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A Court of Frost and Starlight is the fourth book in the ACOTAR series, and despite its brevity, it fills in a lot of loose plot holes.

It acts as a bridge between the war with Hybern, the romance plot between Rhysand and Feyre, and the events of A Court of Silver Flames, as well as the romance between Nesta and Cassian.

I’ve read this book twice, and did I hate it the first time I read it? Yes! But, after re-reading it, I do have a newfound appreciation (maybe tolerance is a better word) for ACOFAS.

Are the weird Christmas/Winter Solstice fan fiction vibes of this book weird? Also, yes. However, we do get to see some more of Azriel, so that alone may make it worth the read.

This is easily the worst book in the series, but I would  not recommend skipping it because some plot points are set up for the next ACOTAR series. 

So, why is A Court of Frost and Starlight so short? A Court of Frost and Starlight is so short simply because Sarah J. Maas never intended ACOFAS to be a full-length book. It was meant to act as a short story to set up her next full-length book in the series. Technically, A Court of Frost and Starlight is book 3.1 and is a novella between A Court of Wings and Ruin and A Court of Silver Flames.

Huh, okay! However, that doesn’t excuse this bizarre addition to the ACOTAR series. Let’s take a look at ACOFAS in all its weirdness!

What Was The Point Of A Court of Frost and Starlight?

The point of ACOFAS is, in my opinion, equal parts fanservice and equal parts set up for ACOSF. The Nesta and Cassian enemies-to-lovers that we swoon over in ACOSF are established in ACOFAS.

At the end of A Court of Wings and Ruin, Nesta, as a character, is in a lot better of a place mentally.

While she is in the thick of it with the war and Hybern, she has not let her trauma really sink in. Her trauma (and consequently her working through it) is a very large element of the plot in ACOSF.

SJM also establishes some developments between Rhysand and Feyre in A Court of Frost and Starlight.

This allowed Maas to not have to focus so much on establishing the River House or the conceiving of Nyx (Rhys and Feyres child).

Instead, she could just focus on the pregnancy. This plot point was also a way of keeping Rhys and Feyre occupied so we can just focus on Nesta and her journey.

Not gonna lie, this book does mostly read like fanfiction. Other than SJM making some money between books and giving the fans the Rhys fix that they need, there is not a huge point to many sections of this book.

Though it is fun to read about Feyre’s art classes and our favorite bat boy’s snowball fight, it does not do much to develop any characters or the ACOTAR world itself.

But it is fun, and if you go into with that attitude, you can come out the other side only mildly annoyed with this book. It is also fairly short, so you really could bang this one out in a sitting.

How Long Is A Court of Frost and Starlight?

A Court of Frost and Starlight is 272 pages, which is mere child’s play compared to the length of the other books in this series.

This book is a novella and not a full-length novel, which does explain why it is so much shorter than the other published books in this series. What this book lacks in length it also (arguably) lacks in plot.

Which Is The Longest Book In ACOTAR? 

The longest book in the ACOTAR series is A Court of Silver Flames, coming in at 757 pages. As Sarah J. Maas becomes more and more popular, her books get longer and longer! 

The ACOTAR books in order of longest to shortest are as folows:

• A Court of Silver Flames (757 pages)
• A Court of Wings and Ruin (699 pages)
• A Court of Mist and Fury (624 pages)
• A Court of Thorns and Roses (419 pages)
• A Court of Frost and Starlight (272 pages)

What Will The Next ACOTAR Book Be?

The next book with ACOTAR characters will be Crescent City 3, for which we do not have a confirmed release date or official title yet.

This will be the next published Sarah J. Maas book, and we can assume that the book following that will be ACOTAR book 6.

However, that will probably be years away due to SJM taking maternity leave from writing, Crescent City book 3, and the ACOTAR television series.

It will be very interesting to see where the ACOTAR chapters leave off in Crescent City 3, and how that affects which characters will be the main focus of the sixth ACOTAR book. I am really hoping for an Azriel book!

-Paisley

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