By: Sarah J. Maas
Published by: Bloomsbury
Released on: May 1st, 2018
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.1
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Source: Purchased
Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve.
Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated--scars that will have far-reaching impact on the future of their Court.
I really enjoyed this novella. I loved getting to be back in this world. I liked that this story is told from various points of views. Having multiple points of views made it possible for readers to see various parts of the story they wouldn't have been able to other wise. In this story we see how each of the characters is coping, and dealing with the effects of the war. No one is unscathed by it, but together, many of them are learning to move forward.
I enjoyed being back in this world with these characters. My favorite characters were definitely Rhys's brothers. They stole this story, and had me laughing out loud more than a few times. I appreciated the mix of humor into the more serious undertone of healing, and coping with loss in this book. There is also romance, but for me, the friendships, and the characters learning to deal with their PTSD was far more important to the story, and was well crafted.
This story is just what readers needed after the last book. It offers hope not just to the characters, but also readers, of what's to come. There is a lot of foreshadowing Maas does for what's to come in the next book. While some things were tied up in this story, there are some uncertainties when it comes to alliances, new borders, and even relationships with some of the characters. I absolutely LOVED the teaser at the end of this book featuring Cassian and Nesta. I am really rooting for these two.
I loved Cassian in this book. He desperately wants to help Nesta. Nesta, for all she's been through is absolutely gutted. She's a broken character who it felt like has just given up. She broke my heart in this book. I really missed the character she was in at the end of book three. At the same time, I also completely got where she was coming from in this book. After that teaser, I have a lot of hope for these two. I really want things to work out with them. I highly doubt it's going to be easy, but Cassian is not one to back down from a challenge. I can not wait to read their story next!
** I would recommend this series to readers 18 yrs & older. As I've previously noted in my reviews for this series, this series should not be marketed as YA, because of it's adult content. This book, like the last two books in this series has explicit sexual content, the characters are not teens (early 20s and older), and the series writing has an older reader tone to it, as it should.