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. 

A Court of Frost and Starlight is the bridge between Feyre’s story and Nesta’s story. It is much shorter than the rest of the series. To be honest, I think it was meant to be a holiday special. The entire plot surrounds the characters preparing for and celebrating the Winter Solstice. They are also all healing from the recent war against Hybern and the human queens. But each character doesn’t heal at the same pace, or even finish healing by the end of this 4th book. 

Rhysand literally died at the end of the war. The only reason he is back is because Feyre convinced the remaining six High Lords to help her bring him back by donating a piece of their own magic and life force. Whatever happened to Rhys’ spirit while he was dead greatly affected him, and he is struggling to differentiate between reality and his fears. Rhysand jumps back into being High Lord, rebuilding Velaris and other cities, and investigating contentions in the Illyrian army. But where he finds his true healing is in his relationship with Feyre. This is Feyre’s first Winter Solstice in the Night Court and it’s also her 21st birthday. Rhysand is determined to give her a celebration she will never forget. I do not believe Rhysand is fully healed by the end of the Winter Solstice – events of the fifth book show otherwise – but he is doing a lot better than some of the other characters.  

Feyre has a lot of pre-war and post-war trauma to sift through. Now that Nesta is living in the Night Court, Feyre has to find a way to overcome the emotional and verbal abuse she suffered from her older sister both during her human years and recently as a Made High Fae. She has to deal with Rhysand frequently visiting Tamlin. She witnessed her father die, her mate die, and countless others. And as the High Lady, she is helping the Night Court heal by getting involved in charity groups. But as the city heals on the outside, Feyre fails to heal on the inside. She feels tremendously guilty that so many people lost loved ones or lost their livelihood. Back in the very first book, the reader learned that Feyre likes to paint. She stopped painting after Hybern forced her to return to the Spring Court with Tamlin. Feyre cannot seem to bring herself to pick up a paintbrush, and she is invited to by some of the artists in the art section of Velaris. She finally does, and paints her true self – what she saw in the special mirror in the third book. She gives it to Rhysand as a Solstice gift; and they decide they are ready to begin their family. In trying to get pregnant, Feyre and Rhysand are moving forward from the war.   

Morrigan is like Feyre in that many of her traumas are from before the war. Around five hundred years ago, Mor was betrothed to the heir of the Autumn Court, Eris. She did not want to go through with the marriage because the males of the Autumn Court had terrible reputations, and Mor “prefers females” – that’s the terminology used in the series, “gay”, “lesbian”, etc. don’t seem to exist in High Fae language. Mor’s family is too traditional for her to confess her sexuality, so she ends her virginity by seducing Cassian. Her father beats her, and nails a letter to Eris on Mor’s stomach, abandoning her bruised and naked body on the border of the Autumn Court. Eris refuses to take on the responsibility of a soiled wife and leaves her there (though Eris has his own secrets that I may cover in a later post). Mor would have died if Azriel wouldn’t have found her. Understandably, More holds deep seeded hatred for her father and Eris. She is forced to see and work with both of them in preparations for the war. In order to keep her father’s loyalty, Rhysand promises him that he can visit Velaris when he wishes. Mor feels betrayed because Velaris is her sanctuary away from her sadistic family. To avoid her father, Mor spends a lot of time after the war in her estate away from Velaris. By the end of the fourth book, Mor is still in the stage of avoidance.    

Azriel’s scars go back centuries as well. His mother was a maid who was coerced into a relationship with the patriarch of the family she worked for. Azriel is the result of that union. His bastard status led to abuse from his half brothers and the Illyrian warriors he trained with when he joined the army. He hates the Illyrian race for what their traditional views on women and status did to him and his mom. Since he couldn’t save his mom, Azriel projects his mother’s damsel status on Elain. Elain is the meekest of Feyre’s and Rhysand’s family, and Azriel makes sure that Elain is not taken advantage of – both consciously and subconsciously – by the other members of the family. In doing so, Azriel seems to be the only one that Elain is comfortable around. Azriel is also deeply in love with Mor. He has no idea about her sexuality, and moons after her for centuries. While taking care of Elain seems to help heal him from his childhood, it remains to be seen if his heartache over Mor will be healed.   

Elain is also suffering from a broken heart. When she was human, she got engaged to the son of a wealthy human lord. Her fiancée’s family hates faeries and has an extensive collection of warriors and weapons to fight and kill faeries. When Elain was kidnapped and forced into the cauldron, she could not return to her human home and her human fiancée. Her wedding date comes and goes, and Elain is distraught. Her body becoming High Fae revealed that Lucien is her mate, but she wants nothing to do with him. She is still in love with her fiancée. When Rhysand seeks human allies in preparing for the war, Elain goes to her fiancée’s family. Her fiancée rejects her now that she is High Fae. Elain’s heart breaks even more, and she retreats further into herself. Lucien’s (to be honest pitiful) attempts to get her to accept the mate bond go ignored. By the end of Solstice, Azriel’s kindness seems to be warming Elain’s heart, which will continue into the fifth book. (To be honest, I’m rooting for an Azriel-Elain union, but Sarah J. Maas already surprised me by making Mor lesbian, so she’ll probably surprise me by putting Elain with someone else or with no one.)

Lucien has several levels of hurt. Some he has been holding onto for years: his father ordering the death of his lover because she was beneath him, the general hatred from his older brothers, and the loss of one of his eyes, resulting in a metal eye. His most recent struggles are the loss of his friendship with Tamlin, and Elain refusing to accept him as her mate. As a way to numb the pain Lucien creates an unlikely alliance with Jurian and Queen Vassa. The three of them live in the human lands in an abandoned mansion. He is nowhere close to being healed. He is using this new “friendship” to hide from his problems. Very few characters care to help him heal because they put some of the responsibility of Feyre’s abuse on him. He is Tamlin’s best friend and did nothing to stop the mistreatment of Feyre. And even when she saved him from being raped by Ianthe, he still was moody and ungrateful. 

Tamlin is probably one of the few characters who brought on his own pain. In the first book, Tamlin tells Feyre that Rhysand and his father killed Tamlin’s entire family, making Tamlin the unwilling High Lord of the Spring Court. In the second book, Rhysand tells Feyre it was an act of vengeance. Tamlin’s father desired to kill Rhysand. Rhysand had been friendly with Tamlin at previous High-Lord-and-family get-togethers, and he continued to correspond with Tamlin. So Tamlin told his father how he could get Rhysand alone: when Rhysand picked up his mother and sister on their way to visit him in the Illyrian war camp. On that particular trip, Rhysand was late to the meeting spot, and Tamlin, his brothers, and father killed Rhysand’s mother and sister. Rhysand and his father sneak into the Spring Court to exact revenge. Rhysand makes his father promise not to kill Tamlin or his mother. Rhysand’s father doesn’t listen and kills Tamlin’s mother along with his father while Rhysand kills Tamlin’s brothers. Tamlin then kills Rhysand’s father. The two spend the next several centuries hating each other. Tamlin blames Feyre for the destruction of his court and once again accepts no responsibility for his part in her pain that led to the vengeance. 

After the war, Rhysand visits Tamlin every once in a while to check in on him and make sure they have a strong enough alliance so that if the human queens move against Prythian, Rhysand can count on Tamlin for help. Tamlin lives in an empty and ruined castle, finally succumbing to the beast that Feyre thought him to be in the beginning of the first book. During an attempt at a heart-to-heart, Tamlin asks Rhysand if he has forgiven him for the deaths of Rhysand’s mother and sister. Rhysand says, “I haven’t received an apology yet.” Tamlin still in that moment refuses to apologize. Tamlin isn’t even trying to heal, and no one is willing to help him,   

Cassian is struggling with the fact that he survived when so many of his warriors didn’t; and as the top general, he has to answer to their families. During the war, The Cauldron shot an instant death huff of magic into a crowd of flying Illyrians. Nesta could feel it coming before it happened and called Cassian back, saving only him. Cassian has always struggled to convince the Illyrian warriors to respect him as their general because he is literally a bastard. The Illyrians are patriarchal and traditional to a fault. Cassian’s mother was unmarried when she became pregnant with him, placing the two of them at the bottom of the social ladder in their village. It didn’t matter that her pregnancy was a result of rape. It didn’t matter that everyone knew who her rapist was and that he was a married male with a family. Because males rule in this society, they can do whatever they want. So Cassian’s bastard status makes “legitimate” Illyrian warriors despise him. Things are worse after the war, and Cassian has to squash an attempt at rebellion among the warriors. All of this could be easier to handle if Cassian had Nesta at his side. But despite her actions in the war to save Cassian, and her willingness to die with him when all seemed lost; Nesta has returned to being the cold-hearted you-know-what she has been the entire series. On Winter Solstice she hurts him one too many times, and Cassian throws the gift he bought her in the river.  

Nesta is drowning in grief, but we won’t know the full extent until we get to the fifth book. At this point we know she is devastated over her father’s death and is still furious that she is no longer human. She chose to move out of Rhysand’s townhouse and now lives in a rundown apartment. Feyre and Rhysand pay for her rent and fund her lifestyle: spending each night in the pub. Feyre threatens to cut her off financially if she doesn’t come to Solstice. Nesta gives Elain a gift, and Elain gives Nesta a gift. Neither Feyre nor Nesta give each other gifts, showing that the hurt from their human lives is still strong. Nesta has a very long journey to healing that will be covered in the fifth book.

When I read through the book, I didn’t know it was a side story, and understandably felt the plot was weak and rushed compared to the previous three books, and my original rating was 3 stars. Then I jumped onto Goodreads to write my review and saw that it is considered book 3.1. So, now knowing that it is a side story meant to prepare the reader for the next book, I raise my rating to 4 stars. 

I’m about halfway through the fifth book and I have already been tempted to throw my Kindle across the room several times. My heart is slowly warming toward Nesta. I still think many of her past sins aren’t justified, but Sarah J. Maas seems to be good at redemption arcs, so I have an open mind.