A Court Of Wings And Ruin by Sarah J Maas
$29.97
“A Court of Wings and Ruin” is a fantasy book by Sarah J. Maas, and it’s the third book in the “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series. It’s about Feyre Archeron, the main character, who deals with war, politics, danger, and tricky relationships in the magical realm of Prythian.
Book Summary
In the magical realm of Prythian, Rhysand (known as Rhys), the High Lord of the Night Court, tells a short prologue set 500 years before the main series. This prologue takes place two years before the end of an ancient war to free humans from faerie enslavement. In this war, the seven Prythian courts are divided: some are fighting for human freedom, while others are helping a different faerie realm called Hybern to keep humans enslaved.
Part 1 of the story starts a few weeks after the events of “A Court of Mist and Fury.” Feyre Archeron left Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court, for her true love, Rhysand. Feyre, who was once human, died saving Prythian from the evil faerie queen Amarantha and was brought back to life as an immortal High Fae. However, Tamlin’s possessiveness hindered her recovery, leading Rhysand to rescue her from an unwanted marriage to Tamlin. Feyre and Rhysand fell in love while trying to stop the King of Hybern from using a powerful Cauldron to enslave humans once again. Tamlin, in a misguided attempt to win Feyre back, aligned himself with Hybern, which resulted in Feyre’s sisters, Nesta and Elain, becoming High Fae as well. Feyre pretended to still love Tamlin and returned to the Spring Court as a spy, secretly marrying Rhysand and becoming the High Lady of the Night Court.
Feyre’s mission is to undermine Tamlin’s authority and weaken Hybern’s influence in Prythian. She orchestrates a situation that forces Tamlin to choose between his unpopular alliance with Hybern and his loyal sentry, causing him to lose his men’s trust. A delegation from Hybern, including Jurian, a resurrected human warrior, arrives in Prythian. Feyre discovers Hybern’s plan to destroy the Wall separating the faerie and mortal realms and returns to the Night Court with Lucien, Tamlin’s emissary, who is also her sister Elain’s mate.
In Part 2, Feyre reunites with Rhysand in the Night Court and they work together with their friends to build alliances before the impending war with Hybern. Feyre’s sisters struggle to adapt to their new lives as High Fae; Nesta is bitter, and Elain is grieving the loss of her human fiancé, making her distant from Lucien. Elain’s mysterious dream-communication troubles her sisters, and Feyre worries about Rhysand’s willingness to sacrifice himself for the war effort. Rhys’s allies, Cassian, Azriel, and Morrigan, help strategize, and Nesta trains her newfound magical powers with Amren, an otherworldly creature bound to a High Fae body. Amren believes Nesta’s connection to the Cauldron will be valuable.
Desperate for allies, Feyre seeks the help of the Bone Carver, an ancient death-god, in exchange for the Ouroboros mirror, which is said to be deadly to anyone who looks into it. Feyre and Nesta are attacked by Hybern spies while researching in the Velaris library, leading Feyre to make a deal with a monster named Bryaxis. Feyre also discovers Elain’s ability to predict events through her dreams, identifying her as a seer. Lucien embarks on a quest to find a potential ally, a human queen named Vassa, based on Elain’s vision.
Hybern attacks the Summer Court, prompting Feyre, Rhysand, and their friends to come to their aid and secure a hard-fought victory. However, the battle exposes Feyre and Rhys’s strained relationship with Tarquin, the High Lord of the Summer Court, whom they had previously betrayed in their efforts to thwart Hybern.
At the council of High Lords, old conflicts threaten the success of their war efforts. Tamlin surprises everyone by revealing himself as a double agent who has been feeding Hybern information in exchange for protection. An uneasy alliance forms, driven by Nesta’s principled appeal and Feyre’s embrace of her full powers. The following day, Hybern destroys the Wall using the Cauldron.
In Part 3, the war escalates. Despite her broken engagement, Elain’s former fiancé agrees to shelter human refugees at his estate. During negotiations, their group discovers that Jurian is also a double agent working to protect humans. The Prythian alliance engages Hybern forces in multiple battles, achieving narrow victories but failing to prevent Hybern from devastating the Spring Court and the human lands along the border.
Feyre makes a deal with Bryaxis to unleash the monster when they locate Hybern’s main forces, and she seeks help from the Suriel, a truth-telling faerie she had encountered before. The Suriel advises Nesta to scry for the Cauldron’s location and provides a clue meant for Amren before being killed by Ianthe. Feyre lures Ianthe into the Weaver’s cottage, where another death-god resides, killing Ianthe. Nesta successfully locates the Cauldron and Hybern’s forces, but the Cauldron kidnaps Elain in retaliation. Feyre and Azriel embark on a risky rescue mission, aided by Jurian and Tamlin.
The combined Prythian forces are greatly outnumbered by Hybern, prompting Feyre to confront the deadly Ouroboros mirror to save her loved ones. After seeing her true nature in the mirror, she gains the Bone Carver’s assistance. In the final battle, all seven Prythian Courts unite against Hybern, joined by unexpected allies from overseas, including Vassa and Feyre’s father. Despite Hybern’s overwhelming power, the King of Hybern is killed by Elain and Nesta, but his army continues to fight.
Amren tricks Feyre into releasing her true form through the Cauldron, which annihilates the Hybern forces but also shatters the Cauldron, destabilizing their world’s magic. Rhys sacrifices himself to empower Feyre to mend the Cauldron and save their world. Feyre demands that the High Lords resurrect Rhysand, just as they had resurrected her. With the war won, Feyre leads negotiations for peace between humans and faeries, returning home with her friends and family.
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