Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Book: A Court of Frost and Starlight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.5
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 229
Release: May 1st, 2018

Hope warms the coldest night.

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.

This is a novella, meaning the book itself is extremely short. Which I knew walking into it (it's just over 200 pages! A sliver of a fraction of Maas' normal book), so I didn't have a lot of expectations in regards to plot or character development.

Mainly, this book was a soft tie-in to the following spin-off books in the series. We got to check in with the characters in the aftermath of the war, kind of see how people are doing, and how the rest of the world is faring. This book sets up a lot of threads that will be pulled in the other books, mainly some character intrigue and hints at backstory for a few, such as Nesta, Cassian, Lucien, Elain, Jurien, Vassa, and Mor. And did I mention that there were chapters from Nesta, Cassian, and Mor's perspectives? YES. YES.

We also got to see Feyre not only truly recovering from everything that's been happening to her these past few books, but also how she's helping Velaris recover as their High Lady. And does Feyre make one heck of a High Lady. Coming from her beginnings in poverty and fear of survival during winter, Feyre is compassionate beyond belief towards her people, knowing exactly what it is to be in their shoes. She was always trying to do more and help more.

The most intriguing part, which I totally call as completely deliberate (especially given the little sneak peak we get of the next book at the end) is Nesta. She's clearly not in a good place. And nor is Cassian, with tensions growing in the Illyrian camps against the Night Court. And since those two never quite got along...well, let's just say I'm very looking forward to the next book! The simmering tension and attraction between those two is devastating, and I'm shipping those two. Though the bigger question: are they mates??? If so, they are going to be one heck of a fiery couple. I can't wait to see them actually working together, and not fighting!

As a novella, this book lived up to the low expectations I had. Mainly, it introduced some new threads for the author to pull, and hinted at the unresolved problems that still need to be solved. It's a a very nice "coming home" feeling to read about these beloved characters again, but there's not much substance to grab onto, which was expected. That's for the later spin off books. But for now, all that's there to do is to wait for first of the spinoffs to come out...which I found out might not be until 2020. WHAT. *groans*