Audiobook Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOTAR #3.1)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Narrator: Jennifer Ikeda

Audiobook Length: 6 hours 23 minutes

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 a far-reaching impact on the future of their court.

Narrated by Feyre and Rhysand, this wondrous tale of hope and promise picks up after A Court of Wings and Ruin and sets the stage for the thrilling events in the future books. 

A Court of Frost and Starlight is the fourth story in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. This story reads like some nice fanservice to those that loved the first three novels while providing a transition to Nesta’s story. While it is not necessary to read this one, it is a nice warm story to give some additional exploration of the characters. It takes place months after the war in the Night Court. The novella begins with Feyre as her and Rhys are dealing with the aftermath after some events in the previous novels.

The Winter Solstice celebration is approaching, and Feyre would love for her sisters, Elain and Nesta to be a part of it; however, both are still struggling with not being human anymore.  Velaris is also being rebuilt after the war with Hybern, so Rhys and Feyre are navigating their new tasks.  This is Feyre’s first winter in the Night Court and her first winter with Rhys. Compared to the previous novels, the novella moves as a more relaxed pace. After a lot of discussion about how much Feyre’s misses painting, it was nice to see her do it. The painting process provides her a nice way to heal and return to her passion. Many of the moments between Rhys and Feyre showcase their relationship and how well they work together. While the subject of children was interesting, I wish that it were explored a lot more as Feyre’s stance changes a lot without a lot of explanation. There is some, but I wanted more from this subplot.

There is a larger focus on Nesta compared to Elain as Nesta will be the next main character along with Cassian. This means that although Elain, Lucien, Mor, and Azriel are all featured, they are not in the spotlight as much. Lucien and Elain are mates, but I still need more to their story and hope they are incorporated more in future novels. As for Cassian and Nesta, it was nice to see their relationship as Cass understands that Nesta is dealing with everything she experienced during the battle and trying to heal. Cass is not without his own traumas and backstory, so I am very excited to see how their story will play out beginning in the next novel!