#bookdiscussion

In ACOMAF, Tamlin actually introduced Feyre to some of his friends, but we barely got anything about them because she didn’t really pay attention. She even mentioned forgetting their names right away. Which is kinda wild, considering how much focus was put on Rhysand’s inner circle later.

It’s like the story never really gave Tamlin’s friendships a chance to exist on the page.

And what’s even wilder is that Feyre herself described them as noticeably more chaotic and untamed than the other party guests. Isn't that a glimpse into Tamlin’s real personality? the person who was never meant for this polished, stiff royal life the person who all what he wanted is freedom from royalty stuff.

He hated being a High Lord stuck in a gilded cage of rules and expectations. And yet, somehow, he still did his duty, even when it was killing him inside.

But the real kicker? When Feyre met Rhysand’s Inner Circle, her first thought was, Wow, his friends aren’t afraid to challenge him. Not like Tamlin’s.

Hold up—how would you even know??

You never saw Tamlin with his actual friends! You only ever saw him interact with soldiers, servants, and Lucien.

and Lucien never was the kind of soldier or emissary who's too afraid to challenge Tamlin, I think we can all agree on that. They were actual friends, without all the rank nonsense between them.

In fact, in ACOTAR, Rhysand himself told Tamlin to stop being so friendly with his sentries, and Tamlin was the one who straight-up said, I don’t enforce ranks in my court.

And what did Rhys do? He laughed. Of course, we know he was putting on his mask at the time 🙄, but the point is—Tamlin wasn’t ruling like some untouchable king on a throne. He actually wanted to be close to his people.

And now here’s my biggest question

where were those friends when Feyre left the Spring Court?

The same ones who fought alongside Tamlin for years? The ones who, according to lore, begged him to let them die to break Amarantha’s curse? They just vanished.

Either they actually abandoned him (which, tbh, I doubt because why stay through Amarantha’s reign and beg to let you die to break the curse only to dip when Feyre peaced out?), or—and hear me out—they died during Hybern’s attack. Because ofcourse Feyre weakened the wall, dipped, and never looked back. She wasn’t there to see the aftermath.

If that’s true? That’s just another tragedy on Tamlin’s shoulders. The guy already lost everyone once. Imagine finally breaking free from Amarantha, trying to piece your life back together, and then boom—war comes, your people die, and the one person you thought you saved leaves you to drown in it.

This book blew me away, I loved every single page. It also broke my heart, if you wanna get personal. I’m not sure where I want to start, there was SO much that happened, I mean there’s almost 900 pages for crying out loud. I was excited before I even started reading because I’m low key obsessed with JFK. I love watching documentaries about him, seeing old photos, watching him with Jackie (even Jackie alone is enough to fascinate me). Even though its fiction I knew King would bring him to life for me. (You will learn from this blog that I hold Stephen King on a high pedestal). 

Before I go any further, I need to remind you that this page is spoiler central. This is for people who have read the book and wants to discuss it. 

Okay, lets begin. 

My first impression of Jake was that he was a lonely man, I really liked him, got a good vibe from him, but I could tell he was just going through the motions after his divorce. He doesn’t talk about friends aside from Al. So I was surprised when Sadie came along, she entered so far into the book that I had already assumed he was flying solo the whole time. 

Okay, Sadie - I don’t love her, and I don’t hate her either. It took me a while to find a common ground with her. At first I thought she was too hard on Jake, until I learned what she went through in her marriage. And I also had to remind myself that this is the sixties and of course she has a completely different mind set than what I’m used to. I love the dancing scenes, and I love that she took care of Jake after his beating. I hate that she was willing to give up so easily after her ex husband attacked her, and it makes me wonder what happened after Jake reset everything and she never met him. Did she move in with her awful parents, because there was no Jake to talk her out of it? We know that she never remarried, but do you think she met anyone else? What about that guy she met waitressing in Reno? I personally don’t think she ever fell in love again, I believe that Jake was the only person destined for her - as odd as that is. How sad.

I will touch on this briefly, fuck that bitch Jessica Caltrop.

Am I mad at Al for dragging Jake into this? Nah. I think I would've done the same. I mean its JFK for Christ’s sake. 

I wish King would have given more insight into the Yellow Card Man, I think I need to spend some more time pondering him and maybe even go back and read the part where the orange card man gives his explanation. Maybe King meant to leave a little to the imagination. Thoughts?

I love love love that Derry was incorporated in this book, along with Richie and Bev. I kind of felt like It made a little cameo, didn’t you? When Jake goes to Frati’s land, and maybe even the first time he visits the book depository (could just be me though, I tend to stretch). King likes to make connections within his universe he has created, and I enjoy it so much. 

With that being said, for my The Shining fan’s like myself... DOES ROSETTE SHINE? ANYBODY?

I think my favorite part of the book was when he was able to speak to Jackie and the president. It gave me chills. King did such a wonderful job of bringing them back to life. I think that if Sadie just hadn’t been shot to death, he would have reacted so much differently to speaking to him. It goes to show that in the end he didn’t care much for his previous mission, he just wanted Sadie.

I swear in this book I kept having to remind myself that JFK did really die, and this book is just fiction. 

I think King did a wonderful job bringing LHO and Marina alive as well. The mood got so much more depressing when he was in a scene, just grayer and dingier. 

I’m sad that in the end he did not save Harry’s mother and siblings, and Carolyn was still paralyzed, and I’m even sad that Richie and Bev will not remember their conversation with Jake, and Mike Coslaw and his classmates will not remember their favorite teacher - do you think Mike found his love for acting without Jake around? - But, you know what, I have to remind myself that this is the way things were supposed to be. Jake wasn’t supposed to travel in the past and change any of this, as much as we wanted him too, its not the natural order of things. 

What broke my heart was when Jake traveled to Texas after the reset and at first found his student, the DJ, Donald. “Hello Donald....” “Do I know you?” That part put a few cracks in my heart, but what shattered the rest of it was when Jake talked to eighty year old Sadie and asked her who chaperoned the dance with her that brought them together. It did me in, you could’ve stuck a fork in me. I was done. 

OH HOW WE DANCED (as I cry hysterically). 

This makes me realize that I have assumed that Sadie didn’t find love again, but I know that Jake didn’t. Thinking he was lonely in the beginning of the book is nothing compared to the tone he sets at the end. He loved her so much, and he also fell deeply in love with that life, with Jodie, with the era, with everything. I don’t think that’s something you can recover from. Poor guy.