134)
"Thinking she’d get a nice, sweaty ride with a Prince of the Fae, she’d be sorely disappointed. He was in no shape for fucking right now." (Crescent city, page 199)
“I got a phone call, Naomi said. From Ruhn fucking Danaan. He’s livid that we didn’t notify Sky and Breath about bringing in the girl." (Crescent city, page 96)
The scene where Hunt goes to watch over Bryce in her apartment follows the exact same patterns of the scene Jericho goes to visit Mackayla in her home:
"A moment later, her phone buzzed on the coffee table. Right as her show began.She didn’t know the number, but she wasn’t at all surprised when she picked up, plopping down onto the cushions, and Hunt growled,
— Open the curtains. I want to watch the show.” (Crescent city, page 84)
"Someone knocking at my door awakened me [...] I glanced at my watch. It was two o'clock in the morning. I was sleepy and grumpy and didn't try to disguise it.
—Who is it?
— Jericho Barrons." (Dark Fever, page 40)
“Open the curtains.
— No, thank you.
— Or you could invite me in and make my job easier.
— Definitely no.
—Why?
— Because you can do your job just as well from that roof.” (Crescent City; page 184)
"Do you intend to open this door, Ms. Lane, or shall we converse where anyone might attend our business? [...]. If he was willing to trade, I had to open that door. Unless…
— We can trade through the door, I said.
— No
— Why not?
— I am a private person, Ms. Lane. This is not negotiable." (Dark Fever, page 41)
"His dark eyes didn’t so much as blink. Striking—that was the only word Bryce could think of to describe his handsome face, full of powerful lines and sharp cheekbones. — You can make this investigation easy, or you can make it hard.” (Crescent City, page 187)
" When I said nothing, he said softly — If you are not with me, Ms. Lane, you are against me. I have no mercy for my enemies.
I shrugged." (Dark Fever, page 46)
So, I do believe SJM is the type author whose actions we need to discuss. Even if you see the whole thing with " The black jewels" is just an inspiration, you can't deny the fact there some exact lines of movies and books in her work. Plus: it's not just one quote or just one plot, but many.
If you ever try to read The Black Jewels trilogy you'll notice much more than what I brought in this post, and I do hope more people are able to research it. However, if you have any triggers regarding SA, mutil*tion, abuse, gr*mming, or torture scenes, I strongly recommend you do not read these books. They are not easy to go through, and the same thing goes to Dark Fever, although is a lot lighter.
Now, you can find more about the "Lord of the rings" and "Harry Potter" situation in here:
As I’ve been working on my reviews for the Throne of Glass series (you can see them all here), I’ve started to notice something. I’d noticed
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas Pages: 693 Published: September 6th 2016 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Goodreads Rating: 4.59/5 My Rating: 4/5
This is not a post trying to "cancel" sjm or simply attack her without reason. But I do believe we have to talk about her work and the problems with it, especially when it involves the work of other writers. If anyone has any more examples, or articles about this matter, quote this post with them if you can. I couldn't put more because you have a limit for tumblr posts, and it would be way too much. Anyway, thank you sticking here until the end.
why do people on tiktok act like ur psychotic when u call out how shitty cassian himself was when they hammer on and on about how he deserved better than evil nesta?
why is it so insane to them that people actually critique his behaviour and don’t just go along with fawning over him because he’s an attractive man?
the way people act like he’s just a poor little innocent cupcake that nesta stomped all over and abused is so funny like WAKE UP!
hihi it's me the nesta anon,i forgot to click off the anon button! i can't wait to write it! she's my favourite nesta! she's baby, queen baby. those lines from lanthys had chills going down by spine, i screaming for nes to take up his offer. . . sighs in contentment. aha, im gonna chased with pitchforks-
i assume everyone that follows me shares my opinions on nesta so i highly doubt you’ll be chased with pitchforks haha
honestly can’t wait to read it! nesta being her powerful self are always my fave fics
Nesta’s characterization was so random in Acosf you’re right 😭 People hate to admit it but her personality never screamed future warrior of a greek myth inspired female warrior group. Emissary fit her so much better and she would’ve been working and independent. I like her in the NC with her family just because I’m all about family too. Despite any ups and downs, her and her sisters definitely have a bond. I want to get these next two books over with and see what novella or spin-offs she’ll write for us.
it really was so random. i expected her to train but to full on become a warrior? horrified. she’s just not the physical violence type.
i do like that she’s around her sisters in the night court but i think they need some time away from each other. every archeron sister deserves to completely fall in love and find their place within a court the way feyre did, and that never happened for nesta in the night court. i think sjm believes that fitting in with the inner circle is the happiest of happily ever afters
but otherwise i agree, the sisters will always have a bond and i can’t wait to see it in the next books and see if sjm can do them justice
