Read my synopsis and review for the first book here.

SYNOPSIS

Feyre is now reborn as High Fae and has returned to the Spring Court with Tamlin and Lucien. She and Tamlin are barely coping with the horrendous events of Under the Mountain and Amarantha. They’re trying to move forward and build their life together.

While Tamlin works, Feyre is restless. She wants to explore and help rebuild their land. Tamlin wants to keep her sheltered and safe. They’re due to marry, but Feyre has doubts and on the day they are to wed, Rhysand winnows in to collect on the debt that Feyre owes him- one week a month forever.

Time passes and a situation occurs where Tamlin locks Feyre in their home, unable to escape or help with whatever political trouble is concerning him. She’s distraught and is taken to Night Court by Rhysand outside of the terms of their bargain. Now she must decide what to do. What could possibly happen?

MY RECAP AND REVIEW

I’m not gonna lie. I hated this book in the beginning but it got me towards the middle. I have a lot to say about this one, so buckle up.

The book in general has a nice pace in writing. I like Sarah Maas’s writing style. The monologues of information got to be a little much, but her writing is easy to read and flows well. It is written in the first person of Feyre for all but one chapter. The issues I have with the book are plot and character related.

I want to start with the very obvious revisionist history of Tamlin. Though I don’t agree with Tamlin’s politics or ways of doing things, I don’t like how he was turned into public enemy number one by Feyre. Tamlin was just as triggered, if not more considering the history, by the events that occurred under the mountain. They’re both individually responsible for healing their own traumas. As much as Tamlin didn’t want to speak about what occurred, neither did Feyre. I don’t think she brought it up once to him. She didn’t even mention to him that she was triggered by painting but was upset when he got her paints. It would’ve been considerate for him to notice, but he had so much on his plate.

I think Feyre puts a lot of unnecessary and misguided blame onto Tamlin without being empathetic. What he did wasn’t right, but she makes it seem like it was egregious.

I think the portrayal of PTSD and trauma was done well. I enjoyed that it was added into the book and she didn’t shy away from the realities of it- nightmares, flashbacks, suicidal ideations.

I still don’t like Feyre as a character. I think she gets by and survives based on luck and other people’s love for her more than anything. At the end she finally does step into her power, which I enjoyed, but it took 500+ pages and the first book to get there. She’s stubborn and angsty, which to a point is understandable considering what she went through. However, I feel like she didn’t develop much from the last book to this one. The only difference in this book is that she gets powers and learns to control them. She’s a damsel who wants to be saved but doesn’t want to be treated like a damsel at the same time. She’s meant to be a feminist icon but is shameful in her sexuality, finding shame when she shifts away from Tamlin. I find her mediocre.

I also didn’t like how she was positioned in the beginning not to like Rhys. Maybe Sarah Maas was going for an enemies to lovers trope but it was forced to me. She defends Rhys in the beginning of this book and made up with him at the end of the last book. Why didn’t she like him? I don’t understand why she was so desperate not to be around him when she had been wondering why he wasn’t showing up to get her in the first couple of months. I don’t get why she took her invitation in his home way better than when she first arrived to the Spring Court. Both times she was technically under a barter of some sort. It didn’t make sense.

I think Rhys should have addressed the whole drugging and objectification of her more from the first book. I also think to do it again in this book was an interesting writing choice. I guess I will accept the misogyny in this book for the culture of the people written but I will point it out as weird. I guess because she consented it made it made it better? I don’t know. Still weird.

I really enjoyed the Night Court. I like the visuals and feelings described. I like Rhysand’s inner circle a lot and the banter between them. I even like Rhysand in this book. I was not a fan of him in the last book at all. In this book we saw more of him. He’s still questionable, but it’s clear where his loyalties lie and I can respect his vision for the world.

In terms of action, some of the adventures fell a little flat for me. I think it might’ve been one too many but they all served a purpose and that is something I can appreciate.

The book ends in a cliffhanger, and it is a storyline I am invested in, so I will probably read the next one. I like how it ended, though one of the moves was predictable and I think unnecessary. Think sisters.

OVERALL

I want more from the side characters- Mor, Cassian, Azriel, and even Nesta. They were a big part of why I enjoyed this book. They’re the main reason I will read the next one.

I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars. If I liked Feyre more, I’d rate it higher. If the first book didn’t exist, I’d rate it higher. However, since the first book does exist, I think this one tries to drive a storyline to its detriment and rewrites certain tropes in order to do so.

After this book, I can understand why people ride for this series so hard. I’m still a little disappointed, but I did like this book enough to read the next one.