A Court of Splintered Harmony

The arrival of Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Splintered Harmony, the long-awaited continuation of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, feels almost surreal – after all, it has been five years since the previous novel. The story is fiery, the pace barely slows down, and the narrative jumps between multiple points of view. And yet Maas still manages to give almost every character a distinct voice. We do have a few reservations, though. But first, the story.

One warning: it is particularly difficult to follow what is happening if you have not read Crescent City, Maas’ other series, where the two worlds intersect. A Court of Splintered Harmony picks up precisely after the crossover with Bryce’s world.

As for the continuation itself, there is no single main protagonist here. The story is told from several perspectives, particularly Azriel’s, as well as primarily Feyre’s and Nesta’s. In fact, Nesta is the main driving force behind the story and, surprisingly even to me, she is becoming one of my favorite characters.

Against the backdrop of their complicated, strained relationships and their attempts to recover after the war with Hybern, their ancient enemy, Koschei the Deathless, is preparing to make his move. The Night Court searches for allies among the other courts against Koschei, only to discover that some of them are planning an invasion of the human lands, which they intend to divide among themselves.

The danger facing the Night Court, Feyre, Rhys, their son, and their family is enormous and very real – especially once they learn that their enemies are searching for ancient artifacts created by the Cauldron in order to strengthen their armies.

There is no significant change in Maas’ writing style. This installment is exceptionally dynamic, with very few genuinely tedious passages, although the presence of certain scenes feels rather unnecessary. The book reads incredibly quickly, and one of the scenes near the end was outright cinematic. You will know exactly which one I mean. I have absolutely no doubt.

Even within this relatively short continuation, Maas manages to explore Azriel’s character in considerably greater depth. Until now, at least for me, he had remained almost entirely wrapped in shadows – much like he is throughout the story itself. His forbidden attraction to Elain, and the love triangle involving Lucien, become particularly explosive in this installment. But one particular moment in the book made me wonder much more about Elain herself.

Like Azriel, she has largely existed on the edges of the story until now. Once again, she is somewhat “deprived of her own voice” here, but several specific moments have made me suspect that Maas has something planned for her – something that may surprise her sisters in a particularly unpleasant way. For the first time, we also see Feyre and Rhys as parents, while the rift between Cassian and Nesta seems increasingly impossible to repair.

BOOKLOVERS Rating: 4/5

We missed Maas’ world, the pacing was exactly where it needed to be, but A Court of Splintered Harmony feels more like preparation for the next major conflict than a fully self-contained novel. It raises far more questions than it answers. Some passages sounded rather absurd, but Maas has always had moments like that. They are becoming easier and easier to overlook. Or perhaps we have simply become immune to them. This is as much a review as it is a fan sharing their impressions, but one thing is certain: It needed just a little bit more to truly reach the level that five years of waiting had promised.