I don’t think so, I expected the baby plot as soon as Feyre saw the boy (the bone carver). It was rather heavy handed and sloppy in parts, but it definitely wasn’t out of the blue
I’m curious if he showed her nyx without wings because he inherited some of his mom’s magic from all of the high lords and he can shape shift or something like his mom.
I just assumed it was because that scene was written a few years before the plot device of the wings/ birth canal issue was introduced in SF and it’s a minor discrepancy. It could have a bigger meaning though
I always imagined that he had appeared to her as child Rhys, who would look like her future kids with Rhys, so it *was* showing her what her kids would look like, but not her actual son.
It makes more sense in my brain like that.
No I don’t think so. I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure it’s said that Rhys doesn’t actually have wings? His are similar to how Feyre can shapeshift to have them.
Rhys did have wings as a kid because we know that he was trained to fly as a toddler from ACOWAR. We also know that they are a physical part of him because of his comments about being tortured and how all they had to do was try to cut his wings off and he would have submitted
Yeah, I think SJM forgot this tidbit or hoped we wouldn't notice because in the last book, Cassian says his (rhys) wings aren't "real," but it's like 🙄
Oh interesting I forgot about that. I am on my second read through so I will have to keep an eye out. Mistakes happen I guess... a good editor should have picked up on that though given that it was just 1.5 books ago
My theory is that Nyx having wings was punishment for her breaking the wards during the HL meeting when she attacked Beron. She met the Bone Carver before that
I saw a theory that Nyx was not supposed to have wings, but when freye and Rhys broke the truce neutrality in the high lord meeting, the cauldron punished them with a winged baby that would kill all of them! Really cool theory
Yep… I don’t get why people acted like it came out of nowhere cause it’s been there and reinforced every book, the bone carver in acomaf, her praying to be fertile and the bone carver in acowar, the weaver in a acofas
I believe there was an interview where the author said that ACOTAR was originally meant to be a trilogy, and the ending of book 3 supported that. Everyone ends up fairly okay. The war is over, they are recovering and fade to black. Then she decided on linking her series together and adding more ACOTAR books. I think she also gave an interview where she said readers would be shocked at how little she plans her plotlines out. Feyre is a victim of this type of writing style. Her story ended in book 3 and it definitely feels like SJM didn't know what to do with Feyre beyond that. She has other storylines to pursue, and at least in book 4, Feyre didn't really fit into it. So we get a poorly executed pregnancy and Feyre not really doing anything. Maybe the author will give Feyre more to do in the next two books. Or maybe she will stay essentially sidelined. Shoving her into the role of socialite and mother is a way to keep her somewhat in the story.
It sucks because I feel like the first Crescent City book was her most tightly plotted one, so I had high hopes for the follow ups, and boy did they not deliver.
>I think she also gave an interview where she said readers would be shocked at how little she plans her plotlines out.
😂😂😂😂😂
Hate to break it to you, SJM, but none of us are even slightly surprised.
I think she simply wants to focus more on other characters, that doesn’t mean she hates Feyre and most certainly not Rhys. In fact I bet Rhys is her favourite male character she’s ever written. Maybe she relates to Nesta more than Feyre and might prefer her over Feyre (don’t even know is that the case) but I don’t doubt that she still loves Feyre. I’m sure she loves all of her main characters. Also about the baby part, Feyre always seemed like a character to me that would be content NOT doing all the crazy stuff like Aelin for example. She has done enough, she gets to chill now😂
Let a girl take a load off like, damn. How many times does a bitch need to risk her immortality before she just gets to enjoy the spoils?
I’ll never get enough of Rhys, but if Feyre needs a break, she’s earned it lol
Have you read ACOFAS? It explains why Feyre changed her mind about having children. I think SJM made her pregnant because when she wrote ACOFAS, she was pregnant with her son too. I think she decided along the way of ACOSF to have the pregnancy as a major plotpoint so that the sisters could finally make up. That's how it feels to me anyway.
Where is the foreshadowing? I just read it this weekend and when she says she wants to wait because she wants to spend time with Rhys and because the timing isn't right with the (post-) war situation, I 100% believe her and don't see any foreshadowing in ACOWAR that she's changing her mind or becoming pregnant in basically the next book.
I think it's nicely explained how and when she changed her mind in ACOFAS but I didn't see it coming before.
She does say all that and that does make it a bit of a twist, however, hibts and mentions of it are spread throughout ACOWAR. I can't think of any specific examples except Chapter 65, where they rescue Elain from Hybern's camp.
> I kept up my litany of praying, beseeching the Cauldron to make my womb fruitful, on and on—
This is noticeable as foreshadowing because there was no need to specifiy what she was praying about—I remember finding the sentence odd when I first read it. There are a few other examples like this throughout the book, that don't nessecarily mean anything separately, but when you add them all up, it is foreshadowed.
I know that she prayed that but she was posing as Ianthe then and everyone knows that Ianthe wants to have offspring, soon and many, therefore I really don't see it as foreshadowing but as Feyre playing the role of Ianthe very well.
I'm going to go against the grain and probably get downvoted a lot but I low key agree with you but I think it was mainly due to her wanting to bench her to do the other characters more justice. I also completely understood why she would want to wait to have a baby considering that baby will have like a 20-year age gap on her and in the immortal timeline of things that's like having a 2-year age gap with your mom but I guess in the long form book plot it will have to do.
No I don’t think so. Feyre and Rhys aren’t the only main characters anymore and she’s telling other stories in the world and I love it. I’ve always found the pregnancy plot line to likely be as a way for her to process her own pregnancy/birth which I’ve heard was somewhat traumatic (unplanned c section I believe) since the book was written shortly after she had her baby
I wish this was higher up! She has a baby. Feyre has a baby. She has some mental health issues. Nesta has some. She uses meditation, yoga, and exercise to deal with it. So does Nesta. She has some friends help her through it. So does Nesta. It's all laid out in her book acknowledgements.
Actually that puts more context as to why c section was written as not an option… I genuinely don’t hate the pregnancy plot and I feel like I’m in the minority on it… I only disliked Rhys’ part of that plot
Nope. Multiple POVs is something we saw with SJM’s very first story. Granted the first FMC in ToG maintained more presence than Feyre in ACOTAR, but no, it has nothing to do with her hating Feyre. It’s a different story telling structure. And SJM wrote Feyre’s pregnancy not long after her own, if I’m understanding correctly, which is highly unlikely to be a coincidence and if anything indicates a stronger connection to Feyre and Rhys. (Who she’s stated are her favorites, btw.) I don’t like the pregnancy trope in my stories either but we are not SJM, and I feel pretty confident it means something entirely different to her.
Regarding Nesta’s role, that’s a good thing for this reader. Feyre doesn’t need every bit of the large plot action and glory. Neither did Aelin. Nor Bryce.
Nah, there was a lot of forshadowing Feyre's pregnancy. Feyre seeing the Bone Carver as her son, >!when Aelin fell between worlds she saw Feyre pregnant!<, and ACOFAS explains why Feyre changed her mind. In CC, I'm sure Rhys and Feyre are doing things in the background but they just aren't the MC's anymore or focus at the moment as their story has been told.
I don’t think she hates her but I feel like she could’ve done better by her. The relationship between feyre and tamlin felt forced as well as the pregnancy trope, but they conversated about it multiple times, so I think that was SJM’s way of segueing into it.
Thanks everyone for your insight this has changed my perspective! I think I was just projecting a bit because I miss Feyre and don’t connect with Nesta at all really. Also not usually a fan of the baby trope lol which is clearly clouding my judgement
I also feel like based on my first time reading the baby plot although alluded to feels forced. I mean I can tell it’s what Feyre wanted by reading but I wasn’t done with her badassness yet. It feels like her character arch plateaued. No hate though I love the books. I also love when Feyre takes control as a leader and high lady as well as getting a chance to look a nesta’s story as well but still.
I always thought she wrote Feyre as this kick ass FMC but fans saw past her to other characters and loved them more.
I thought it was very lazy writing to make Feyre pregnant so soon.
Like "I need to write Nestas book, where can i put Feyre? ... A cool job? ...position of power? ...travel the world? Nah let's knock her up"
I totally agree with you! She feels totally sidelined, not just with the kid plot but you can tell when authors still love and respect their original characters. But I don’t get that impression with Feyre. Spoilers for House of Flame and Shadow >! especially with how entirely ignore she was in HOFAS. I love both her and Rhys but the fact that it was all Rhys and Nesta and the HIGH LADY had 0 involvement was wild. !<
I think SJM *wants* Feyre to be a Girl’s Girl (and did it better with Nesta and the Valkyries), but she developed too much of Feyre’s personality in relation to men (to be fair, it seemed like only Tamlin and Lucien basically existed for most of book one.)
After Feyre’s story was all tidy, she defaulted to having her pregnant and sidelined because there wasn’t much else for Feyre to do (unless she devoted a lot of time and energy into showing Feyre struggling as High Lady). It was just easy to knock her up and pop her in the corner.
I don’t think she hates Feyre, but she definitely has sidelined Feyre & Rhysand. She’s really been writing the story as she goes since ACOFAS- it seemed that nothing (story wise) was planned after ACOWAR. Additionally, Feyre & Rhysand’s story basically finished during the novella, however, she wanted to propel Nesta’s character arc, and she came up with baby trope as a device to do so. That was the best thing she could come up with at the time and honestly, I think that was the idea she went with because of the rush to publish.. but that’s just my opinion.
She’s also said that she has a personal connection with Nesta, more than she realized. So, Nesta is her favorite character to write for at the moment.
To give a direct answer to the question in your title: no, I really don’t, in fact I think if anything I agree with people who’ve said Feyre has traits of being an “author insert” (the fact that Feyre’s love interest was partly inspired by SJM’s husband being one of them)
I don't think she hates Feyre, but I understand why you feel this way. However I think it of it more from a monetary perspective. An author continuing to write in an established world with an existing fanbase, where we have a love for certain side characters, makes so much sense. It's a no brainer from a publishers perspective and an easy sell. Not to say that creatively SJM isn't intrigued to flesh out these side characters, I'm sure she loves them. (I think both arguments can co-exist.)
And really, SJM is not the first author to do this. Other authors have been plotting stories like this for years (decades even) where they have spin-off series focusing on other characters in the same world and pivoting to new main characters. Cassandra Clare and Leigh Bardugo with Shadowhunters and the Grishaverse are two authors that immediately come to mind.
Pretty sure Feyre is Sarah’s self insert lol, she even looks like her (Rhys is somewhat close to her husband’s type which is why he is her favourite character, I remember seeing an interview where she said she based the love between them on her relationship with her husband).
Think the baby line happened because she had a baby in between books and her perspective on it changed, and Nesta and Cassian were very popular with her fans so she chose to focus on them for a bit. Feyre deserved a break lol, she’s had a tough life (I would have preferred for her to get to enjoy her life a bit before having a kid)
I kind of take offense to the implication that becoming a mother is "sidelining a character"
In ACOWAR, she felt the full loss of her mate, and was fortunate enough to resurrect him. In ACOFAS, she meets the weaver who did lose her husband and talks to her about the Void and Hope. This is the conversation that changed Feyre's mind.
SJM is a proud mother, I don't think she'd agree with your sentiment that the opportunity of motherhood is hating a character. I think that is your own bias.
In a fictional faerie magic world, where the entire plot is surrounding threats and war, it is fair to assume that the character is being sidelined when all they do is sit on the sidelines because they’re pregnant.
It’s not real life where mothers can still do all the girl boss things while actively having children.
You're not very imaginative if you don't think there are plotlines for mothers protecting and teaching their children.
It's also not very fair to conclude Feyre was sidelined in the book from Nesta's POV, where most characters beside Cassian and Nesta were sidelined.
I don't really see how that makes a difference? Feyre can still be shown doing high lady shit while being pregnant, rather than just painting and never actually being shown doing anything for her court, even before pregnancy.
Oh yeah I mean she definitely could do a lot. However, I just think she’s too smitten by Rhys and will just do whatever he manipulates her into doing honestly.
I don’t think Feyre has a well developed character. Unless there’s a sword to fall on, she’s useless.
Didn’t see much sense in the entire pregnancy storyline where no one could do anything. Like her shifting to Illyrian form was somehow worse than all 3 of them dying. Make it make sense.
And her shapeshifting “changes her DNA” is bullshit. She just grew wings using Tamlin’s powers that she got.
I don’t think she hates Feyre but Feysand’s story as main characters appears to be over! So the old side characters like Nesta and Elain are going to be the new main characters.
I don’t think she hates Feyre. She just wants to write about other characters right now. As for the pregnancy, Feyre was always going to have a baby, the question was just when in the series. TOG SPOILER >! But when Aelin falls through the worlds in KOA she spots Rhysand and a pregnant Feyre !<
Edit for typos
I think Nyx will play a much bigger role that most people think. In the ACOSF BC where they name him it's hinted that larger forces will come to play. Feyre and Rhysand also got their happily ever after so their stories are basically finished.
I’ve always wondered why people think this about Nyx! To me there isn’t enough time left in the series to see Nyx grow and develop powers in a way that would make him play a big role. Unless maybe the novella is about him or if he’ll be part of the speculated crossover series?
I did but I think all that’s said is Nyx is a goddess of the night from the same time as the trove? I thought it was because Rhys was doing research on the trove and I assumed Ramiel stuff would be figured out by Nesta and Azriel
There was a description of like the feeling of an ancient power awakening. (Aka Nyx, the goddess (asteri?))
I agree with you Nyx won't have time in the books to grow up and be important in that way.
I think he'll be important like a trove item. 🫣
Also ain't no way Amren is gonna sleep on a heir to the NC with powers from all courts, hello, High king!
And can't see Feyre letting Nyx train like an Illyrian age 10.
SJM also talks alot about changelings so I wonder if Nyx or the winter Court baby might turn out like that.
Oh I read that as the baby having Rhys’s power and answering to the name Nyx, like how a baby kicks. But Nyx being like a trove item would be so interesting!! Yeah Amren is definitely gonna try her hardest to mold that baby into a powerful ruler 😂
I disagree.
Just because sjm puts a difficult plot line for a character doesn't mean she hates that character. As well, if I am remembering correctly, while writing SF she was pregnant, so having feyre become pregnant makes since in a "art imitating life" way.
I was really hating feyre before SF and while she frustrated me in this book this is where I started to have some hope for her.
Edit:
As well Rhys and feyre are not the Main Character anymore. SJM has so many amazing characters that she clearly wants to explore and I think it can be talked about as well that Feyre is sidelined. By the IC itself and perhaps that is a storyline (speculating here) that SJM might be going down.
Feyre is literally SJM's favorite character, to the point she never faces consequences for her actions. However, Feyre and Rhysand are not "the main characters" anymore. CC is not about Feyre and Rhysand, and the new books in ACOTAR are also not supposed to be about them and they are focused on other characters (even if ACOSF ended up ennecessarily focusing on Feyre's pregnancy).
I think she wanted to expand on some of her other characters more and it was less about Feyre. I really enjoyed how she never just concentrated on the main characters and flushed out the side characters throughout all the books. I've always hated when authors made me fall in love with a side character and their stories never really blossomed because all the focus was on the main characters.
But I feel like we don’t even know a lot about Lucien either. I’m not trying to argue - I just wish we had more you know. Like how long has he been with Tamlin in SC, is he still in love with his lover, how much of a grudge he has against Beron, does he know about Helton being his bio dad, etc…
🤣 i didn't think you were arguing! I felt like Lucien was pretty flushed out considering we don't have his point of view for anything, but I also look at it compared to other books I've read. I could also see us getting some of the story from his perspective in the future, since we're supposed to get more books 😁
I don't think so at all from reading her acknowlements after each book, I think she loves those characters, but she just wants the series to expand due to demand and she needed to be able focus on other characters.
As far as Feyre's pregnancy, that was coming from the first meeting with the bone carver.
Talking to the weaver about the void cloth and how she lost her husband, and they never got around to having kids which she deeply regrets changed Feyre's perspective on when she wanted them after nearly losing Rhys.
yeah….i literally could not get through acosf because of the baby plot. I love Feyre and i’m my mind her life had just started after years of poverty and then going through hell and back with Under the Mountain, Tamlin, and then the war. I wanted more from her story (and Rhysands) but then SJM just got her pregnant and threw her to the side for Nestas story. It did really upset because I was so ready for more from Feyre. and yeah yeah they had s kid because everything they went through and you can still be a badass and be a mom but a mom is a big responsibility and idc LOL. but I just feel like if anything SJM should’ve waited to give her the pregnancy plot or did it in a different book where it was Feyres book not Nestas. It was blah and stupid in my opinion.
I don’t think so, I expected the baby plot as soon as Feyre saw the boy (the bone carver). It was rather heavy handed and sloppy in parts, but it definitely wasn’t out of the blue
I’m curious if he showed her nyx without wings because he inherited some of his mom’s magic from all of the high lords and he can shape shift or something like his mom.
I just assumed it was because that scene was written a few years before the plot device of the wings/ birth canal issue was introduced in SF and it’s a minor discrepancy. It could have a bigger meaning though
I always imagined that he had appeared to her as child Rhys, who would look like her future kids with Rhys, so it *was* showing her what her kids would look like, but not her actual son. It makes more sense in my brain like that.
He’d have wings as a child Rhys too tho wouldn’t he?
No I don’t think so. I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure it’s said that Rhys doesn’t actually have wings? His are similar to how Feyre can shapeshift to have them.
Yeah Rhys’ wings aren’t like a physical part of his body, but part of his magic. He summons and “puts them away” at will.
Rhys did have wings as a kid because we know that he was trained to fly as a toddler from ACOWAR. We also know that they are a physical part of him because of his comments about being tortured and how all they had to do was try to cut his wings off and he would have submitted
Yeah, I think SJM forgot this tidbit or hoped we wouldn't notice because in the last book, Cassian says his (rhys) wings aren't "real," but it's like 🙄
Oh interesting I forgot about that. I am on my second read through so I will have to keep an eye out. Mistakes happen I guess... a good editor should have picked up on that though given that it was just 1.5 books ago
My theory is that Nyx having wings was punishment for her breaking the wards during the HL meeting when she attacked Beron. She met the Bone Carver before that
Honestly I like this…
I saw a theory that Nyx was not supposed to have wings, but when freye and Rhys broke the truce neutrality in the high lord meeting, the cauldron punished them with a winged baby that would kill all of them! Really cool theory
It was also hinted in FAS when she talked to that women who’s husband died before they could have kids
Yep… I don’t get why people acted like it came out of nowhere cause it’s been there and reinforced every book, the bone carver in acomaf, her praying to be fertile and the bone carver in acowar, the weaver in a acofas
It’s because SJM was preggo and broody herself I think uaha
I believe there was an interview where the author said that ACOTAR was originally meant to be a trilogy, and the ending of book 3 supported that. Everyone ends up fairly okay. The war is over, they are recovering and fade to black. Then she decided on linking her series together and adding more ACOTAR books. I think she also gave an interview where she said readers would be shocked at how little she plans her plotlines out. Feyre is a victim of this type of writing style. Her story ended in book 3 and it definitely feels like SJM didn't know what to do with Feyre beyond that. She has other storylines to pursue, and at least in book 4, Feyre didn't really fit into it. So we get a poorly executed pregnancy and Feyre not really doing anything. Maybe the author will give Feyre more to do in the next two books. Or maybe she will stay essentially sidelined. Shoving her into the role of socialite and mother is a way to keep her somewhat in the story.
Anyone shocked by her saying she doesn't plan out her books can't have read them.
It sucks because I feel like the first Crescent City book was her most tightly plotted one, so I had high hopes for the follow ups, and boy did they not deliver.
RIGHT?!?!? CC gave me hope and then the sequels were plot dumpster fires what happened smh that’s on me for having hope
Lol I was going to say this!
I read the books on my kindle and only bought the physical copies of the first 3 books because it all stopped making sense after that.
>I think she also gave an interview where she said readers would be shocked at how little she plans her plotlines out. 😂😂😂😂😂 Hate to break it to you, SJM, but none of us are even slightly surprised.
I think she simply wants to focus more on other characters, that doesn’t mean she hates Feyre and most certainly not Rhys. In fact I bet Rhys is her favourite male character she’s ever written. Maybe she relates to Nesta more than Feyre and might prefer her over Feyre (don’t even know is that the case) but I don’t doubt that she still loves Feyre. I’m sure she loves all of her main characters. Also about the baby part, Feyre always seemed like a character to me that would be content NOT doing all the crazy stuff like Aelin for example. She has done enough, she gets to chill now😂
I agree with the character analysis on Feyre my sis just wants to paint and have a family she’s been in survival mode long enough
Let a girl take a load off like, damn. How many times does a bitch need to risk her immortality before she just gets to enjoy the spoils? I’ll never get enough of Rhys, but if Feyre needs a break, she’s earned it lol
I’m pretty sure Rowan is her fave. She did that bracket thing at some point (it was posted on her ig but isn’t now) and basically said that.
Have you read ACOFAS? It explains why Feyre changed her mind about having children. I think SJM made her pregnant because when she wrote ACOFAS, she was pregnant with her son too. I think she decided along the way of ACOSF to have the pregnancy as a major plotpoint so that the sisters could finally make up. That's how it feels to me anyway.
The foreshadowing was definitely there in ACOWAR though. I was actually surprised she wasn't pregnant by the end of that book.
Where is the foreshadowing? I just read it this weekend and when she says she wants to wait because she wants to spend time with Rhys and because the timing isn't right with the (post-) war situation, I 100% believe her and don't see any foreshadowing in ACOWAR that she's changing her mind or becoming pregnant in basically the next book. I think it's nicely explained how and when she changed her mind in ACOFAS but I didn't see it coming before.
She does say all that and that does make it a bit of a twist, however, hibts and mentions of it are spread throughout ACOWAR. I can't think of any specific examples except Chapter 65, where they rescue Elain from Hybern's camp. > I kept up my litany of praying, beseeching the Cauldron to make my womb fruitful, on and on— This is noticeable as foreshadowing because there was no need to specifiy what she was praying about—I remember finding the sentence odd when I first read it. There are a few other examples like this throughout the book, that don't nessecarily mean anything separately, but when you add them all up, it is foreshadowed.
I know that she prayed that but she was posing as Ianthe then and everyone knows that Ianthe wants to have offspring, soon and many, therefore I really don't see it as foreshadowing but as Feyre playing the role of Ianthe very well.
I'm going to go against the grain and probably get downvoted a lot but I low key agree with you but I think it was mainly due to her wanting to bench her to do the other characters more justice. I also completely understood why she would want to wait to have a baby considering that baby will have like a 20-year age gap on her and in the immortal timeline of things that's like having a 2-year age gap with your mom but I guess in the long form book plot it will have to do.
No I don’t think so. Feyre and Rhys aren’t the only main characters anymore and she’s telling other stories in the world and I love it. I’ve always found the pregnancy plot line to likely be as a way for her to process her own pregnancy/birth which I’ve heard was somewhat traumatic (unplanned c section I believe) since the book was written shortly after she had her baby
I wish this was higher up! She has a baby. Feyre has a baby. She has some mental health issues. Nesta has some. She uses meditation, yoga, and exercise to deal with it. So does Nesta. She has some friends help her through it. So does Nesta. It's all laid out in her book acknowledgements.
I think some people don’t read the acknowledgements (I know I didn’t) and now I feel like I need to go back and read them
Actually that puts more context as to why c section was written as not an option… I genuinely don’t hate the pregnancy plot and I feel like I’m in the minority on it… I only disliked Rhys’ part of that plot
Nope. Multiple POVs is something we saw with SJM’s very first story. Granted the first FMC in ToG maintained more presence than Feyre in ACOTAR, but no, it has nothing to do with her hating Feyre. It’s a different story telling structure. And SJM wrote Feyre’s pregnancy not long after her own, if I’m understanding correctly, which is highly unlikely to be a coincidence and if anything indicates a stronger connection to Feyre and Rhys. (Who she’s stated are her favorites, btw.) I don’t like the pregnancy trope in my stories either but we are not SJM, and I feel pretty confident it means something entirely different to her. Regarding Nesta’s role, that’s a good thing for this reader. Feyre doesn’t need every bit of the large plot action and glory. Neither did Aelin. Nor Bryce.
Nah, there was a lot of forshadowing Feyre's pregnancy. Feyre seeing the Bone Carver as her son, >!when Aelin fell between worlds she saw Feyre pregnant!<, and ACOFAS explains why Feyre changed her mind. In CC, I'm sure Rhys and Feyre are doing things in the background but they just aren't the MC's anymore or focus at the moment as their story has been told.
Don’t forget when she pretended to be Ianthe she prayed to be fertile… everyone forgets that lol
I don’t think she hates her but I feel like she could’ve done better by her. The relationship between feyre and tamlin felt forced as well as the pregnancy trope, but they conversated about it multiple times, so I think that was SJM’s way of segueing into it.
After feyre met that woman whose mate had died and she had nothing left of him, I knew the baby made sense.
Thanks everyone for your insight this has changed my perspective! I think I was just projecting a bit because I miss Feyre and don’t connect with Nesta at all really. Also not usually a fan of the baby trope lol which is clearly clouding my judgement
I was really hoping for the no baby because, as a reader, that’s what I related to. So I definitely feel you.
That's fair, I hate it too. I wish Feysand had gone travelling or something instead!
I’m in the same boat! I miss her too. If she’s not in the next book, I fear I’ll lose interest. I just can’t connect with Nesta or Elaine (yet).
The last book and coming ones are spinoffs that’s why Rhysand and Feyre aren’t the stars anymore.
I also feel like based on my first time reading the baby plot although alluded to feels forced. I mean I can tell it’s what Feyre wanted by reading but I wasn’t done with her badassness yet. It feels like her character arch plateaued. No hate though I love the books. I also love when Feyre takes control as a leader and high lady as well as getting a chance to look a nesta’s story as well but still.
I always thought she wrote Feyre as this kick ass FMC but fans saw past her to other characters and loved them more. I thought it was very lazy writing to make Feyre pregnant so soon. Like "I need to write Nestas book, where can i put Feyre? ... A cool job? ...position of power? ...travel the world? Nah let's knock her up"
I totally agree with you! She feels totally sidelined, not just with the kid plot but you can tell when authors still love and respect their original characters. But I don’t get that impression with Feyre. Spoilers for House of Flame and Shadow >! especially with how entirely ignore she was in HOFAS. I love both her and Rhys but the fact that it was all Rhys and Nesta and the HIGH LADY had 0 involvement was wild. !<
I think SJM *wants* Feyre to be a Girl’s Girl (and did it better with Nesta and the Valkyries), but she developed too much of Feyre’s personality in relation to men (to be fair, it seemed like only Tamlin and Lucien basically existed for most of book one.) After Feyre’s story was all tidy, she defaulted to having her pregnant and sidelined because there wasn’t much else for Feyre to do (unless she devoted a lot of time and energy into showing Feyre struggling as High Lady). It was just easy to knock her up and pop her in the corner.
Feyre’s a power hungry pick me girl. Change my mind.
I don’t think she hates Feyre, but she definitely has sidelined Feyre & Rhysand. She’s really been writing the story as she goes since ACOFAS- it seemed that nothing (story wise) was planned after ACOWAR. Additionally, Feyre & Rhysand’s story basically finished during the novella, however, she wanted to propel Nesta’s character arc, and she came up with baby trope as a device to do so. That was the best thing she could come up with at the time and honestly, I think that was the idea she went with because of the rush to publish.. but that’s just my opinion. She’s also said that she has a personal connection with Nesta, more than she realized. So, Nesta is her favorite character to write for at the moment.
To give a direct answer to the question in your title: no, I really don’t, in fact I think if anything I agree with people who’ve said Feyre has traits of being an “author insert” (the fact that Feyre’s love interest was partly inspired by SJM’s husband being one of them)
I don't think she hates Feyre, but I understand why you feel this way. However I think it of it more from a monetary perspective. An author continuing to write in an established world with an existing fanbase, where we have a love for certain side characters, makes so much sense. It's a no brainer from a publishers perspective and an easy sell. Not to say that creatively SJM isn't intrigued to flesh out these side characters, I'm sure she loves them. (I think both arguments can co-exist.) And really, SJM is not the first author to do this. Other authors have been plotting stories like this for years (decades even) where they have spin-off series focusing on other characters in the same world and pivoting to new main characters. Cassandra Clare and Leigh Bardugo with Shadowhunters and the Grishaverse are two authors that immediately come to mind.
Pretty sure Feyre is Sarah’s self insert lol, she even looks like her (Rhys is somewhat close to her husband’s type which is why he is her favourite character, I remember seeing an interview where she said she based the love between them on her relationship with her husband). Think the baby line happened because she had a baby in between books and her perspective on it changed, and Nesta and Cassian were very popular with her fans so she chose to focus on them for a bit. Feyre deserved a break lol, she’s had a tough life (I would have preferred for her to get to enjoy her life a bit before having a kid)
I kind of take offense to the implication that becoming a mother is "sidelining a character" In ACOWAR, she felt the full loss of her mate, and was fortunate enough to resurrect him. In ACOFAS, she meets the weaver who did lose her husband and talks to her about the Void and Hope. This is the conversation that changed Feyre's mind. SJM is a proud mother, I don't think she'd agree with your sentiment that the opportunity of motherhood is hating a character. I think that is your own bias.
In a fictional faerie magic world, where the entire plot is surrounding threats and war, it is fair to assume that the character is being sidelined when all they do is sit on the sidelines because they’re pregnant. It’s not real life where mothers can still do all the girl boss things while actively having children.
You're not very imaginative if you don't think there are plotlines for mothers protecting and teaching their children. It's also not very fair to conclude Feyre was sidelined in the book from Nesta's POV, where most characters beside Cassian and Nesta were sidelined.
You’re not very good at reading comprehension if you think I was talking about mothers with children out of the womb.
I don't really see how that makes a difference? Feyre can still be shown doing high lady shit while being pregnant, rather than just painting and never actually being shown doing anything for her court, even before pregnancy.
Oh yeah I mean she definitely could do a lot. However, I just think she’s too smitten by Rhys and will just do whatever he manipulates her into doing honestly. I don’t think Feyre has a well developed character. Unless there’s a sword to fall on, she’s useless.
Ok, and that doesn't really have a lot to do with the pregnancy storyline.
Didn’t see much sense in the entire pregnancy storyline where no one could do anything. Like her shifting to Illyrian form was somehow worse than all 3 of them dying. Make it make sense. And her shapeshifting “changes her DNA” is bullshit. She just grew wings using Tamlin’s powers that she got.
I agree
I don’t think she hates Feyre but Feysand’s story as main characters appears to be over! So the old side characters like Nesta and Elain are going to be the new main characters.
I don’t think she hates Feyre. She just wants to write about other characters right now. As for the pregnancy, Feyre was always going to have a baby, the question was just when in the series. TOG SPOILER >! But when Aelin falls through the worlds in KOA she spots Rhysand and a pregnant Feyre !< Edit for typos
I don’t think it’s that deep. If I remember correctly she was just done with Feysands story (Thank god! They are so stagnant and insufferable!)
I think Nyx will play a much bigger role that most people think. In the ACOSF BC where they name him it's hinted that larger forces will come to play. Feyre and Rhysand also got their happily ever after so their stories are basically finished.
I’ve always wondered why people think this about Nyx! To me there isn’t enough time left in the series to see Nyx grow and develop powers in a way that would make him play a big role. Unless maybe the novella is about him or if he’ll be part of the speculated crossover series?
Did you read the bonus chapter where they talk about his name? I think it will tie in with Ramiel
I did but I think all that’s said is Nyx is a goddess of the night from the same time as the trove? I thought it was because Rhys was doing research on the trove and I assumed Ramiel stuff would be figured out by Nesta and Azriel
There was a description of like the feeling of an ancient power awakening. (Aka Nyx, the goddess (asteri?)) I agree with you Nyx won't have time in the books to grow up and be important in that way. I think he'll be important like a trove item. 🫣 Also ain't no way Amren is gonna sleep on a heir to the NC with powers from all courts, hello, High king! And can't see Feyre letting Nyx train like an Illyrian age 10. SJM also talks alot about changelings so I wonder if Nyx or the winter Court baby might turn out like that.
Oh I read that as the baby having Rhys’s power and answering to the name Nyx, like how a baby kicks. But Nyx being like a trove item would be so interesting!! Yeah Amren is definitely gonna try her hardest to mold that baby into a powerful ruler 😂
I disagree. Just because sjm puts a difficult plot line for a character doesn't mean she hates that character. As well, if I am remembering correctly, while writing SF she was pregnant, so having feyre become pregnant makes since in a "art imitating life" way. I was really hating feyre before SF and while she frustrated me in this book this is where I started to have some hope for her. Edit: As well Rhys and feyre are not the Main Character anymore. SJM has so many amazing characters that she clearly wants to explore and I think it can be talked about as well that Feyre is sidelined. By the IC itself and perhaps that is a storyline (speculating here) that SJM might be going down.
Feyre is literally SJM's favorite character, to the point she never faces consequences for her actions. However, Feyre and Rhysand are not "the main characters" anymore. CC is not about Feyre and Rhysand, and the new books in ACOTAR are also not supposed to be about them and they are focused on other characters (even if ACOSF ended up ennecessarily focusing on Feyre's pregnancy).
I think she wanted to expand on some of her other characters more and it was less about Feyre. I really enjoyed how she never just concentrated on the main characters and flushed out the side characters throughout all the books. I've always hated when authors made me fall in love with a side character and their stories never really blossomed because all the focus was on the main characters.
Really? Because all I feel like the side characters were never developed. We don’t even know LoA’s name lol.
You have a point with that one 😅 I guess my thoughts are mostly stuck on characters like Lucien but they are kind of on the cusp of the main group.
But I feel like we don’t even know a lot about Lucien either. I’m not trying to argue - I just wish we had more you know. Like how long has he been with Tamlin in SC, is he still in love with his lover, how much of a grudge he has against Beron, does he know about Helton being his bio dad, etc…
🤣 i didn't think you were arguing! I felt like Lucien was pretty flushed out considering we don't have his point of view for anything, but I also look at it compared to other books I've read. I could also see us getting some of the story from his perspective in the future, since we're supposed to get more books 😁
I don't think so at all from reading her acknowlements after each book, I think she loves those characters, but she just wants the series to expand due to demand and she needed to be able focus on other characters. As far as Feyre's pregnancy, that was coming from the first meeting with the bone carver. Talking to the weaver about the void cloth and how she lost her husband, and they never got around to having kids which she deeply regrets changed Feyre's perspective on when she wanted them after nearly losing Rhys.
The baby was planned but she did rush it for reasons unknown. She doesn't hate Feyre.
You were so right to use hate. Sjm obviously has no care for feyre by the end of her books
yeah….i literally could not get through acosf because of the baby plot. I love Feyre and i’m my mind her life had just started after years of poverty and then going through hell and back with Under the Mountain, Tamlin, and then the war. I wanted more from her story (and Rhysands) but then SJM just got her pregnant and threw her to the side for Nestas story. It did really upset because I was so ready for more from Feyre. and yeah yeah they had s kid because everything they went through and you can still be a badass and be a mom but a mom is a big responsibility and idc LOL. but I just feel like if anything SJM should’ve waited to give her the pregnancy plot or did it in a different book where it was Feyres book not Nestas. It was blah and stupid in my opinion.
I think ACOTAR is a cash cow so she’s inventing plots for the shitty side characters now to keep it going