**MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD**



I have been very impressed with Feyre's ability to manipulate people to her advantage. She really is the queen of political maneuvering at this point. She was able to fool everyone in the Spring Court into thinking that she was still in love with Tamlin. Well, everyone except Alis, who was already onto her, but Alis is a friend, so it's fine. I'm really glad Lucien was able to leave the Spring Court despite the horrible circumstances it happened in. Being barely saved from an act of sexual harrasment isn't exactly the ideal circumstance to escape in. I was cheering Feyre on when she had Ianthe's hand crushed. Sexual harassment is disgusting regardless of gender and I'm glad there is a book series out there that addresses sexual harassment from a female to a male. It's very rare to find examples of that and this book has a great one.

I have to say that there are a lot of things relating to relationships in this book that I didn't see coming the way they did. Like, I wouldn't have guessed that Mor is bisexual and homoromantic. I really feel for Azriel and a part of me is pretty upset that no one has told this very sad man that he literally has no chance with this girl he has been hung up on for 500 years. I understand Morrigan's struggle with coming out, but that doesn't make it any less painful for Az. 

Another thing is that I've been shipping Elain and Lucien pretty hard since the mating bond was revealed even though I know there isn't much there (at least not yet). I just really have a soft spot for Lucien despite what he's done wrong. He's a very angsty character, but unlike Tamlin I feel like he actually has space to grow more as a character and face a redemption arc that continues to be developed. I do hope he at least gets to have some contentment in the future. He's been through a lot and I think poor thing deserves it.

I know we don't actually see a lot of Amren and Varian within the series, so I wasn't completely expecting their relationship to be romantic in nature. Based on the last book I thought it was more of a sense of mutual respect. However, Varian really does seem to love Amren and she at the very least highly appreciates his presence. I know she's the kind of character that doesn't really need a love interest, but I think Varian is so fitting for her that it doesn't bother me. My favorite relationship in the book by far is Nesta and Cassian, though. I like that in comparison to the other romances in the book theirs is a lot more private and reserved. I really can't wait to read more about them in the future.

As for Rhysand's death, it didn't surprise me. There was way too much foreshadowing about Rhys always being willing to give up way too much for it to be subtle. I don't think it really took anything away from the moment he died, though, because it was so in character for him. The scenes where Amren gave up her body to the cauldron and Feyre was reacting to Rhysand's death really conveyed the emotions going through all the characters very well, I think. 

I don't think this is the best series I have ever read by any means, but I do have to say I've quite enjoyed it. Its strength is that it has characters that are complex and grow throughout the story. For me there's nothing worse than reading through a story and finding that the characters remained exactly the same by the end of the story. It defeats the purpose difficulties they face if that happens. Thankfully having characters that develop with the story is definitely one of Maas's strong points. I'm looking forward to reading more books by her in the future.