I wasn’t going to write about ACOTAR. There’s enough commentary on this series already, and I didn’t think my voice would be helpful. But when a reader saw that I was reading it and asked my thoughts, (hi Cat!) I of course obliged. Because as you know by now, I have lots of thoughts. About everything.
ACOTAR is the acronym for A Court of Thorns and Roses. It is the first book in the wildly successful fantasy series by Sarah J. Maas that I’m sure you’ve heard of. If you haven’t, congratulations on having a life outside of the Internet and Algorithms™️!
I’ve known about ACOTAR for a while, and until recently, had no desire to read it. I am aware of the zeitgeist. I say that both as a general statement, and as my response to whenever someone asks me if I’ve watched such-and-such TV show. I don’t watch TV, but I am probably aware of it. This goes for books, too.1 Twilight really did a number on me as a teen: whenever I see hugely popular books, I immediately assume it is terribly written.2 I’m sorry, but this is an intrinsic response built into my system, and it takes me years to work through it.
Case in point: I bought the first ACOTAR book in 2021, and it sat on my bookshelf until this year. I was curious, and wanted to know more. I wasn’t going to buy *all of them* without reading the first one, but then…never read the first one. I honestly wouldn’t have read it, and it would have sat on my shelf for some other day, except for the fact that I read Fourth Wing and then my Internet algorithm got ruined. Because apparently, if you’re into romance and dragons, you will also be into romance and faeries.3
So, here we are. I just finished A Court of Mist and Fury, and am now starting A Court of Wings and Ruin. These are my ‘At Home Books’ as I call them, because they are chonks and I am NOT carting a 700+ page book around with me. Thank you, no.
To me, ACOTAR has to be discussed both as a book and a phenomenon. The two are intertwined and almost inseparable, but I’ll do my best to break down each. Strap on your knives, grab your ash arrows, and follow me through The Wall.
ACOTAR as Book
Before we go any further, a giant, giant caveat. There will be spoilers ahead. I cannot talk about this book series without talking about spoilers, partially because it’s everywhere, and partially because that’s how I came to these books. I looked up the plots back in 2021 to see what the hype was, then shrugged and went about my life. So even as I work my way through the books for the first time now, I still know what’s coming.4 That has neither ruined nor enhanced my experience, it is just context for understanding the unfolding commentary.
ACOTAR takes place in Prythian, a land where The Wall divides the faerie realms from the mortal realms. The faeries and humans…are not friends. There was a War five centuries prior that resulted in the Wall being built, and humans being freed from a life of servitude to immortal faeries. We follow our protagonist, Feyre, a human woman who’s taken beyond the Wall as punishment for killing a faerie.
Faerie world is broken up into Courts - there’s 4 seasonal courts (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) and 3 solar courts (Day, Dawn, Night.) Each are ruled by High Lords, faeries with all powerful magic. Feyre has now taken up residence in the Spring Court, and there is a dashingly handsome man in a mask who is very grumpy. The first book is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, so you can see where this is going.
The worldbuilding is enjoyable, and I like the concept of a world broken down into lands where it’s only ever one season.5 The book picks up steam when Feyre goes Under the Mountain on a quest to free her grumpy lover, Tamlin, from a long standing curse. There, we get into magical trials, PTSD, and meet a whole other cast of magical and witty faeries.
Feyre is eventually turned into a faerie, and that opens up a whole other host of adventures. The subsequent books do a generally decent job of exploring complex PTSD (as in, PTSD that is complex, not C-PTSD itself) and what happens when what you once wanted is now no longer enough. There also is smut - some of it is tastefully done, and some of it is off the wall bonkers, so there’s something for everyone.
Basically - I get the hype. Like Fourth Wing, these books are eminently readable and fun. When I need a light read where I don’t do much except sit back and enjoy, I know where to look.
Despite their popularity, that doesn’t mean that these books are immune from critique. The book series in and of itself is very centered around war, and there’s a lot of physical violence. Most of the main relationships are very heterosexual, too, though there is LGBTQ+ representation on the side. As the books go on, the plot is not plotting: plot choices are made at the expense of other character’s arcs and development, and the narrative doesn’t support them.6 The books also start to get SUPER LONG, and are not as well edited as the series progresses. Anne Helen Petersen looks at this well in her
newsletter, which examines the romantasy book phenomenon as a whole.
For me, the biggest issue starts to be worldbuilding. Yes, that thing I said I enjoyed at first. And I did! And still do to an extent. The idea is interesting, but it’s clear that SJM doesn’t entirely understand her own world, and hasn’t fully defined the rules of either the magic system or the world itself. Too many things are left vague or unnamed, which are then ~conveniently~ resolved in later books. Case in point: there’s six mortal queens that show up in A Court of Mist and Fury. That’s as much information we get, other than what they look like. Six Mortal Queens. No names, no lands they rule, nada. That’s it. I’m not saying every author has to create Tolkien levels of worldbuilding and history, even though that’s my instinct, but this to me is pretty unacceptable. Sure, it gives you as an author flexibility to create as you go, but as a reader? It’s frustrating as all hell. Why should I care about these ladies? You don’t even know who they are! The lack of detail and more than surface level worldbuilding doesn’t exactly leave me feeling confident as a reader in the author’s world crafting abilities. It’s the biggest problem I think Fourth Wing will have in its coming books - when you don’t have a clear arc planned out a series at the beginning, you have to throw things together at the last minute to make them work. As me how I know.
My ultimate verdict is that I think they are enjoyable books that you should give a shot if fantasy and faeries are anything that interest you. If not, maybe give them a pass. As Walt Whitman once said, “(I contain multitudes.)” I can be a smart, academic woman who still enjoys reading rom coms on the side. That doesn’t decrease my value as a scholar or writer (even if the Internet would have you think it does.) It also doesn’t make me a bad feminist, either. Wanting to be loved and cherished is a fundamental part of being human, one which we often overlook and denigrate. Which brings me to why I think this book has been so successful. But first, who this book is for:
Good for: fantasy girlies, hate readers, escapism, fans of faeries, romance, smut
Bad for: people who dislike fantasy, massive book series, faeries, smut
ACOTAR as Social Phenomenon
The first ACOTAR book was released in 2015, and their popularity has only increased since then. The general benchmark is that a book will only be viable for 10 years, and these are still going strong nearly a decade on. So, why? Why are books like ACOTAR and Fourth Wing such a global phenomenon?
On a basic consumerist level, more women than men read. Most best-selling authors are women, and in general, women know what other women and femme folk want to read about. So by simple math, these books would be popular just because more women than men are reading. But that doesn’t explain all of it, at least in my opinion.
Don’t take my word for it. The New York Times ran an article last year looking at Rebecca Yarros and her shoot to fame for Fourth Wing - even though she’s been publishing books for nearly 10 years. There’s clearly something about these books that is resonating with millions of people (mostly women.) And before we proceed: I’m grouping ACOTAR and Fourth Wing together because they both have similar elements: danger, powerful female main characters, fantasy and romance combined, shadow daddies, etc.
What I think ACOTAR provides for many women is wish fulfillment. Here is a character, Feyre, who not only has a man who absolutely loves and adores her, but also supports her. He doesn’t coddle her or try to repress her powers or abilities in any way. He in fact encourages them, and wants her to stand as her own person. ACOTAR’s Feyre and Fourth Wing’s Violet are characters who are allowed to be both strong and feminine at the same time. They can be leaders and powerful and also be loved for that. They’re don’t have to diminish who they are to please partners or the world around them. AND - most importantly, their partners are men who have some level of self awareness and reflection, meaning they both grow and evolve and are not completely useless and need to be taken care of. They’re even allowed to show emotion, too! In sum: the men are actually partners.
This is a powerful vision of what most straight women and femme folks want for themselves, and have a hard time finding in a society that sneers at what they find pleasurable or meaningful, and that devalues everything associated with femininity. Rom-coms and other so-called ‘chick lit’ books are some of the most popular and best selling books year over year. Yet as a society, we denigrate these books, saying that because they aren’t the most high brow and academic of all books, they don’t have value. Just as there are prestige TV shows and sitcoms, there are prestige literary books and fun books. We can have both. It’s when women are shamed for the things they like and enjoy that we run into problems.
Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour last year showed just how many women are looking for spaces where they can just be. Be feminine and soft and kind and emotional without having to worry about other men (or women!) coming to tear them down and criticize them for daring to dream and be happy. In ACOTAR and Fourth Wing, the main protagonists get this and more. In the real world, that’s often not the case for most women, myself included. Ask my why I’m still single. The bar is literally in hell. So yes, while I peruse the dim state of masculinity in the real world, I will choose an escapist version where my dreams could be reality.7
Again, that doesn’t mean that these books as social phenomenons aren’t immune from criticism. See previously mentioned: heterosexuality. I’ve mentioned before how Fourth Wing, though it has a disabled main character, still others her and is not great disability representation. Also, these fandoms, ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, the Bey Hive and Swifties alike, can get absolutely rabid if they see something they do not like. Smarter people than I have written about the dangers of parasocial relationships, and some of the behaviors in these fandoms are not healthy or safe.
I also have to note that both of these authors - Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros - are white women. I’m not sure if this means anything - or what, if it does - but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it. Both are mothers, and both are writing about primarily heterosexual relationships. There is nothing wrong with that in and of itself - but I do think it’s telling that the most popular books right now both follow a similar pattern and are written by women with similar backgrounds. It does beg the question of whether or not a romantasy series by, say, N.K. Jemisin or Nnedi Okorafor would be as popular. I don’t know.
What does it mean?
So, why do we care? Like most popular books or movies, ACOTAR will continue to have a life of its own, regardless of whether or not you participate. It’s become a juggernaut at this point, and the constant attention it gets on Instagram and TikTok will not change that.
I am a fan of anything that encourages literacy. Not just because I adore books (though there is that). In general, we as a culture not only have too many screens in our lives, but also have a dire lack of critical thinking and reading skills. If a book about hot faeries gets you to read and then encourages you to read more, maybe diversifying your shelf in the process? Go for it. Who am I to stop you. Anecdotally, much like the Harry Potter books when I was a kid, ACOTAR has inspired many people (primarily women) to return to reading. I have seen many, many posts talking about how ACOTAR is a gateway drug, not only for Sarah J. Maas as an author, but also reading in general. There are certainly, certainly worse things to be doing than buying books and reading. There are literal memes about this!
So I will not stop you. In fact, I will encourage you to continue your newfound reading habit. However, much like anything in the zeitgeist, ACOTAR needs to be analyzed and assessed critically. It is just a book - it is neither an angel nor a devil, not as some people on the Internet would make it out to be, at least. Don’t let a bunch of people on the Internet take away your reasoning. Even me! These are just my thoughts and observations, but don’t cede your thinking brain to the internet. Do your own due diligence, and decide if ACOTAR, or any other big cultural/social media phenomenon, is right for you.8
Personally? ACOTAR has been good for me. I’ve described the book series as the reading equivalent of watching your favorite sitcom. I know what I’m in for. I’m expecting to enjoy myself and be entertained. If I don’t have the brain power to read in French, or read about the political process of how rumors develop, at least know I know I have something on my shelf I read. Even if my brain is mush, reading will still be done this day.
ACOTAR has also led me to reconnect with some middle school friends, as the minute I told my friend Jessi I was reading ACOTAR, she added me to their shared Instagram group chat, which consists of constant ACOTAR memes. I love it. I don’t foresee myself joining the ACOTAR fandom in any other way besides this, and this is all I need. I get a good book to read, giggles, and camaraderie from fellow book lovers. What’s not to love?
What about you, friends? Have you read ACOTAR? Or any other wildly popular book series? Did it live up to your expectations or not? I’d love to hear! And check out the footer of today’s post for updates. Spring brings spring cleaning, so I’ll be reorganizing things over the coming weeks. See you on Friday!
Though I do read a lot of books. I just mean that I’m generally aware of what goes on in the literature/writing/publishing industry even if I haven’t read something myself.
As much of a cult classic that that book is, it is so poorly written that I could not make it through the first two pages. I said what I said. And no, I will not link it here for that reason.
I hate that I’m so basic, but what can I say? I’m a simple gal.
That’s another discussion of why I look up the plots of things before I read or watch them.
Though I would not choose to live in Spring because allergies.
This is why I’m stopping at A Court of Frost and Starlight - I refuse to accept Feyre’s plot in of A Court of Silver Flames.
This is how you know sexuality isn’t a choice: if I could just choose, I would…just not be attracted to men in any way and my life would be so much easier.
This is as much of a read on me as it is practical advice. I am nothing if not self aware.
*insert that smiley face that's also tearing up because they're so happy they got the ACOTAR chaotic reader they wanted*
two notable differences here between us: i LOVED and INHALED twilight in high school (never once gave it a second thought about plot/sentence structure/character arcs/etc) and made the assumption that the ACOTAR books *would* be well written because they were so popular (i've been proven so, so wrong on this trudge through #1)
i will continue my trudge through #1, only for the fact that my bookclub is covering it this summer and i refuse to lead discussion on a book i haven't read fully. jury is still out on whether or not i read more in the series.
horrifyingly this makes me want to revisit twilight (lololol - we'll see)
Thinking about giving Sarah J Maas another chance. I read the first Crescent City book and was underwhelmed. I felt like I read 800 pages where not a lot happens. I own the Throne of Glass books but have yet to read them, that could be a post right there, "A deep dive into the Throne of Glass series." I just started reading Fourth Wing, only a couple chapters in but I can see the appeal.