“Only you can decide what breaks you, Cursebreaker. Only you.”

A Court of Wings and Ruin

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s actions and learn what she can about the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit. One slip could bring doom not only for Feyre, but for everything—and everyone—she holds dear.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre endeavors to take her place amongst the High Fae of the land, balancing her struggle to master her powers—both magical and political—and her love for her court and family. Amidst these struggles, Feyre and Rhysand must decide whom to trust amongst the cunning and lethal High Lords, and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

A Court of Wings and Ruin wraps up the first story arc within the A Court of Thorns and Roses universe, and while I did not love it as much as A Court of Mist and Fury, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

After her sisters were betrayed by Tamlin and Made fae, Feyre is back in the Spring Court, determined to gather intel about his alliance with the King of Hybern. But despite the information she collects, the threat to her home is still imminent. The only chance at defeating the invading King’s limitless, Cauldron-fueled powers is to unite the seven courts and mount a resistance.

Surprisingly, ACOMAF was better, which is almost unheard of because the second book in a series almost always ends up being the weakest. But the pacing of A Court of Wings and Ruin felt off. Some sections were too slow, some were too fast, and some plot points just felt out of place. This just didn’t grip me as much as ACOMAF. However, the quality of the worldbuilding was consistent with the first two books, and the end wrapped up the story arc of this section of the series quite well.

I did love all of the individual character and character relationship development. Feyre’s time in the Spring Court is one of my favorite parts purely because of how much of a cunning badass she is. And when she gets back to the Night Court, things get better from there. I loved watching the budding relationships develop between Nesta and Cassian and Elain and Azriel. The found family dynamics between the whole Inner Circle brought me so much joy. I also loved the introduction of all the other High Lords, especially Helion, the bi icon that he is. The mental health representation of everyone’s war grief and PTSD was real and raw, and I really got a sense of what the characters were going through.

My only character complaint is still the lack of representation within the series as a whole, and now the introduction of some questionable representation as well. A minor spoiler, but Mor comes out to Feyre toward the end as what I choose to interpret as being a lesbian. I’m not sure if it was the timing, the fact that it felt like it was out of left-field, or her talking about her relationships with men to hide her sexuality, but the scene didn’t hit right. I can appreciate the attempt to include diversity in a series that severely lacks it, but it didn’t feel like a genuine attempt.

All in all, despite not loving this as much as A Court of Mist and Fury, I still loved this book. It wrapped up this arc well and did an amazing job at setting up the next books. I can definitely anticipate rereading this series, and I can’t wait to move on to Nesta and Cassian’s story.