A very, very spoilery ACOMAF Review + Thoughts
I just finished ACOMAF and am still reeling. It blew my mind and my socks off. I am very proud of Sarah J. Maas as a writer looking at how far she’s come since her first ToG book days. I immensely enjoyed ACOTAR and had doubts whether this one would be able to live up to the first. Since there was a monthly-deal with Rhys, I had some surety about it being enjoyable. But I’d still been unsure of how satisfying it would be. Oh boy, let me start by saying I’m satisfied and so much more- emotional, shocked, happy and a trainwreck.
I’m really proud of Feyre in this book. She reminded me of Aelin from ToG series at times and that is a huge thing because I admire Aelin as a character immensely. I love how Feyre struggled with PTSD and claustrophobia post-Under the Mountain. What she had been through was no joke and I am glad SJM did not sweep it under the rug by making her all cheery and bright. I loved how difficult Feyre found it to adjust to her new self and the new life she found herself in.
From the beginning of the book, we witness Tamlin and Feyre’s increasing distance. I understood how little we knew of Tamlin as a person outside the curse and what he was like. Just because Feyre and he hit it off in the first book, absolutely did not mean anything. I love how SJM showed what the traumatic events did to them. Also, how we never really knew if Feyre and Tamlin really ever suited each other. I was disappointed in Tamlin and how he did not care for Feyre. Not really. He never asked her about her nightmares and never tried to ask why she threw up every night or how he could ease her pain. All he cared for were his stupid rules, traditions and having Feyre as his Trophy Wife. He honestly just needed a female by his side to nod at every word he said. He didn’t really understand or love Feyre because otherwise he wouldn’t have been an ass about it- especially after Feyre’s pleads to be let free and allowed to breathe a little. WTF was up with the Tithe? I honestly never hated Tamlin than I did at that moment. Lucien was no better and only behaved like a loyal dog of Tamlin’s. Her sex scenes with Tamlin were honestly uncomfortable and made me cringe. I just wanted him off her and to talk than use sex as an excuse to mend things between them.
Don’t even get me started on Ianthe. She was another pathetic priestess of an excuse and no better than Tamlin. She was far worse, actually. She obviously hated Feyre and Feyre was naïve enough to trust her. Actually, she had no reason to doubt her. Poor Feyre.
The wedding scene was absolute fun. I was feeling bad at Feyre for how she was breaking down and panicking at that moment and was actually gonna refuse to wed Tamlin. Thanks to Rhys for the rescue and for saving her from the miserable state she was in. I loved how Rhys right away noticed Feyre had not been eating well, and Tamlin never noticed?! Really?! I was glad when Feyre was whisked away to the Night Court. The son of a bitch Tamlin actually had the nerve to lock Feyre in when she returned. Like what the hell, dude? That was so not cool. I was glad at Feyre leaving Tamlin and choosing to continue her stay at the Night Court.
The Night Court. Where to start?
I love the entire Night Court and its inhabitants. I loved everyone who was a part of Rhys’s Inner Circle. It was nice seeing Feyre have something sort of a family. I was glad she did not judge everyone outright and took her chance agreeing to work with them. I loved all interactions of Feyre with Mor, Azriel, Cassian and hell- even Amren turned to be cool. Especially when she tells Feyre she loved eating lambs and goats. It was so funny!
Then the most important part of the book was the relationship Feyre and Rhysand. I LOVED how SJM wrote the entire book. It was a Feysand book on all levels. I had my doubts about Feyre and Rhysand falling in love and taking it to the next level but hell. They went all the way in every way. I am glad Feyre didn’t choose to remain in denial till the end of book 3 or something because that would have killed Rhysand. As if he hadn’t been dead enough times.
I love how Rhysand is everything Tamlin is not. He respects Feyre and supports her in whatever way she needs to be supported. He never enforced his decisions on her neither did he lock her up like a certain someone. She obviously took time being friendly with him and then being close with him and I honestly felt like she loved Rhys a little less than he loved her. Just a little, but that thought changed towards the end of the book.
I feel like I must have made the Shipper Gods happy because this book was a Feysand shipper dream come true. Those little flirtations, banter and sexy times….. Man, they totally killed me. I died and went to shipper heaven. I had no doubt SJM would actually manage to break away the big, true love of book 1 and so smoothly transition to Feyre’s second true love. Plus it made amazing progression compared to what happened in book 1 between her and Rhys.
The only times I was mad at Feyre were after she abandons Rhys to go to that little cabin to sort out her feelings upon finding out he’s her mate. The other time was when she just kept hurting Rhys calling her need to be with him physically as a ‘distraction’. I swear that was a terrible moment. Not just that, she hurt Rhys countless times with her stupid thoughts of dying and trying to push him away.
I honestly thought if Feyre hadn’t protected Rhys like she did after he was attacked, I never would have forgiven her. Thankfully she now understands and knows all the truth behind everything “bad” Rhys did and why he did what he did. I thought the only fatal flaw in Rhys as a character was how trusting he was towards Feyre. Like, he should have been a little less open and should have waited for her to come around on her own instead. I guess it was because she was his mate that he trusted and loved her so blindly.
Now let’s move on to Mor. I really want her to be with Azriel at the end. I wouldn’t even mind if she hooked up with Cassian. Poor Cassian- hope his wings recover in the next book. It would be too much for him to lose wings. I was actually scared that Rhysand would lose his wings in the book as well, but thankfully, it did not happen (SJM- if you’re reading this, I’ll never forgive you if Rhys ever lost his wings!).
Okay, now the plot. I think the deal with the Cauldron, loserface Jurian. The King of Hybern, the fucking traitorous Mortal Queens, Book of Breathing(?) and Tamlin’s betrayal were all very interesting. I actually expected the Cauldron to be disabled and King of Hybern to not make an appearance till the next book. I was surprised and underwhelmed at how easily he was fooled. He wanted to snap Feyre and Rhys’s mate bond (really, dude?) and Tamlin wanted it to be done. I wonder if Tamlin is a little sick in the head with how obsessed he seems with having Feyre for himself. He wanted her mating bond to be snapped- not caring that it could kill her.
When Feyre goes to Tamlin, pretending like she was under some spell- I thought she was doing it for everyone’s sake and that Rhys would be heartbroken over it. Who the HELL thought the bond was not so easily breakable? I am glad that Feyre is fooling Tamlin and she still has access to Rhysand’s mind and they can communicate when they please. I am so happy because Rhys seems chill about it Feyre is the fucking High Lady of the Night Court. Wooooot (Sarah, you got me there! Never saw this coming).
I don’t want to forgive Lucien easily but since he found his mate in Elain, I wonder if he can be redeemed. I don’t see hope for Tamlin and want him to mend his ways if nothing else. I am scared he is going to force Feyre into sleeping with him. Hope she can put on an act of Rhys-used-me-against-my-will-so-I-am-too-wounded-to-do-this-anytime-soon. I wonder if he is going to buy the act. A betrayal for a betrayal, Tamlin and way to go Feyre!
I also wanna comment on Rhys’s past as someone who serviced Amarantha. I really, truly felt sorry for him more than I did previously. I didn’t know the extent to which the bitch destroyed him. Hope she comes back alive so that we can give her another painful death.
I found it super fishy how Feyre’s father was MIA throughout the book. I wonder if he is another villain in the making. Now that Feyre’s sisters are all Fae as well I wonder what role or where her father fits into all of this.
Can’t wait for the next book. 2017 may be far away but we have Empire of Storms coming out this year~!
