#analyzing sjms thought process

[highprincessofthenightcourt]

Okay, so I was thinking about SJM’s writing and how some parts of it are surprisingly heavy and realistic. That got me spiraling into thoughts about her tendency to self-insert into her characters—something that shows up often in her books.

A while back, I fell down a rabbit hole researching her life and career, and that’s where I learned a lot of what I’m about to talk about. So, SJM was adopted—her exact age at the time isn’t totally clear, but it seems to have been sometime before or during her teenage years. She was adopted by a lawyer and a judge who lived in Manhattan. They gave her a high quality education and introduced her to the arts by taking her to museums, ballets, and operas.

In one interview, Sarah mentioned that although she already loved literature, it was after witnessing a tragic event in New York that she really leaned into fantasy as a form of escapism—a way to cope. During her freshman year of college, she met her now husband (he was an RA in her dorm), and two years after graduating, they got married and started their family.

Now, tying this into ACOTAR: I think aspects of her personal journey show up in Feyre’s story. Imagine the emotional adjustment of going from being in the adoption system to suddenly living in a wealthy home in a city as vibrant as Manhattan—that shift must’ve been intense. And I see echoes of that in Feyre’s transformation: from neglect and isolation (maybe even including things like not being taught to read early on or living in poor conditions), to a life full of love, magic, and purpose. Velaris could easily be a fantasy coded Manhattan—it’s where Feyre finds herself, her family, and her true love.

Then there’s the Archeron sisters, and what parts of SJM they might represent. We know that when the first book was in the works, Nesta and Elain weren’t meant to be much more than “evil stepsisters.” But later on, Sarah decided to give them more depth, and to do that, she had to dig deeper into herself and her own experiences. I imagine that was hard—Feyre was her ideal self, and her arc was so solid: full of growth, realism, and beauty. So when it came time to flesh out the other sisters, it must’ve been difficult to know what pieces of herself to put into them.

To me, it almost feels like the sisters ended up embodying two extremes of her personality—one representing her worst traits, the other her best. And while that’s interesting, it becomes a little problematic because Feyre feels like a full, real person—flaws and all—while the sisters can feel confined to certain “roles.” That limitation kind of hurt their development.

We saw some of this in the last spin-off. The arc didn’t fully land for me—it felt like Sarah kept needing to remind us that the character was “bad,” and it got in the way of any real growth. Maybe she worried that if she let her grow too much, she’d start feeling too much like Feyre? I just hope this pattern doesn’t repeat in Elain’s book. I want her to be her own person—not boxed into a trope, but allowed to be messy and real, with good and bad and everything in between.

And honestly… I haven’t fully figured this part out, but sometimes it feels like through her storytelling, SJM is processing different eras of her life. Feyre might represent the full scope of her journey—her whole life, so to speak. Meanwhile, one sister feels like adolescence: all rebellion, insecurity, aggression. The other feels like childhood: blissful ignorance, wide-eyed hope, and gentleness.

Idk. I’ve written a whole damn essay and I’m still not sure what I’m trying to say. But yeah—just something that’s been rattling around in my head.

[nestastits]

I feel like we should divide Nesta stans into two, you are either a Pro-Nesta Nesta stan, or an Anti-IC Nesta stan. There is no in between.

When I first got into this fandom I was starting to like Nesta, and loved her healing/redemption/growth, even if I thought the events in the books were kinda wonky and the book wasn't really for me.

Then I got here and was like SHESH No thank you... Those Anti-IC Nesta stans are so scary and bloodthirsty... God forbid you like someone else too...

Hating Rhys/Cassian and Feyre/Elain more than they like Nesta and call themselves "Pro Nesta"

I completely agree!

People are allowed to hate a character, they’re allowed to love a character and still be critical of them, it’s the way they handle those thoughts though. I’ve seen many completely disregard Nesta’s own thought process to hate on characters 😭.

I don’t get why people tell me I’m crazy or that I’m fandom policing when I say stuff about the way certain pro Nesta’s act, everyone is allowed to do what they want in the fandom but please at least know your fav character before you try to analyze them and make up a narrative to fit which characters you do and don’t like lols. Lately, it’s gotten so bad to the point antis know Nesta better than the people who claim they love her. Nesta is not some victim of the ic nor does she hate them… Nesta is also not some party girl or this rude bitch so many of her stans fit her into being 😭.

And yes I will say the Nesta stans who hate the ic can be very hard to interact with. Also, I’ve seen them complain all the time how people hate Nesta and comment under pro vids or posts of her about how they hate her… but then they do the same fucking thing on a pro ic/rhys post😐. Like you can’t complain about the other side doing it when YOU yourself do it. I think the whole anti culture has also took a toll on some of them and has made them act truly awful to others… cause being anti literally everything and just constantly spewing this hatred is not healthy at all for anyone involved.

And being anti acosf but pro Nesta cannot coexist, I’m sorry haha. But acosf is Nesta’s book, it’s her character arc that made many start loving her. You don’t have to like some of the things that happened in it but to say Nesta would’ve been better off w/o the events of acosf just shows that perhaps you don’t really understand nes that well. And also, telling people that they don’t understand real world concerns/struggles if they like a certain fictional character/couple is fucking insane… and yes I did see one of them do this and proceed to tag it incorrectly to ensure that the pro side saw.

I love Nesta with my whole heart but I also love the other characters, so it’s been very hard for me to make friends unfortunately. I think people need to take a breather and remember the books are meant to be enjoyed and so are the characters. Anyways, if you see me answer this pls dm me I’d love to be friends with you haha.

sidenote: people who criticize sjm’s work while they themselves are not authors are fucking weird and need to stfu sometimes. But also being an author AND still criticizing a fellow author for their writing style (a bestselling author too) is mean girl behavior lmao. At the end of the day, sjm is a good writer and creates wonderful stories for us to enjoy.

[lia-land]

House of Sky and Breath

4.5/5 stars

*Spoilers by House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas.

I should mention that I’m obviously aware that these books are meant to be basically fairy porn with a plot and not analyzed as if it’s Shakespeare, but then this blog wouldn't exist. SJM has become one of my favourite authors and this book is one of my new favourites, but I also love analysing, so let's get into it.

Do Danika’s secrets ever end? This series feels like Pretty Little Liars at this point and Danika is Alison.

The prologue was very long and boring. I can see how it was relevant for the rest of the book, but while reading it, it just dragged on. Not a very strong start. It could have been shorter.

Ember seems like such a toxic parent. I’ve yet to enjoy a single interaction between her and Bryce. I understand that she is protective, but she’s outright rude and brings things up at the most inappropriate times. For example, at the ballet. I don’t think she was supposed to seem like this, but that’s how her character has come across so far.

My favorite line from this series so far is “Can we go back to how the Prince of the Chasm was sitting on my lap?” which is actually even funnier when it turned out to be Rigelus. He really just showed up, dropped a bunch of important info, caused some drama, and left. He seems a bit like a copy of a certain High Lord from A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I will not digress as to not spoil that series. My Aidas (I suppose Rigelus?) and Bryce ship continues to thrive. Him dropping the info about Cormac being a secret agent was gold. Although, somehow, Cormac got less interesting after that. SJM has a tendency of turning ‘evil’ characters into good ones and making them boring in the process. I miss the “see you at the altar” Cormac. He was more fun to read about than rebel Cormac. Just to add, I listened to parts of this book on audible and the narrator gave him a thick Scottish accent that I could not stand because it felt so out of place and I’ll probably never stop associating Cormac with it, so maybe I’m biased.

Strangely enough, the ending of this book reminded me of Divergent. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book where the plot leads to the city/world being some sort of experiment or having some specific purpose. I didn’t expect this from SJM, but I’m really liking the direction so far. Hel actually being good was such a great twist. I think a lot of why I have enjoyed this series so far is because unlike ACOTAR and Throne of Glass, social media isn’t full of spoilers yet. I’m getting to experience most of the story with no idea of what will actually happen. I did know that Aidas was actually Rigelus, but it was still interesting to see how it would end up that way.

It was way too convenient that Ithan and Bryce found the college papers when they did. What if she’d found them a year ago? Or the year before that? Or never at all? Unless there’s some bigger force at play, this was far too specific and was lazy writing to drive the plot forward. Ithan just happened to want to have a little sword fight with himself and breaks that specific table? Conveniently when they’d hit a dead end on the emails? The ‘explanation’ is “Urd must have sent her back to the apartment just now. For this.” No, it wasn’t the Urd. It was just lazy writing. It could have made more sense if these papers were discovered in book 1 and Bryce just wouldn’t have thought anything about them until now. Unless later on it turns out that the Asteri or Gods or some bigger force has been guiding these characters into specific situations in order to advance a specific agenda, this was lazy. But I would consider using that as an excuse to also be lazy.

I also had to roll my eyes at the mystic being the Fendyr heir. That just felt like it was thrown in for the sake of being a plot twist and making Ithan’s character have somewhat of a storyline. I actually don’t see the point of Ithan’s character at all to be honest. We’ve had him in two books now, but for what reason other than his one liners? Shoutout to “that sounds medically dangerous!” I assume he will finally have some purpose in the final book, but so far, he’s been in two 800 page books and I have no idea why. Unless we count the very convenient breaking of the table so that Bryce could find those documents. In that case, thank god for Ithan! Where would the story be if he hadn’t talked to that journalist, pissed off Sabine, got kicked out of the pack, ended up at Bryce’s apartment, played with the sword on Bryce’s coffee table, and broken it to reveal the papers. Personally, I feel like this story could have been exactly where it is now without Ithan’s character.

I can’t decide if I like Tharion or not. He gives me the ick sometimes, like why are you putting your bare feet on someone else’s coffee table !!! Good thing the coffee table broke a few chapters later. I feel like I should dislike Tharion because he’s quite awful to Sathia and literally admitted to lying about agreeing to marry her just to sleep with her. He also ditched her at the mating ball to go and fuck some shifter in the gardens. Him kissing Bryce while she was teleporting was also weird. I actually think he’s the closest character to the men I tend to be attracted to and then look back and think what could I have possibly seen in him? The answer lives in that part of my brain that tries to justify the behavior by thinking that Tharion is a good guy deep down and is just misunderstood and had to stay in the engagement because the alternative was the wrath of the River Queen. Then I’m thinking he put himself in that situation and deserved it. And then I’m thinking maybe he didn’t deserve such harsh consequences. I go back and forth about how I feel about him. He’s exactly the type of guy you’d have a one night stand with and then fall for and try to change while you ignore his red flags because you think he’s the one and that his confidence is hot, only to realize later that you wasted your time and he’s actually just a massive ick. He pretty much just thinks with his dick, but I really enjoy reading about his character and I find him more interesting than Cormac and Hunt. There’s a lot of potential for him to grow as a character and I hope we see that in the next book.

I have to admit that I have no clue what Sunball is and I just assume it’s baseball. I didn’t pay attention to it in book 1 because I didn’t think it would come up as often as it does and now I’m too lazy to go back and find it’s description. This applies to a lot of my world building knowledge in this series. I’ve only recently noticed that CBD and CCB are not the same thing. No clue what the difference between Lunathion and Crescent City are. Confused about how the humans are still at war with the Asteri if they’re meant to be super powerful? Are the Asteri purposely letting it continue so that “the Vanir have something to rule over” or was this never explained? I don’t even really know who the humans are at war with to be fair. Is it even the Asteri? There was so much of an info dump at the start of book 1 that it all got muddled. SJM knows how to world build well so I don’t know why it was done differently in this series. I love the detail of this world and it’s general vibe, but it could have been introduced better. For example, has it been explained yet why Fury was at the Summit? What does Jesiba actually do? There are things that I don’t know if I forgot from the world building info dump or if we’re purposely not meant to know yet. The problem with this is that I can’t google it because it might be a spoiler until after I’ve finished the series, but it could also be something that I should know and just skimmed over, so it’s a cycle. I’d especially appreciate a map of the entire world, rather than just CC. Additionally, all three books have been released at the time of my reading, so I’m reading this series back to back, but I can’t imagine how I would have kept up if I had to wait at least a year between books because I definitely would have forgotten most of it. When Rigelus asked Bryce if she knows what the star on her chest is and she said “let’s assume I know nothing”… I felt seen.

I did know prior to starting this series that there was an ACOTAR crossover, but I wish I didn’t know that because that would have probably been the best cliffhanger ever. I don’t know how people waited so long for book 3 after reading that.

tldr; I love this book for what it is: an easy to read romantasy book with hot sex and a fast paced plot. It wasn’t written to be picked apart like I’ve done here, but I tend not to include the things that I liked in these reviews as much as what I thought could be improved. This was one of the most immersive books I’ve read and I’m actually enjoying it as much as I enjoyed ACOTAR, which is very high praise from me.

[gwyns]

Cassian acted as a buffer for Az & Mor, and now Az & Elain. Cassian first suggested/brought up things and only then did Azriel take action. I don’t see the “5”4 books of build up” like E/riel’s do, but I’m probably blind or delusional.

oooh! this is an interesting point. i never thought of cassian kinda being a buffer for e/riel. you're neither blind nor delusional, you're simply stating the actual, canon facts. e/riel was never a thing before maybe acofas and even then those interactions could be interpreted in a platonic way. so nothing until acosf and we had one half of the ship explicitly tell us this, there have been no secret meetings or hookups. nothing more than glances and the occasion finger touch. so this "4 books of buildup!!!" is absolutely a lie

i'm not sure of sjm's thought process since i'm not her but i feel that once she was greenlit to extend the series, she decided to change some things. mainly moriel and elucien's dynamic. she said before acowar that they'd have tension, growth and healing (together), yes, but i don't think it was meant to be to this extent. obviously she has had to have elucien on the back burner for a bit, so the introduction of e/riel is simply a way for her to be able to continue the tension aspect until their book comes. so, yes, i do think e/riel was planned... after she started writing acowar, but not in an endgame way, they're meant to add tension to their respective ships: gwynriel and elucien

they were a maybe, almost, hookup that didn't work out. elain has rejected az as far as i'm concerned. returning a gift, and jewelry at that, is a clear indication of that. i never see e/riels bring this up, elain didn't even return it to azriel himself, she just left it! she's over it!! if she wanted to continue to try and pursue something she would've spoken to him face to face, even if she still wanted to return it like?? am i insane in my thinking here???

ugh i'm sorry, i'm rambling now lol. i also know i've said a couple of these points before and this chapter has been analyzed to death by people much more articulate than me but i still feel my opinions on it may hold some value. i have eternal acotar brainrot and i'm making it everyone else's problem. it's hard to turn off sometimes so please forgive me anon <3

[rowaelin-herondale]

All This Time - An Elriel Fic - Chapter 4

Summary:  Slow burn Elriel fic taking place two years after the defeat of Hybern. Elain decides to reject her mating bond to Lucien, only to find that what she had been looking for was in front of her all along. Chapters 1. 2. 3. AO3 link. A/N:  A little over a year ago, I told my friend Becky (@rsrosenberg​) to pick up a SJM book. This past month, she finished reading ACOWAR and Empire of Storms, completing her read of every published SJM book to date. This chapter is for you, my dear, for giving me someone to fangirl over the Night Court with every day of the week.

———————————

He hadn’t been able to put his finger on it, on the light that surrounded her. But it came to him then, swift and fierce and perfectly obvious. She was moonlight. ******

Azriel’s first thought was he needed to take several steps back from Elain. It went against everything he felt, every instinct he had, to take those three steps back. But he knew if he didn’t, Lucien could act before Elain said a single word. Fighting the anger that burned deep within, Azriel gripped the top of his blade, still in the holder on his hip, and took those steps away from her. She turned to face Lucien fully, standing tall. Only moments ago she was panicking, but there was no hint of that fear now as she looked at her mate. Her strength made Azriel want to kneel at her feet.

Without taking her eyes off Lucien, she said, “Azriel, you can leave.”

“I’m not leaving you,” he responded reflexively. He didn’t even realize he had spoken aloud until Lucien turned his stare towards him.

“You will,” Elain said, her gaze still focused on Lucien. “I’ll be okay.”

“Elain,” Lucien began, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Azriel was just leaving. We were discussing how best to sell some of my herbs and spices.” Azriel still hadn’t moved, so she finally turned her eyes towards him. From her look alone he knew that whatever happened next, she would be okay. In every circumstance this life had thrown at her, she’d proven to be stronger than anyone gave her credit for. She’d had her mortality stripped from her, a fiance she loved had broken her heart, a mate thrust upon her instantly, the gift (or curse, depending on how you looked at it) of being a seer, the death of her father, slaying the King…and yet, she’d only faltered briefly in those days after being turned. But not since.

So he did it. He went against every instinct, every muscle screaming at him not to move. And he left her standing there with her mate. Alone. Because she asked him to.

Within moments of setting foot outside Elain’s residence, he took to the skies to head towards the House of Wind, to let Rhys and Feyre know what happened. He feared Feyre would be angry with him, but he knew he had to leave her. Had he stayed, it would have done more harm than good.

Rhys was waiting for him on the balcony. Every aspect of their plan, every protection they had put in place, was unraveling before Azriel’s eyes. He couldn’t do anything to stop it.

“What happened? Why aren’t you still there?” Rhys said immediately upon seeing Azriel land. Feyre, thankfully, was elsewhere.

“Elain and I….Lucien came….” Azriel knew Rhys had never seen him so flustered. He wasn’t sure he had ever seen himself so flustered, even when it came to Mor. He would die for Mor, for any of them, but there was something about Elain that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It wasn’t just that he would sacrifice his life for hers, it was more than that. He would do anything she asked him, anything at all, without hesitation. Even if it meant putting herself in danger. He’d let her do it, only because she asked.

Azriel filled Rhys in quickly, his cobalt siphons glowing as he spoke.

“Shit,” Rhys muttered. “There’s no one in the house to protect her if this goes wrong. Which it probably will. I need to get Cassian back from the Day Court as soon as possible.” Cassian had been sent there to tell Helion what Elain was planning to do, in case they needed him to interfere.

Azriel nodded. “I know it seems bad…but I have this feeling that she’s going to be okay.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I know...but I do.” Azriel didn’t know why he was so sure.

“Go back to her roof, just in case.”

******

Elain led Lucien to the garden out back, sitting down on the gray and cracked cement bench next to him. Before Lucien arrived, she’d been unsure she was making the right decision. Mostly out of fear. But the moment she’d seen him, any ounce of doubt vanished. She realized she hadn’t missed him. Not his smile or his laugh or the warmth of his arms around her. She’d missed the idea of him - that she had this predestined mate who loved her unconditionally, no matter what. But that’s not really what her and Lucien had.

She sensed his nerves beside her, as he cracked his knuckles and fidgeted with his fingers. A few weeds had sprung up beside the bench and Elain bent over to pull them out. She held them between her fingers. Lucien reached over and gently took one from her.

“There are never weeds here.” He said, rolling the stem between his fingers. “You’re not one to neglect the garden, even a little.”

“I’ve had a lot on my mind,” she replied, dropping the remaining few stems into the grass in front of her. She’d grab them later.

When she didn’t continue, Lucien said, “Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or do I have to guess?” He was smiling, trying to make light of the situation. Through the bond, he must have sensed that whatever she had to say was serious.

The speech she practiced in front of the mirror was useless now. She knew it would come out sounding rehearsed and she respected Lucien too much to break his heart with practiced words. The crumpled piece of paper in her pocket lay untouched.

She looked at him. “I need you to let me get through this, to not interrupt me, however badly you may want to.” He nodded, and she began. “When you came into my life two years ago, I didn’t know what to make of the situation. Of anything. You weren’t there those first few weeks after - I didn’t know what was happening to my mind. I didn’t understand it, not until Azr - not until they figured out that what I was seeing were glimpses into the future. I was so emotionally confused for most of the battles with the King, between losing my mortality and my fiance and this life I had planned out for myself....and then being given this ability to see, I didn’t know what to make of any of it. And then I lost my father and the battle ended and you were there.”

She paused to look at him, to memorize the lines of his face, his one russet eye and the other golden. His red hair was blowing slightly in the breeze, the pointed tips of his ears visible. She resisted the urge to tuck the stray hands behind his ears as she had done so many times, instead lacing her own fingers together in her lap in front of her.

“Lucien, you were a gift I never deserved. You gave me the space to grieve, but also let it be known that as my mate, you were there for me. I don’t know if I ever voiced how much that all meant. And while we were getting to know each other, learning to be what the other needs and desires...six months ago, I had this vision. You had just learned you were Helion’s heir, and you’d raced off to the Day Court to deal with the repercussions and what it all meant. I was tending to the flowers when it came to me, this glimpse into the future. And in it, you weren’t beside me, not as my mate.”

At this, Lucien’s demeanor changed. He shifted from being gentle and concerned to alert. He faced her fully as she continued.

“You were in clothes from the Day Court and you just seemed so...happy. Happier than you’d ever been here. It’s all night and darkness and shadows here. You were always flames and light. There you were, finally where you belonged. And I, I was still here...still in the Night Court, wearing a navy gown and tending to the flowers among the shadows in the garden. We were happier apart, Lucien.”

He was silent as he processed what she told him, and she turned her gaze towards the house, not able to bare to look at him. She could have sworn she saw shadows on the roof.

“Is what you’re saying....are you saying, that you don’t want to be mates? You don’t want to accept the bond?” She’d never given him food, which was the customary tradition when one was accepting the mating bond. He’d never pressured her to, never even brought it up. Never asked when she thought she would be ready. But now, in this moment, she could see that he thought it was coming. Instead, she was shattering his heart.

“Yes,” and she heard her own heart break. “I don’t think we should accept the bond.”

A few flames escaped his hand, aimed not at Elain, but at her flowers. He didn’t say anything before winnowing away.

Feyre appeared immediately, pulling Elain into a tight hug. Nesta arrived a minute later, yanking Elain from Feyre’s arms into her own.

“Did he hurt you?” Nesta asked.

Elain shook her head. “Only a few of the black dahlias and purple calla lilies,” which Lucien knew were her favorite. She had a soft spot for dark flowers.

“Did he say anything? Did he agree to it?” Nesta asked, pulling Elain from the hug and looking at her face.

“He didn’t say anything before he winnowed away.” He didn’t need to. She could feel him raging down the bond, which hadn’t been properly buried yet. She knew there were unspoken words between them, that they would have to speak again before it was done. But for now, he needed space. And she needed quiet.

“Can you find Azriel?” Elain asked Feyre. Nesta was still analyzing her movements, as if waiting for her to break down at any moment. Feyre gave Nesta a look that Elain didn’t miss before she turned to the roof.

“You can come down from there, Az.”

Nesta and Feyre suddenly found they had elsewhere to be.

“Are you okay?” Azriel asked, seconds after landing on the grass.

“No,” she replied, a few tears escaping down her cheek. “I’m not.” He didn’t say anything as he reached his hand out to wipe away her tears.

“Were you on the roof the whole time?” Azriel nodded. “He could have spotted you, or scented you. He could have hurt you.”

“Not as much as he could have hurt you. He didn’t know I was there, I promise.”

She nodded, turning around to stare at the charred hole in her garden. She remembered the weeds from earlier, walking over to the front of the bench to pick them up. Azriel watched her, remaining silent. She threw them into the middle of the ashes. The garden could use more imperfections.

“I think he thought I was going to tell him that I was ready to accept the bond...and instead, I destroyed him. And in turn, it feels like I destroyed a piece of me.” She didn’t know why talking to Azriel was so much easier than her sisters, but it was. His shadows soothed her nerves as more tears escaped. She sat down on the bench, Azriel standing awkwardly nearby. His wings were folded in tight behind him and his siphons muted.

Azriel, who rarely seemed uncomfortable, knelt down in front of Elain, his knees in the grass and dirt, as she sat on the bench. Gently, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell any of us about the vision?”

“Because telling you meant it was true, and I wasn’t ready to accept it. But I am now.” More tears. Cauldron, why couldn’t she stop crying?

“Do you want me to leave?” He asked after a pregnant silence. She didn’t. In the days after she was made immortal, Azriel’s silent presence had saved her. At the time, she didn’t realize what a calming force he had been, the light breeze after a brutal storm.

“No...I just need to sit here. To accept what I’ve done. You don't have to leave, but I understand if there's somewhere else you need to be.”

For the rest of the day and night they sat in silence in the garden, staring at the weeds.

Chapter 5.