Leo grudgingly joins in even though she has other ideas: She’s invented a water filtration system that, if patented, could provide a steady income-that is if Leo’s calculating Aunt Freja, the Captain of the ship hosting the festivities, stops blocking her at every turn. In order to salvage the fortune they accrued before humans fled the frozen Earth 170 years ago, Leonie’s father is forcing her to participate in the Valg Season, an elaborate set of matchmaking events held to facilitate the marriages of rich and royal teens. Nineteen-year-old Princess Leonie Kolburg’s royal family is bankrupt. With introspection replacing battles, this extended epilogue gives breathing room between dramatic arcs but is best for readers who’d prefer downtime with the characters over high stakes.įor the second time in her life, Leo must choose between her family and true love. Several plotlines are predictably resolved. Aside from occasional minor characters, most of the inhuman cast seem white. While Rhys handles politics, Feyre’s storyline revolves around Solstice shopping and art’s potential for healing trauma-when the lovers aren’t telepathically sexting or craving each other.

Severely struggling Nesta self-medicates through alcohol, meaningless sex, pushing everyone away, and finding every last seedy corner of the otherwise utopian Velaris. While Elain is becoming more comfortable, she still wants nothing to do with Lucien (who feels like an outsider nearly everywhere and has his hands full with a self-destructive Tamlin).

Cassian’s and Mor’s backstories are explored, and prickly Amren’s low-key relationship storyline is supplemented by her High Fae adjustments (including bodily humor). Nods to trouble on the horizon (dissent in the Illyrian ranks, Fae courts eyeing for expansion, and a politically fraught situation among humans) remain distant, the lack of progress at times resulting in frustrating repetition.

In a change of pace from the usual epic struggle against powerful forces, this slimmer-than-usual volume follows the cast during the festive Winter Solstice holiday. A glimpse of the characters dealing with rebuilding and fallout after A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017).

Furyborn reviews