Teaser Tuesday: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Ambrosia of The Purple Booker.
To play along just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas.

A Court of Frost
and Starlight – Bloomsbury

Her mouth—painted a berry pink—tightened. “Not so happy an ending, I’m afraid.”
— Chapter 4

“But nothing,” Amren said, returning to the puzzle. “Because I like her, I am not inclined to gossip about her current state.”
— Chapter 15

You know those books that are 90% doom, peril, danger, and fearing for your favourite characters and the general fate of the world? And then the big fight is over and you get perhaps a chapter of cleaning up and maybe a sort of strange feeling epilogue … and they lived happily ever after (or not so happily, but book’s over). I’m no exception in wondering about and wishing for moments of normalcy and happiness depicted for those characters. Not all over the book all the time, because there are books for that as well and I’m more the “no conflict, no story” reader apparently.
Sarah J. Maas gives her readers more or less exactly those moments of normalcy, fluff, and happiness after almost destroying everything. I say more or less because there obviously is another series looming with new conflicts and new struggles and with new main characters who are gently showed onto the main stage here as well.
This is a bridging-novella in its true sense in being short, not too plot-driven or revealing, and definitely not essential to either series. As opposed to what was supposed to be a novella in Maas’ other series, which instead became a fully-fledged book. So knowing this I didn’t have very high demands, but I fully expected to be entertained and to enjoy some spending time with these characters without fearing for their lives. Which is what held true for most of the book with the occasional grin and chuckle and maybe eye-roll about one too many mate-mentions. I also enjoyed the beginning set up of the new series – even if I still don’t think that those particular characters belong together.
You’re waiting for the but? Here it is: But that conclusion?! That was really in the face in terms of my house, my car, my boat only in fantasy terms. It just didn’t seem to fit with the main character I got to know and love for the main trilogy. Yes, the war will definitely have had an impact and changed her but  … that “gift”. Wow, that messed with me quite a bit. I understand that it might be the most desirable goal for some, I just never understood Feyre to feel that way. Or at least not right away. Authors and their lives should be viewed separately from their works, yet here I feel the particular circumstances heavily influenced this plot.
So maybe I don’t want normalcy and happiness after all. Or maybe just not this brand of it. Or more likely normalcy and happiness that feel more organic and true to characters and their motivations. I will pick up the follow-up books at some point – maybe not with the highest priority and maybe I’ll have to block out certain aspects. I’m all for the author’s joy and happiness and wish her all the health and love in the world, but this felt a little too projected onto her characters.

Have you had a book that totally threw you in terms of either plot or character developments? Share those along with your teasers in the comments!