Matcha & Motifs Book Review: 5/5 

!!!CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

After being saved and transformed into a High Fae, Feyre might be the key to preventing war, but that’s only if she can overcome her traumas from Under the Mountain. 

Plot 

This book is phenomenal! I 100% get the hype now. I am so utterly in love and invested in these characters and their dynamics, I was so submerged in this world and I couldn’t think of anything else except returning to it.

For the most part, I really enjoyed the pacing of this book. With the overarching plot of war-is-knocking-at-our-door, each mission naturally leads to the next. It felt very natural and yet necessary. I love how the plot was intertwined with Feyre’s healing. In order to stop Hybern, Feyre had to combat her fears and let go of its power over her. She had to face her traumas and was in a way, forced to open up in order to save the world again. I love the mixture of being stationary in Velaris while also feeling adventurous. 

You know, I think it’s common for series to start the first book off as a banger and it’s so amazing and the second book always falls short, not that it’s bad or horrible, but just slightly not-as-amazing. I think this series did the exact opposite. I liked the first book, but I wasn’t blown away. I think reading this second book just made me an ACOTAR fan. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was full of humor, adventure, fighting, conversations, love and friendship. 

Feyre 

I love Feyre’s character arc. 

Somehow this felt more like Feyre’s book than the first book. 

I now get why Feyre had to be so frustrating in the beginning of this book. I’m not saying that her experiences Under the Mountain weren’t valid and that she shouldn’t be experiencing traumas. I just felt like she gave up. There’s a line where Rhysand says “You gave up, you stopped fighting” and that is so true. I think this bugged me so much in the beginning of the book. 

Of course Feyre does undergo her character development and I really love seeing the healing process. From her puking her guts every night from nightmares, being a shell of a person, not feeling anything to seeing everyone’s hardships, their laughter and friendship. She learned how to fight her own panic and heal again. Feyre was smiling again, laughing again, wanting to paint again. She began to see the beauty in the world around her like the artist she is. I honestly love to see it. I love that she wanted to learn how to wield her new magical powers and train in combat. To grow and be stronger.

I love that she’s so appreciative and acknowledges how Rhysand had helped her through it. By being there for her, by making her talk about it with him and he shared his vulnerability with her too, entrusting her with the darkness and horrors he experienced under the mountain too.

Tamlin couldn’t give her that. He tried to contain her, to protect her, to make her into a symbol of rebuild and peace. He didn’t wake or asked her about her nightmares. He didn’t give her what she required to heal. 

But Rhysand did all of that. He endured and even egged on her wrath to keep her feeling something. To not let her reduce to numbness and nothing. He pushed her to become better and to fight for herself. He didn’t coddle her. He gave her choices. He pushed her to become her best self and see his friends and grow.  

I’ve got to say, I’m really loving Rhysand. I like the complexities of him. The world sees him as a villain. Someone who’s ruthless and enjoys inflicting pain. He doesn’t care how the world sees him as long as the people he loves and the city he wants to protect are safe. He uses his reputation and power to protect his people because he’s a dreamer.

I enjoy seeing her fight and grow as a person. I like that she was crucial to the success of the team and in turn, she had to heal and grow. It took her so much strength to go into the Prison, and I feel like for the first time she was voicing her struggles because she had to. In order to exchange information with the Bone Carver, she opened up about herself. Similarly, when determining if she could find objects that were connected to the High Lords, Rhysand sent her into the Weaver’s Cottage to find an item of his that was lost. She went in using her wits, strength and regulated her panic in order to move forward and succeed. I loved seeing Feyre win. 

Romance 

The romance in this book is absolutely intoxicating and delicious. I think Rhysand has got to be one of the best male leads ever. He’s probably my favorite. My number one book boyfriend.

I love seeing the banter between Rhysand and Feyre. I love the little nuggets sprinkled throughout the series and how it all connects together. Like when Feyre was painting on their dresser in their small cottage, she painted flowers for Elaine, flames for Nesta and the night sky for herself. This was a moment when Amarantha knew Skyfall was important to Rhysand and kept him from seeing it, so he sent that image to Feyre. It’s so meaningful and beautiful. 

I like that they are equals. Almost equal in strength, but I loved it when Feyre caught the Suriel again so it could reveal how to save Rhysand who was pierced with an ash arrow. And not to mention the entire process of saving him, how she tracked him down and winnowed to him and then took down Hybern’s soldiers. She is so very badass and I love to see it. 

I liked that when she learned they were mates, she wasn’t just some dumb lovestruck girl, but instead, she thought about how unfair it was that he kept that information from her. And with some alone time, she defused her anger and came to understand. This is a beautiful relationship to witness. 

When Feyre begins falling in love with Rhysand, I think it shares the hard-to-swallow idea that the first person you love isn’t always the person for you. We all want a fairy tale love story, but sometimes it takes looking in to realize how toxic some couples are. In this case, she was willing to fall for the first person who showed her a little bit of kindness. This is so real and relatable in our world so I can see how so many people resonated with this. 

This was a sensational read, and I think it’s worth reading that first okay book in order to fully grasp and understand the beauty of this book.

I highly recommend this for romantasy lovers, this book alone deserves all the hype it gets.