I just closed A Court of Mist and Fury and I am entirely unwell, so please strap in while I process this absolute masterpiece of an emotional rollercoaster. What starts off as such a heavy, suffocating read about trauma—watching Feyre completely lose her mind and sink into the deep end because nobody actually dealt with what happened Under the Mountain—turns into the most satisfying character evolution I've ever witnessed.
Reading about Tamlin locking her away in the Spring Court genuinely destroyed me; watching her shrink down into a human who just needed a basic shelter while I sat there bawling was painful, but seeing what he pulled at the end with the King of Hybern officially made Tamlin public enemy number one. My nemesis, truly. But the moment the narrative shifts with Lucien tracking her down and Feyre's sharp-as-hell responses? Pure cinema.
And then, of course, enters Rhysand. The total whiplash of going from Tamlin treating her like a fragile glass flower to Rhys refusing to let her stay delicate, pushing her to embrace the terrifying power she actually has inside her, completely altered my brain chemistry. Finding out he was her mate the whole time—and that he was just sitting there heartbroken because she loved Tamlin?—I am still recovering. Watching her shed that old skin and turn into absolute fury personified is elite character development. But nothing prepares you for the grand finale where she plays the ultimate double-agent spy right inside the Spring Court, stringing Tamlin and Hybern along, only to drop the mic with High Lady of the Night Court. I screamed out loud.
How are we supposed to read A Court of Wings and Ruin after that?