A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN

Feyre and her friends must stop the evil Hybern king’s conquering schemes.

Following A Court of Mist and Fury(2016), pale-skinned Feyre has been returned to the Spring Court in the wake of an alliance between Tamlin and Hybern. She deceives them, actually serving as a spy and saboteur for Rhysand and his court. But right before she can sneak back to the Night Court (and her loving, quite physical relationship with Rhys), her careful plan is torpedoed. She and Lucien make a far more dangerous than expected voyage back to Velaris and to Feyre’s friends and family, her two sisters suffering from their forcible Fae transformations. To counter Hybern’s machinations, Feyre and Rhys must rally their own allies, but the Fae courts are still fractured and reeling from Amarantha’s cruelties, and they distrust Night for its reputation. To repair the rifts, the heroes must weigh the pros and cons of dropping their protective masks and showing their true selves, part of the reoccurring themes of self-acceptance and forgiveness. But some alliances are still dangerous—recruiting monsters to fight the monstrous is always a dicey proposition—and double agents abound. Side characters’ romantic storylines are interwoven with the strategizing and even the war, pairing the expanded world with extended action sequences and character revelations, and the conclusion’s ramifications will be felt in the next installments.

Nifty romantic escapism enhanced by expansion of worldbuilding and development of secondary characters.