Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world torn apart.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.
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You’ve been warned….
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Seriously.. Stop RIGHT HERE if you don’t want to be spoiled!
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I want to start by saying that I’m starting this review on the same day I finished the book, which means I’m still feeling broken and dazed. So I’m probably going to be slightly.. or completely.. incoherent Also, there are MASSIVE spoilers below. There’s no way this book can be reviewed without spoilers. So STOP RIGHT HERE if you DO NOT want to be spoiled.

Also, this is going to be a loooooong review, so bear with me.

ONE LAST SPOILER WARNING.

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A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAF) broke me. I am broken. I am liquified feels. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. My heart has been ripped out of my chest, shattered into a million pieces and stomped on. This book hangover I have will likely last until May 2, 2017 when A Court of Wings and Ruin comes out and I can gobble the story down within days. I thought A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) was amazing, but I was wrong – I mean, it was really good. But ACOMAF was BEYOND amazing. It was a higher level of amazing that ACOTAR could never ever come close to reaching. I don’t think ANY book can come close to the level of amazing that was ACOMAF. I’ve never been able to answer the question, “what’s your favorite book?” But after reading ACOMAF, I can. I can 100% say this book is my absolute favorite book ever.

Feyre was BRILLIANT in ACOMAF. And that’s saying a lot, because she was AMAZING in ACOTAR. But it wasn’t possible for her to reach her full potential as a human in the Spring Court. No, Feyre as an immortal Faerie in the Night Court was.. Destined. Fated. Meant to be. I was debating going back and reading ACOTAR again because I feel like I’d see it SO differently, but then I thought.. How could I get through it? I loved it and it’ll always be a favorite, but… Re-reading ACOTAR would mean having to see Feyre in the Spring Court again. It would mean seeing her human again, vulnerable and with Tamlin… *Vomits*

Okay, yeah, I loved Tamlin in ACOTAR. But that’s because he was basically all we knew, except for the few times Rhys showed up. But now that I’ve seen Feyre with Rhys, I know she was never meant to be with Tamlin. He was too possessive, too dominating. He held her back, refused to let her spread her wings and fly (see what I did there?). And his behavior in ACOMAF is unforgivable, especially his betrayal at the end. I wanted to KILL him. I wanted to smack him so hard, his head would spin. He was so possessive of Feyre, so sure she belonged to him, that he refused to believe she was better off without him. God forbid someone be happy away from him. It was a completely foreign concept to him. He never treated Feyre like an equal. He never even treated her like a person; rather, he treated her like a possession.

Feyre was so broken in the beginning, so lost and withering away.. At first, when Rhys brought her to the Night Court, I wasn’t sure how to feel. I loved his wickedness, but I was weary of him, of whether or not I should trust him. But as time passed, I shipped him and Feyre so hard, it can’t even be described in words. HE HELD HER HAIR BACK WHILE SHE VOMITED! TAMLIN DIDN’T EVEN WAKE UP – OR PRETENDED HE WASN’T AWAKE, AT LEAST. LIKE… THE FEARSOME HIGH LORD OF THE NIGHT COURT HELD FEYRE’S HAIR BACK WHILE SHE VOMITED FROM HER NIGHTMARES. He had my heart from that moment on.

Feyre and Rhys together were dynamite. The sexual tension, the heat, the lust and the intensity between them was unbelievable. How could I EVER have shipped her with Tamlin the baby jerk? They were partners, equals, mates (!!!!!), bonded so deeply, even the King of Hybern couldn’t break their bond. They were snarky and sarcastic with each other, but the love and attraction always thawed the bite of that snarkiness. Their banter was banter for the ages! Rhys treated Feyre like an equal, like her opinions and feelings matter. He trained her so she could protect herself. He gave her space when she needed it and stepped in when she didn’t realize she needed that contact and support. He helped heal her heart in subtle ways, and she didn’t even realize. Even letting her go with him on important court business… it’s more than Tamlin let her do. Tamlin coddled her, told her it was too dangerous. But Rhys let her decide on her own what she could and couldn’t handle. That alone made him the better man.

Also, can I just say how hard I laughed every time Feyre called Rhys an insufferable bastard. It was so fitting!

Feyre’s character development in this was so wonderful and perfect and it felt so right. She was so strong and so brave. I loved her training and exploring her powers and her full potential. I loved that Rhys let her do that, let her grow and do what she needed to do to heal. I can say with absolute certainty that Rhys and Feyre are my absolute favorite Book Ship ever. They are my Bookish OTP. They are relationship goals. And Rhys making Feyre High Lady of the Night Court? icing on the cake.

Mor, Cassian, Azriel and Amren were squad goals. They were amazing. I loved the friendship between Mor and Feyre. I loved that, despite Rhy being her High Lord, Mor was still her own person, who didn’t bow down to his intimidation (unlike that lap dog Lucien, but we’ll get to that soon). When Feyre needed space and needed to get away, Mor helped her, without hesitation. YA needs more epic female friendships, with women supporting women. Cassian was another favorite of mine. He was so fierece and loyal to Rhys. And he protected Feyre when it was necessary, and without hesitation. He was also hilarious and snarky. I loved the direction he and Nesta were going in… Interested to see what her forced transformation will mean for them.

Azriel scared me a bit, but his steadfast loyalty was incredible. I was so terrified for him near the end.. for Cassian, as well. I didn’t trust Azriel at all in the beginning and I’m not totally sure why. Maybe because I wasn’t yet sure if anyone from the Night Court could be trusted. And if Azriel scared me a bit, Amren completely terrified me. But I was fascinated by her and her story. I can’t wait to learn more about her and her past.

Finally, Lucien… Dude, what a pathetic welp. I used to like Lucien. But he was just a condescending prick in ACOMAF. He was Tamlin’s lap dog and he barely fought for Feyre, even when he saw what Tamlin’s iron fist was doing to her. He makes me sick, honestly. But it’s terrifying that, at the end, he could see right through Feyre’s tricks and lies. I wonder what that will mean for book three… But also, his love for Elain… The fact that they ended up being mates… ??!?!?!??! I don’t even know what to think!

Sarah J. Maas did some incredible things with this book. I think this sums it up pretty well:

All of these are 100% true and 100% important. But think about it – “The first guy a girl meets is not her soulmate.” This was not a love triangle. In ACOTAR, it seemed as though there would be a love triangle between Feyre, Tamlin and Lucien… Then maybe a love triangle with Feyre, Tamlin and Rhys. But Sarah J. Maas debunked all of that when she turned Feyre so permanently away from Tamlin – and for epic, sound reasons. How many authors have ever done that? I can’t think of any off the top of my head. And the realistic depiction of anxiety, depression and PTSD? Not to mention the fact that she depicted a male recovering from sexual assault…? Like, HOW AMAZING IS SARAH J. MAAS FOR DOING THINGS RARELY DONE? Seriously, though!

AND THAT ENDING OMFG I CAN’T WITH THAT ENDING, I AM BROKEN AND I DON’T KNOW HOW TO PROCESS WHAT HAPPENED AND WTF?!?!?!?!? No, seriously, I can’t even begin to TRY to process what happened. That ending has left me so conflicted and broken and damn excited for the third book, to see Feyre take Tamlin down from within his own court. It’s going to suck, though, because it means Rhys and Feyre will be separated and who knows for how long? But I’m guessing, in true Sarah J. Maas fashion, their reunion will be filled with passion, lust and fireworks.

Wow… This turned into an epic essay, instead of a review. But I can’t even begin to tell you guys how much I loved this book. It was just such utter perfection, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around the level of perfection. I wasn’t kidding when I said this book hangover will likely last until the third book comes out! It was so amazing, so perfect, so RIGHT. I enjoyed this book 1000x more than book one. I’m anxious to see what the consequences of the ending will be. I need book three now, but I’m also terrified of it and what it will bring.

Overall, if you couldn’t tell from my super fangirly essay review, I loved A Court of Mist and Fury beyond words!! ALL THE STARS! ALL THE HEARTS!! ALL THE FEELS!!! SO BROKEN!!!! Seriously, if this isn’t on your TBR, it NEEDS TO BE! If I could give this book ten million billion x infinity stars, I would! I know I’ve said it, but I CANNOT wait for book three – which actually has a title now: A Court of Wings and Ruin, ACOWAR for short! That alone – the fact that it has the word WAR in its abbreviation – should be proof in itself that all hell is about to break lose!