I’m so convinced that the reason ACOTAR is so divisive is because of its first person POV. It's not as divisive in TOG or CC (at least not to the same extent) because those series offer multiple POVs, we even get perspectives from side characters. If SJM really intended acotar to be taken seriously, newsflash: she’s painfully miscalculated. The series, combined with its marketing that's more geared toward romance, didn’t particularly seem to care much about worldbuilding or politics. Instead, it targeted an audience more interested in the male leads.
Rowan, Dorian, Hunt, and Ruhn are generally loved, but they aren’t scrutinized or picked apart as much because the narratives in their books are less biased. Feyre was intentionally written as a naive character. She didn’t know anything about the fae, she never really cared about politics, she just wanted to survive. And the readers felt that. We were forced to experience and understand the world only through Feyre’s limited knowledge and emotional lens. Which is... not great. Because SJM while not the worst writer isn’t exactly a great one either.
That’s why fans are so deeply attached to the male characters instead of being feyre's ride or die. Because Feyre (and by extension us) are attached to them: Tamlin, Rhysand, etc. And that’s okay in itself. But SJM didn’t do a great job of streamlining her ideas, so when you even remotely think critically, you start seeing holes everywhere even if she didn’t intend it that way or wasn’t even aware of them.
The “I turned my brain off” crowd of course doesn’t see the nuance in Tamlin’s actions or acknowledge that Rhysand is widely manipulative. That’s why people try to justify Rhysand’s behavior in ACOSF by blaming Nesta as the lead narrator as if the only reason he seems bad (because she hates him etc.). If people realized it’s actually the opposite, they might understand where the “antis” are coming from. Because no, Rhys isn’t seen as bad because it’s Nesta’s book. He’s seen as bad because we’re no longer trapped in the singular POV of a desperate, very young woman who thinks she’s finally being loved the “right” way by a man the author tailor made for her.
ACOSF (and spoiler: CC3) is the point where we, as readers, are forced to admit that Rhys isn’t all that great (even if SJM didn’t intend it exactly like that). Whether we accept that is another story. And no, it’s not Nesta’s fault. Even with Cassian’s POV in the book, nothing truly absolves Rhysand’s actions. If anything, Cassian’s perspective amplifies how awful Rhysand is.
Now, I’m not saying there aren’t readers who understand all of this and still love Rhys or the inner circle and fine whatever. But the readers stuck in Feyre’s POV after her POV is over are the problem. The ones acting like the world ended because we’re no longer inside Feyre’s head, and now they’re “forced” to follow the story of the sister we’ve been told for three books was horrible. SJM didn’t realize that her inability to write strong characters, compelling plots, or consistent worldbuilding would lead to this level of hostile discourse.
Maybe it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but one of my favorite series is The Daevabad Trilogy. We get all three main characters’ POVs in each book. And while there were some disappointments, no one was truly angry about who the FMC ended up with because while the romance mattered, it was never the only thing that mattered. The story offered so much more. The characters were equally well-developed, the politics were thoughtful, and the writing was strong enough that readers didn’t walk away with fundamentally opposing interpretations. It felt like the work of an author who genuinely cared about crafting a cohesive, layered story. Not someone just hoping things would land well in the end.
Anyway, all of this is just my opinion of course. But honestly, it feels like a kind of social commentary. How white feminism in first person POV, combined with inconsistent writing, can lead to a very toxic fandom.
