by Sarah J. Maas
4.3 · 4 reviewsA warrior with nothing left to lose and a wound that won't close — the fifth ACOTAR novel hands the fire to Nesta Archeron.
Nesta Archeron has survived a war, but survival is not the same as living. Sharp-tongued, self-destructive, and haunted by what the cauldron made of her, she has spent months drowning her grief in wine and bad company. When her sister and the Night Court finally intervene, Nesta is forced into the last place she wants to be: training her body and her power in the brutal halls of the House of Wind.
There she crosses paths with Cassian — the Illyrian warrior who refuses to give up on her no matter how hard she pushes. What begins as grudging, combative lessons slowly becomes something neither of them is ready to name. Meanwhile, an old threat stirs beyond the borders of Prythian, and the magic clawing at Nesta from the inside may be the only thing standing between her world and ruin.
This installment turns away from familiar protagonists to follow Nesta's reckoning with herself: rage, shame, sisterhood, and the long, halting work of becoming someone she can bear to be. It is the most intimate and adult entry in the series so far.
First published in 2021.
4 reviews
Maas really committed to letting Nesta be unlikable before she became someone you root for, and I respect it. The training sequences and the sisterhood with Gwyn and Emerie were highlights for me. Knocking off a star only because the plot takes a while to get moving.
The character work is genuinely strong and I cried more than once. But the middle drags, and I missed having Feyre and Rhys at the center. It's worth reading for Nesta's growth, just go in knowing it's a slower, more internal story.
What I loved most is that it doesn't excuse Nesta's worst behavior, it sits in it and lets her dig her way out. The found-family scenes wrecked me. Also the spice level is no joke compared to the earlier books, so be warned.
I went in skeptical because I never liked Nesta, and I came out completely obsessed with her. Her arc is messy and raw and so well earned. Cassian was worth every page of the slow burn. Easily my favorite in the series.