A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

“Sarah J. Maas definitely took on a whole different route,” – these were my first words regarding A Court of Wings and Ruin to my friends, about only a hundred pages in. Having finished it and being able to look at it wholly, I am still on the fence about how the story went.

The anticipation for ACOWAR had me reading for hours straight, as expected. By hour six, I was mentally exhausted. Extremely. The supposed-finale for the series felt as if it bit more than it can chew. While I am a sucker for well laid-out arcs, ACOWAR was overflowing with them to properly comprehend and was downright tiring to follow. It was like the multiple screens of the sonar device in Dark Knight, showing multiple secondary scenes, including the primary arc, all at once. And like Lucius Fox, you’re supposed to follow each and everyone of them.

"What we think to be our greatest weakness can sometimes be our biggest strength."

Given how it’s still book 3 out of 6, some arcs were clearly meant to remain unresolved to be eventually followed through. I do appreciate continuity; however, it was either this subplot was already withering from backburner negligence or was so suddenly placed and seemingly unnecessary, given the gravity of everything else occurring simultaneously. Some were obviously set up for further books and these little surprising details, albeit unintentionally, broke the pace of an already drama- and action-heavy book.

With both ACOTAR and ACOMAF, I noticed how action was mostly crammed in the third act. In comparison, the third installment definitely regained some balance in terms of the weight of the circumstances or character(s) development. Given how a lot of details and arcs have already been setup with the predecessors, Maas was quick to the action in ACOWAR. The book began and ended in gripping events that promptly, as aforementioned, emphasized an almost consistent pacing and balance. Almost. Supporting my claim of arc-overload, it was action-packed to the point of often glossing over the actual big, table-turning events. If all are important, then none is important.
I also found Feyre’s perspective very limiting, especially in the latter part of ACOWAR where some milestones were happening literally beyond court borders. While I see the purpose of having a first-person POV, there were quite a lot of moments that needed an omniscient viewpoint. Loose ends were merely tied up with a couple of sentences of explanation and Feyre’s own assumptions. These scenes left unanswered questions and could’ve propelled development of other secondary characters, particularly seeming antagonists.

"My rage had become a living thing inside my chest, an echoing heartbeat that soothed me to sleep and stirred me to waking."

Despite having a few technical issues with ACOWAR, I still would not take back the (many many) savings that paid for this highly anticipated release. Being an avid fan of Maas, I’ve firsthand witnessed how she takes care of her characters and it was one of the main aspects that I really melted for in ACOWAR. There were quite literally world-threatening events happening yet she took time to further develop important relationships between characters, particularly our titular Feyre, both platonically and romantically. It strengthened emotional connections between the reader and the characters, thus created a bigger impact for emotional events. For a fantasy race of supernatural beings, they felt real.

"I would have waited five hundred more years for you. A thousand years. And if this was all the time we were allowed to have... the wait was worth it."

Although ACOWAR ended in a hopeful note with the overarching arc (lol) reaching its conclusion, Sarah J Maas clearly still has a lot in store for her readers in her upcoming books. This book was honestly a conflicting read but continued to capture my heart through its characters. Here’s to another painful year of waiting!