#this is basically the plot of acomaf

[velidewrites]

Feyre: When I first met you, I thought you were weird and annoying

Rhys:

Rhys: And?

Feyre: And you are

[protectionelainsquad]

Every single theory leads back to Elain and Azriel. every. damn. one.

First off—let’s get the obvious outta the way. Elain is 1000% the next main female character.

SJM literally said she did research and studied for this book. and she’s an Archeron. it’s her turn. period.

And there’s SO MUCH pointing to it:

• in the feysand bonus chapter from ACOSF, Rhys straight up says: “first one sister (Nesta), then the other.”

• Elain is heavily implied to be ready—or soon-to-be—to train and tap into her powers.

• and now with HOFAS? her powers line up perfectly. especially when you look at her next to Azriel.

Let’s talk about the Dusk Court.

Elain’s into gardening, right? and people LOVE to clown her for it, like it’s some silly little thing. But HELLO, every SJM heroine has a “thing.” and this? This will matter.

when we talk about Elain, it’s not just “seer.” it’s powers—plural.

The Cauldron literally loved her enough to give her life, just like it gave Nesta death.

Nesta = death.

Elain = life.

Now imagine Elain, full of this life-giving power, awakening the Eighth Court—the Dusk Court.

And Azriel? the shadowy, mysterious male who’s never fully fit anywhere? what if he’s the heir to that court?

plot twist: the two of them aren’t just compatible—they’re meant to restore a piece of Prythian’s forgotten history.

And the Cauldron?

in that bonus chapter (you know the one—Azriel, Elain, Gwyn), Az drops a bomb:

“The Cauldron chose three sisters. Tell me how it's possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another.”

like??? what if the Cauldron got it wrong??

"What if the Cauldron was wrong?"

And now HOFAS is like: “yeah btw the Cauldron is controlled by the Daglan and was trying to breed stronger offspring so...”

We're talking about this since ACOWAR.

Az feels the bond between Elain and Lucien. and not in a “cute jealousy” way. Like he literally feels sick.

and Amren was the only other one who could feel mating bonds in ACOMAF.

but Az doesn’t feel all bonds—he didn’t feel Feysand’s. just Elucien’s.

What if that’s because… there are two mating bonds?

• The Cauldron’s: Elain + Lucien.

• The Mother’s: the real deal. soul-deep. chosen. Elriel.

But what about Lucien???

yeah let’s go there.

this bond with Elain? it’s been hanging around since ACOWAR.

but like… nothing’s happening. no romantic scenes. no tension. no anything.

Elain actively avoids him. She loses her voice around him. She wants nothing to do with him.

And Lucien? He’s literally living with another woman. Also he’s linked to Vassa. And Vassa’s under a spell. and Lucien’s the son of the guy who breaks spells.

Yeah. that’s a plot. That’s its own arc. Not Elain’s.

And no. Elain can’t “just say no” and move on.

If she rejects Lucien, the political fallout would be HUGE.

Beron’s ready to go full villain. he’ll use this to start a war. Blood Duel. Chaos. Alliances crumbling. It’s not that simple.

Now let’s zoom out.

Sarah J. Maas basically invented the mating bond trend in romantasy.

Everyone’s copying it.

Feysand walked so a million other romantasy couples could run.

But what if Elain’s book breaks the trope?

What if she is the one who says:

“I don’t want this bond.”

“I don’t want the male that the Cauldron, fate picked for me.”

“I want to choose for myself.”

Imagine a story where a girl rejects the magical destined bond.

And not because it’s broken or abusive—but just because she doesn’t want it.

Iconic.

SJM’s stories are all about choice.

Feyre and Rhys? They chose each other before the bond.

Nesta and Cassian? Same.

Bryce and Hunt? Same.

Aelin and Rowan? Same.

Feyre didn't even knew about the mating bond, and Rhysand didn't want to tell her, leaving her the possibility to choose.

CHOICE. Not fate. Not obligation. Not “you’re mine because magic said so.”

Love that’s freely chosen.

So why should Elain be forced to accept a bond she doesn’t want?

Lucien doesn’t even seem to want it either. like… he’s vibing with someone else entirely.

And in today’s world?

this story would hit hard.

A female lead saying:

“I don’t owe him anything.”

“I don’t have to give him a chance.”

“I get to choose who I love.”

YES.

We Elriel fans don’t want another ACOSF.

We want something like ACOMAF. Like TOG.

Not just smut and vibes—but a story with depth. A slow-burn, emotional, soul-healing, plot-driving masterpiece.

With a heroine who grows, heals, and shines.

Elain has so much potential.

She’s not a warrior like Nesta or Aelin or Manon. But she’s powerful in her softness. Gentle.

She deserves a book that shows the strength in that.

And we’re ready for it.

[nikethestatue]

A cautionary tale for Gwynriels.

We all know that one of the most common arguments that GAs have about Gwyn and Gwynriel, is that if SJM didn't have all these grand plans for Gwyn, why give her the pseudo mysterious background and the vaguely mysterious powers (WHICH, interestingly, they DENY most of the time and say that she doesn't have any mysterious powers).

This question was posted on Reddit today and honestly, all I want to tell them--and won't because they won't listen--is REMEMBER SIGRID.

Sigrid took up a LOT of space is HOSAB. It was a huge storyline. We all assumed that she was going to be the next Alpha and Ithan's mate. Obviously.

Then Sigrid gets killed in the first quarter of HOFAS.

And then it reminded me of one very important thing about SJM and her writing: everyone has to be connected to the main female character in some manner for continuity. The main character of ACOTAR is always Feyre Archeron.

The main character of Crescent City was Bryce.

And just as Sigrid wasn't connected to Bryce, neither is Gwyn connected to Feyre.

Which, basically, means that Gwyn is expendable. Kind of like Emerie. Or anyone else who hasn't been in contact with Feyre.

Do I think that Gwyn is going to die? No. And do I think she'll play some kind of a role in the future? I think so.

But at the same time, it would behoove GAs to remember that SJM has a tendency to either drop secondary characters, or kill them off.

The reason people like Vassa and Lucien would likely get a background story is because they are connected not only to the overall plot, but also to Feyre. Eris, for example, same. Even the wraith twins, who've been in the books since ACOMAF.

Gwyn, Emerie...not so much. The whole 'mysterious paternity' might never come back at all in the books and lead nowhere. SJM scatters little tidbits of info about characters and sometimes uses it, but sometimes totally forgets them and they are never brought up. So all those who are still thinking that 'pliant bones' is a thing, or that Gwyn will have a whole book of training and healing...I would recommend lowering your expectations.

[elainsgirl]

"Sjm could always change her mind!" Or "Well she changed her mind!" I always see antis say when faced with elriel canon.

the fact that the GA and EL ships require Sjm to change her mind to be feasable tells you all about how they really are nothing but wishful thinking.

This series has been in the works for over a decade. Its part of sjm's life's work. Everything has always followed a clear trajectory. There is no changing her mind after five books have already been published. Any changing of her mind about major plot points happens before the books are published, when she's planning and plotting and writing. Not when that's already done. Sarah isn't fickle. She's playing a very long game (Elain and Nesta's books being in the works since acomaf days for example). Anything that is in the published books she will have thought through over and over. There's no sudden "hey wait, I've written five books and just realized elriel don't vibe. Lets finish writing acosf with azriel still obsessing over elain and then write a bc where they nearly fuck in the family home to end this ship because I just changed my mind".

These ship wars are a waste of time. They are built on a complete lack of understanding of how writing and publishing works. Its embarrassing. I'm only 23 and feel too old for this. I get so much second hand embarrassment seeing all these takes. I could never be a writer because I could never deal with all this bullshit. No wonder sjm is not on social media. Imagine people getting it so wrong, insulting YOU in the process, and then be so smug about it. I'd go offline too and never interact with this cesspool of a "fandom".

This is one arguement I never understood. No author can “just” change their mind. It disrupts the flow of the story, lots of retconning is needed and overall makes the author look fickle and the series unstable. And I always found the fact that GA/EL need Mass to change her mind, is what makes their ships week whilst elriel fits with everything Mass has said about the series.

Yes! Sure, there may be minor retconning here and there but its always irrelevant and does not affect the story so much to derail the current plotline. Take Nestas drawers for example: The flames originally represented Lucien who was supposed to be her endgame, now they represent her powers. Its a subtle retcon.

With the spinoffs: It seems as though Mass had the general gist for the first two books. We know she researched and planned for Elains book and this was properly occuring as the same time as her writing acofas. We know she laid clues and crumbs for the spinoffs in Acowar. If we want to know whats going to happen in the upcoming books: acowar & acofas are the ones we need to pay attention too. As you’ve mentioned, if at any point Mass changes her mind - its well before the final draft of the book is given in/published.

And the reason why I know why Mass hasn’t changed her mind: Is that acowar, acofas and acosf all flow nicely together. The initial ideas/subplots that where introduced in acowar - are developed throughout the next two books instead of being changed. Sjm keeps on bringing up scenes that have happened in previous books and emphasising their importance. If Az giving Elain truthteller means nothing, there was no need to bring it up in acofas. If Az saving Elain was not important- then Mass would not have reminded us of it in acosf. If Elain giving Az solstice gifts was irrelevant- it would not have been acknowledged by Azriel. You get the gist, Sjm hasnt changed her mind. She hs a plan and she’s following through with it.

Exactly. What author develops a couple for 2 - some may even argue 3 books - only to break them up? Why give elriel such significant moments that are being brought up again and again- if its all meaningless? What author intentionally makes a couple romantic knowing she’s going to break them up only to make another couple happen - which she hasn’t even laid the basic foundation of romance for??? It doesnt make sense. What author breaks off a couple on an almost kiss that was interrupted by a third party? If gwynriel was truly endgame, elriel would have never been a thing or we would have learnt that they’re both already in a relationship that gets broken up allowing them to be set up for their actual LIs.

Engaging in the shipwar is enjoyable at first - even interesting to see someone else’s perspective but it quickly becomes frustrating when the other side are either ignoring canon, twisting canon, purposefully having obtuse misinterpretations to suit their narrative, not acknowledge what Mass has confirmed for the series and finishing off with “Sjm can always change her mind”. Whilst it’s frustrating for us readers, Mass choosing to have nothing to do with the acotar fandom was one of the smartest moves she ever made. She’s literally protecting her peace. I wouldn’t be able to be a writer either lmfao, id be in reader spaces constantly correcting them.

[sadlybluespirited]

Rambling Thoughts

I really do try to look at Tamlin as critically as I can. So I don't know if or when I'm being a little delusional in opinions.

Anyway, Rhysand said that Tamlin did nothing for the 50 years and UTM. Feyre says that she wanted Tamlin to fight for her and that instead, he crawled to Amarantha and begged for her forgiveness. Tamlin spent 3 months watching Feyre go through trials and in one of those trials, watched the love of his life and his best friend (and brother basically) almost die because Feyre couldn't read. He sat (sort of) and watched because fighting wasn't doing much for him anymore.

Fast forward to the end of acomaf but more acowar specifically, we learn Tamlin makes a deal with King of Hybern to get Feyre back after Lucien's failed mission to retrieve her from Illyria. This alliance is often seen as a rather idiotic approach from Tamlin especially after we spend so much time in Feyre's mind. However my view or question is: isn't Tamlin's deal with the King of Hybern not a direct attempt at action and more specifically, a correction due to everything that happened UTM and during the 50 years? Is this not a sign of his character doing the thing he was originally criticized for? Not taking action?

Rhysand was Amarantha's right hand for those 50 years. No one knew what he was busy plotting. No one knew until he admits it to Feyre. Not even the Inner Circle knew the extent of what Rhysand was dealing with. So then how or why should Tamlin have known that Feyre was doing better and to leave her be? To a Daemati??

I think my fundamental thing about displays of love in romance is that sometimes it's well and truly tragic and maddening. To Tamlin, the longer she remains in Rhysand's arms, the closer she might be to death or worse. He fails her again by letting the bargain continue. Like what are you willing to do at that point if not beg the devil? When she comes back the first time, he literally scans her body head to toe, muttering to himself that she's okay. When Rhysand takes her on their wedding day (that wasn't going well), he begs Rhysand not to, tells him that he'll give him whatever he wants in exchange for the bond being broken.

I could be a little off my rocker with this one. I don't know but I just...to me, I can never look at his character and think he doesn't try. He does.

[violetasteracademic]

Hi , I want to ask if you think Lucien was always meant to have a rejected mating bond with an Archeron sister ?

Hello lovely anon!

So.... this is a tough question to answer- because where does always begin in the writing process?

Does it begin in the first draft? Does it begin in the wild prophetic visions you have at three am that you want to scribble down but you don't because you are trying to sleep, but still, it lingers? Does it begin in a beat sheet, a plot outline, a Pinterest board?

I'm not sure if SJM always intended a rejected mating bond. To be completely honest, I go back and forth. I think that Sarah has let a lot of things slip that she wrote that were never going to even be submitted to her editor on a first draft (like the famed Nesta/Cassian/Azriel batwich, RIP and I'm still waiting on SJM to write a threesome). And yet when she shares those things, people almost consider it canon and analyze it to death and use it to prove certain things. At some point, she probably really genuinely considered making Lucien and one of the sisters a couple, but I can't say for sure where in the process that died.

I remember seeing Emily Henry share on her stories recently an addition to her "RIP" character list- as in characters that she had written that literally did not even make it into the book. The first draft of Beach Read was actually a love triangle, involving some local guy who owns an ice cream business or something of the sort who is also trying to romance January. I can see what she might have been trying to do there- give January two options reflecting two sides of her. Ice Cream Steve (not sure if those details are correct but we'll go with it) would have served as a perfect foil to Grave Digging, Bleak Literary Fiction Author Gus. But ultimately, Ice Cream Steve did not even make it to the book. Do we treat him as real? Do we wonder if he may have been a better fit for January? Do we analyze what this means for January and Gus?

I'll get a little bit into the technicality of what developmental editing is and how it can completely reshape a story, erase characters, create characters, and shift their storylines, but what I do know is this- the function of Lucien being assigned an Archeron sister, any Archeron sister, is completely clear: To win him over to the Night Court as an ally and embolden him to help Feyre get away from Tamlin. This is absolutely critical. Lucien's role in the story since this hasn't developed romantically because he is mated to one of the Archeron sisters, it has spun off in a new direction plot wise with the Band of Exiles, Vassa, Koschei, and the human queens- which also develops a tentative relationship between himself and his brother Eris again, with his mating bond hovering in the background. However, his mating bond began this new direction, and it wouldn't have existed without it:

Lucien would not have left if it were not for the mating bond. I believe that is the element that was always true. Lucien's mating bond, be it with Elain, or Nesta as originally planned, was always going to be a plot device. And I can answer where I believe the story of a love triangle at the very least began its groundwork- which is A Court of Mist and Fury. I personally think that as of publishing ACOMAF Lucien and Elain were already done, fizzling out in the developmental editing process, and Azriel and Elain were endgame, but I'm open to those who see it differently.

Before we move on, here are the different types of editors:

A development editor basically edits the story at large. They focus on elements like theme, character development, plot holes, ECT. When dealing with a series, often times an author will provide a detailed packet to their developmental editor before doing dev runs. This is because the developmental editor needs to understand where the story is headed. They need to understand what needs to be appropriately foreshadowed, what themes to highlight, and keep their eye on the big picture so that everything comes to a well developed, emotionally charged, and thematically satisfying conlcusion.

What is clear to me is that Azriel and Elain were being developed emotionally and thematically in ACOMAF:

These are the types of passages that focus on the big picture. Before Feyre's sisters have become Fae, Feyre is musing on what her sisters would be like in Velaris. She thinks about how Nesta would like it, despite herself, and become fast friends with Amren (true) and how Elain would like Velaris, but she would cling to Azriel for peace and quiet. True. Feyre considers how handsome Elain and Azriel would be together if he ever stopped loving Mor.

Developmentally- what is the purpose of this? It's the same book that Lucien and Elain's mating bond is revealed, so why muse on Elain and Azriel as a couple if Azriel could get over Mor, which he now has because of Elain? Meanwhile, Elain is engaged. Feyre doesn't say a word about that. She sees how her sister would want to be with someone like Azriel, and Feyre doesn't even think twice about Graysen because Azriel is right for her sister. This isn't Feyre being an unreliable narrator. Everything else in this passage came to be true.

These are the types of moments developmental editors hone in on to make sure theme and foreshadowing are strong and successful.

Of course this is already after the beautiful moments Azriel and Elain have together- Azriel getting shy and self conscious before dropping one of the most beautiful lines in all the books about being born hearing the song of the wind. Elain already being able to read Azriel- looking to him and smiling and finding comfort and assessing his countenance to see if everything is going okay.

If I'm a developmental editor, and I wanted it to be really clear why Lucien and Elain were right for each other- why would I keep all of this in? Why tie Elain and Azriel together thematically and emotionally? So again, this is where the question "where does always begin" comes into play. Did SJM realize in her first draft that Nesta and Lucien weren't going to work, so she switched to Elain, only to realize that Elain and Lucien don't have chemistry either? Was it after a developmental edit? I can't say for sure on that end. Maybe ACOMAF truly was just setting up a love triangle, but personally I think Elain and Az were always endgame as of the books being published, and trying to explore Elain and Lucien as a couple probably died out before the final draft of ACOMAF and SJM realized Lucien still needed to be mated to one of the sisters, thus ideas about the rejected mating bond started stirring instead and then were hit HARD in ACOWAR. I can see the argument that the door was being kept open for Lucien in ACOMAF, though I personally think Lucien's mating bond reveal was strictly a plot device. But what is extremely clear is that as of ACOWAR the path was set in stone.

Again- these are the things where, not to take credit away from Sarah, a developmental editor really comes into play. If Sarah is going, okay- who is Lucien going to end up with? Nesta? No, it can't be Nesta, even though that was originally the plan. Elain? Maybe, it could be Elain. What does that look like? Maybe it was Lucien and Elain in the pitch packet. Then a developmental editor goes, okay- where are we headed? What are the themes? What are the character arcs and growth we are looking for?

Then we move on to ACOWAR, and both of them were developed to have a theme of choice threaded into their interactions:

What these moments make clear is that the mating bond makes it impossible for Elain and Lucien to get what they truly want out of love with each other- for someone to love and choose them beyond the circumstances placed on them. Lucien wants this just as much as Elain does. They are now thematically connected in that way- in wanting to be chosen above all, despite everything. That's where this Facebook comment makes soooo much sense:

Nesta didn't have any growth or healing to offer Lucien, because thematically there was not really anything there between them. Nesta and Cassian also had this instant, intense connection that could not be ignored or played slowly. Nesta also didn't lose her fiance, she herself saying she had as little at stake in Velaris as she did on the other side of the wall. Nesta had anger and resentment. Elain had loss, which on the surface could thematically match Lucien, but then we dig deeper to learn that they aren't only needing to heal from the loss of love, they are needing to heal from the loss of choice.

Elain was engaged to a man who hates fae. And Elain was always going to become Fae.

Lucien had his history and story with Jesminda since book one. He thought Jesminda was his mate. The woman who loved him for him, not because he was a High Lord's son or because of any other High Fae customs Lucien rejects. This is where you see the development. Lucien and Elain could have worked on an incredibly surface level, both of them having lost their first loves, but deeper themes revealed themselves that showed they mirror each other in a way that doesn't make them right for each other, but that allows them to face what needs to be faced: being strong and brave enough to choose for themselves instead of letting the world control them.

For Elain and Lucien to have made sense together thematically, everything should have been reversed. Elain should have been mated to Azriel, and then Elain and Lucien should have met somehow and fallen in love, and the choosing each other above all, love trumping even a mating bond, Lucien being chosen and loved without question, without hesitation, would have belonged to them.

But again, without the mating bond, Lucien and Elain wouldn't even have met in the first place and Lucien would not have left Spring. So where does that leave us? The mating bond as a plot device. It was literally required to move the story forward, but thematically is anticlimactic for both parties in terms of the kind of love they want for themselves.

So- was Lucien always going to have a mating bond rejection? Probably not. But where in the years long process did all of this reveal itself? Only Sarah knows that. But I think what is quite clear is that it was always going to happen if we start from what is published in the books between him and Elain.

I think it's very possible that SJM did really intend for Lucien to wind up with one of the sisters. But if you've ever gone through the writing process yourself, you realize pretty quickly how many things fall apart and don't work/make sense/are actually anti-thematic to the characters you've created. Maybe she'll tell us one day exactly when Elain and Lucien fell apart, just like Nesta and Lucien fell apart. But we do have to keep in mind that an author like SJM, who was able to sell a trilogy all at once, probably had to have at least a 25 page packet outlining the trilogy and it's development. So- was it Nesta and Lucien in the pitch packet? Was it Elain and Lucien, because even while structuring a pitch she realized Nesta and Lucien would never work while outlining, but thought Elain and Lucien would? Only to discover Elain and Azriel connecting while drafting ACOMAF?

Writing a book is years of plotting, outlining, writing, rewriting, editing, writing again, and sometimes what you come up with is unrecognizable from the plan. And considering SJM contracted a trilogy, she would have pitched in pretty significant detail what would happen in book two and book three. We'll see what Sarah does and does not choose to reveal!

I think that's everything! I love getting these questions from you guys. I still have a cue in my inbox, and I am sorry it's kind of random when my inspiration strikes and I have a clear answer and can quickly think of the passages and ideas! But I will try to get to my older ones that have been sitting for a minute, I promise!

What do you guys think? I know everyone has different thoughts on this and I love to hear them!

[lovemyromance]

"Azriel only lusts after Elain"

Please look up the definition of lust again. Lust is instantaneous. It is feeling desperate for someone, wanting them just when you see them.

Again - lust is not inherently bad. All these couples in every romance book have had lustful thoughts about their LI.

What I want to know is if Azriel was only lusting after Elain, if he literally just wants her for sex or whatever -> why the fuck is he only making a move after TWO YEARS?

He has known Elain since ACOMAF. Surely if he is lustful now, he was lustful back then. Why didn't he act on it earlier? Why does he choose to wait till ACOSF to finally try to just kiss Elain?

If he wanted to just fuck Elain, he could've done that at any point. That's what lust is. You want it bad, and you want it immediately.

Lust doesn't simmer for 2 years. At that point - feelings grow deeper. It is not just lust at this point for Elain and Azriel. It never was - but certainly not 2 years later.

Face it: if it were just lust, we would've noticed Azriel moving on from Mor a lot faster, as early as ACOWAR. He didn't.

If it were just lust, he would've made a move on Elain in the last two years. He didn't.

If this were just a "distraction" relationship - then they would've already hooked up and been together. They didn't.

Or is SJM just saving EVERYTHING for Elain's book? To the point that she's laid out zero buildup and zero plot, themes, and love interests and were basically starting from scratch with Elain's book?

Be so fucking for real.

[elrielffs]

I dont feel bad for the ones who would be disappointed when the next acotar book comes out. Not my fault that yall literally gaslighted yourselves so bad.

This series is not unpredictable. As you read throughout the books, you see feyre with tamlin and then rhysand was introduced. It was obvious that she'd probably get with rhysand (and she did!!')

Nesta and Cas meet. It's obvious by the tension and banter they had that they would obviously get together!! and guess what?? THEY DID.

Same with Elain! Elain meets Az, its all simple and then as the books go on, it becomes something more. they are basically slow burn.

Like as you read this SIMPLE romantasy series, you can tell who's next. I dont know why people are being so dramatic and bringing out english majors 💀

Yah, I don’t feel bad either, especially knowing that the book is going to receive backlash and so will SJM no matter how good it is. It could be the next ACOMAF and people would still hate it cause it’s not their ship, which is a shame. People don’t have to read it if they don’t want to but the hate the Elriel book will bring will be crazy.

And look, I get it. Not everyone is going to like Elain, not everyone is going to like Elriel, there’s SJM couples I personally don’t vibe with and would have preferred with others but I could always tell who was endgame and who was being built up (key word here—built up) and just accepted it. I wasn’t out here trying to gaslight the fandom in no you’re wrong actually, Aelin should be with Dorian cause of example ABC (and Dorian and Aelin at least had interest and flirty scenes together)

And I get that people will naturally look for another option besides Elain and Elriel if they don’t like it. But that’s what Gwynriel is. People like Gwyn, she’s single, and she’s in the same vicinity as Azriel. That’s enough for some people because it’s not Elain, it’s not a ship they are excited for. So they create one they ARE excited for—which is fine, I’m not against people shipping anything. Could people have come naturally to a Gwynriel ship? Sure, you don't want Elriel together so you latch onto Gwyn because she's single, you like her, and she's...there and then you can go back thru the book to highlight things you think support what you want. I believe the majority of it stems from Elain hate on the Gwynriel side and poor bby Lulu on Elucien side who don’t like Elain mostly but want Lucien to get whatever he wants (which we could argue outside of instinct he doesn’t want Elain but alas) and being shippers of one naturally suits the other so they try to bolster the other in their forced interpretations.

The problem is the cherry picking, the twisting canon and narrative, being purposefully obtuse—at times even degrading the characters in the ship they want so bad (Azriel)— the insistence that Elriel is not happening and people just didn’t read closely enough or need fancy Lit Degrees to understand the nuance of Gwynriel when SJM has just never written her couples like that—-they have always been blatant in their interest either from their POV or other characters talking about observing them. And I mean blatant—Azriel looking at Gwyn cause she laughed and being slightly amused is not blatant, that is an interaction any two characters can have—-Elain and Azriel are observed to have a charged look between them, that’s blatant. Azriel had blushed for Elain, Elain has gone to fix her hair for Azriel—like it can’t be more in your face.

I could go on how in a post GoT media world people are too obsessed with theories and “figuring things out” and showing how smart they are by guessing plot twists and the like—-which yeah, can be fun but it’s gone beyond that to over examining every little thing to death and assuming every single sentence, word, action is up for interpretation when that is just not the case. Some writing can be like that—SJM is not.

As someone who has read books all my life—-I’ve never been wrong about intended love interests. (And guess what, I took higher level literature courses in college—am I legit now to comment on romantasy books???) There’s specific patterns and scenes for endgame couples that just wouldn’t happen if they were not IT and especially with SJM. Her couples have never shocked me. The twists in her stories have never shocked me. She is a very obvious writer—-for all the talk about crumbs and foreshadowing, I find that SJM is pretty straightforward. Sure, there’s things there to support the narrative, little hints, but it’s mostly obvious in your face.

So no, I don’t feel bad for the rude awakening antis are in for. I hope they still enjoy their ship but I can’t wait til we can finally put this shit to rest. I don’t think the fandom can ever go back to a pre-ACOSF state and I honestly think the ship war has done major damage to the fandom and SJM herself which is really sad to think about.

[arson-09]

Why AcoMaF is a subjectively BAD BOOK

Point 1: feels like a different series

Acomaf does NOT feel like a sequel to acotar. The main reason being your introduced to a whole new cast of characters without warning. Typically, in a series your introduced to your main characters in the first book and the cast that will come and go throughout the rest of the series (ex pjo, six of crows, the cruel prince) you get new characters introduced at some points but you already know all the really important people. in acomaf though we basically forego the og acotar cast (which was small) and given a HUGE cast of important characters. Along with a new, large plot that really didn't get footing in acotar. The only thing that carries over between the two books in Feyre. Tamlin and the spring court hardly count in my mind cause its so drastically different from how it was written in acotar

point 2: characters, their motivs, and their writing

I can go on for AGES about the character assassination of Tamlin. Sjm completely re-wrote his character. There was no actually foreshadowing for this behavior in acotar and i will talk on this more in a later point. But back to our main girl Feyre. Feyre wasn't horrific in this book (shockingly) however she frequently states things that aren't true. Example, she says that "He [Tamlin] hadn't tried to kill her [Amarantha], hadn't crawled for me." which is false. to quote acotar "I found Tamlins eyes- wide as he crawled towards Amarantha, watching me die, and unable to save me while his wound slowly healed, while she still gripped his power." I could also cite early passages where Tamlin is BEGGING Amarantha to stop hurting Feyre. We are told why in acotar Tamlin couldn't fix everything (giving reason to Feyre having to do the trials etc etc) however this is promptly forgotten in acomaf to villainize Tamlin and give Feyre some sort of motive. A completely unnecessary thing. SJM can't commit to what she wrote previously, having to retcon things instead of thinking up some other motivation or reasoning. Its frankly lazy and makes the story feel cheap. I made many highlights in acomaf where something is directly retconned.

point 3: SJM and writing anger issues and mentally ill characters.

This will mainly focus on Tamlin as his character and his issues are quite personal to me.

Tamlin is written to have anger issues. these are vaguely hinted at in acotar when, after Rhysand comes and threatens the shit out of everyone Tamlin orders everyone to leave the dining room and then takes his anger out on the furniture (that is what is hinted at anyway) and then in acomaf these outbursts of anger are amped up. And used to go "look! he's actually evil and a bad person!"

As someone who has anger issues, a short temper, whatever you want to call it, finds this really disheartening. It's clear to me that sjm doesn't actually put thought or care into writing characters with tempers. Its also extremely biased as Rhysand is written to have a short temper however this is never a problem, but it is with Nesta and Tamlin. Now this is not me excusing abuse, but a character having anger issues does not equal abusive and bad like the acotar fandom heavily does with Tamlin. In general Tamlin's character is so dissolved in acomaf its just sad. SJM didn't even try to write a convincing character descent. At some point in writing acotar she fell in love with Rhysand and decided she wanted to change the love interest. (she had done this before in throne of glass) and while that's fine choosing to use Tamlins anger issues and protectiveness to attempt to write an antagonist was a cheap cop out. She couldn't even commit to making him an actual villain. Shes just capitalizing off of mental issues.

[achaotichuman]

ACOTAR Thoughts

The way ACOTAR could have been so much with just a little more focus on the comparisons and contrasts of Amarantha, Tamlin, Feyre and Rhysand. If Tamlin hadn't been demonised and we'd gotten more of Amarantha on page (which we totally should of, the way she died and how quickly her downfall came considering the length of the book, it's obvious ACOTAR was either supposed to be a stand alone, or Amarantha was supposed to make an appearance in ACOMAF which got cut) we could have had a far more interesting deep dive into these characters, and in my opinion a far more interesting plot.

So, here's my thoughts on this circle of characters and the things I'd make a point of if I wrote ACOTAR.

Fundamentally, Amarantha, Tamlin and Feyre are the same, or at least similar, with different motive, morals and upbringings. on the surface they all seem incredibly different but that's only because of a difference in what they deem morally acceptable.

I find the 'morality spectrum' to be a very superficial way of looking at a character's motives, but for simplicity, lets put Feyre as morally white-grey, Tamlin morally grey and Amarantha as morally black.

A lot of people might disagree with me because Tamlin has voiced his very strict boundaries on what he deems morally acceptable. But his reasoning actually proves he is a morally grey character. To be classified morally grey in fiction, you don't have to make your motives unknown, they can be incredibly clean cut while your methods being considered morally grey, which I'll get too later.

Starting with Amarantha, first and foremost she is a General. Whilst she is incredibly cunning, and very intelligent, we see time and time again, her first instinct is to reach for violence. Her first thought is to kill whatever's making a problem. She clearly sees problems as a battlefield, where strategy is everything. And whilst she makes incredibly thought out moves on the board, she only considers the board in front of her. The bigger picture of what consequences might come her way after don't apply, it's the battle first, everything else later. Which is to be expected with her history in the military.

This is our first comparison, Tamlin and Feyre are quite the same, though for different reasons. Tamlin and Feyre's first thought when faced with a problem is to basically hit it until it stops, thought they are both very capable of making cunning, quick decisions when faced with what they consider a battle, they don't naturally take into account the bigger picture. Tamlin's reasoning would be his history in the War Bands but also being raised in an abusive household and having to make quick decisions that might later be considered rash or have long-term negative consequences (thought I will admit that this is speculation)

Feyre's reasoning is the poverty her family endured. Having to make quick decisions to solve short-term problems. Learning to hunt and having then the majority of her childhood being exposed to harsh, traumatic situations.

The three of them are one in the same, and to me, I believe Amarantha is aware of her similarity to Tamlin. Whereas Tamlin is not. Tamlin believes him and Amarantha to be as different as black and white whereas Amarantha looks at him and either sees an inverted mirror image of herself, or what she could've been if she wasn't dark-hearted (yada yada yada this is symbolized by her ripping Tamlin's heart out, as if trying to take his goodness for herself, or make him dark like her yada yada yada)

Feyre I think would cross this spectrum, going from thinking herself entirely different from the Faeries, especially Amarantha, but throughout the book she starts to see who she truly is. Instead of shifting into something else, her perspective is changed and she starts to see the similarities.

Now onto the contrast, Rhysand. He is fundamentally different to the three of them. Rhysand, unlike the three, sees the full picture, he sees every variable and takes them into account, and ultimately will make the best decision that furthers the overall positive goal, no matter who he has to hurt in the process including those he loves, making him not just morally grey but also making him an invert of Tamlin.

Tamlin's morally greyness comes from his inability to see the full picture. He has his own motive, and he'll do whatever he can to fulfill it. Think "I'd let the world burn for you" type of morally grey, this is backed up by him teaming with Hybern just to get Feyre back. He'd let his Court and friends suffer just to see his wife's safe return, because to him, she's all that matters.

Whereas Rhysand would see the victory of Prythian against Hybern before saving Feyre, aka "I'd burn you for the world", and yes that is a morally grey trait.

Rhysand then slots beside Amarantha quite nicely here, because Amarantha's motives are unknown, we can assume from her behavior they are simply whatever brings her the most amusement, but this is often hindered by her instinct to kill the problems immediantly.

Rhysand comes into play here, because he provides an interesting perspective, by taking into account all variables, he can figure out a far more amusing (to Amarantha) path to take.

I can't quite remember if Amarantha came up with the idea of the trials organically or Rhysand planted them in her head, but I'll assume the latter for this example. Amarantha's first thought is to kill Feyre, but Rhysand provides the idea of the trials. To Amarantha this is the far more interesting path so she listens.

She listens to Rhysand because he is trying to manipulate her, but I don't mean that in that he is successfully manipulating her, I mean she entirely aware he is trying to coax her to do things he wants, she just knows that whatever Rhysand has in store is going to be far more entertaining than just killing people (Feyre).

Next to Tamlin, Rhysand and him clash because of their difference in motive. While Amarantha has no real motive behind her actions, Tamlin and Rhysand have opposing motives, which makes the incompatible, though this would have been different when they were young.

Then Feyre, Rhysand and Feyre have the same motives. Making them work together like a hand in a well-worn glove. With Feyre's quick-thinking and General-like mindset, next to Rhysand's ability to conjure a plan which almost guarantees success, they work very very well together.

If this had been the case more present in ACOTAR, we could have had a Feylin fallout which was much more organic, as Tamlin, Feyre and Amarantha's personalities are so similar that they scrape against each other, and don't work well in the long-term.

Anyway, I think ACOTAR was once a sailing ship that sunk a long time ago. Goodnight!

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

“literally just reskinned from an all white One Direction fanfic about an alien invasion. Which itself borrowed liberally from Red Queen”

????????

Red Queen seems to be really influencing a lot of YA and adult romance these days but it was never that good…

Anyway, I have no basis for my prediction but books like Fourth Wing (YA style adult book with smut) will probably continue to drive the adults who were stuck reading YA to the increasing market for those types of books. So YA itself with no breakout titles and no clear trends may try to put out more experimental work. It would be nice to see that since they don’t have to pander to adults as much anymore.

Also, I think that publishers may not be open to the more “diverse” brown/black girl books because of mostly white audiences. The editors themselves are mostly white. Mafi’s new series did not do as well and she’s going back to writing in the Shatter Me world. I do think Legendborn brought something new but I mean, the two tropey white love interests obviously are a huge draw along with how Shadowhunter-y the story is. It’s familiar and self insert-y in a way that a more “diverse” book isn’t. Not sure what could be done about this because it keeps YA stale. Their goal is selling books no matter what.

Re: this post

So I was doing a deep dive through Molly Chang’s socials after I finished her book because I was so bewildered by it. Turns out she got her start writing One Direction fanfiction on Wattpad. Gaze Upon Wicked Gods started out as Harry Styles fanfiction where he’s the angsty prince of an invading alien race and the protagonist is like a contemporary human living in the U.S. or UK. I’ve forgotten but it was definitely a western environment. Her soon to be published vampire book is almost definitively her more popular Zayn Malik story which was also a very like white European fantasy setting

Anyway Red Queen was horrible when it came out! But enough worse books have come out since that I have to give it some props. It was pretty influential back in the day as well— iirc it was patient zero for the trend shift from dystopian to court fantasy. So I’m not particularly surprised that it still has impact on the genre

I’m not sure about your prediction tbh! I could see it happening, but also Romantasy rn is such a homogenous genre (it’s literally all ACOMAF carbon copies) that you still end up finding more variation in YA. And, perhaps ironically, more variety is how we got the YA boom, and the category as it exists now, in the first place.

Basically, for the longest time, genre romance was (and has been) leaving money on the table because of its adherence to very strict formula, and dated norms. Around the Twilight craze, and the slew of paranormal romance copycats, YA ended up getting the attention of adults who weren’t necessarily interested in the strictness of adult genre romance. Because it was putting out so many romance heavy books, but the plots typically had more going on, and tended to just play out in ways that genre romance did not allow.

Publishers realized that catering to these adults was way more lucrative, and also that they could apparently endlessly chase trends to keep the interest going. And that’s how we’ve ended up where we’re at.

The thing is, Romantasy right now, is attempting nearly what the original New Adult category was attempting back in the early 2010s. They did try to launch New Adult! Major publishers, and a fair bit of indie ones, figured that if adults were really into YA, then doing the same thing but explicitly aimed at a more mature audience, and therefore more explicit, would be a slam dunk. But in trying to codify the tropes and shape it into its own thing, it was basically… a lot of very similar books that just had a lot of sex scenes. At the time, the main YA trends were still mostly contemporary, and the Fifty Shades craze had just happened. So NA was primarily just a lot of college set books with a ton of interchangeable CW plots, and the occasional like stalker/kidnapper/serial killer romance. And it tanked! Because it was so homogenous!

The few successful titles ended up splintering off into indie Dark Romance. But otherwise the experiment was essentially scrapped and trad publishers went back to YA and decided to just cram it full of sex scenes too lol. Which is how we got Sarah J Maas.

Fourth Wing’s boutique publisher (can’t remember the name off the top of my head) is basically singlehandedly trying to revive New Adult as an industry term and category. But I don’t think it’s going to happen tbh. Readers may use the term, but it’s really not a thing anymore if you talk to anyone involved in sales, book acquisitions, or marketing.

Romantasy is the real current attempt at a successor that actually has a chance. That being said, I’m skeptical because of several reasons. First, it already has a narrow scope by definition, you only get books with romance A plots in a fantasy setting. Second, it inadvertently ended up snuffing out several existing adult subgenres: Fantasy Romance, which, I know it’s confusing, but I promise it’s something different lol. These were Fantasy first books, that either had strong romance subplots or(!) were structured according to genre romance rules. It was a bit of a mixed bag, but it was doing well from the 80s to the mid 2000s basically. The key difference is that like. the worldbuilding and the plot mattered a lot. And it was primarily occupied by like LOTR and Mists of Avalon type copycats. The second sub genre is like the Sabriel type books. These are the “girly” Fantasy books that were frequently romance optional but about female protagonists and primarily aimed at women. So already we’ve lost variety, in search of the next big thing. And SFF trad acquisitions are alarmingly few, so it is something of a zero sum game. More worldbuilding lite SJM copycat Romantasy does directly mean there’s less of the other stuff.

But then on top of that, the only thing they’re pursuing seems to be ACOMAF rip offs, or the odd Reylo court fantasy. It’s a very narrow set of parameters. I suspect, unless there’s a pivot soonish, that they’re going to end up hitting over saturation and crash and burn like OG New Adult.

And then those readers will go back to indie and YA books

[sjmgirlie]

Cobalt Blue 🦋

So I was doing a bit of a ACOWAR re-read and found something interesting. When the autumn, and spring courts and human troops come into the final battle scene, Grayson’s family crest is cobalt.

“And one… one of mortal men in iron armour. Bearing a cobalt flag with striking badger. Graysen’s crest” ACOWAR page 623.

So Elain wearing the cobalt dress in ACOMAF might have been in relation to Graysen, BUT, we know Azriels siphons are the same colour. Could this be foreshadowing that Elain’s love interest when she was a human was Graysen, and then Azriel when she’s fae?

I’m not going to get into the discourse with Lucien being her mate. Because that could still be end game for all we know. But I truly think there would have to be so much retcon to make us forget 4 books of moments with Elain and Azriel and basically none with Elain and Lucien (he isn’t even around half the time). Like I would be chocked that Azriel was even dragged into Elucien to only complicate the plot more. They already had a complication with Graysen. And Azriel has been dragged around with Mor enough as well. But I noticed people like to say Lucien saying that he’s not always there to see his mate with distain in his voice is the same as Cassian about Nesta. But we forget that Cassian went to the Archeron estate in his bonus for ACOMAF and was about to kiss Nesta until she kneed him in the sensitive area. So ya… he didn’t want to talk about it. We don’t get bonus context why Lucien says that. Needless to say Lucien has no cobalt.

Anyways, I know Gwyn as a priestess also has an invoking stone that she wears, so I went searching to see if we get any information about the colour in ACOSF. Because regardless if I’m Eriel leaning, I still want to get all the facts straight. So I found the passage:

“Gwyn’s eyes matched her stone almost perfectly, right down to the shadows that now veiled her expression” ACOSF page 167

so still blue, because she has teal eyes, but not the specific blue that was used between Az-Elain-Graysen. And why is it important? Because Elain CHOSE to be graysen’s fiancé. She wanted to marry him even after turning fae. Choice is a reoccurring theme with Elain.

Now you might think, hey, this imagery doesn’t really matter. But the flowers, flames and night sky on the cabinet WERE important. SJM had to retcon the flames for Nesta with silver flame power in order to change Lucien being her mate. Also works because Cassian has red siphons though. Elain is correlated to flowers and automatically people think spring court or something. I don’t agree, because there are flowers in all courts, and spring is the only one where they are just there all the time. Elain is a GARDENER, her love of flowers is past aesthetics. It would be like saying Nesta should be at Day court because she loves reading and that’s where all the massive libraries are (Nesta would love it though).

Anyways, I personally don’t think the cobalt blue being the family crest for Graysen and siphon colour for Azriel is a fluke. I think it alludes to something. But, as all theories, it could be wrong.

The fact that Feysand, Nessian, Eriel and Vassien having titles between them also isn’t a fluke. This is another form of imagery that alludes to something. But again, maybe Sarah has some retcon to do. We really don’t know 100%, but with how ACOTAR has been set up, it feels to me it’s at least leaning this way.

[nobibiname]

Ever wondered why the Elucien arguments pulling out Sarah’s 2016 interview and Facebook comment (yeah that one after ACOMAF came out) are SO annoying? 🙄

Ok so I ended up in a TikTok comment section today (yes I know that was my first mistake) and it occurred to me, we are once again not on the same page about some fundamental ideas on writing. The OP argued Sarah hasn’t changed her mind on the next books &elucien and that she said so in an interview after ACOSF.

Ok, but there’s a huge GLARING problem with that.

Basically, a writer makes promises in the text. I’m paraphrasing Sanderson here (I watch his lectures for fun, even tho I don’t write cuz I’m a dork) so he was talking about the first chapter and prologue of a book, or movie… but if you’re writing a multi-book epic, then you’re probably going to make promises about plots and characters of your future books, right?

So what are these promises? Basically what kind of book it is, plot&trope hints, the tone, goals, journeys and obstacles.

Ok back to SJM: why is the argument that “she said Elucien and hasn’t changed her mind infuriating? Because she made different promises in the books. And that is what Elriels mean when we say “set up”.

I mean just from the amount of interactions, Elriel have more than Elucien.. not to mention the warmth, positivity and thoughtfulness she put into their interactions over seriously 4 books. The promises are crystal clear: there is a romance that started as friendship==plot, but she has a bond w/someone else==obstacle, and Rhys forbade it in a moment resulting in her thinking he rejected her, but he didn’t == twist.

These promises need to be addressed, resolved, fulfilled. Is there something even CLOSE to this kind of story promise existing for Elucien?

I have seriously seen people claim that Elucien are both “friends to lovers” AND “enemies to lovers”…. These cannot both be true, like come on… you’re not even sure what kind of story they promise to be? You’re not sure what kinds of promises Sarah made about Elucien?

Why are you not sure? Because it’s not in the text. My personal view is that Elucien is neither… if they happen it’s kind of worse than either trope, they’re certainly not friends, they are at best indifferent to each other and at worst resentful. Mmmm … delicious “indifferent to lovers” 🫠

On a serious note, I don’t “hate” Elucien, but SJM hasn’t made a single promise in the text that I can quote in here that would make me excited about them. He gave her gifts that she didn’t throw away…. ?? Really?… she made a half step toward him… once… no, just no! And that’s how I feel, regardless if “Lulu deserves love”… sure he does, then write a love interest that brings out flirty firey fox boy from book1 and I’m on board 🫡 ….and don’t try to convince me after 4 books of a tepid nothing that all along it was Elain. Because. I. Don’t. Buy. It.

And my last point (I swear!) why did I get my panties all up in a twist… basically this: a writer makes promises IN THE TEXT, and if what you are saying in interviews directly CONTRADICTS your actual text, then you kinda have a problem. … at that point either you’re a bad writer, or you can’t blindly trust an interview from 7 years ago, it’s outdated!

The great GRRM himself said how often his “gardening style” of writing led to character arcs and romantic pairings changing… so why don’t we start treating Sarah as an adult author, and trust the text, and not an old interview?

It also comes down to trust. You don’t wanna be left feeling like “hmmm this doesn’t feel real, I don’t buy it” it takes you out of the text, and it happens when an author messes up promise-delivery . When an author foreshadows well, and sets up the story with their promises, still manages to surprise us while keeping the promises… well I trust THAT PERSON to tell me the most satisfying story.

[nikethestatue]

Hi Nike, so I was just thinking and it kinda scares me (but not seriously scared scared lol) but I hate the thought of acotar 5 having so much smut like acosf to the point that it became the plot? Like, I am in for a few sex scenes but if it's really connected to the whole plot or something, not being the main focus. The last few sjm books became a total smut books and while I really do love smut but I am also looking for the TOG/Acotar-acofas SJM writing level especially in TOG where there's barely smut but the angst, yearning, tension, plot, family & friendship dynamics, everything is being tackled and more time to show the world she's building and the character development. CC and acosf had so much potential but... Now, I'm really hoping since Azriel was said to be like a freak in bed, that it'll not be another smutshow.

I feel like it will be a middle road between ACOMAF and ACOSF. I think there will definitely be more smut than ACOMAF, simply because Feysand had 3+ books and Elriel will have one. However, I think it will be less than ACOSF because she does need to move the plot forward and I am thinking that she is going to be more 'intentional' with it. As in, in ACOSF it was mostly all basic stuff, kind of vanilla. Quantity over quality. I suspect she might want to explore some of her fantasies with this one. Azriel lends himself to that, she, by her admission has had some very definitive ideas of what she thinks he does, and he has a bigger arsenal of interesting implements on hand.

I also feel like Elain is more of a blank slate and could very well be a little freak and very receptive to unusual things.

So I am hoping to get maybe 5 MEMORABLE scenes, which are all different and unique, and I think that that would be sufficient. The rest could be plot.

[elainsgirl]

what are your thoughts on how azriel and elain's relationship developed throughout the series?

It really gave slowburn.

Hey anon 🫶

I personally believe Elriels development throughout the books were healthy and organic. It felt natural and as readers, we saw how their relationship entered from one stage to the next- it wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t instant love. They didn’t just jump into a relationship with each other. Looking back, Mass has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into elriel and the lore that surronds them both.

Early on from ACOMAF - That dinner the boys shared with the girls- it clearly laid out the dynamic of Nessian and Elriel. The way a faint smile bloomed on Azriels face at seeing Elain clutch her fork, the way Elain looked to Azriel to assure herself everything was going well - a virtual stranger to her, Az managed to ease her tension. Elain asking questions and Azriel answering. We get told how charming Elain is and how this charm can convince people to do anything for her to match Feyre then wondering if Azriel used his own charm to get information he needed from his victims. Elain wearing cobalt to match Azriel’s syphons. I can’t remember if it was in acomaf or acowar but Feyre saying how Elain would cling to Azriel for some peace and quiet- showing us readers how they’re both alike. So from strangers they go to acquaintances.

Then we have ACOWAR which is filled to the brim with elriel moments- In this book, whilst Az is still very much into Mor and Elain mourning Grayson, Sjm spends this book showing us elriels dynamic & how well they suit each other as well as romantically coding their scenes. We get detailed scenes of Azriel going out of his way for elain, scenes that have Feyre wondering why not make them mates? What if the cauldron was wrong? - I love elriel in acowar bcs every single interaction is genuine. No one is forcing them together narratively. Each scene just flows & feels natural. Here I like to think that by the end, elain and az consider each other as friends. Then we have ACOFAS - which now is the very clear turning point for elriel- where Acowar focused on Azriel’s reactions and interactions with Elain - The novella focuses on telling us readers, Elain’s disinterest in Lucien and her interest in Azriel. It shows us that its mutual- BOTH of them have began to like each other, its not one sided. But again, just because they have began to like each other doesn’t mean Az is fully over Mor and Elain has moved on from Gray - and this too me is healthy. You can’t get over your crush of 500 years or healthily move on from a broken engagement all within the span of a few months. The fact Sjm included this in, shows us that elriel aren’t using each other as rebounds. They’re not using each other to fill a void. Then we have acosf which is basically confirming elriels romantic attraction noticed by both main characters setting them up for their book.

This is a long winded way of saying: Elriel developed naturally. Their interest in each other doesn’t begin after Nessian get together, disproving the claim Az is only interested in Elain bcs of his brothers being with her sisters. The bonus tells us that elriel have not started their relationship- disproving the claim they’re using each other as rebounds.

I think out of the all massiverse couples I’ve read - Elriel stand out the most. They’re just beautifully and poetically written. You can tell these two characters belong together and would have found their way to each other regardless of circumstances. And the foreshadowing for their plot and future action is insane - you can tell Mass has really put consideration into them.

fully agree with the slowburn - imo it adds to their charm- their tension & chemistry has just been continually growing from when they first appeared on page together - It’s going to feel so rewarding when they finally get together

preferably after an angry love confession in the rain.

[a-court-of-moonlight-and-ire]

I finished acotar a while ago and I was gonna write a review right away but then christmas happened and I was pretty busy and wanted to enjoy myself so youre getting like two weeks late

It was fine, I really didnt have any strong feelings about the book itself. Like, my main complaints are that it was pretty boring and directionless for most of it and stuff thats mainly related to the next books, if I just look at it as a standalone I would describe it as "not for me, but not that bad"

That is, until we get to Under The Mountain, where everything just gets really stupid and convoluted. That whole section, which is a solid fourth or fifth of the whole book, severely clashes with the sweet fairytale romance that came before it. It reminds me of how all those twilight-knockoff trilogies in the 2010s would have two pretty low-stakes books worth of basically only romance with some weird magic sprinkled on top, and then in the last book it would turn out that the protagonist and her beloved need to Go To War or the world will end except even worse (also now that I think about it, the first three acotar books also seem to be structed like that, so youre getting two shitty plot structures in one. yayyyyyyy)

There was literally no reason for all of that happen, it was honestly just unpleasant reading about Feyre, who had spent the book recovering from her trauma in a way that was genuinely pretty nice to read about, being tortured for three months until she was feeling worse than she ever had before. And some people might say "oh, thats the point, its meant to be tragic" but it didnt feel like tragedy, it just felt tonally dissonant. Also, the entire ending was so weird and dragged out, like that bit where she and Tamlin are staying one last night UTM for some reason and then she talks to Rhysand before they finally leave and its like, BRO dont stay in the Palace of Torments for any longer than you have to, just leave through that portal-tunnel thing

Speaking of Rhysand, he wasnt that bad in this book but Im sure my opinion on him will change. The main thing that sticks out about him is how sjm simply could not resist ALREADY explaining all of his motivations and portraying him as someone whos obviously so noble, despite all the obviously horrific and completely unecessary shit hes doing. Like, theres that scene where Rhysand crushes that guy's brain when Amarantha ordered him to crush his mind and the narration goes "that was actually an act of mercy from Rhysand" ??? that mightve worked better in third person limited where youre working without the implication that the prose is the pov character's actual thoughts, but since its first person and meant to be Feyre's thoughts I was just like "why is she thinking that when she should be thinking 'holy fucking shit, i just signed my life over to a guy who could squish my mind like a grape if he wanted to?!?!?!!'"

Also, theres that scene where Rhysand comes into Feyres cell to "escape from it all" or whatever and he basically monologues to her about his sympathetic motivations and I just. sarah, girlie, you shouldve saved this shit for the second book. Like, rewrite the scene so that he just comes in eithout a word, hes totally unresponsive to Feyre insulting him or trying to ask him what hes doing here, he just sits down in the corner, knees pulled to his chest, he mutters something vague about just wanting to be left alone, maybe he's even got tears in his idk. I think that would be a far more effective way to have him be sympathetic in a more subtle way than just having him monologue his tragic circumstances and noble intentions at Feyre

Thats about it so far, I'll probably start reading ACOMAF in january when winter break is over and I can read it on the bus and in class again