Review: A Court of Splintered Harmony

A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

🗡️ 🦇 🫀

Some books entertain you. Some books make you feel things. And then there are books that somehow manage to get their characters under your skin until you're laughing, screaming, getting emotional, and wondering how on earth you're supposed to wait for the next installment. A Court of Splintered Harmony did exactly that to me.

Picking up in the aftermath of House of Flame and Shadow and the events of A Court of Silver Flames, this first movement throws us straight into a Night Court dealing with fractured relationships, political tensions, and the growing threat surrounding Koschei. There's a lot going on, but Sarah J. Maas handles the setup beautifully. The political landscape expands, old conflicts gain new weight, and every chapter feels like it's contributing something to the larger story. This never felt like filler to me. It feels intentional, and I'm genuinely excited to see where she's taking all of this.

The multiple POVs are a huge highlight, but Azriel and Nesta absolutely stole my heart. There's something about these two black sheep of the group, both flawed and struggling to find where they belong, that makes me root for them so hard. Azriel's past genuinely pained me, and following his attempts to navigate his feelings, his relationships, and his own sense of self made his chapters some of my favourites. And the romance? Addictive. The spice is spectacular, and sometimes you need a little horny relief from all the political scheming and emotional devastation. Pun intended.

I also loved spending more time with Feyre and Rhys as parents. Their relationship feels even richer here, and seeing Feyre balance motherhood with her responsibilities as High Lady was a particular highlight. The complicated, unpolished bond between the Archeron sisters also got to me. These characters aren't perfect, and that's exactly why their struggles and moments of connection feel so meaningful.

The pacing sits somewhere between moderate and fast, but the words fly off the page. Maas has this clever way of weaving reminders of previous events into the narrative without slowing everything down, which I especially appreciated without rereading the entire series beforehand.

Yes, this is a setup. The story isn't resolved, and plenty of questions remain unanswered. But I don't need every thread tied up when the larger story is still unfolding. This first movement gives us meaningful character development, new connections, political intrigue, and enough looming danger to leave me practically vibrating with anticipation.

I got emotional reading this. Not necessarily because everything was sad, but because I care so damn much about these characters. Hats off to Maas. If this is the foundation, I'm ready to devour whatever comes next. Bring it, Sarah. I'll bring popcorn and a complete lack of sleep.

View all my reviews