Buddy read with my own Inner Circle, Nastassja and Katerina - please check out their reviews for some emotional and in-depth critique. And read what oBuddy read with my own Inner Circle, Nastassja and Katerina - please check out their reviews for some emotional and in-depth critique. And read what our dear friend in arms Simona has to say about the moment the mountains trembled.
Spoilers, guys, please be warned.
Just to prep the grounds for what I’m about to say, let me be clear that I loved ACOTAR. I really enjoyed every part of it - Tamlin as a main love interest, Rhysand as an intriguing sexy bastard, intimacy and romance as amazing, sensual and never vulgar imagery, the beautiful, smoothly flowing writing style, most of the plotting and the wonderful world in general. I didn’t care much for Feyre though - she seemed rather plain and hard to relate to, - but this was never a problem.
Now that I’ve read ACOMAF I’m not sure what to do or think of ACOTAR anymore, as, apparently, I was charmed by masks and no one was what they seemed to be. Both Tamlin and Rhys (and Lucien, but I’ll talk about him later) as we knew them are discarded, their personalities dramatically revised and their stories serviced under different sauce. Without a decent reason, without respect both for the characters and me as a reader.
Being honest I was team Tam, but I was also looking forward to lusty temptations and cunnings from the Rhys. In the end, I really was OK with both ships just as long as they are deliciously cooked and elegantly serviced. Alas, what I got was Tamlin’s dignity, courage and, well, wits hacked roughly with an axe. Meanwhile Rhys was stripped of his dark, enigmatic allure and offered to us as a soapy, teary and annoying perfection of a male. And the game began. Ex-boyfriend vs new one. Bad vs good. Limitations vs freedom. Where Tam was weak Rhys was strong. Where Tam was conservative Rhys was open-minded. Where Tam was abusive Rhys demonstrated absolute respect and support. So unfair, so effing unfair to both characters.
So, ok, as pro-ACOMAF readers never fail to point out, we never knew who Tam and Rhys really are and this installment shows us their true selves. Why? To teach readers what unhealthy and healthy relationships are and how to discern them. Why? To send a strong message to all those young females around the world - a message of empowerment and fighting for your freedom of choice. Love the message, I really do. After all, in ideal world that is what YA literature is supposed to do - educate and enlighten youth in the most appealing and natural way by creating stories and characters worth aspiring to. But Feyre is not what I would call a role model.
*Lesson 1. Going through relationship crisis.* Feyre is in love with Tam. But after everything that has happened to his beloved Under the Mountain, Tam is going through some kind of PTSD and, hence, creates an environment that is perceived by Feyre as unsafe and abusive. She is also depressed, but keeps all her horrors and pains to herself. Sex is good but still they slowly grow apart. Typical story, really. Feyre’s solution? To run away with the next best man, leaving her «true love» without a chance to explain himself or work on their relationship, with questions unanswered and truths untold.
*Lesson 2. Empowering yourself from within.* After leaving Tam Feyre is haunted by phantoms of «abuse». She’s a victim, replaying everything she’s endured over and over again, wondering if that’s what she deserves, if that’s what her life should be etc. Self-victimisation and low self-esteem is a serious problem with no other way of healing than through nurturing and finding strength within yourself. Leaving the past behind and turning toward your inner power. Feyre’s way? Clinging yet to another man who tells her what she is and is not (even if in a respectful way), relying on this bond to empower her.
*Lesson 3. Love, sex and what lies in between.* I’ll start with a reminder that this is a YA book as in literature for youth. Sex is expected and, well, anticipated - as a wonderful, natural and very pleasant part of any relationship. Once again, ACOTAR offers some delightful sex scenes and most of us were hoping for so more in ACOMAF. But the much too literal, graphic and at times simply vulgar scenes were too much. Where’s the sensuality, where are the feelings that accompany sex in «healthy» relationships? Why so detailed, why so many? To show how different intimacy can be? Oookaaay. To show that in healthy relationship your male should roar «you are mine» and bend you over the table to mate with you for everyone around to hear? Not okay. While sex indeed is different and has many expressions, should there be so much accent on it and in such quality in the YA fantasy novel? Don’t think so.
There’re more from where these came from - I can write endlessly about Tamlin being flushed down the drain as a stupid, blind brute and a traitor giving up his deeply beloved lands for the King of Hybern to conquer. About Rhysand, the most powerful Fae, crying and sobbing while declaring his love, having the greatest wingspan (which is, apparently, very critical for Feyre) and basically living to be everything Tam isn’t. About Feyre, whose most dramatic character development was deciding she’s not a piece of filth after finding out she’s Rhys’s mate and gaining kick-ass superfae powers. About Lucien, who, from a smart, funny and brave man was turned into a sad, pathetic slime of a person, with the only line worth attention (and pity) - namely, «She’s my mate». About lack of any plot line and/or intrigue, because, come on, what could be surprising about the ring, or the mate-thing, or even about Tamlin and the King? Also, there are so many world-building elements introduced in the book that were left unexplained and unattended, that I could use all my question marks just to list them.
But I should also mention what made me give the book two stars instead of one. As much as I was upset with the main characters I grew very much fond of the secondary ones. Rhys’s Inner Circle is a bunch of traumatised yet powerful creatures, whose stories made me feel and wonder. At time I even wanted to be a part of their wicked family - all of them, Mor, Cassian, Azriel, Amren and even Rhys if you forget about all that Feyre darling stuff. Moreover, with a substantial revision and decrease in page count, ACOMAF could have worked just fine - as a standalone, that is. Which is a sad thought, really, because what has been done to the series cannot be undone.
I’ve been hearing so much about abuse in ACOMAF these days. And this I can agree on - there’s definitely abuse. Characters have been abused, ACOTAR has been abused, my hopes and expectations were abused. I was abused - by how carelessly and ruthlessly the standards for this book, which were rather high in the previous installment, were brought to the low. And I am still being abused every time I read a comment to another reader’s negative review featuring something like «you simply didn’t understand Sarah’s message» or «you’re simply pissed off because you shipped Tam» etc. No, guys, we simply have our own opinion. And it’s fine, being and seeing things differently is fine. We have one major thing in common - we love books - so shouldn’t it be enough to respect each other and move on?
This was supposed to the be one of the best books of the year. I pre-ordered the hardback for god's sake - and I never purchase paper copies unless I'm 100% sure I'm in love with them. I was, indeed, in love with ACOTAR, but this book has disappointed me so much. First it annoyed me. Then frustrated. Then made me really, really mad. And now all I feel is sadness. Because I can see how I could've enjoyed it - some scenes and secondary characters are really good - but I could never get over what Maas has done to the main characters and what she has failed to do to the plot or the world-building whatsoever. And the sex scenes? Forgive me if I'm mistaken but pornography doesn't fall into the YA category yet. I am far from a prude (and quite older than your typical YA audience) and this could have been my guilty pleasure read, but NOT in the YA fantasy book and NOT in this explicitness and quantity(!). Once again, ACOTAR should have been a standalone. ACOMAF could have worked as a standalone. Full review to come soon.
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