This was definitely the best book in the series so far. It had a really strong plot with really nice pacing and truly engaging writing. It’s a pretty long book, but I never felt myself getting tired of it or thinking that it started to drag. It had me hooked from start to finish.

Of course, this series, and this book especially, has a lot of side-characters and I’m insanely intrigued by a lot of them. Obviously I love Feyre, and I respect the hell out of her strength and bravery, but I sometimes wish we could get inside other people’s heads as well, because I’m desperate to find out more about a lot of them. I mean, Azriel, Cassian, Lucien, Nesta, Amren, Elain and Mor are evidently people I crave to get to know better, but it’s not just them I’m curious about. I’m also super intrigued by all the other High Lords and their courts; they all had such distinct personalities and dynamics, I bet each of them could have a super cool and interesting story to tell. 

Personally, I think I’m currently the most interested in getting to know Nesta better. She’s obviously got a lot of sharp edges, but she’s also got such a strong personality and fierce loyalty. I really did not like her before this book, and I would even go far enough to say I hated her, but the fragility and love I saw in her now has made me forgive her. It has made me want to understand her better, but also see her get a happy ending. 

Another character I personally love so much and would kill to see more of is Lucien. He’s got so many emotions swirling inside of him, and I know he’d have such an interesting story to tell. I really hope the plotline of Helion being his father will be further developed down the line, because I see a lot of potential in that. It’d really warm my heart to see Lucien finally find love from family. Speaking of, I am super curious about his brother, Eris, as well. I know all the characters hate him, but I personally don’t. What we’ve seen of him so far has mostly been good, and I think he has a lot of valid reasons for the things he does. I hope we’ll get to see a redemption arc for him, including the re-building of his relationship with Lucien. 

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t hate Tamlin. At all. Is he the right man for Feyre? Abso-freaking-lutely NOT. But he has a good heart underneath it all. He has issues, he definitely does, but that doesn’t make him evil. And I genuinely do feel bad for him; can you imagine how betrayed he must feel as he gets hit time and time again with rejection and abandonment? And yet, he didn’t let revenge take over from doing what was right… 

Speaking of almost-villains I’ve developed a soft-spot for (as there are apparently quite a few of them): I’m a Jurian fan. I don’t care what anyone says, but this man has been through so much torture and despair, yet he came out of with not only his heart in the right place, but also the wits to play the game well. I have to respect that. 

Contrastingly, I’m honestly not a fan of Elain. I don’t hate her, but I don’t like her either. Her naivety and tendency to rely on others annoyed me. She never really worked for anything herself, and just expected everyone to tend to her like she was some delicate little flower. Nesta took care of her, Feyre took care of her, but did she ever take care of them? What makes her so special that nobody ever expects her to give the same energy back to them? She’s not some holy angel who needs to be taken care of at all times. It’s annoying. 
Anyway, I don’t think her and Lucien would make a good pair. Aside from the fact that neither of them really seem to like the other, I also just don’t see the chemistry or the passion. I think it would be much more interesting to see her build a relationship with Azriel. I love a grumpy x sunshine trope, and it’d be really sweet to see him go soft and gentle for her. Especially since I want him to move on from Mor desperately, who I personally think does <i>not</i> have a valid reason for stringing him along all those decennia; she could have easily told him the truth and spared him the heartache and longing. It’s very selfish of her, and it’s kind of the one reason why I can’t fully love her character.

Last but not least: Rhysand. Is it just me or is he just a little bit <i>too</i> perfect? Don’t get me wrong, I admire this man with all my might and I think he is the ideal partner for Feyre, but his perfection was a little boring to me sometimes. I needed more personality from him. I do like him for the respect he gave to Feyre and how he always allowed her to make her own choices, but sometimes that freedom almost looked a little bit like disinterest. As if he would literally just accept her death or her pain, as long as she chose it for herself. I really needed more of those protective feelings, maybe. I mean, even Cassian seemed to have those feelings more towards Nesta already, and they aren’t even together yet. Then again, it’s also clear those two make a much less healthy or evenly-matched pair, so perhaps you can’t have it both: a healthy relationship <i>and</i> some drama/angst/intensity. Perhaps it’s one or the other…
Also, I feel like Rhysand’s near-death experience at the end was a little cheap. Either kill him or don’t, but if the author keeps resurrecting everyone, it really lowers the stakes. I’m not supposed to feel like everyone will be safe anyway, regardless of what happens in the story. I mean, even Amren came back in the end! The only one who really died here was The Suriel, and it broke my heart (he was so pure and good), but he was such a minor character… Death scenes can be so impactful, and I wish authors weren’t so afraid to use them properly without backtracking all the time.

All in all, it’s obvious I have a lot of feelings and thoughts about these characters, which tells me this book did a really good job at making me curious about them. It clearly shows how engaged I was and how I actually started to care. And all that is even aside from how hooked I was with the plot itself!