Title: A Court of Frost and Starlight
(A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: May 1st, 2018
Standalone/Series: Series
Genre: New Adult – Fantasy

Goodreads link

My rating in stars: 3 stars
My rating in words: It was okay

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:

Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can’t keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated–scars that will have far-reaching impact on the future of their Court.

MY THOUGHTS (SPOILER-FREE):

“To the stars who listen and the dreams that are answered.”

Honestly, my thoughts on this series are very mixed. I thought the first book, A Court of Thorns and Roses, was good, except for the grossly romanticised abuse. The second book, A Court of Mist and Fury, may very wel be one of my favorite books of all-time. My feelings on A Court of Wings and Ruin, the third book in the series, are a mix of “OMG, I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS AND I LOVE THIS WORLD, COME HERE MY PRECIOUS BABIES” and “OMG you have ruined the word mate for me forever. There is a war going on, hurry and put on some pants damnit”.

So I was a bit hesitant to start the novella, A Court of Frost and Starlight. Because of the aforementioned mixed feelings and because really, I just don’t like novellas. But I figured I still want to continue this series either way, so I just couldn’t miss out on this novella.

And truthfully? Plotwise, I could have totally missed out on this novella. NOTHING HAPPENS. It’s just a glorified epilogue. Or a glorified prologue to the next book. There is no real plot. You will not miss out on major stuff if you don’t read this one.

But emotionally? Yes, this book brings the good stuff. Because over the past three books, I have become so emotionally attached to these characters. I love them. I wish I was one of them. I wish I could celebrate Christmas with them. And through this novella, I could.

There are so many wonderful character moments as we check in with each member of the Inner Circle. The major difference between the novella and the books is that we get multiple POV’s. We of course have Feyre, but we also have lots of Rhys and even a lot of Cassian, Mor and Nesta. Through this, we check in with this lovely group of friends and see how each of them is doing. We even check in with Lucien and Tamlin.

Funny thing though is that Feyre and Rhys’ POV’s are written in first person, while everyone else’s POV is written in third person. A little jarring, but once you get used to it… nope, it still stays weird.

Honestly, there is not much to review here. Don’t read this if you really need a plot. But definitely do read this if you love this group of characters and just want to see them celebrate Christmas (or well, Winter Solstice) and witness their antics such as drunken decorating, snowball fights, terrible (or amazing) tastes in gifts, awkward sauna trips and so much more.

And I just have to add that while I’m still not a fan of novellas, this one got me super excited for the next book in the series, when I wasn’t really all that interested before. So I consider that a major win for this novella!

FAVORITE QUOTES:

“Dangerous words, Rhysand,” Amren warned, strutting through the door, nearly swallowed up by the enormous white fur coat she wore. Only her chin-length dark hair and solid silver eyes were visible above the collar. She looked— “You look like an angry snowball,” Cassian said.” 

“Stars flickered around us, sweet darkness sweeping in. As if we were the only souls in a galaxy.” 

“I will never stop being grateful to have you in my life, either, Feyre darling. And no matter what lies ahead”–a small, joyous smile at that–“we will face it together. Enjoy every moment of it together.” 

“Cassian had named about two dozen poses for Nesta at this point. Ranging from I Will Eat Your Eyes for Breakfast to I Don’t Want Cassian to Know I’m Reading Smut. The latter was his particular favorite.” 

HAVE YOU READ A COURT OF FROST AND STARLIGHT? WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT IT?