Nesta Archeron is the Severus Snape of Sarah J. Maas’ ACOTAR series. Like Snape, the reader spends the first several books hating her as she tears down our heroine, Feyre. Unlike Snape, Nesta eventually acknowledges her shortcomings and works her way out of the toxic person she had become. 

The first four books are from Feyre’s point of view, so the reader’s view of Nesta is only outward: her words and body language. It isn’t until the fifth book, A Court of Silver Flames, that the reader gets to be inside Nesta’s head and learn about her memories, feelings, and interpretations of past events. 

As the oldest sister, Nesta has the most prominent memories of their mother before she died. Nesta was her mother’s favorite child, the family’s golden egg. She taught Nesta how to be cunning and aim for the best. She instilled in Nesta that she was better than everyone else and was one day going to marry very well. And so, Nesta became exactly who her mother raised her to be: arrogant, ambitious, and cruel. Their family losing their fortune crushed Nesta, and she was furious her father gave up and let them starve. Even in their poverty, Nesta still acted like a queen, expecting the rest of her family to figure out how to survive and serve her. She was especially cruel to Feyre, because Feyre was their mother’s least favorite. She protected Elain because their mother’s plan had been to use Elain’s natural beauty to snag a good marriage. Nesta is a product of her mother, and she is toxic. 

She is the toxic family member that today’s youth are encouraged by social media to cut out of their lives. I could not wait for Feyre to kick Nesta to the curb. As High Lady she could do it. But like other complicated plot points in the series, Sarah J. Maas decided to take me on a ride. 

Nesta’s journey to healing and redemption is a continuous one step forward two steps back path. And the first time the reader is fooled into thinking Nesta is progressing is halfway through Thorns and Roses. Feyre returned home for a couple weeks before she traveled to Under the Mountain to free Tamlin and his court. Tamlin had glamoured Feyre’s family into believing Feyre was off taking care of a sick aunt. Only, the glamor didn’t work on Nesta. She remembered everything and knew the truth. Nesta went so far as to try to get into Prythian on her own to find Feyre and save her, but she was unable to. Nesta encourages Feyre to go back to Prythian to get a second shot with Tamlin. But then her parting words are, “Don’t come back.” With that final statement, I realized Nesta still held resentment for her sister. 

In the Mist and Fury, Nesta refuses to allow Feyre and Rhysand to use the Archeron home as a meeting place to converse with the human queens. Nesta’s reasoning is that if anyone nearby finds out, they will all be in danger. Cassian promises Nesta that he will personally ensure that her property and the people who live on it will remain safe. When Elain wants to help, Nesta reluctantly agrees; but she isn’t going to do so quietly. She is incredibly rude to all of their guests, including the human queens (though, they deserved it). At the end of the book, when Nesta is forced into the Cauldron, she goes in fighting, and points a finger at the King of Hybern, a death promise. 

In Wings and Ruin, Nesta is so focused on protecting Elain, she fails to spend time accepting what happened to her. She wears a mask of judgment and arrogance to hide her pain. She continuously insults every character who tries to help or connect with her. She is especially nasty to Cassian. During the final battle, Nesta drops her mask and gets the reader’s hopes up that she is changing. She lies on top of Cassian, prepared to die with him, and Cassian kisses her; Nesta accepts the kiss. Frost and Starlight quickly shows us that we were wrong in hoping for improvement. She goes back to being angry and rude. 

At the beginning of Silver Flames, Nesta is cut off financially by Rhysand and Feyre. They end her lease on her apartment, and move her into the House of Wind. She is given two choices: 1. Live in the House of Wind, train with Cassian, and work in the library. 2. Return to the human lands, and take care of herself. There really isn’t much of a choice for Nesta. As High Fae, she wouldn’t survive the human lands, so she’s going to make option one incredibly difficult. 

Every morning of the first week, Cassian takes Nesta to the Illyrian war camp to train her. And every morning, Nesta sits on a rock and refuses to do anything, making Cassian the laughing stock among his warriors. Cassian is dumbfounded until he finally understands Nesta’s refusal: “I’m not going to train in this place.” The Illyrians are the most sexist species in Prythian. During the war they labeled Nesta a witch, and on her first day there to train with Cassian, they made comments about how any weapon she touches will have to be cleansed, especially if she is menstruating. So Cassian takes Nesta to the training grounds on the roof of the House of Wind, and she slowly starts to train and trust Cassian.

Nesta spends her afternoons working in the library that is below the House of Wind. This library is unique not only in the books housed there, but in the librarians who take care of it. The library is a sanctuary for high priestesses who are victims of abuse. Their trauma is so horrible, that they hide away from the world. Nesta becomes close to one high priestess librarian, Gwyn. She eventually convinces Gwyn to join in the training sessions, and they are joined by a female Illyrian, Emerie. Emerie’s wings were clipped by her father, prohibiting her from flying. She also battles her male uncles and cousins in proving she can run a business.   

Overtime, more priestesses brave the outside world to train with Nesta. Together, the small group of women decide they want to resurrect the training and creation of the centuries deceased Valkyrie warrior. Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn are the first to complete Valkyrie training and officially be named Valkyries. After that, Cassiand and Azriel set up a different obstacle course each day, that no female is able to complete. On the day that Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn finally complete it, two generals from the Illyrian army were invited to watch. The three females are then informed that they just completed the qualifying round that Illyrian males must complete in order to qualify for the Blood Rite – a yearly Hunger-Games-type of competition that warriors participate in. At the end of one week, the surviving warriors are ranked based on where on their sacred mountain they are found. 

During all of this training and friendship, Nesta has two other things going on. The first is using her Made powers to find three objects called the Dread Trove: the Crown, the Harp, and the Mask. They are sure that Queen Briallyn has the Crown. Which means they need to find the Mask and the Harp before she does. Nesta is a successful in getting both objects – a great risk to her and Cassian’s life. 

The second and hardest thing she is working on is her relationships with Cassian, Amren, Elain, and Feyre. Nesta is very attracted to Cassian, but she fights her attraction because she doesn’t feel worthy of love. (I also think she struggles with his friendship and loyalty to Rhysand because Nesta hates Rhysand.) She first gives in physically. The two engage in foreplay and eventually sex with the understanding that its “just sex”. Of course, it’s not. Both are crazy for one another, but Nesta thinks Cassian is just using her for pleasure and vice versa. They won’t admit feelings until it is almost too late. 

Back when Nesta was grieving, Amren was the only one who told the others to give her space. Nesta botched that compassion, and the two got into a big fight, causing Amren to walk away from their friendship. When Nesta accidentally imbues three blades with her Made powers, Amren votes to keep the information and the blades away from Nesta. Nesta is so furious when she learns of Amren’s distrust, she performs her biggest sin in the series.

Feyre is pregnant with a boy, and this boy has Illyrian wings. Feyre’s pelvis is High Fae and not shaped to safely deliver a winged baby. When it is time to deliver, she will die, and the baby will probably die as well. This information has been kept from Feyre so that she might have a peaceful pregnancy while everyone else scrambles behind the scenes to find a way to save her. 

When Nesta goes to confront Amren about her voting to keep Nesta in the dark about the magic blades, Feyre shows up to mediate. Nesta is so angry, she tells Feyre the truth about her pregnancy. Everyone is furious with Nesta: Rhysand, Cassian, and Amren. To be honest, this is the first time in the entire series I was on Nesta’s side. Feyre had a right to know what was happening inside her body. The whole thing felt like more a Tamlin thing to do than a Rhysand thing to do. Rhysand is ready to kill Nesta, so Cassian takes her camping in some distant Illyrian mountains. 

It is on this trip that Nesta cracks open all of her pain, trauma, and self-loathing. Cassian holds her, comforts her, and loves her. Upon their return trip, Nesta tries to do better with her family and friends. During the Winter Solstice she and Cassian spend the night together, and the bond finally solidifies. Nesta is scared of the bond, and her reaction upsets Cassian, causing him to say he didn’t ask to be shackled to her. Understandably, Nesta is hurt and commands Cassian to leave her alone until she reaches out to him, or a week has passed, whichever comes first. Nesta flees to Emerie’s cottage with Gwyn. The two help her accept her mate bond with Cassian, but before she can reach out to Cassian, the three females are captured by Illyrian generals and thrown into the Blood Rite. The only three females on a mountain full of misogynistic males who think females belong in the kitchen and rape is okay.

This final showdown is going to be the final test of love for Cassian and Nesta. They will have to make sacrifices for one another, for their friends, for their family, and for the greater good of keeping Prythian free from invading forces. In completing this final sacrifice, Nesta is going to atone for the sins she committed against Feyre since they were young girls. Nesta will overcome the toxic traits her mother had instilled in her and become a new person. 

Nesta’s redemption is beautiful. It doesn’t excuse her past misdeeds. She goes through an excruciating repentance process, and comes out white as snow. When I first started Silver Flames, I really did not believe that I would change my mind about Nesta in the end, but I did. A very well-earned 5 stars.

Silver Flames is the most recent published installment in the ACOTAR series. I have scoured the internet to find out if it’s the last one, because there are a lot of things left open at the end of this one. The only thing I was able to find is Sarah J. Maas’ website lists the series as an “ongoing series”. Silver Flames was published in 2021, so I’m crossing my fingers we’ll have an announcement about the next installment soon! I’m also crossing my fingers that the next book is Elain’s story. I really need to know if Lucien is going to step up and be a good mate or if Azriel is going to steal her away.