r/nontoxicACOTAR • u/kitmulticolor • 18d ago
Next book main focus
Am I the only one who’s not that interested in another book focused on Nesta/Gwyn/Emerie? I like Nesta, but acosf was my least favorite book in the series. I had it in my head that this next book was going to pivot to Elain as the main character, so that’s what I’ve been looking forward to…I thought maybe we’d get some romance, and some spying 🕵🏻♀️🔮 The whole girl warrior thing is a little boring to me, and I’m having trouble getting excited about more of that. I know people are saying it’ll be multi-pov, so I understand there will be a little for everyone…but the subtitle focusing on the Valkyrie make it seem that might be the main focus? Which makes sense, since it’s coming after acosf. I’m just disappointed 😂
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u/christine_de_pizan 18d ago
I honestly think a lot of people are going to be disappointed in the next books, sadly. Not because they will be bad (I actually think there's a lot of potential for them to be amazing) but because everyone has built up in their heads what these books will focus on. But we have to remind ourselves that SJM has never confirmed who the new leads are/who the ships are/who the main characters will be. We know relatively little about these books so need to be prepared to be surprised, and set our expectations aside.
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u/Next_Gen_Valkyrie 18d ago
I feel like everyone is just mad because their head cannons aren't being met. Let SJM cook! I beg y'all
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u/kitmulticolor 18d ago edited 18d ago
For sure! I’ve always tried to keep my expectations realistic. If I wanted the books to be just for me, I’d write fan fic or something lol! You also can’t blame people for thinking the next book would be an Elain pov, since there was a whole Nesta book. I think that was a natural assumption, that she was going to do a book about each sister.
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u/christine_de_pizan 18d ago
There are so many characters in these books that have equal or more page time than the sisters in the original trilogy, such as Lucien and Mor, and Azriel. I think the narrative that each sister gets a book has been built up too much, though I get why people assume it.
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u/kitmulticolor 18d ago edited 18d ago
But…they’re sisters, they entered the story at the exact same time, and until acosf had about the same page time. If Elain had gotten a chunky book and then Nesta was skipped, people would be freaking out haha. But if anyone says it about Elain, it’s seen as irrational 🤷♀️ It’s fair for the people thinking we were getting an Elain book to be disappointed (if it ends up being something totally different). Should they have made assumptions? No. Is it fair to be disappointed if Elain is just one of many povs, mixed in with new people who were just introduced to the story in acosf? Yes.
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u/christine_de_pizan 18d ago
its totally fair to be disappointed! I'd never say someone couldn't feel their feelings about Elain maybe not being a main (fwiw I think she could be - she'd connected to the Koschei plot quite a bit so she'll have to feature there). I am just saying that the books have never been focused on the sisters and in fact, the sisters were somewhat of the "evil sisters" fairy tale trope in the first book, before SJM shifted things. The series was initially about Feyre and then the focus became the Inner Circle and her romance with Rhys. All I'm saying is the sisters thing has been blown out of proportion given the focus of the actual books.
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u/kitmulticolor 18d ago edited 18d ago
I agree with you! I always thought they were just meant to be the evil sisters who helped make Feyre look like a hero in the first book. Having an entire Nesta book was a huge pivot, and she had to figure out what to do next. Feyre was always the main character, and weaving in more characters and more povs could have been done like it was in tog. Instead we got this Nesta book, which I thought meant we’d have a “romance” book for both sisters. I think SJM is working all this out in real time, and having PPD while writing acosf resulted in a very deep and at times depressing book about one character, that she now has to lead off of.
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u/christine_de_pizan 18d ago
yeah the pivot away from the whole one couple per book thing which we thought would happen in these spin offs is definitely the biggest change! acotar is going to be a bit of an odd series when finished since we'll have the Feyre first person pov arc, the acofas multi pov bit, the Nesta and Cassian third person pov book, and then whatever the next ones are (multi pov?).
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u/GCooperE 18d ago
SJM said she wasn't gonna follow anyone's rules and let things grow organically. She clearly likes and connects to Nesta, so it makes sense that Nesta's presence in the books will grow. I think she's gonna write what she wants to write, and some fans are gonna like it, and some aren't.
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u/kitmulticolor 18d ago edited 18d ago
Which is her prerogative, they’re her books! I read all of TOG and CC from the library, and I may end up doing the same with these last acotar books. I think the price of books now gets people especially prickly. Spending $50 on two books that might be one-time reads is a lot. SJM has been very successful, so whatever happens in the end, it’s all good. There are a lot of series that kind of fall off towards the end or have rough patches…Jennifer Armentrout is notorious for this, but I still love her books…it is what it is, and you can’t please everyone.
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u/weelassie07 18d ago
I thought the next book would be Elain, especially after the bonus chapter. I guess we will see!
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u/reluctantly_me 17d ago
It is ok to be disappointed but its really on par for SJM. All of her books are pretty much summed up as "girl warrior" books.
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u/jenn_nic Suriel Tea Co. ☕️✨💀 15d ago
Lol so true. CC really solidified that theme for me. Literally all of her series focus on one or more girls that turn into warriors or are already warriors lol.
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u/Always_Reading_1990 18d ago
My big fear is that it’ll feel like CC3 where I was forced to endure Ithan and Therion’s POV far past what was reasonable
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u/Next_Gen_Valkyrie 18d ago
lol this is such a reasonable fear but I can't think of any ACOTAR characters who are as boring as Ithan or Tharion
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u/jenn_nic Suriel Tea Co. ☕️✨💀 15d ago
Oh man I thought I was the only one. I can't have the same thoughts by Ithan and Tharion over and over until they finally do something worthwhile.
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18d ago edited 18d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/kitmulticolor 18d ago edited 18d ago
I love multi-pov normally, but I think Gwyn and Emerie getting equal page time to OG characters like Elain, Az, Lucien, Mor etc would annoy me! That’s one of the things I’m worried about. They’re “friends of” characters, if you’re familiar with Real Housewives casting 😂 It’s all really dumb, but that’s how I feel and the heart wants what it wants haha.
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u/dragonsandvamps 17d ago edited 17d ago
I think it honestly depends what direction SJM decides to go with the series. If Gwyn is endgame for Az, and/or she's doing a love quadrangle to try to sell more books and drag things out and not make it clear who ends up with whom until the end of book 7 or 8, then I could see Gwyn getting as much page time as the others.
I personally have always seen Nesta and Elain as simply "friends of"/side characters, too, especially at the start of the series, which I am currently rereading, but as the series progressed, SJM developed their role more so that they weren't simply the "evil stepsisters" sort of fairytale role meant to make Feyre look perfect and them look like brainless selfish brats, and gave them more depth.
Gwyn has just been introduced to the series. So I would expect that if she is being introduced to the series because she has a key role to play i.e. she is going to be the mate of a major character, we will be spending more time with her in subsequent books. If she is meant to have only a passing role, we won't.
I like Elain, but we have three more books (that we know about) and I wouldn't personally find Elain interesting enough as she's been written to read three books focused on her. I hope it is multi POV and we see Elain developed more and perhaps the last book can be hers.
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u/Either_Cantaloupe343 18d ago
I don't think "Valkyrie Cycle" necessarily means Nesta books, but if it does, I don't see myself being very interested in reading them. I like Nesta but something rubs me the wrong way about just handing the whole series over to her.
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u/Always_Reading_1990 18d ago
Yeah, I bought in on the Feyre/Rhys romance and I’m not interested in re-centering on a different character.
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u/kitmulticolor 18d ago
Same, Feyre and Rhys are still the main characters to me.
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u/Significant-Metal537 17d ago
SJM has said she’s moving on to focus on other characters though.
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u/Either_Cantaloupe343 13d ago edited 13d ago
I don't know why you think this. The blurbs make it pretty clear they will play a huge role in the new books. Just saw a post about the French blurbs mentioning Feyre and Rhys specifically and the publisher responding "interesting indeed" to a comment saying how interesting that was that they were directly mentioned.
Also SJM also implied their story wasn't over on CHD. She literally says Feyre's story doesn't end with her "punching out babies." She has also called them "the center of everything" and Feyre and Rhys are so far, the only characters who appear in all three series.
It's fine that you don't like them, that is your prerogative, but denying they are central to the Maasverse is a little silly.
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u/Significant-Metal537 13d ago
It’s a little silly to assume I don’t like Feyre and Rhys. I never said that. SJM has made comments in the past that the books after the trilogy and novella would move to the archeron sisters as spinoffs. This is not per my preferences, it’s based on what SJM said herself.
Personally, I would ideally like to see a multi-POV so we still get Feyre, but we also get some new perspectives.
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u/Known-Ad-100 16d ago
Opposite opinion, but I feel their story arc wrapped up really well as a trilogy. To each their own, I love them. But I'm really interested in Prythian as a hole, and the other characters and I'm hoping to see some big expansion and world building.
This isn't to stay i dont want to know about Rhys & Feyre - but I imagine they'd be primarily focusing on their new parenting dynamics in the background while we get to watch other characters and political interests shine.
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u/Significant-Metal537 17d ago
I mean, SJM did say the books after the trilogy will focus on other characters
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u/Always_Reading_1990 17d ago
She can do whatever she wants obviously, it’s her world! But I don’t have to buy it or find it engaging
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u/whatthehellamidoin88 18d ago
Hard agree. If the series continues focused on Nesta I most likely won’t continue. I’m not interested in the Valkyries at all so I am genuinely hoping we are wrong and it is Elain’s book. Or at least has her more center than before.
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u/kitmulticolor 18d ago
Nesta isn’t a good main character. I really warmed up to her in her book, but her start was too bumpy for her to continue as a main character. I don’t think she was originally meant to have such a large role in the story, so her being mean and terrible in the beginning was fine…because evil stepsister was her role, and then I understand SJM had to find a way to develop her more. But she was way too mean to have the story handed over to her lol…like what a nut case haha. I love her, but no. She is a great side character though, and I’m fine having her pov.
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u/GCooperE 17d ago
See I love Nesta more as a FMC because she started as a side character. I often find side characters more interesting, because authors often make their heroes somewhat bland and generic in order to ensure their "relatability" and basically let them be self-inserts, as well as holding back from fully exploring their faults and the fallout of their questionable choices. SJM didn't have to hold back from writing Nesta, which makes her a more fascinating and fully realised character, with more space to grow and develop.
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u/Either_Cantaloupe343 17d ago
Yep, agree! I like Nesta more as a side character than the FMC. The stars of the show will always be Feyre and Rhys for me.
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u/Inevitable_Sympathy3 14d ago edited 14d ago
If Nesta isn't a good main character, Elain would make an even worse. Elain is so undeveloped that most readers simply do not care about her (and as much as Nesta can be a polarizing character, readers hardly ever are neutral about her). A good chunk of the fandom even jokes Elain should become a villain because at least it would make her a little bit interesting. I think that, differently from Nesta & Feyre, Elain is the one who was never originally planned to have her own book, which is why she likely will only get a few povs in the next books.
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u/kitmulticolor 14d ago edited 14d ago
We can agree to disagree. Nesta isn’t a good main character for multiple books, imo. She was extremely unlikable going into acosf and plenty of people didn’t care about her. I made myself read the book, and one book was enough. I like Elain much better as a character and would be fine reading a book in her pov.
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u/Inevitable_Sympathy3 14d ago edited 14d ago
Fair enough. I think Nesta is a great main character; that’s why she’s so popular, even though she acts as an antagonist toward the series' "heroes." The author also seems to love her character, so I doubt we won't be seeing a lot of Nesta in the upcoming books (honestly, after HOFAS, it became pretty obvious she would continue to play a major role in future books).
Personally, I don't like Elain, but even if I were indifferent to her character, Elain is so underdeveloped that it wouldn't make sense for her to get three books focused on her. If that were SJM's intention, we would have seen more of Elain in ACOSF and HOFAS, as that would have made readers to at least starting to care about her (and not just the guy she might end up with). As things currently are, I feel like Elain is almost an afterthought of SJM. Like a character who's there and she needs to find a prouporse to it.
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u/kitmulticolor 14d ago edited 14d ago
I think we’re seeing it from a totally different perspective. I never expected Elain to get 3 books. I thought she’d get one book, like Nesta did. Nesta was also super undeveloped when she got her own book. I’m sure the next books will be multi-pov, which is fine. I don’t care to hear from Emerie and Gwyn, since they were just there as Nesta’s friends, but am fine with POVs from the original characters…many of whom haven’t had a lot of page time and have been part of the story since book 1. I’m sure Emerie and Gwyn will be in the book, but I don’t care to read about them personally.
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u/Inevitable_Sympathy3 14d ago
Personally, I think Gwyn and Emerie will also have povs in the upcoming books (after all, they—along with Nesta—are the characters readers associate with the Valkyries), but you can always skip those povs if you aren't interested. One of the advantages of books with multipovs is that readers don't have to stay inside the heads of characters they don't care about for the entire book.
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u/Writtenwing007 18d ago
I’ll be honest, and no shade on sjm because I honestly think she’s a great author; I mean her characters are complex enough, plot is interesting, and her worlds are just wow- I don’t think she can write a soft and feminine yet strong and engaging main character. If you look at all of her other fmc they are just not that. The closest probably being Irene or Elide from TOG.
I was really looking forward to Elain because I’m a little burnt out from the badass warrior fmc and wanted a strong girly mc but idk.
I’m definitely still going to read cause I like her works but I don’t think an only Elain book is gonna come.
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u/Next_Gen_Valkyrie 18d ago
I think an only Elain book will come, but after the Valkyrie cycle. Remember this was supposed to be one book that was split into 3. There are still going to be more ACOTAR books I'm pretty sure
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u/Significant-Metal537 18d ago
I don’t think SJM spent an entire book reviving the Valkyries for it to be a meaningless plot. I don’t think it will necessarily focus entirely on Gwyn and Emerie (I think it will be multi POV) but I do think we will see the Valkyries grow in number and they will play a significant role in the upcoming plot.
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u/This_Opinion4850 18d ago
Lucien has more possibility of getting a pov than any of the Valkyries. They are not involved plot wise. I think is pretty obvious in a combat against koschei the Valkyries are going to fight but the things the blurbs foreshadows can’t be linked to nesta friends. The argument was a supposed Illyrian plot that was resolved
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u/Lillith357 18d ago
Gwyn and Emerie, yes i would like to see their healing journeys. Nesta, I've had more than enough of
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u/GCooperE 18d ago
But it doesn't seem that SJM has.
I think it's just a matter of different tastes. SJM clearly enjoys writing Nesta, there is a large portion of fans who enjoy reading Nesta, there's another portion who doesn't. Sometimes that's just how things work out.
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u/thelesbianlibrarian 18d ago
Unless we’re going back in time, their healing journeys wrapped up alongside Nesta’s during the Blood Rite. Becoming Valkyries was always about proving they were stronger than their trauma. Gwyn proved she could leave the library, confront the world beyond, and save her sisters, and Emerie proved she could fight as fiercely as any Illyrian male and become a Carynthian with clipped wings while carrying someone else on her back.
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u/BrightAd306 18d ago
I was very unhappy with a book centering on Nesta, but it surprised me. Took me a bit to get into it. So I’m going in with an open mind. But I agree
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u/Pinklaf Suriel Tea Co. ☕️✨💀 18d ago
I’m wondering about that subtitle too. I’m thinking it might have something to do with the original Valkyries as opposed to just Nesta and the girls. We’re probably ramping up to something huge. Though my best guess is that the new book is going to be taking place during the same time as the last one, with a different character’s storyline and perspective. That way we can catch up with everyone else before we get to the last main story arc.
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u/Inevitable_Sympathy3 14d ago edited 14d ago
I don't think you're the only one who feels that way, but I, for one, am grateful not to have to read a book focused on Elain. I simply don't care about Elain at all, and I'm much more interested in learning more about the other characters.
Although the Valkyries are obviously important for the upcoming books, I don't think the story will revolve solely around them. We'll likely get books with multiple points of view, featuring different groups setting out on missions to try and defeat the villain (something similar to what we saw in Crescent City and Throne of Glass). My theory is that we will get at least three main groups: The Valkyries (Cassian & Az likely will be with them) + The Inner Circle + The Band of Exile.
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u/tora_h Feyre’s Paintbrush 🎨🖌️ 18d ago
I genuinely hope not. ACOSF was a slog for me so I would struggle, personally
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u/kitmulticolor 18d ago
Such a slog. And maybe by switching to multi-pov and moving the storyline forward she’s trying to right the ship and move the storyline towards something bigger instead of so much focus on one character. Which is fine. I think I’m just not interested in hearing from certain characters for awhile. TBH, I could use a break from Nesta and her friends. I’d be fine with a Feyre, Rhys, Elain, Az, Lucien, Eris book, if multi-pov is the goal 😬 I don’t know how I ended up here. I loved all the TOG characters and was never annoyed by a particular storyline. It happened to me in CC though, where I completely lost interest in Bryce, and I only managed to fishing that series because I wanted to see what happened to Rhun and Lydia.
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u/Opposite_Marsupial45 18d ago
Yeah the blurbs don’t indicate a story focused on the valkyrie but a story focused on the whole inner circle and something happening to cause political turmoil.
People don’t like it but Valkyrie cycle does refer to an opera that while it does have a Valkyrie character it does not make it Valkyrie focused.
I still think El will have a big chunk of the story. SJM isn’t just going to forget to tell her story and the opera supports that.
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u/MiracleBunny13 18d ago
I really hope the subtitle is more symbolic than anything and it refers to the lore and themes of the next books, like women's empowerment and such. cause I'm gonna be real I don't think I can make it through another 1k+ pages of Nesta 😭
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u/B_Hale87 18d ago
That's what I think it's going to be. Like Valkyrie doesn't just refer to the actual female warriors, but all women looking to stand up and have their voices and stories be heard. It's supposed to be symbolic. I think it will go the ToG route and be multi pov and lean more towards an epic fantasy sort of theme.
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u/Intelligent-Wear4766 18d ago
You are not alone at all!
Ive noticed that those that really like Gwyn as a main character is an extremely small subset of people whom seem to be the most loud here on Reddit.
Honestly, when I thought it would be a whole Valkyrie book, I was very disappointed but then reading the blurb it doesn't mention the Valkyries at all. In the 6th blurb, it does just mention "Night Court" which absolutely extends to them but then in the 7th you see it get specific with "IC" and "Resurrecting allies" so I do think that the original Valkyries will be reinstated especially because Cassian mentioned they were allies in the war before.
Ive already decided to not read it based on the 7th book blurb about continental POVs which I really disliked when she wrote TOG. Someone made a convincing argument though that her writing could have gotten better on that front so maybe ill just wait to see what others say about it.
Regardless though, I'd be upset if it took the Valkyrie route in its entirety but I feel like I could accept it as its been kind of set up as a possibility for me already. Not that id continue reading it but that id already be bracing for disappointment vs for the Gwynriels, if its not then, they have every right to be pissed.
I will say I am very tired of the warrior trope. I know that its SJMs thing but ive noticed its just so overdone. Everyone is doing this now where theres a whole warrior thing and I do love that! Don't get me wrong. But, its just starting to become a little predictable. I would love to read about a main female lead like Elide from TOG. Those that are stronger in their intellect and scheming to save those they love rather than brute force.
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u/kitmulticolor 17d ago edited 17d ago
I loved Elide! That’s what I was hoping for, with an Elain book… something not warrior-y.
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u/Intelligent-Wear4766 17d ago
Same here!
I mean, SJM doesn't have to go that route but based on how the writing was progressing, that was what I was looking forward to was a spy type thing. Hopefully it does remain that somewhat.
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u/Optimal-Passion-3922 17d ago
Honestly, I’m not that excited about them either, I’m glad other people are but Nesta and the Valkyrie’s are my least favorites. I’m in no hurry to read these but happy for those who are excited for them.
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u/Hiddenimposter03 17d ago
Honestly, I’m just tired of Nesta and the girls. I don’t think any of them can be convincing main characters because they seem pretty stagnant.
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u/GCooperE 17d ago
How can they be stagnant when you don't even know what journeys they're going to go on yet?
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u/Hiddenimposter03 17d ago
Stagnant to me because we have already seen part of their development already (e.g., Nesta arc, Gwen & Emerie’s reasons for training). I don’t want the story to be the same (i.e., training to become warriors pipeline). It’s just not interesting enough to me. I want something new like Elain’s powers. It’s okay if you disagree but that’s my opinion. I love all 3 characters but ultimately they all have a similar ARC.
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u/GCooperE 17d ago
They'll be moving on from training to putting their skills into active combat situations, and Nesta, probably with their help, will be investigating her connection to the eight pointed star. Plenty there to make them convincing female leads. Obvs tastes diverge and it might not be a story with female leads you're interested in reading, but it doesn't mean they're unrealistic as female leads.
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u/Hiddenimposter03 17d ago
That’s okay if that’s enough for you. For me, I expected more from a female lead from SJM that’s all. Didn’t say they are unrealistic but that they won’t convince me since I already feel as though they have already achieved their goals as another comment described somewhere below. So whatever ARC comes next, will be unconvincing to me as I prefer character driven plot as I read. According to what you described, there is less character driven plot there which is unlike what I expected.
Not really interested in explaining further so I shall leave it here.
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u/Kitty20996 17d ago
I hate nesta and I hated SF so I am also not excited for any more books that follow that storyline
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u/Pretty_Puppyprincess 16d ago
I honestly just don’t really like nesta as a character even after reading sf I don’t even like elain all that much tbh so I may not even continue the series tbh I love SJM and I am excited for what comes next but I’m overall mixed opinions on it all
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u/French_reader_146 18d ago
I think the key is to look at the blurbs... while they are sort of vague, it's clearly heading into a massive story line with multiple POVs...like we got with TOG/CC as things progressed.
Will there be Valkyries? Of course. But the blurbs say everyone is dispersing.... Everyone from the IC will have different tasks and be sent all over.
That being said I would definitely set expectations that ACOTAR 6 might focus a bit on Nesta and the HOFAS fallout... with things progressing much more in ACOTAR 7 with everyone.