I get that ACOTAR got people back into reading. I really do. I didn't realize people had STOPPED reading but listen, any reading is better than none you know?

But this 10 yr gap in people's reading history is SERIOUSLY crippling reading comprehension. And then it's taken to social media, and the insanity spreads 😭

Like ONE person said "I love Tamlin", invented a whole other story in their head about his apparent greatness and infallibility.... and now suddenly there's hundreds of women placing this literal ABUSER on a pedestal.

The amount of times I've seen:

"Well what tamlin did wasn't really that bad he just locked her in a house"

"Feyre is ungrateful she doesn't deserve Tamlin"

"They're so mean to Tamlin kicking him while he's down"

"Tamlin deserves a full redemption arc - give him Elain"

STOP. Like I don't care how much you love this weak willed man. THE WORDS SAY A DIFFERENT STORY.

Like I can say I love Draco Malfoy all I want, but I know he was lowkey a dick the entire series until he redeemed himself in the end. And he's mainly forgiven because HE WAS A CHILD.

TAMLIN IS 300 yrs old. The whole point of the romance in ACOTAR vs ACOMAF was to show Tamlin prioritized himself, HIS pleasure, HIS court, HIS image.

The romance with Rhys showed us how Rhys prioritized FEYRE. He taught her how to use her powers. Taught her how to read and write. Gave her the tools to become the powerful high lady she is today. He never trapped her. Never raised a hand on her.

If people can't tell that, and choose to go with their own theories, whatever. But it's specifically this flow of:

"I think Tamlin is the good guy"

"I think SJM is prepping us for a book where Rhys has been evil all along and Tamlin saves the day"

"You don't think that will happen? Well you're wrong. You're stupid for thinking Rhys is the good guy here. Idiot."

Elain offered a half smile.

- Quote from A Court Of Wings and Ruin.

Art by @/Raynb0w_811 on ig commissioned by me 🥰🫰🏻

◇ Characters Elain Archeron and Morrigan from @/sarahjmaas

◇ Don't Repost Without Credits

their bonus is exactly what a bonus should be like. telling us things we already know, but from another perspective to also showcase a tiny bit of what is to come..

“Let's focus on helping one sister before we start on the other.”

Lucien immediately assumes that Elain needs something, asking if there's anything they should do for her. Azriel, on the other hand, instantly understands that she isn't broken or mad. He makes it clear that she doesn't need saving, they need her. She's a Seer.

Right after that, Lucien is described as looking at Elain almost as if he's seeing her for the first time, shocked by this revelation. Meanwhile, Azriel is explicitly described as the only one who listened to her, the male who could hear things others could not and who understood what she was going through.

And to make the contrast even stronger, when the possibility that the Cauldron gave something to Elain is brought up, Lucien is once again stunned, while Azriel simply nods, already understanding.He's the one who recognizes her gift, validates her experiences, and helps everyone else understand her as well. And Feyre even notes that this understanding, their understanding, is what finally frees Elain from that "murky realm" she had been trapped in.

last i checked, sarah didn’t build up feyre and tam.lin for 3+ books, then randomly introduce rhys and have them be together in the next one..

last i checked, sarah didn’t build up celaena and chaol for 3+ books, then randomly introduce rowan and have them be together in the next one..

last i checked, sarah didn’t build up celaena and dorian for 3+ books, then randomly introduce rowan and have them be together in the next one..

you can’t compare them to elriel..

sarah doesn’t build up a couple just to be like, “Eh. You know what? Just forget all of that! Here’s a new character instead last minute!”

S: “..Even if I’m not typing actual words for those books, it’s really fun to put on my headphones and daydream about what I want to happen next, and then see how I can be really sneaky in book one and put all those details in so that when something huge happens, readers can be surprised. I love writing those moments, my “mic drop” moments, and I love hearing from readers when they say, “Yeah, I was hoping that would happen!” or “I didn’t see that coming, but now I totally see that you were planting the seeds for that!” JK Rowling is the queen of that—I grew up reading Harry Potter. Chapter one of Sorcerer’s Stone, Sirius black is mentioned, his motorcycle, and then nothing of that is mentioned until book three. I loved that kind of stuff as a reader, so as a writer I try to plan things out well enough to sprinkle in those elements.” ->Christina Orlando ft. Sarah J. Maas, 2019

S: I do appreciate those stories every now and then, but I personally don't like rereading stories where everyone's dead— SW: No. S: —at the ending or, you know, the couple I’ve been rooting for for ten books isn’t together? Like, I just— SW: Yep. S: —that’s not my cup of tea, and I just, I keep returning to these romance books again and again. I think I’ve read The Hating Game, you know, ten times now just because I—there’s something about the reassurance of, “It’s all going to be okay.” ->Episode number 447 of Smart Podcast, Trashy Books with Sarah Wendell, 2021

you can go on and on about how sarah is going to trick us all, or put a massive plot twist in the end, but one thing she has always been obvious about is her endgame couples..

if you don’t like elriel, that’s completely fine..

but let’s not try and make sarah out to be this major plot twist author with her endgame couples and “Everyone and their mother’s were shaking in their boots!” or “Who saw that coming? What a twist!”

I feel as if I’ve been living out an actual hallucinogenic fever dream with the way all these people are so mulishly convinced that the narrative has been set up for GA - then going as far as belittling others who don’t share their delusion.

Their version of Gwyn and her relation to Azriel reads like a fanfiction - none of it even comes close to what is actually written in the books. I don’t debate GA because there really isn’t anything with them to debate - there’s literally nothing there.

Love me always