A Court of Thoughts — ACOTAR

ACOTAR is probably my last fantasy escape of the year. I'm feeling more inclined towards historical fiction these days and Dan Brown's new book seems like a perfect transition. Before switching genres, I wanted to write my thoughts on this trending Sarah J. Maas's fantasy series.

I can read about wizards, fancy dragons, obsess over grishas but faeries...? I couldn't stand those pointy-eared humans because in another series, the author adorned them with tails and never forgot to mention this peculiar body part whenever a character felt something. It was such a turn-off for me. The prince was so angry that even his tail twitched. 🫣 Moreover, she failed to build the fictional world that drags the reader in.

For this reason, I avoided reading the ACOTAR series for the longest time. After all, it's about faeries too. However, some bookizen's content caught my eye one day and made me add the first book from the series to the cart, and the rest is history. (Also, Maas's faeries are tail-free.)

After reading the first book, A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR), I understood why fantasy readers were obsessed with it. The immersive fictional world, strong character development, and the right amount of suspense hooked me and kept me restless until I had the second book, A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAF) in my hands. This second book was even better than the first one. It covers all the questions that arise in your mind while reading the first part and gives you a satisfying sense of closure.

The third book, A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOWAR), also comes with a good plot, but it is weighed down by 700 pages of needless details. This book could easily be the final book of the series but these days authors love to drag the stories.

The fourth book, A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOFAS), is more of a transition and prelude to the fifth book. I think it was rubbish — 150 pages of filler that could easily be condensed into a chapter in the next book.

Then comes the last (published) book A Court of Silver Flames (ACOSF), which I am still reading, but couldn't wait any longer to write about it. POV changes in this book which makes you see and perceive everything and everyone in a different light — that was a mixed experience. The characters you grew to like, now seem less likeable and unfamiliar. This book is again 700 pages. I still have to read the last 200, but yeah, I would say again, 400 pages would have given the same emotional punch. The plot is emotional, but the story is redundant, echoing the same issues - incoming war, traumas, healing journey. Like I said, the author should have stopped after book 3.

Speaking of traumas, the only thing I like about book 5 is, how deeply the author explores the traumas and struggles of the main character. Although we see the healing of another character in book 2, in book 5 it's far more raw and heartbreaking.

That said, the characters are what kept me going. They were layered, flawed and deeply human (ironically). Each of them had inner scars, personal battles and Maas beautifully showed their recovery.

What felt like a spin to Beauty and the Beast at first, turned out to be a story of regret, redemption, love, tragedy, friendships and healing. Apart from fillers and some redundancy, it was a good plot overall.

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There might be three more additions to the series in the coming years. I hope Sarah will offer more in the upcoming books.

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These AI generated Faerie High Lords perfectly capture the essence of their book versions.