★★★☆☆

Welcome back to Prythian, where the stakes are higher, the trauma runs deeper, and the brooding fae men… smirk now, apparently. If A Court of Thorns and Roses was Beauty and the Beast with abs, A Court of Mist and Fury is Alice in Wonderland meets Wattpad fanfiction with a side of spicy sexts and magical MacGuffin hunts.

This book had the potential to be the perfect sequel, but somewhere around the info-dump dinner party, my patience wore thin, and what started out as a 4-star rating sank into 3-star territory.

The TL;DR

What’s it about?

Feyre, fresh off the trauma train from ACOTAR, has a bargain to fulfill with Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. Cue inner healing, sexy banter, and a quest for magical Thingamajigs™ that will (probably) save the world.

Should you care?

Do you like your heroes broody, charming, and inconsistent enough to make you wonder if he’s a man or an algorithm? Do you enjoy your trauma healing arcs sprinkled with unnecessary side quests? Then sure, you’ll care.

Spice Level:

Heavy on tension, light on payoff. Think R-rated flirting with PG-13 execution.

Tropes:

• Enemies to Lovers: Evolving ✓
• Found Family: ✓
• Magical Quests that Take Forever: ✓

Archetypes:

• Feyre: The Trauma Survivor Who’s Figuring Out How to Thrive. Feyre has traded her paintbrush for claws (literally) and grows into her power, learns her worth, and gets the healing arc she deserves.
• Tamlin: The Toxic Ex-Boyfriend Who Gaslights Like It’s an Olympic Sport. Once a golden retriever, now more of a rabid chihuahua.
• Lucien: The Loyal Bestie Who’s in an Impossible Situation. Still a snarky sidekick, still carrying the emotional weight of everyone around them, still under appreciated.
• Rhysand: The Cheshire Cat of High Lords: Smirking, Purring, and Occasionally Making Sense. Rhysand is morally complex, devastatingly charming, and maddeningly inconsistent.
• The Inner Circle (Amren, Mor, Cassian, Azriel): Budget Avengers with Tragic Backstories. They have all the potential in the world, but their stories are dumped in one big info-session over dinner, making them feel more like plot devices than fully realized characters.

Reading Timeline:

• Dates: November 24-December 4, 2024
• Mood: Gripped at the start, exhausted by the middle, vaguely entertained by the end.

Main Review

The Good: Where The Stars Aligned (Mostly)

The opening chapters are emotional and far more character-driven than ACOTAR. Feyre’s PTSD and self-loathing are written with care, and for the first time, I felt her pain. She’s a shell of her former self, haunted by her experiences Under the Mountain and smothered in her new life with Tamlin. Maas handles this arc thoughtfully, letting us see Feyre hit rock bottom before slowly reclaiming her independence and strength. This version of Feyre is vulnerable yet determined, and I couldn’t help but root for her.

Then there’s Rhysand, who takes on the role of her reluctant mentor (or, more accurately, her winged hype man). He’s the first person to truly see her potential, encouraging her to embrace her power and identity on her own terms. Their dynamic is refreshing, he’s not here to fix her, but to remind her that she’s capable of fixing herself. We could all use a High Lord like him in our corner, recognizing our independence and telling us we’re more than our scars.

And the magical city of Velaris, the City of Starlight, is easily the book’s crown jewel. After the suffocating vibes at the Spring Court, Velaris is like stepping into a dream: its streets are full of art, laughter, and freedom. It’s a place where Feyre can breathe, and Maas’s descriptions bring it to life in a way that almost made me wish I could pack a bag and move there.

The Bad: Overly Convenient Plotting Strikes Again

Let’s start with the plot: it’s slow. Not slow burn romance slow, but wading-through-molasses-while-chasing-random-plot-objects slow. There’s a long stretch of filler content where Feyre and the gang hunt for magical Thingamajigs™ that don’t seem to matter much. The momentum fizzles and doesn’t really pick back up again.

The pacing isn’t the only problem. Unfortunately, ACOMAF suffers from the same issue as its predecessor: Maas relies too heavily on convenient plot devices to move the story forward. Rhysand doesn’t have to earn Feyre’s trust, he reads her mind. How much more compelling would their relationship have been if she had chosen to open up to him? Instead, his mind-reading powers feel like a lazy shortcut.

Then there’s Feyre’s miraculous literary transformation. She goes from being unable to read to sexting Rhysand within three months (Sure, Jan). This felt less like character growth and more like a plot device to enable spicy banter.

Rhysand’s characterization doesn’t fare much better. His quick bounce-back from 50 years of slavery under Amarantha? Unrealistic. It’s hard to believe someone who had to give up his entire sense of self would bounce back so quickly. If his playful nature was his real personality all along, fine, but show me the struggle to get back there. Instead of seeing Feyre slowly pull him out of his broodiness, we’re introduced to a High Lord who’s grinning, smirking, and purring his way through every scene.

And now, let’s talk about Tamlin. Remember the golden retriever protector energy he had in ACOTAR? That’s gone. In its place is a weirdly possessive control freak who somehow thinks he’s doing the right thing by locking Feyre away “for her own good.” His character shift feels so abrupt and unearned that it borders on caricature.

The WTF: Weak Flirting and Plot Shortcuts

Look, I get why the bargain happened, it’s an excuse to throw Feyre and Rhysand together, but something about it screams Wattpad fanfic. And while I appreciate their chemistry, his flirting game is weak. How are you over 500 years old and still coming across like a hot-but-boring guy on Hinge? You’re a High Lord, Rhys, step it up.

And the info-dumps? Maas uses dinner conversations to cram in character backstories, but they’re a snooze-fest. The tragic histories of the Night Court gang were more like checkbox exercises than organic storytelling. Amren is mysterious. Cassian and Azriel are bros with wings. Mor is… there. While they’re clearly meant to be Feyre’s new “found family,” their development is surface level, and their presence ultimately slows the pacing even more.

Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Read This

Read it if…

• You want to see Feyre take charge of her life and reclaim her power.
• You want a fantasy romance where trauma recovery and spicy flirting go hand-in-hand.
• You’re here for the magical cityscapes and found-family vibes.

Skip it if…

• You can’t stand filler quests and convenient plot devices.
• You need side characters with depth.
• You expect a High Lord to have decent flirting skills after 500 years.

Final Take: A Slow Burn That Never Fully Ignites

ACOMAF is a mixed bag. It starts with a bang, diving deep into Feyre’s trauma and giving us a glimpse of her path to healing. But as the story progresses, it becomes weighed down by slow pacing, inconsistent characterizations, and convenient plotting. Rhysand’s grinning, purring personality shift is jarring, and the endless side quests makes the book’s 600+ pages feel like a slog.

Reading this felt like listening to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” on repeat. The first half had me begging for it to keep delivering that emotional depth and character growth, but by the time we hit the endless magical scavenger hunts, I was left wishing for the spark that seemed to flicker out.

That said, Feyre’s journey is worth rooting for, and Velaris is a dream of a setting. If you loved ACOTAR, you’ll probably enjoy this sequel, but maybe not as much as you hoped.

If ACOTAR was fast food for the soul, this one’s a seven-course meal where the appetizers and dessert steals the show, but the main course leaves you picking at your plate.

⅗ Stars: Solid effort, but it’s no masterpiece.