A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas | Review

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury Australia for sending me a completed copy of A Court of Frost and Starlight in exchange for an honest review. I promise that receiving a copy has no way impacted my views and all thoughts are my own.

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Rating: ★★★★☆

Release Date: May 1st, 2018

Trigger Warnings: alcohol dependency, excessive alcohol drinking, PTSD, depression, death, sex

Pages: 224

Publisher: Bloomsbury Australia

Genre: new adult, fantasy, magic 

Goodreads blurb:

The Winter Solstice. In a week. I was still new enough to being High Lady that I had no idea what my formal role was to be. If we’d have a High Priestess do some odious ceremony, as lanthe had done the year before. A year. Gods, nearly a year since Rhys had called in his bargain, desperate to get me away from the poison of the Spring Court to save me from my despair. Had he been only a minute later, the Mother knew what would have happened. Where I’d now be. Snow swirled and eddied in the garden, catching in the brown fibers of the burlap covering the shrubs My mate who had worked so hard and so selflessly, all without hope that I would ever be with him We had both fought for that love, bled for it. Rhys had died for it. 

R E V I E W

I have so many feelings about A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas that I’m pushing all my other reviews aside so this can go live earlier. Should I? Probably not, but I don’t care at this point because y’all are going to hear me scream. I also know that this series is problematic but it helped with my recovery so if you want to brawl, let’s go but I’m allowed to enjoy something that helped me get better.

Now, that the formalities are over: A Court of Frost and Starlight takes place six months after the end of A Court of Wings and Ruin. The timeline is a little weird but essentially it has only been one year since A Court of Mist and Fury and this novella. I was a bit confused by that, honestly, because the time gap feels so much bigger. The events of this book don’t add too much to the plot, I will say, it is mostly the characters getting ready for the Winter Solstice which is a big day in the Night Court since it is the longest night. The characters are buying gifts for one another and really just drinking a lot (I’ll get into this later because I have complaints). The gang has to deal with some of the ramifications of the war still, mainly Tamlin. I didn’t like his parts at all because I felt I was meant to pity him? I would rather not give him a redemption arc as an abuse survivor but go off SJM.

We get several new perspectives through this 200-page novella. The main view is obviously Feyre but we get some Rhysand, Mor and Cassian thrown in there. The strangest thing here was that Feyre and Rhysand had a first-person perspective, whereas Mor and Cassian were third person perspective. I didn’t have any problems with it, I just feel the stylistic choice made is worth mentioning.

I am just struggling with how to feel about this novella. I enjoyed it so much but it was just…problematic in some elements. I will obviously get into this later in the review.

A Court of Frost and Starlight is ultimately a nice welcome back to the world we know, a welcome cuddle after the intensity of A Court of Wings and Ruin.

L I K E S

✗ NESTA POV. I NEED MORE

I’ve made it pretty clear that Nesta is my favourite character. I know I don’t want Tamlin to have a redemption arc, but I am perfectly okay with Nesta because I relate to her, I see pieces of both my mum and I in her and it is pretty intense to see.

We don’t get much of her perspective and I won’t say too much because I feel this is something people should read for themselves if they’re curious, but there was an utter rawness to it. The representation of mental health had me crying and I thought I was doing okay mentally. It was real and something that I have personally felt. I am so excited to read from her perspective fully because I feel that her struggles, while similar to Feyre’s, are going to be different from anything we have ever seen before.

✗ GOOD TO SEE OLD CHARACTERS

It was good to see everyone again. The humour of the interactions between The Inner Circle was truly enjoyable and it feels good to laugh while reading a fantasy novel. I laughed so hard at the fact Amren is adjusting to being in a body with more human functions. I enjoyed learning about the periods for the Fae, as well as finding out little tidbits of information of the past. It all just added to the world we know and love that SJM has created.

✗ THAT PTSD REP OOO BOY

I talk about PTSD rep a lot, but it’s apart of my recovery that I do. A Court of Mist and Fury was the first book I saw with someone struggling with something like I do. It was life-changing for me. I truly had my eyes opened. I can already feel that the following books are going to help me with my struggles more. I felt the representation, the depression and the torment. I was speechless. It wasn’t something I was expecting to see in such a raw format but I needed it. I’ve been pretty good lately, but in a couple weeks, I’m visiting the place where a lot of my trauma is. I needed this book and to be reminded of who I am and how much I’ve been through.

Ultimately, I am speechless on the representation. It’s the one thing I think SJM does excellently. Her PTSD rep just speaks to me personally and I love it.

✗ SWEET AND FAST

Unlike this review, A Court of Frost and Starlight is short and sweet. You will be able to read it in one sitting like I did considering it is just over 200 pages. I was seriously blown away by how quickly I did read it. I am so ready for more of this world now, the love has been resparked via this novella and I am going to be anxiously awaiting the next release.

D I S L I K E S

✗ ALCOHOL IS TOO NORMALISED

This is my biggest problem. Alcohol is something that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t think it should be thrown around or used excessively in books. Almost every second paragraph in A Court of Frost and Starlight alcohol was mentioned. I understand that it was implied that one character has an addiction but the other characters have no excuse. It was uncomfortable, that there was such an undertone of reliability on wine. I think it’s inappropriate and definitely normalizing excessive drinking.

In other comments and to people who have read the teaser, do you think SJM will show the side effects of coming off an alcohol addiction with the character? I know alcohol withdrawal is intense so I’m wondering if she will show this. Thoughts?

✗ CRINGY DIALOGUE

Some of it was just so over the top and I was not here for it. I can’t even pinpoint an exact moment but I just know that at several points I was 100% not here for what was going down on the page. It felt as if the conversations were being incredibly forced in several circumstances, which is just not how I imagine these characters being.

✗ WTF IS GENTLEMALES SJM

This is mainly just an amusing thing in the text that had me laughing because I was like ‘wtf?’ Instead of gentlemen Feyre internally corrects herself to gentlemales. I literally choked on the water I was reading, I was like WHAT?! I know it’s because SJM wants it to be clear that the Fae area different species from human but gosh that was so amusing to me.

Overall, A Court of Forst and Starlight was enjoyable. It was lacking some of the plot and depth I expected but I guess my expectations were a little too high. It carries the tone of a typical Sarah J Maas book and I sincerely enjoyed the lack of sex that was present throughout this. It was overall a really nice story that made me feel warm inside. I am excited to read more about Nesta since I can already feel that the rawness of her PTSD is going to be much different from what Feyre experienced.

I wish this novella had been longer in several parts as I really wanted more on certain things. However, there were so many happy moments that had me giggling, like the snowball fight that Az, Cassian and Rhys had. It was filled with little moments like this. So, don’t worry about my complaining, is basically what I’m saying! If you’re a fan of SJM’s other books, you’ll enjoy this.

ALSO, my Australian followers, there is a special edition!! That we can buy!Click here to order. I receive no commission, just helping out.

Happy reading everyone!

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