josiee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Medical trauma, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Colonisation, Cursing, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Stalking, War, Ableism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit
sarahemhavens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, War, Blood, Classism, Death, Torture, and Sexual violence
zc2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
- Okay it put me in a pretty big reading slump not gonna lie. Like i picked up to other books in an attempt to get me to keep reading it. But the plot was so tense at certain points that it kept me interested. I did hate that the whole book was centered on war and politics like i could’ve cared less. Why did it take them 700+ pages for the war to happen in the last 200. I was not amused. Even though we hate Tampon i would like to give him a hug for being lonely now. Like it wasn’t his fault he had attachment issues well maybe it was but i don’t know if i would want him to drop his roll as high lord of the spring court to go be with luicien at velaris. But also how is Az and Luic gonna fall in love with Elain like im dancing on the edge ready to find out. What else are they to face now that hybern is gone ??? Idk if I’ll continue reading or not havent decided yet.overall it was an okay book I wouldn’t 100% recommend it though.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Dysphoria, Grief, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, War, Alcohol, Body horror, Drug use, Kidnapping, Vomit, Animal death, Biphobia, Body shaming, Cannibalism, and Death
graceskate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Gore, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Murder, War, Sexual content, Grief, Xenophobia, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual violence, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Death, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Torture, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Animal death, Sexism, Trafficking, Child abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Genocide, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Alcohol, and Cannibalism
literallysam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
While reading this- I was transported to Prythian where I followed Feyre and her friends as they worked to save the magical land that I too had come to love. And after I finished it, I was just left feeling like, life without these characters is not worth it.🥲
WHAT I LOVED-
After UTM, we don’t see all of the High Lords together until this book. We're thoroughly introduced with them and we learn about the tensions amongst the courts. We get to see how their relationship with the Night Court & the Inner Circle.
And let’s not forget the multiple romances in the book. Besides my will-always-be-favorite couple, Feysand❤️, there's a growing romance between Nesta & Cassian. There is also a potential love triangle among Elain, Lucien, & Az. Personally, I don't ship Elain with Az, but we'll see how it plays out in the next books.
The development of certain characters over the course of the story, is my another favorite aspect. Feyre becomes more stronger and self-possessed. Nesta becomes a bit more likable and makes up for her repulsive behavior in ACOTAR. Tamlin also manages to atone for some of his past behaviour. Although, he is still way far from full redemption. Now Elaine.. though I was really sick & tired of her until the very end- but what she did.. god, I didn't saw that coming. It's always the silent & shy ones LMAO.💀
I also liked how our sassy Az was the one to teach Feyre to fly. They were finally bonding and I absolutely loved getting to know Az better.
Also, this book brings Lucien's character back from depressing springtime. His character is redeemable and I felt kinda bad how his character went from snarky & clever to timid & hesitant in ACOTAR. Jurian's redemption arc was weird bullsh!t and I didn’t buy it.
The book is action-packed, full of twist & turns, romance & is a rollercoaster of emotions. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger- Something is always happening or preparing to happen.
The battle scene was amazing, especially when the last group showed up- *sighs* I had no Idea that I'd be crying If certain characters died but then there I was crying my heart out when the Suriel & the Bone Carver died.😩😭💔
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE-
It had to end.😭😭😭😭
But In all seriousness though, there is not much wrong with this book. The only thing I think could've been better was ~Rhys's death~ God I hate even writing that..😩
No matter how much I FVCKING SOBBED MY EYES OUT over that scene, it still had more potential and could be used in a more better way. It just felt bleh how he was brought back to life within minutes.
ACOWAR is every bit as entertaining as its predecessors, which in this series, is no an easy feat. So yes, I absolutely love this book. I love you Sarah for introducing us to this court of Dreamers.💘
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Slavery, Blood, Sexism, Death of parent, War, Torture, Death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Confinement
lizzydreadful's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Vomit, War, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Body horror, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, and Death of parent
megcarrick's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Abandonment, Violence, Blood, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Cursing, Body shaming, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Stalking, Toxic relationship, War, Death, Kidnapping, Vomit, and Torture
csmall73's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Vomit, Torture, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
jenna_justi2004's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Sexism, Sexual content, Drug use, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, Gore, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Biphobia, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and War
midnacine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I didn't think I'd have the energy to write this review. But here we are. Let me preface this review by stating I believe SJM to be a problematic author and have been reading this series with a grain of salt. I also wanted to be clear that I changed my rating of the previous book earlier today so I could accurately rate this one.
Looking at this book as a whole, I definitely enjoyed it more than I did ACOMAF. There weren't nearly as many cringy spice scenes, which I definitely appreciated, and the supporting characters finally got their chance to take more of a main role in the story. With that being said, I had a lot of issues, detailed in the spoiler section:
Spoiler
The entire first half of the book was exhausting to read, mostly because there was just a lot of Feyre continuing to make excuses for Rhys and refusing to acknowledge the fact that Rhys is just as bad as Tamlin. I think it took me until like 55% in order to actually sit down and commit to finishing it. After that, once the story had shifted focus to the war and the subplots with Cassian, Nesta, and the other High Lords it was fairly easy for me to get through.The other glaring issues for me were as follows:
1. Rhys' virtue signaling (especially when it came to the Priestesses in the library)
2. The heteronormative bullshit of the mating bonds and then SJM dropping a bunch of queer people in without actually developing the relationships between them and their partners and not even offering both the characters names
3. The amount of abuse apologists among the main characters but especially in Feyre
4. The repetitive use of certain words and/or phrases (I stopped counting how many times "vulgar gesture" and "black adamant" were used)
5. So many times throughout the book where Feyre "revealed" something that felt like it was already known or just common sense
6. The plot hole of Feyre's dad having gathered this massive army and showing up at precisely the right moment when he didn't even know Hybern existed
7. Amren coming back after having this beautifully poetic send-off as the ultimate sacrifice - it just completely ruined the impact of the moment
Tbh I'm just really excited to finally be done with Feyre and Rhys' story and move on to Nesta and Cassian, and possibly Elain and Lucien. I'm just so much more interested in them. However not excited for the **SPOILER FOR ACOFAS** pregnancy trope I know is coming in the next few books. So yeah, I guess we'll see how it goes.
Graphic: Death, War, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Violence, Murder, and Toxic relationship